Cranberry Beetroot Chutney Recipe

This low sugar, easy to make beetroot cranberry chutney is an ideal accompaniment to turkey, chicken or ham, also delicious with cheese and crackers as well as Christmas/Thanksgiving dinner leftovers.

This flavoursome cranberry chutney with beetroot was inspired by my love of cranberries as well as beetroot.  I do love the classic cranberry sauce and make it every Christmas (my version also comes with a twist!).  But this recipe has a depth and complexity of flavour an ordinary cranberry sauce can never produce.

I credit the beetroot!  Mainly.  This marvellous vegetable has a sweet, earthy flavour which pairs extremely well with sour cranberries.  I didn’t want the beetroot to disintegrate during cooking so I chopped it finely into little cubes, which still retain some crunch after 30 minutes of cooking, so the chutney has a lovely semi-crunchy consistency.  And look at the colour!  You can’t not love beetroot:)

Low sugar beetroot cranberry chutney recipe

Very often sauces, chutneys and other condiments come with a lot of ‘hidden’ sugars.  We don’t think of their sugar content in the same way we do with desserts.  So it’s easy to overlook the fact they aren’t necessarily very healthy.  This chutney recipe does contain sugar (it’s impossible to avoid using it with super sour cranberries!), but much less than ready made ones.

This sharp, tangy and delicious cranberry chutney with beetroot makes an ideal edible Christmas gift!

Equipment you’ll need

• Kitchen scale/measuring cup and spoon
• Cutting board, knife and vegetable peeler
• Medium size pot with lid and large spoon
• Rubber gloves for handling the beetroot (optional)
• Jar for storing the chutney

How to make cranberry beetroot chutney: step-by-step

This beetroot chutney with cranberries is quick and easy to make.

1.Start by heating up the oil and frying the onion and ginger until softened.

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2. Add the diced beetroot, sugar, orange juice, wine and vinegar.  Stir and cook for a couple of minutes.

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3. Add the cranberries, orange zest, spice and seasoning, pop the lid on and bring the mixture to the boil.  

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4. Lower the temperature and simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the sauce sticking to the pan.

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4. Once the chutney has cooled place it in a jar and refrigerate.  You can keep it in the fridge for 2 weeks.

Top tips

• Preparation: I recommend wearing rubber gloves when handling beetroot. If it does stain your hands rub them with a piece of lemon, which should remove most of the stains.
• Cranberries: Use fresh or frozen cranberries.
• Beetroot: I do NOT recommend using store bought ready cooked beets. Yes, it will reduce cooking time but your chutney will not have the richness and depth of flavour that cooking beetroot from scratch will contribute. Not worth using this shortcut.
• Spices: I used a bit of cloves and allspice but you could also add a little cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg or chilli powder.  Create your own flavours if you like.
• Storing: Once cooled transfer the chutney into a jar and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
• Not suitable for freezing.

Serving suggestions

This sweet and tangy beetroot cranberry chutney tastes delicious with Thanksgiving/Christmas leftover turkey, chicken or ham on a slice of bread, with cheese and crackers or with healthy turkey salad sandwich.  Serve it on the big day alongside turkey wellington, vegetarian quinoa stuffed butternut squash or ground turkey stuffing balls.  In fact it would go really well with my other stuffing recipes including quick vegetarian Christmas stuffing as well as Christmas stuffing with cranberries and chestnuts.

KEEP IN TOUCH

If you make this Christmas cranberry chutney I’d love to know how it turned out for you.  Have you used different spices? Let me know in the comments below, thanks!

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Easy Cranberry Beetroot Chutney Recipe

This easy to make cranberry beetroot chutney is an ideal accompaniment to turkey or ham, but is also delicious with cheese and crackers as well as Christmas/Thanksgiving dinner leftovers. 

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Course: Condiment, Side

Cuisine: International

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Servings: 8 people

Calories: 104.27kcal

Author: Monika Dabrowski

Ingredients

• 200 g fresh cranberries (2 cups)
• 1 medium beetroot peeled, finely diced
• 1 small red onion finely chopped
• 2 tbsp fresh ginger finely chopped
• 80 g sugar (0.4 cups)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 tbsp cider/wine vinegar
• 40 ml orange juice
• 40 ml marsala wine/port/sherry
• 1/5 tsp each ground cloves and allspice
• Zest of half an orange
• A good pinch of salt and pepper

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

• In a medium saucepan heat up the oil, add the onion and ginger and cook slowly for 2-3 minutes, stirring often. Add the beetroot, marsala wine, sugar, vinegar, orange juice, stir and continue cooking for 3 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add the cranberries, orange zest, spice and seasoning, stir, pop the lid on, bring to the boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes stirring occasionally (take care not to allow the sauce to stick to the bottom of the pan and burn). Adjust the seasoning if needed, allow to cool then transfer into a jar. It can be kept in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Notes

• Preparation: I recommend wearing rubber gloves when handling beetroot. If it does stain your hands rub them with a piece of lemon, which should remove most of the stains.
• Cranberries: Use fresh or frozen cranberries. 
• Beetroot: I do NOT recommend using store bought ready cooked beets. Yes, it will reduce cooking time but your chutney will not have the richness and depth of flavour that cooking beetroot from scratch will contribute. Not worth using this shortcut.
• Spices: I used a bit of cloves and allspice but you could also add a little cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg or chilli powder.  Create your own flavours if you like.
• Storing: Once cooled transfer the chutney into a jar and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
• Not suitable for freezing.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 104.27kcal | Carbohydrates: 16.9g | Protein: 0.49g | Fat: 3.59g | Saturated Fat: 0.5g | Sodium: 10.32mg | Potassium: 101.97mg | Fiber: 1.71g | Sugar: 13.13g | Vitamin A: 25IU | Vitamin C: 7.35mg | Calcium: 6.8mg | Iron: 0.17mg

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