Easy Green Tomato Chutney recipe (2024)

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How to make green tomato chutney with your unripened fruits. You’ll need about two pounds of green tomatoes, onions, and a few other ingredients. It’s a recipe that cooks down to a rich dark chutney that can be used as a marinade or served with cheese, rice dishes, bread, and other pickled vegetables. A full video showing how to make this recipe is included.

Easy Green Tomato Chutney recipe (1)

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If you grow your own tomatoes, you know what it’s like to have a mountain of green fruit at the end of summer. This year, I’m looking at an entire greenhouse full of several different varieties. I’ll take some indoors to ripen, but honestly, they’re delicious if you feel adventurous enough to cook with them. I’ve tried fried green tomatoes, green tomato pasta sauce, and green tomato ketchup before. One of the best recipes, though, is green tomato chutney.

If I were to describe the flavor, it would be sweet and sour, yet rich with a touch of heat. It pairs well with cheese, bread, and cured meats and is pretty much a British allotment preserve staple. When life gives you green tomatoes, you make green tomato chutney!

Easy Green Tomato Chutney recipe (2)

Making Green Tomato Chutney

Green tomato chutney is one of the simplest and quickest preserves you can make. You literally chop the ingredients up, put them in a pot, and cook them together for an hour (or three!). It’s also a great way to use up green tomatoes at the end of the season. To make it, you can use small tomatoes and large, and it doesn’t matter if you mix and match tomato varieties. Just below is a video showing how to make green tomato chutney in case you have any questions about the cooking instructions.

Unlike other recipes, mine doesn’t use apples — it’s all about chunky pieces of onion and tomato. I also don’t bother with reducing the water content before cooking, but you could if you wish to reduce the cooking time. However, I think that leaving the tomato moisture in and slowly cooking it down gives a much better taste. The umami really comes through if you have the patience to make it that way. If you do want to speed up the cooking time, you can remove the moisture, though. It entails using salt to draw moisture out, just like I do in my green tomato relish recipe.

This recipe is versatile, too. This year, I made it with distilled white vinegar and a mix of white and brown sugars, and it ended up just as delicious as ever. I’d advise caution in using any old vinegar, though, since any that is above 5-6% acetic acid can leave you with a green tomato chutney that is far too vinegary. If you can, use malt vinegar to make this recipe.

Easy Green Tomato Chutney recipe (3)

More Green Tomato Recipes and Preserving Inspiration

If you enjoyed this green tomato chutney recipe (and you will!), check out some of my other autumn recipes. They include another green tomato recipe (that even explains how healthy green tomatoes can be) and other delicious food in jars to make now and enjoy later. Have fun cooking and canning!

  • Sweet green tomato relish recipe
  • How to make Country Wine (using berries, fruit, and vegetables)
  • 3-ingredient blackberry gin recipe
  • Elderberry jelly recipe
  • Butternut squash pie recipe
Easy Green Tomato Chutney recipe (4)

Easy Green Tomato Chutney recipe (5)

Green Tomato Chutney Recipe

Tanya Anderson

Easy green tomato chutney recipe with green tomatoes, red onions, malt vinegar (5% acetic acid), and spices. This is a delicious condiment that pairs well with cheese and bread and cured meats. You can make it in an hour and the jars last up to a year.

4.96 from 83 votes

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course Preserves

Cuisine British

Servings 5 Jars

Calories 35 kcal

Equipment

  • Stainless steel pan

  • Clean and sterilized jars

Ingredients

  • 1 Kg Green Tomatoes (2.2 lbs or about 6 cups / skinning is optional)
  • 1 Kg Red Onions (2.2 lbs or about 6 cups)
  • 150 g Raisins (5.2 oz or about 1 cup – you can use ordinary raisins or golden raisins)
  • 3 Garlic cloves
  • 1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 tsp Black pepper
  • 2 tsp Sea salt
  • 500 g Brown sugar (2.5 cups – your choice of dark or light brown sugar)
  • 1 Litre Malt Vinegar (32 fl oz or about 4.25 cups – vinegar with 5% acetic acid concentration)

Instructions

  • Prepare the vegetables. Chop the tomatoes, onions, and raisins roughly and mince the garlic.

    Easy Green Tomato Chutney recipe (6)

  • Place all ingredients into a stainless steel pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a vigorous simmer and leave uncovered. Depending on batch size and your appliance's heat, it can take one to three hours. Keep an eye on it and stir regularly.

    Easy Green Tomato Chutney recipe (7)

  • The chutney is ready when it's reduced down and appears thick and brown.

    Easy Green Tomato Chutney recipe (8)

  • Spoon the chutney into warm, sterilized jars and seal with lids. It's common in the UK to reuse supermarket jars for homemade chutney and to simply finish with this step. If you do this, ensure that the lid of the jar doesn't have any exposed metal since the vinegar in the recipe can react with it. The vinegar can corrode the metal turning it black and potentially affecting your chutney. It's better to use preserving jars with non-metal lids. Either plastic-coated on the inside or two-piece Tattler lids. It's also best practice to water-bath the jars after they're filled*.

    Easy Green Tomato Chutney recipe (9)

  • Water-bath the jars to ensure that they're fully sterilized. Fill a tall pan with water and place a rack at the bottom if you have one**. Bring to a boil, then lower your (still hot) jars in so that they're not touching and that there's at least an inch of water above. Bring back to a rolling boil and leave the jars in the boiling water for ten minutes. Lift them out vertically (not tilted) with a jar lifter and set them on the counter to cool. The lids will seal as the chutney cools.It may take twelve or more hours for the seal to take.

  • Label the jars when cool and store them in a dark cupboard. Once opened, keep the jar in the refrigerator and try to use it within a year.

