Easy Addictive Tomato Chutney Recipe For Canning or Freezing

This recipe for sweet and spicy tomato chutney is hands-down everyone’s favorite condiment on meat, vegetables, sandwiches, and more (like dipping fries!). It’s the first thing on my list to make a year’s worth of when tomatoes are in season – we NEVER want to run out of this tomato chutney! Choose from the classic recipe or the lower-sugar version (that may be even better).

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Most people I talk to don’t have much experience with chutney except for the occasional visit to an Indian restaurant. They aren’t sure if it is something they would eat or what they would eat it with.

I was totally this way, too – I mean I knew about chutney, but I don’t think I’d actually ever tasted it before making my first chutney, Spicy Rhubarb Chutney, after growing a bumper crop of rhubarb and looking for a way to preserve it. It was a revelation when served with pork and we were hooked on chutney from then on.

The same thing happened with tomatoes – if I hadn’t had a heap of tomatoes left over after canning all the salsa and freezing the marinara sauce we’d need for the next year, I may have never decided to try tomato chutney.

And my life would’ve been sadder for it (and that’s not an exaggeration, just truth).

When I found a small batch recipe and adapted it to our tastes (safely – see note below), the result was history – for our family at least!

A Lower Sugar Tomato Chutney

If you’ve seen any vintage canning recipes, one thing you may have noticed is they often include large amounts of sugar. And the original tomato chutney recipe I found was no exception, so I lessened the amount of sugar along with a few other changes to seasonings and flavors. We loved it and I made it for many years that way.

Safety Note: By the way, it’s perfectly safe to cut sugar (or substitute dry seasonings, etc.) from a canning recipe that also calls for vinegar as the sugar is used for flavor and texture.

But even the adapted recipe still used quite a bit of sugar and as our family moved towards a more healthy, whole foods lifestyle, I started to feel that it was just too much sugar in the tomato chutney. I mean, while we loved it, if I could lower the sugar and not notice, wouldn’t that be a good thing?

So I tested it and after a couple of so-so batches (still OK, but not the same), I hit upon a ratio that not only cuts the total sugar in half, but also uses a combination of brown sugar and honey instead of white sugar – and tastes just as good (maybe better?).

You’ll find both the original chutney and the lower sugar option amounts in the recipe card below – try both and see which you like better!

What do you eat tomato chutney with?

Some readers have asked how we use this chutney. I usually say, “what don’t we use it on?” But then suggest things like:

• Scrambled eggs.
• Frittatas (SO good).
• French fries, roasted potatoes, homefries.
• Burgers.
• Grilled and baked meat and poultry.
• Indian curries like Chicken Lentil Curry with Vegetables.
• Roasted and grilled vegetables.
• Grilled cheese or any cheese sandwich (a classic sandwich from the British isles is tomato chutney and cheese).
• Topping goat cheese or warmed brie.
• …the list goes on.

It’s basically an “adult ketchup” and anything you’d use ketchup on is a million times better with this chutney.

Yep, a million. (Again, not an exaggeration.)

If you’re still unsure about chutney, like I was, I encourage you to give this tomato chutney recipe a try because it’s so good you’ll be ruined forever for using regular ketchup, just like the hundreds of comments and 5-star ratings!

Ingredients

There’s nothing fancy about the ingredients needed to make this chutney, but when it all comes together you’d never guess the humble beginnings. Here are some ingredient notes:

• Salt: You will need to use a salt with no additives like canning & pickling salt, or a pure fine sea salt.
• Vinegar – I prefer apple cider vinegar, but white vinegar will work, too.
• Sugar – You’ll use brown sugar for both the regular and low sugar recipes, as well as cane sugar for the regular which you’ll substitute with (a lot less) honey in the low sugar version.
• Raisins – most chutneys include this ingredient (see my trick for dealing the the least appealing part of using raisins below), but you can see in the photo above that you can substitute chopped dates and they work just as well. Other substitutes that readers have used are dried cranberries and dried currants (which are smaller and tarter than raisins).
• Spices: You’ll need ground ginger, cumin, and red pepper flakes (you can save a lot if you buy pepper flakes in a larger container like this – and then you’ll have flakes to make things like this honey-sweetened Sweet Chili Sauce, too!). Note: You can only use dried ginger if canning – it’s not safe to add fresh ingredients to a canning recipe. You can also add any other dried spices you’d like.

