A delicious sweet and savory Spiced Apple Chutney, simmered in apple cider vinegar and red wine until softened and chunky. This chutney is perfect for serving over pork chops or chicken breast!
Looking for more delicious toppings for your meals? Try our Eggplant Caponata or Marinated Eggplant and Onion!
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What is an Apple Chutney?
Apple chutney, or chutney in general is an Indian dish and it's somewhere between a relish and a jam. The texture really depends on the chef. Typically it's something spreadable. This spiced apple chutney falls under the chunkier variety and like most chutneys, it is heavily spiced.
This spiced apple chutney is the perfect combination of sweet and savory combining the sweetness of Envy apples with the savoriness of shallots and red wine. It's a great topping for dishes like Boneless Pork Chops, Cast Iron Chicken Breast, or Italian Chicken Cutlets.
It's especially great to spruce up leftover dishes because it adds a little extra something to a dish that becomes a little lackluster in the microwave.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Apples. I used Envy apples because I like the combination of sweet and spicy with crushed red pepper. Traditionally you could use a tart apple like granny smith apples.
- Shallots. You can substitute a medium onion but I prefer the mild flavor or shallots.
- Red Wine. I choose to use a bold wine for cooking this like cabernet sauvignon.
- Seasoning. For spiced apple chutney, I use cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice as the main seasonings but also add crushed red pepper and garlic powder. You could create variations using coriander or cumin.
*Please see the recipe card below for more information on ingredients.
How to Make Spiced Apple Chutney
Making chutney can mean a lot of different things. Every chutney isn't created equally.
Chopping the Apples: This version is chunkier so I chop the apples between ¼ inch and ¾ of an inch as shown below. The variety of sizes allows for a chunkier texture while also having a base of a jam texture.
Step 1: Add olive oil to the dutch oven over medium heat. Add the chopped shallots and apples to the pot. Saute for 5 minutes stirring often.
Step 2: Lower the heat to medium-low and stir in the seasonings. Saute for another 5 minutes until the apples begin to soften.
Step 3: Pour in the apple cider vinegar and red wine and bring to a simmer.
Step 4: Cover the pot and stir every 10-15 minutes for 50 minutes.
Step 5: Remove the cover and simmer for another 10 minutes, to allow the remaining liquid to absorb. Use the back of a wooden spoon to break up the apples.
Pro-Tips
- When you cover the pot, make sure to adjust the heat when stirring so that the liquid simmers and doesn't boil.
- I use the back of a wooden spoon to break up the apples but if you want it more pureed you can use an immersion blender to puree the apples.
Recipe FAQs
While eating it right off the spoon is my favorite option (although possibly frowned upon), apple chutney is best served over meals like Classic Pork Chop Milanese, grilled pork chops, or chicken breast. It can be delicious on fried eggplant or grilled portobello mushroom!
Chutney can be spicy but it doesn't have to be. Chutney comes from the East Indian word "chatni" which means strongly spiced. I use a bit of crushed red pepper in mine to get a little spice but it is certainly not spicy.
Variations to Spiced Apple Chutney
- You can substitute apples with oranges or other citrus fruit for an entirely different base!
- You can switch up the spices with a focus more on spicy, garlicky, or smoky with a paprika.
- Change the texture by using an immersion blender to blend the apples completely into a jam texture.
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📖 Recipe
Spiced Apple Chutney
Equipment
- 1 dutch oven
Ingredients
- 2 Apples, chopped
- 2-3 small shallots, chopped
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup red wine
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Add olive oil to the dutch oven over medium heat. Add the chopped shallots and apples to the pot. Saute for 5 minutes stirring often.
- Lower the heat to medium-low and stir in the seasonings. Saute for 5 minutes until the apples begin to soften.
- Pour in the apple cider vinegar and red wine and bring to a simmer. Cover the pot and stir every 10 minutes for 50 minutes. Remove the cover and simmer for another 10 minutes, to allow the remaining liquid to absorb. Use the back of a wooden spoon to break up the apples.
- Serve over chicken cutlets or pork chops.
Notes
- When you cover the pot, make sure to adjust the heat so that the liquid simmers and doesn't boil.
- I use the back of a wooden spoon to break up the apples but if you want it more pureed you can use an immersion blender to puree the apples.
Vinny
The perfect combo of sweet and savory and a delicious topping for our boneless pork chops!