Preparation Time: 20 min
Cooking Time: 1 hr
Ingredients for Green Tomato Chutney:
- 500g green tomatoes
- 500g ย 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,ย 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 โ 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...
I forgot mine was a bit runny too but we took most of the excess liquid out and put this into sauce jars and use on and in absolutely everything.
Made this last year and can’t wait to make some more this. I live in UK and have been told that you cannot buy Green tomatoes, is this true? I am growing my own but I would love to be able to make more as I have limited space for growing the fruit.
If any one can help I would be most grateful.
Hello Pam
Just wanted to say thank you very, very much. It’s a brilliant tasting recipe and very easy to make even though the red onions made me cry a lot!
I am now going to try making the same recipe with 250g of apples. I also made it without the cardamons as I didn’t have any and it still tastes great. I will be omitting the salt though completely.
Thank you very much once again and I’m going to be cheeky and ask if you have any other recipes.
Best regards,
Rosemary.
I made this with 250g of red tomatoes and 250g of plums instead of 500g of tomatoes and it was better than the real thing!
My daughter has just tipped over all the brown sugar !!! Can I use white as shops are so far from my house?.
Hi I am about to give this recipe a try, fingers crossed that it will work out lol, I have bought vinegar ready but it says ok for pickling even though it’s a malt, can I still use this?
Also made my first Damson jam from recipe on here and that is amazing, a little sharper than shop bought ones but tastes great.
Hi my daughter loves chutney but not with sultanas in, can I just leave them out?
@Patricia Melton:
Fabulous recipe, on my 6th kilo now, only alteration my partner detests cardamom, so I replaced with one of my favourites, crushed coriander seeds, results great, not tried green tomato chutney before but this year in UK nothing has ripened properly ie capsicums, chillies, courgettes, tomatoes, aubergines and all the fruits fell from the olive trees…oh dear !
Best wishes to you
Simon
Hi, this sounds just what I am looking for to use up all the tomatoes that haven’t had the time or sunshine to get ripe! I was wondering if I could take out the sultanas and how this would affect the recipe?
Thanks, Natalie
How many 1-lb jars would this quantity of ingredients fill? I want to make some for presents. Pat
Pam
We are loving your recipe and feel the salt content is JUST PERFECT.We agree that a heavy bottomed pan is really beneficial and as for man with undecisiveness about lump size there are places you can go to get them checked out!
V and D
Hi,
We made this yesterday and it tastes delicious. At the end we did find it a bit too strong on the vinegar note so added an extra tablespoon of sugar which did the trick – though I do know it will also mellow with time. Think I will try using cider vinegar next time also or a mix of cider & malt.
Hi I live in Greece. Never seen Malt vinegar here, only red and white wine vinegar 6% is this okay for chutney recipes. Kath
Yes they will be fine. For a green tomato chutney I’d use white wine vinegar.
@Patricia Melton: try adding 2 teaspoons medium strength curry powder and one teaspoon mixed spice per kilo of tomatoes; it’s a long-term family favourite, and improves after 12 months’ storage. (some hope!) Unfortunately I lost my entire crop of tomatoes this year with blight. Do you know of a reliable source in surrey where I could buy some?
Please do you have any tips re sterilization of the jars??
Great green tomato chutney recipe… made it with the young children at school. L0vely and easy and very tasty. Hope the parents buy it when we have our stall.
Thanks for the recipe, new to this kind of thing took on an Allotment in Naas Co Kildare Ireland this year and am having a ball, came across this site and will def pass onto my friends. I made the Tomato Chutney with Green and red cherry tomatoes, yum. Can you freeze once you have put in pots?? or how long will it last in containers in the fridge?? or can you just store in cuboard??
Regards
David
This chutney is delicious! I had about 1kg of green tomatoes – thanks to our English weather. I used 500g in this recipe and made 5 200g jars of the most delicious chutney! There was a tiny bit left over. Luckily I’d made some bread this morning so I had a little taste test with some cheddar. Gorgeous. I know most recipes say you should let chutney and pickles mellow for 3 months or so – this one is fab already so it should be knockout by Christmas. Thanks for this recipe! (Sept 2011)
On a visit to my son and daughter in laws they gave me a jar of chutney made from your recipe. Wow! I have tasted lots of chutney over the years and attempted some myself but this one is fantastic. I will be grabbing some brown sugar tomorrow and making use of loads of toms from my greenhouse, and will be filling every spare jar in the house.(may add a couple of Chilli’s to a jar or two) Thanks for Recipe. Everyone should try this.(Sept 18th)
Lots of green tomatoes so will use your recipe. Never made chutney before. How many jars do I need for this quantity?
Thanks for excellent recipe. I have tweeted it. @tessread.
Best
Tess
Is it possible to make the green tomato chutney without the brown sugar.
I will be making it for someone who is a diabetic & would normally substitute
with sweetener,
Thanks
Helen
I have just tried this one, smells lovely and very easy to do, no more worrys about all them green toms. I am having trouble finding jars as I have been doing all sorts of things, jam marmalade beetroots cider red wine. I love the fall, and I’m a man by the way.
