Preparation Time: 20 min
Cooking Time: 1 hr
Ingredients for Green Tomato Chutney:
- 500g green tomatoes
- 500g red onion
- 250g sultanas
- 250g brown sugar
- 2 tbsp salt
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp ground green cardamom
- 500ml malt vinegar
Method for Green Tomato Chutney:
- Chop everything up, no need for a perfection, and put it in a good heavy based pan .
- Bring it to the boil and then turn down the heat, simmer for about an hour until reduced to a thick pulp.
- Spoon into sterilised jars.
Enjoy either after standing for a while to let flavours develop or, if you are a little glutton like myself, grab the cheese and crackers and go watch TV .
Makes about 3 jars of chutney.
Like most chutneys, kept in properly sterilized and sealed jars this will keep for at least a year in a cool dark place. Once opened, keep in the fridge and try to use within 4 weeks.
General Chutney Making Information
Chutneys - How to Make Chutney
Chutneys originated in India – the name derived from the Hindu word chatni . They then came back to Britain with explorers where they were a hit and are now a very popular preserve all over the world.
The scope of chutneys is endless and t...
Preserving Jars, Labels and Covers
Store, preserve, label and cover your home grown fruit and vegetables with this extensive range of products. You've made it so it is only fair to show it off at its best!
Jam and Preserve Making Equipment
All the equipment you need to easily make your own jams, chutneys and preserves. Say goodbye to mass-produced supermarket jams and preserves and start producing your own unique accompaniments to meals using your own produce.
Hi Val, I used your recipe and added a few more ingredients such as chilli, paprika and apple, it’s fantastic. Many thanks, I will be making some more shortly.
Wow! I have never made chutney before and after having loads of green tomatoes on my unsuccessful tomato plants my mother told me to make some chutney so I thought why not give it a go…… and I am so glad I did. This is lovely on cheddar and crackers. Me and my husband loved it! I am now going to try and get some more green tomatoes or may just use red ones to make some more for my pantry. So easy to make too!
a wonderfully simple but delicious recipe – thank you (had a jar of it already and only made it recently …)
what type of brown sugar should I use
and could add some peppers
This one is not my recipe but I’d have thought you could use whatever brown sugar that you like. In my recipe I use demerara and add 4 red chillies but that is for a larger quantity. Take a look at that recipe as well to give you some ideas.
could you use jam sugar so to make sure it thickens
Yes.
I am about to try this recipe for the first time. will let you know how it goes.
I used another recipe from another site I started it at one o clock its now five and its still reducing. lid off but it had one and half pts vineger.
Hi all, I’m Julie and I live in Spain. I made your Green Tomato Chutney this afternoon and it’s fabulous. Saw green tomatoes at our local farmers market and got inspired. On getting home I discovered that I had packed my old cookbook ( were moving house ) so I found your site on the web…my lucky day I think. I have passed your web address to my son and his wife who have 2 allotments in the uk. I’m sure they will love it as much as myself. Already planning what to make next… Thank you very much. Excellent.
Have never made chutney but have a lot of green tomatoes that I don’t want to waste. A friend said the tomatoes should be peeled before cooking. Also do you seal the jars like you do when making jam with the wax discs and cling film top.
You don’t need to peel the tomatoes, just wash and finely chop. If you follow the link in the box under the recipe, it will tell you about potting and sealing.
I made a huge amount of of your green chutney its really great. wonderful flavour. thank you guess what I am doing tomorrow !!
I thought I would have a go at making my first chutney, chose this receipe… wow, so easy, worked well, its sitting in the jars. waiting for a taste. Going to try another batch today!
Can I use ordinary cardamon instead of green. I want to do this recipe along with my apple chutney.
Wow what a chutney. Just made it, I had a taste, what a kick it has. I don’t think it will stay in jars for long. Thank you for recipe.
Am about to embark on this having had a very unsuccessful batch of tomatoes! Do the tomatoes need to be remotely ripe in order for this to work?
The greener, the better!!!!!!!
Thanks Val. Some are very hard and dark green but am going to go for it anyway!
This is a brill tasting chutney.3 jars didn’t last a week. It was eaten with everything!
I’ve got no tomatoes left, so I am going to try it with my yellow courgettes- plenty of them!
Could I use white wine vinegar or red wine vinegar instead of malt vinegar – just a thought as I have both in the cupboard already.
Yes but I’d go for the white wine vinegar instead of the malt.
Just started making this recipe. Smells yummy. I had so many green tomatoes but in saying that I also had a massive yield of red so make lots of red sauce for the Winter. Lovely to tase a little bit of Summer in the Winter.
Will let you know how it tastes. Letting it all simmer now for an hour or so.
Great chutney recipe. I changed it slightly by using mixed spice instead of cayenne and I got first prize at the local horticultural show!
Great recipe! And so simple too. We had 2kg of green tomatoes so had to double up on the quantities and do it in two batches. I’ve just put the second batch on now.
First batch, last weekend, took about 2 and a half hours to reduce! We started at 8:30pm but couldn’t jar up until just after midnight! We’re prepared today though – started much earlier 🙂
Also from kent, but still here.
Try adding some dates as well as, or in place of the sultanas.
yummy.
URL means uniform resource locator
basically a web address for a specific file or location.
