Spiced Beetroot Chutney (Low Sugar)

This lightly spiced, delicious beetroot chutney is an ideal accompaniment to turkey, chicken, ham or fish. It's sweet, tangy, with lots of depth of flavour and extremely easy to make. Ready in just over 40 minutes.

You might also like my cranberry chutney recipe.

This beetroot chutney is made using pantry ingredients and comes together in a few simple steps.

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 beetroot chutney does contain sugar but much less than shop bought chutneys do (and less than most chutney recipes call for).

Beetroot chutney ingredients

I cooked the beetroot along with the red onion and sour apple in a mixture of white wine vinegar, apple juice, sugar and spices.  The spices I chose give this chutney lots of warmth and flavour without overpowering the star ingredient. They include onion seeds, ground coriander and cumin as well as fresh ginger.  I also added a bit of soy sauce at the end for more depth of flavour.

How to prepare the beetroot

The beetroot needs to be peeled and finely diced then weighed.  You can prepare it in advance (overnight) and keep refrigerated, covered, until you are ready to make the recipe.

Top tip

It is important to use raw beetroot in this recipe rather than ready cooked beetroot. (If you are looking for leftover beetroot ideas you might like this cold beet salad recipe).

How to thicken this chutney naturally

It's perfectly ok to simply cook all the ingredients together until soft, then cool and enjoy your chutney.  This chutney gets even better, however, if you pulse some of the mixture and use that to naturally thicken this condiment.  This really improves the texture as well as the flavour of the chutney.  (See Instructions below for details)

Top tip

Pulse the mixture briefly just until it thickens but is still quite coarse, not smooth.  If you don't have a food processor use a potato masher to break up the larger beetroot pieces.

Step-by-step recipe instructions

1.To the pot add the vinegar, apple juice, sugar, fresh ginger, spices and seasoning. Cook for a minute until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture starts bubbling up.

2. Add the diced beetroot, apple and onion, stir, cover and simmer for about 40 minutes, until the beetroot is tender but still has some crunch, stirring occasionally.

3. Remove from the heat, stir in the soy sauce and place one third of the mixture in a small blender. 

4. Pulse a few times to break up the larger pieces (do not puree completely).

5. Place the mixture back in the pot, stir in and set aside to cool completely.  Spoon the chutney into a jar and refrigerate (for up to 2 weeks).

Top tips

• Beetroot: I do NOT recommend using store bought ready cooked beetroot. Your chutney will not have the richness and depth of flavour that cooking beetroot from scratch will produce. Not worth using this shortcut.
• Weigh the beetroot after you've peeled it.
• 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.
• It's best to prepare the apple just before adding it into the chutney as it's prone to discoloration.
• I pulsed some of the chutney mixture in order to create a thicker chutney but you can also mash the mixture a little using a potato masher instead.
• Storing: Once cooled transfer the chutney into a jar and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
• Not suitable for freezing.

Substitutions

• Vinegar: I used white wine vinegar but cider vinegar or red wine vinegar would work well too.
• Apple: If you use cooking apples (Bramley) use either one very small one or half of a larger one. You can also use Granny Smith or another sour apple variety.

Serving suggestions

This sweet and tangy beetroot cranberry chutney tastes delicious with Thanksgiving/Christmas leftover turkey, chicken or ham, cheddar or goat's cheese, with a slice of bread, cheese and crackers etc. 

It also makes an ideal edible Christmas gift!

You might also like

• Spiced Cranberry Sauce (Low Sugar)
• Healthy Homemade BBQ Sauce
• Easy Redcurrant Sauce Recipe
• Quick Braised Red Cabbage with Apple & Beetroot

Keep in touch!

If you make this beetroot 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!

Follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for regular recipe updates! Or you could subscribe to this blog and receive all my latest recipes right into your mailbox!

Spiced Beetroot Chutney (Low Sugar)

This lightly spiced, delicious beetroot chutney is an ideal accompaniment to turkey, chicken, ham or fish. It's sweet, tangy, with lots of depth of flavour and extremely easy to make.

No ratings yet

Print Pin Rate

Course: Condiment

Cuisine: dairy free, gluten free, vegan

Prep Time: 8 minutes

Cook Time: 42 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Servings: 8 portions

Calories: 66kcal

Author: Monika Dabrowski

Equipment

• ▢
  Medium size saucepan
• ▢
  Blender

Ingredients

• ▢ 400 g beetroot peeled, finely diced
• ▢ 1 medium red onion finely chopped
• ▢ 1 medium sour apple peeled, cored, cubed
• ▢ 1⅓ tbsp fresh ginger peeled, finely chopped
• ▢ 45 g sugar
• ▢ 70 ml white wine vinegar/apple cider vinegar
• ▢ 30 ml apple juice
• ▢ 1 tsp nigella seeds/onion seeds
• ▢ ½ tsp ground cumin and coriander each
• ▢ 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• ▢ ⅔ tsp coarse sea salt plus pepper to taste

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

• To the pot add the vinegar, apple juice, sugar, fresh ginger, spices and seasoning. Cook for a minute until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture starts bubbling up.
• Add the diced beetroot, apple and onion, stir, cover and simmer for about 40 minutes, until the beetroot is tender but still has some crunch, stirring occasionally.
• Remove from the heat, stir in the soy sauce and place one third of the mixture in a small food processor. Pulse a few times to break up the larger pieces (do not puree completely).
• Place the mixture back in the pot, stir in and set aside to cool completely.  Spoon the chutney into a jar and refrigerate (for up to 2 weeks).

Notes

• Beetroot: I do NOT recommend using store bought ready cooked beetroot. Your chutney will not have the richness and depth of flavour that cooking beetroot from scratch will produce. Not worth using this shortcut.
• Weigh the beetroot after you've peeled it.
• 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.
• It's best to prepare the apple just before adding it into the chutney as it's prone to discoloration.
• Vinegar: I used white wine vinegar but cider vinegar or red wine vinegar would work well too.
• Apple: If you use cooking apples (Bramley) use either one very small one or half of a larger one. You can also use Granny Smith or another sour apple variety.
• I pulsed some of the chutney mixture in order to create a thicker chutney but you can also mash the mixture a little using a potato masher instead.
• Storing: Once cooled transfer the chutney into a jar and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
• Not suitable for freezing.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 66kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 276mg | Potassium: 212mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 29IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 1mg

*Nutritional information is automatically generated and should be considered as an estimate.

**A note about baking: If using a fan-assisted oven refer to your appliance's instructions and adjust the temperature accordingly.

Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @Monika8021 or tag #EverydayHealthyRecipes!