Try using a little cornflower to thicken about 1 tbsp in a little water should do the trick
Can you let us have the recipe for adding chilli and paprika?
Sounds delicious ๐
I wondered if I could use apples instead of sultanas , I can’t stand them ?
Why not try dried apricots?
@Patricia Melton:
Hi Patricia,
If you like fruit Jam, but dont’want the mess, look for the Tefal jam maker. It makes small amounts of Jam and works well with frozen fruit. (I use 800g fruit, 1kg Jam sugar/preserve sugar and 200ml water on the traditional setting for 20 minutes). Great Jam every time, as good as any W.I produce.
Best wishes,
Mars
Wales, UK
Hi there I’ve never made green tomato chutney as this is my first batch of home grown tomatoes. Just a quick question, do I have to make it with sultanas or raisins? Just a few of my family members don’t like them and didn’t even touch the chutney I made and gave as pressies last year.
cheers look forward to hearing from you
jade
ashford kent
@Jane Atkinson: I have made this chutney recently and like you find it a bit powerful, although I did follow the recipe exactly. Did you find a way of softening the flavour?
I used the right quantities, but found it too salty. Is it just me?
Otherwise great cooks down to a gorgious gloop and tastes great (less the saltyness).
I adjusted the recipe….500g green toms 500g red onions 250g brown sugar 1 tbsp salt 500ml malt vinigar 1 apple, 2 tsp chilli flakes and I am very pleased with the result , I’ve just had a cheese and ham buttie with it and it was yummy, can’t see it lasting long though ๐
Hi, is there anything I could replace the sultana’s with. They are not a big favourite in our house.
Thanks ๐
@joe: sausages, cold meats beef lamb chicken etc, great for Boxing day lunch. Even in sandwiches or a ploughmans
@Harry Eales: It’s cornflour Harry old chap, not cornflower; OK?
Wonderful recipe !!
I live in France and all my French neighbours love this with Fois gras
Have tweeked the recipe a bit though as I hate Cardomon, so have substituted with Fresh Grated Ginger, amount ? its up to you.
I am having a go at making the green tomato chutney, but do not have any cayenne pepper. Would it be ok to use ground black pepper instead?
This recipe is absolutely delicious! It didn’t last long in our house.
s@Val: I found this incredibly salty and had to throw the mix away, don’t know why it’s so bad but will attempt it again with much less salt. I may leave salt until all other flavours are incorporated and then salt to taste. It was a real shame because it looked and smelt lovely.
I couldn’t believe the amount of salt the recipe calls for, so I put less than half in and it’s still far too salty. I will make it again but will put no salt in at all – doesn’t need it.
Use tabasco@Sally:
NOM! Made this yesterday and it is fantastic tasting chutney. My only complaint is that I’m not going to have any more green tomatoes until next year. I doubled the recipe which made six jars, but I’ve already given three of them away, so we only have three left and we’re already half way through one of them. Never going to let my tomatoes grow ripe ever again!
BTW I did lessen the salt a little, but I do think it is all a matter of taste.
Thanks so much for the recipe it’s really yummy. My first ever attempt at making chutney has worked!!! Used all my unripe cherry tomatoes and made four small jars. I tarted the jars up with home made labels, used waxed paper gingham design rounds to cover the lids and secured them with raffia bows – very ‘Ambridge’. Luckily a friend gave me another 2 Kg of green tomatoes at cookery class on Thursday so I can make even more – Brill !! I was going to give them away as pressies but I think we’ll gobble it all up ourselves. Brilliant site – lots of great recipes – glad I found it.
@Sally:
Sally we used Paprika as we didn’t have any Cayenne either.
Jane
I didn’t have any malt vinegar so used white wine vinegar for the green tomatoes and red wine vinegar for the red and orange tomatoes. Made 2 batches. Hope it tastes ok lol it’s currently reducing. This is my first ever attempt and is forming part of my homemade christmas!’
@Patricia Melton:
I added a couple of teaspoons of mustard seeds, a couple of chopped hot chillis, a handful of chopped dried apricots and a good slug of cider that I had open, also a couple of chopped apples. It was lovely, going to make some more. Also didn’t use hardly any salt, just usual seasoning.
hi just picked the last of my toms so decided to make a chutney with the left over in my greenhouse liz
Hi – just about to try my first batch of this wonderful sounding chutney. Does it matter what type of brown sugar is used?
We read all the comments before making which was really useful! Used 1tsp salt for 1kg tomatoes which was fine as our taste for salt is generally for less. Also halved the volume of vinegar and just used a mix of what we had – cider and malt – and replaced about 200ml of vinegar (for double quantity recipe) with ale. Replaced half of sultanas with dates, added chillies (when we make this again I will therefore put less cayenne! we like it hot but plan to give as gifts), and also put some allspice. It still needed to reduce for longer than an hour despite reduced liquid, and I just mixed in a tsp of arrowroot with chutney and mixed it through at end as it was still a bit liquid. left it in jar for a week before trying – yum! Thanks to Pam and all for recipe and modifications!