Never made chutney before – was so simple and easy to do. Wasn’t sure about the sugar, whether it was soft brown, dark or demerara so used demerara and it worked a treat. Thank you so much – now have more friends than I thought I had who are banging on my door – gave them a small jar to try and they cant get enough of it – Does it work as well with the apples?
A very easy way to sterilise jars. Pour about 1/4 pt water into each jar, bring to boil in microwave & let boil for about 1 minute then turn jars upside down on kitchen towelling to drain for a few minutes then fill. Be sure to handle jars with oven gloves as they will be very hot.
Can’t find my green tomato chutney recipe from last year so I’m going to try this one as it looks quick and easy. Judging from everybody’s comments I’m sure it will turn out well!
I’ve never done anything like this before, but I hate waste and we had a lot of green tomatoes to use up. I had more tomatoes than I thought, so although I based all the other ingredients on 1 kilo, I actually used 1.5 kilo. I used 500 mil cyder vinegar and a 565 mil bottle of malt, and I used up about 200 grams of cut up dried apricots, after reading another comment, and needing to use them up, and a bit less salt after reading another.
I got 9 jam jars full out of it, and I had my first dollop of it last night with some sausages. It’s really nice, the right texture and tangy. Thank you for such an easy recipe, that even I couldn’t get wrong.
I have just made some of the chutney and found it to be very salty. I am going to cook up some extra tomatoes to add before I put in jars but does anyone have any other suggestions.
Have already made 40 lbs of Chutney and started on your recipe. In answer to the question how long with chutney last I like to keep mine for a year or two they go a super boot polish colour, have even got some back to 2006 a bit thick but like a good wine. Keep Chutney going its part of whats left of England
Edward 74
I tripled the recipe, and used a preserving pan to cook up the mixture.
It made 16 jars – using the red gingham-patterned Bonne Maman lids/jars.
Very tasty indeed.
Green tomato/green bean chutneys and whatever else I’ve made from these recipes they are great. Best cookbook on the web
I have just made a batch of chutney-must have been a bit heavy on the spices and/or vinegar because it is very powerful! Any way of softening the flavour? I have put in a couple of cooking apples but no change so far (It is still cooking)
Have just discovered this site – am looking to use up my miniature chillies as well as green tomatoes. How many do you suggest I put in chutney mix? Thanks – can’t wait to start!
Best chutney I have ever tasted, followed the recipe and its brilliant thank you, also made the mistake of letting my family try it now have to make another batch.
It really depends on how strong the chillies are and how hot you would like it!
Just made a big batch of this. Had 2kgs of tomatoes so had to fiddle with the amounts of the ingredients and used dark demerara sugar. It is DELICIOUS! Keep going back to it with a big chunk of cheese, at this rate I won’t be giving it away!
Great recipe.
I too simmered mine for ages and it has not reduced as much as I would have liked. I have drained off some of the liquid before putting it in the jars. Its tastes ok and the colour is lovely. This is my first time to make chutney as my neighbour had lots of green tomatoes so didn’t want them to go to waste. Also I don’t think that I chopped everything fine enough so it looks a little bit rustic. Will it settle and thicken as it cools and over time?
Have just made my first ever batch of green tomato chutney with unripened tomatoes from the garden and it is absolutely gorgeous. I have just had the most amazing cheese sandwich and just annoyed I didn’t have any cheese and biscuits in the house. Will be getting some for tomorrow. Thanks very much!!
Just wanted to check the amount of salt was correct… The recipe says “2 tbsp Salt” That seems an awful lot of salt?
This isn’t my recipe but I would use half that amount of salt.
I used a stick blender to blend the skins, result a smooth chutney, also I put in 4 fresh cillies 2 red 2 green finely chopped. I’m wondering what I
could use it with besides cheese.
I swapped the cayenne pepper and green cardamom for a teaspoon of allspice, halved the salt added some ground black pepper. Added 3 chopped apples and replaced 3/4 of the vinegar with a good quality Ale.
I’m really pleased how this turned out 😉
Do you have any tips for how to deal with the smell of vinegar in the house afterwards??
Thanks!
Just about to make this, just retired from stressful job so back into my first love – cooking. Just had a disaster of a recipe for Piccalilli off of the internet.. I threw it out! Far too salty, so it is comforting to see all the positive comments about this recipe 🙂
Hi Jessica,
re: Green Tomato Chutney.
I haven’t made this yet, but it does look a lot of salt. I have a similar Good Housekeeping recipe for this, using 3lbs tomatoes, but with 2 teaspoonfuls of salt. So, perhaps this was an error?
Glen
Being a male person this may be a silly question for you. How large, or small, should you chop your tomatoes.
Hi My Husband and I have started making this chutney at 6pm tonight :/ bit late in the day really 🙂 I am now waiting for it to cool down to put it in the jars, I could be up for a while yet.
It smells very Vinegary so will leave it 4 weeks and see what it tastes like 🙂 My red tomato one smelt very strong of vinegar so hoping it will calm down.
This is the second lot of chutney I have ever made so still learning 🙂 Courgette next.
I didn’t put any salt in this time or my 1st time as I don’t use salt haven’t got any in.
I wish I’d read the comments about there being too much salt before I’d made my batch! Going to have to throw it away. Not a happy bunny 🙁