Supplies

• 6-quart pot for single recipe, 8-quart or larger stock pot for double (I’m using a 12-quart pot with a glass lid in the pictured doubled recipe – it can also work as a small-batch water canner if you add a rack to the bottom like you can see in the video for this rhubarb chutney recipe).
• Knife and cutting board (a food processor helps a LOT, though).
• Stainless steel ladle, spoon, and canning jar funnel (please don’t use plastic with hot liquids).

For Canning: Gather 5 half-pint mason jars and a water bath canner – this stainless steel canner with a glass lid has change for my preserving life forever.

See my favorite canning and preserving supplies here for more recommendations.

For Freezing: you can use the same mason jars (they are freezer safe) or other freezer container of your choice.

Make this Easy Tomato Chutney Recipe: Step-by-Step

NOTE: I usually always make a double batch, so the photos feature a 12-quart pot. This recipe is so good I can’t even think about making a single batch anymore!

Step 4: Reduce the chutney. Your chutney will need to simmer for a few hours to reduce and thicken, with you stirring occasionally. Here’s what the chutney will look like as it cooks down:

You can use the chutney as soon as it’s cooked, though it does get better with time, I think. Refrigerate in airtight glass jars or read on for preserving options.

How to Preserve Tomato Chutney

To preserve your tomato chutney you can choose to:

• CAN: Water-bath can the chutney for shelf-stable storage up to 18 months.
• FREEZE: Let it cool a bit before transferring to freezer-safe containers for up to a year.
• REFRIGERATE: Store for 1-2 months if you think you can eat it in that time frame or you made a smaller batch.

Canning with a Boiling-Water Canner

To have the convenience of it ready to go on the shelf, as well as a year-and-a-half storage life, canning is really an easy option.

Safety Note: As with any canned recipe (especially tomatoes), this recipe is based on a published, tested recipe with an acid-ratio balance that is safe for room temperature storage. You can NOT add fresh peppers in place of dried in this recipe or fresh ginger and then can it – it will not be safe. You are free to freeze it, though, if you want to use fresh peppers or ginger.

If you’ve water-bath canned before, you know how easy it can be and if you haven’t, I made this video tutorial that walks you through the simple steps:

To can this tomato chutney recipe, follow these simple steps:

1. Wash and keep six to seven half-pint canning jars (or 3 pints) warm.
2. Prepare your canner and the other equipment you’ll need as described here in the written tutorial for step-by-step water-bath canning.
3. Ladle the chutney into the prepared jars, leaving 1/4″ headspace.
4. Secure the lids on with the screw bands and place in the canner.
5. When the water comes to a roiling boil, set the timer for 10 minutes for half pints and 15 minutes for pints. (This is for sea-level – see the recipe card for how much time to add if you’re at elevation.)
6. When the timer goes off, turn the burner off, remove lid and let jars sit for 5 minutes.
7. Transfer the jars to a towel-lined surface and leave undisturbed for 24 hours.
8. Remove rings, checking lid for seal, label and store in a cool, dark place.

Your chutney is now good for 18 months – but I seriously doubt it will last that long!

RACK TIP: I am using a flat canning rack like this – I can fit more of the half-pint sized jars in the canner than with the standard divided rack. I LOVE it – plus the smaller jars don’t fall over like they did with all the extra room in the racks meant for quart jars.

Got green tomatoes at the end of the season? Make Green Tomato Chutney! It’s delicious also, with a smokey, tangy flavor that pairs well with the things above that the red tomato chutney does.

Recipes that Pair Well With Tomato Chutney

• Smashed Garlic Pub Burgers (and don’t forget to dip those fries, too)
• Roasted Sausages with Peppers and Onions Sheet Pan Dinner
• Easy Lemon-Garlic Roasted Chicken and Vegetables
• Quick Sausage & Kale or Swiss Chard Frittata Recipe
• Easy Potato And Caramelized Onion Frittata Recipe
• Easy Grilled Vegetables

If you make this, be sure to let me know what you like to use it on and leave a rating and review to let us all know how you like it!

Your Questions Answered

More Tomato Recipes To Try

• Garden Harvest Roasted Tomato Sauce – Eat Fresh or Freeze for Later
• Balsamic Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce {Freezer Friendly}
• Water-Bath Safe Canned Roasted Tomato Sauce

This recipe has been updated – it was originally published August 2009. The original and low sugar version (published in 2012) were also combined into this one recipe.

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