    Easy Green Tomato Chutney recipe (10)

Video

Notes

  • In Britain, it’s not common for people to water-bath high-acid preserves like this green tomato chutney. It’s a safer practice since it kills any microbes that could affect high-acid preserves. It can help the lids to seal. You can read more on the history of current British preservation methods here.
  • ** If you don’t have a rack, you can also push a tea towel or potholder to the bottom of the pan and set your jars on it. The idea is that you protect the bottoms of your jars from the direct heat of the hob/pan.
  • This recipe can take a long time to cook down, but the time is worth it. You can reduce the amount of time by simmering at a faster simmer. Remember to stir regularly to avoid the chutney burning at the bottom of the pot.
  • If you want to add other spices that you and your family love, feel free! It won’t taste like the original recipe, but you could invent a family favorite. Common spices in chutney include cumin seeds, mustard seeds, ginger, coriander, curry leaves, allspice, tamarind, green chilies, and cinnamon.

Nutrition

Serving: 1TbspCalories: 35kcalCarbohydrates: 9gFat: 0.1gFiber: 2g

Keyword chutney, green tomatoes, tomatoes

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Easy Green Tomato Chutney recipe (2024)

FAQs

Is green tomato chutney made from unripe tomatoes? ›

Make use of end-of-season tomatoes with this sweet and vinegary green tomato chutney made with unripe tomatoes. Can it to enjoy all year long.

Can you freeze green tomatoes to make chutney later? ›

Will it be alright to freeze these tomatoes until I'm ready to make the chutney? Yes, and freezing them will make it easier to get the skins off too. Hi, have made green tomato chutney without apples before as my gluts never seem to coincide.

Which vinegar is best for chutney? ›

Vinegar used in making chutney must be good quality and have at least 5% acetic acid content. Any good brand white, malt, wine or cider vinegar should possess the correct qualities. Brown sugar is used for darker coloured chutney but where a lighter colour is required granulated sugar is recommended.

Why does my green chutney turn brown? ›

If you have more green chutney than you can eat, follow these simple storage tips: Fridge: Transfer to an airtight container and store for up to 1-2 weeks. The chutney may oxidize (turn brown), but it won't affect the flavor.

Can I eat green tomatoes from my garden? ›

There is a higher presence of this Solanina toxin in green tomatoes than in ripe red tomatoes, making it harder to digest for humans. Therefore it is recommended to cook them in order to sweeten the taste, de-neutralizing the Solanina that causes the bitterness in raw green tomatoes.

Can you take green tomatoes and let them ripen? ›

If you're seeing a bit of red on those green tomatoes, picking them individually and bringing them inside may be the best chance for ripening tomatoes. Like many fruits, tomatoes continue to ripen once they've been picked.

How to can green tomatoes in a jar? ›

directions
  1. Slice green tomatoes into pint jars.
  2. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt to each jar.
  3. Cover with boiling water.
  4. Put lids on and put in water bath canner.
  5. Bring to boil and boil for 5 minutes.
  6. Remove from canner, tighten caps and cool on counter top.
  7. Can also use quart jars, adding 1 teaspoon salt.

Can you eat green tomatoes raw? ›

Unripe tomatoes can be eaten raw or cooked, but there are a few factors to consider. Unripe tomatoes tend to be firmer and have a more acidic taste than fully ripe tomatoes. Some people enjoy the tangy flavor and crunchy texture of unripe tomatoes, while others may find them less appealing.

Can green tomatoes be frozen to fry later? ›

When you're ready to to fry up these battered, green beauties, simply heat up a cast iron skillet with a couple tablespoons of your favorite cooking oil, and fry up the frozen tomato slices. No need to thaw first.

Can I use white vinegar instead of malt vinegar in chutney? ›

Brown malt vinegars are tasty and flavoursome but like red onions, they too will add colour so it's possible a white wine vinegar or cider vinegar is better to use as an all-rounder. As with the previous ingredients, the whiter the sugar you use, the less impact it will have on the finished product.

Can I use malt vinegar instead of cider vinegar in chutney? ›

Cooks tip 1: You can add a little and other spices to the chutney – perhaps a little chilli powder or nutmeg. Ginger also works very well. Cooks tip 2: I used cider vinegar in this Apple chutney recipe, but it is fine to use malt vinegar or wine vinegar.

Can I use white wine vinegar instead of cider vinegar in chutney? ›

Though your standard white vinegar is considered neutral in flavor, it is highly acidic and has a pronounced sharp bite. Use it as an equal swap for apple cider vinegar, but consider adding a splash of fruit juice or a pinch of sugar to balance out the flavor.

Are green tomatoes unripe regular tomatoes? ›

Yes, green tomatoes are just regular tomatoes that have not yet matured on the vine. You mostly see green tomatoes at farmer's markets later in the season, especially if there have been cool temps or an early frost that makes it so the tomatoes won't ripen fully on the vine.

Are green tomatoes ripe tomatoes? ›

"Tomatoes that are green are usually not yet ripe," says Christopher Landercasper, director of farming operations for the Sonoma's Best Hospitality Group. "All tomatoes are green before they turn red, purple, or yellow, or some other color or combination."

Are green unripe tomatoes safe to eat? ›

Green, thus unripe tomatoes contain a substance called tomatine in addition to solanine. Both tomatine and solanine are toxic so it is not wise to eat green tomatoes in large quantities. Solanine poisoning can cause unpleasant symptoms like fever, abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, drowsiness and lethargy.

Are green tomatoes raw? ›

Unripe tomatoes can be eaten raw or cooked, but there are a few factors to consider. Unripe tomatoes tend to be firmer and have a more acidic taste than fully ripe tomatoes. Some people enjoy the tangy flavor and crunchy texture of unripe tomatoes, while others may find them less appealing.

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