If you've got a jar of rhubarb chutney in the pantry, then you're 5 minutes away from a refreshingly sweet, tangy, slightly spicy chutney salad dressing. Equally good with ANY chutney, this is good on everything from greens to slaw to chicken.
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If you're a regular Oregon Cottage reader, you know that homemade salad dressings are a HUGE win for me. They check off a number of boxes towards a simple homemade life:
- Healthy: the ingredients are basic, whole food that YOU get to choose.
- Inexpensive: whipping up a bottle of homemade dressing is about half the cost of store-bought.
- Quick: basic vinaigrette takes less than 5 minutes and most others will never take more than 10.
- DELICIOUS: while I can appreciate a bottle of quality dressing every now and then, the cheaper dressings I used to get just taste blah to me with a weird goopy texture now. They just can't compare with homemade.
So when I wanted to find some other ways to use the homemade chutneys I make and preserve, I was drawn to the idea of using it in a salad dressing. With so much flavor in the chutney, the other ingredients would only need to compliment it.
I started my experiments with a jar of spicy rhubarb chutney and it was an immediate success!
This rhubarb chutney salad dressing scored on a couple of levels:
- Obviously, using home canned chutney is a big thing (although this is just as good with store bought chutney!). Using what we've grown, harvested, and preserved as a basis for another recipe is one of the perks of gardening and preserving.
- It tasted amazing - as in sweet, tangy, and slightly spicy.
Seriously, we've had it on regular green salads (yum) and a turkey-cranberry-feta salad (yes, please) as well as that same cranberry-feta combo with chicken.
It's a simple way to make so many salads taste better.
Creamy Without Dairy
Since the ingredients are mixed in a blender or food processor, it emulsifies into a creamy dressing - without any added mayo, cream, or yogurt.
So this is a tasty option for anyone following a dairy-free diet.
Rhubarb Chutney Salad Dressing (or Other Chutney)
Ingredients
Besides the chutney you need only four other simple pantry ingredients.
What about salt?
You can taste the dressing after blending and add salt if you'd like - I never do, as the chutney has enough salt and other flavors. I'd start with only a shake of salt up to 1/8 teaspoon if you do add it.
Supplies
- Blender (this is like mine) or food processor
- Measuring cups, spatula
- 8-ounce jar for storing (reuse a glass bottle or an 8-ounce mason jar with a pour-spout lid)
Directions
Add all the ingredients, except the oil to a blender or food processor.
Pulse a few times to mix.
With the machine running, add the oil in slowly and blend until smooth.
TIP: Depending on the machine, the dressing may be thick. I add about 2 tablespoons of water when I use a blender, but don't find I need much at all when I use a food processor. Add water as needed to get a pouring consistency.
Scrape the dressing into an 8-ounce container - a half-pint canning jar works great (especially when used with one of these lids like the one pictured). You can also reuse a glass ketchup or dressing bottle.
Chutney Salad Dressing FAQs
Yes! The other four ingredients are basically a simple vinaigrette which would go well with other flavors of chutney like tomato, cherry, blueberry or the mango chutney you can find in the stores.
You can use a whisk to mix the ingredients. Your dressing will just be a bit chunkier.
Yes, double all the ingredients and keep in a pint size jar (16 ounces) instead of a half pint (8 ounces) like shown here.
Rhubarb Chutney Salad Dressing (or any chutney)
Equipment
- Blender or food processor
- Measuring cups, spatula
- 8-ounce glass container
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup rhubarb chutney (or chutney of choice)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup olive oil or avocado oil
Instructions
- Combine the first four ingredients in a blender or food processor.
- Drizzle in the oil with the motor running, until the oil is completely incorporated. Add water a tablespoon at a time if dressing seems too thick. Taste for salt (I never add it).
- Scrape dressing into a 1 cup (8-ounce) glass bottle or jar. Will keep, refrigerated, for about 2 weeks.
Notes
- Tomato chutney
- Cherry chutney
- Blueberry chutney
- Or the mango chutney you can find in the stores.
Nutrition
More Chutney Recipes
Chari says
I love your site! You are a woman after my own heart. I grew up in a village in Alaska in the 50s (yes, the one that got 18 feet of snow last year and made national news for the first time ever!). You couldn't run to the local market to get chi-chi bottle of "anything". Many of the green practices of today were practiced in our town out of necessity. Recently, I ran out of salad dressing for our greens. I was too tired and my husband gave me that look when I suggested he might go to the store. So I mixed up Dijon, real mayo made with olive oil and pickle juice. You can add different spices such as thyme or chili powder, depending on what else you add to the greens. Basic items in my pantry.
Jami says
Thank you, Chari! And your salad dressings sounds wonderful - I always forget to use pickle juice in dressings, gotta remember that!
mary w says
I can a spicy pickled eggplant with Indian spices. When the jar is empty I made a basic vinegarette with the leftover juice. Spicy and fun over plain greens. I bet I could use the pickled eggplant in place of chutney in your recipe to make a creamy version. Yum!