Rich and packed with amazing earthy, sweet and spicy flavours, this beetroot chutney is perfect with everything from roasts to curries, burgers to BBQ. Plus it’s perfect with a cheeseboard and Ploughman’s Lunch too.
Why you’ll love this chutney recipe
- This beetroot chutney is super easy to make, even if you have never tried preserving before.
- The flavour – my beet chuutney is sweet and sour and a wee bit spicy too, its a feast in a jar.
- Versatility – this is a chutney that goes with all sorts of dishes from a curry to a cheese toastie. You can serve it with roasts, with burgers and even add a little water to make it into a super easy salsa type dip!
If you have beetroot/beets growing in your garden then this beetroot chutney is a great way of using them. You can of course buy fresh beetroot in the supermarket.
If you see some on offer then have a go at this super easy chutney. I’m sure you’ll love it.
What is beetroot?
Beetroot (Beta vulgaris) are a root vegetable that go by other names too. In the USA and Canada they are known as beets. Beetroot is also sometimes known as dinner beet, table beet and red beet.
They come in different colours too, not just the standard red beetroot. You can get golden beetroot and even a pretty stripey beetroon with red and white rings inside.
Beetroot is good for you and packed with vitamins and minerals. Just check out this beetroot nutrition and info page for loads of amazing information on this great veggie.
My beetroot
We had a pretty decent crop of beetroot this year in the garden. Some things were an unmitigated disaster (let’s not even mention the carrots!) but the beets were good.
I’ve pickled them and roasted them and enjoyed them in everything from soup to salads. Now it’s time to turn them into beetroot chutney.
The complete list of ingredients and full instructions for making this recipe can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Ingredients for beetroot chutney
raw beetroot
oranges
apples
cider vinegar
brown sugar
onions and garlic
cinnamon, ginger, chilli and salt
How to make beetroot chutney
Wearing plastic gloves (a must or you will look like you have garotted a pig in the kitchen!) peel the beetroot and chop into pieces about 1cm in size
Grate the zest from the oranges and chop the flesh (discard the bitter white pith) and peel and chop the apples too
Chop the onions and mince the garlic
Chuck everything into a nice big pan and heat gently till the sugar has completely dissolved. Now simmer for about an hour till all the fruit is soft and your beetroot chutney has come together in a jammy consistancy.
Use a potato masher to break it all down if you wish. Remove the cinnamon stick and bay leaf.
Ladle into sterilised jars.
How do you know when chutney is ready?
When you drag a wooden spoon through the chutney and it leaves a clear trail on the bottom of the pan your chutney is done.
How long will this beetroot chutney keep?
This chutney will keep for 6 months or more in a cool dark place. Once opened store it in the fridge and use up within a month.
Please Note – We do not usually do water bath or other canning methods here in the UK. Our preserves keep perfectly well without this.
New to preserving? Then don’t panic, I can take you from zero to hero in no time at all.
Just check out these handy articles to get you heading in the right direction fast;
How to make great jam and marmalade
How to make chutney and relish
How to sterilise jars and bottles
Chutney making
Like all my chutney recipes this beet chutney is really easy to make.
Far easier than jam really. Afterall, you don’t have to keep checking for that elusive setting point. Chutney is ready when that spoon leaves a clear trail on the bottom of the pan.
Oh how I love simplicity on cooking, preserving and everything else in life!
How to serve this spiced beet chutney
I love this beetroot/beet chutney with simple salads like chicken.
On burgers and with anything from the BBQ.
Loosen it a little with water and serve this beetroot chutney as a salsa like dip with crisps/chips of veggies.
Serve this beet chutney with a cheeseboard or on top of a toasted cheese sandwich.
This recipe makes a great foodie gift, so why not check out my post on how to make Christmas hampers.
Looking for more fun and easy beetroot recipes? Then check these out before you go;
Simple beetroot and orange salad with feta
Super healthy beetroot and apple smoothie
Sardines with beetroot and blueberry salsa
Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.
Best Beetroot Chutney
Ingredients
- 1 kg beetroot
- 2 oranges
- 500 ml apple cider vinegar
- 400 g brown sugar
- 3 onions finely chopped
- 3 apples peeled and chopped
- 2 garlic garlic cloves crushed
- 1 tbsp salt
- 4 cloves
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
- 2 chillis chopped
Instructions
- Peel and chop them into small cubes about 1cm in size.
- Grate the zest off the orange and then take off the white pith and slice into the segments so you get the flesh without any of the membrane. Reserve any juice you can.
- Put all of the ingredients into a pan and heat slowly to dissolve sugar. Raise heat to boiling then lower to a simmer and cook for approximately an hour until all fruit is soft. Use a potato masher to break it down
- Remove bay leaf and cinnamon stick
- Spoon into sterilised jars and pop on the lids.
- Once opened it will keep for up to a month in the fridge
Can this be made without sugar? Or with a sugar substitute such as monk fruit?
Thanks .
Hi there, no you need sugar in a chutney. I don’t know what substitute you could use. This is just what I make. Sorry I can’t be of more help.
K
You don’t mention taking the bay leaf nor cinnamon sticks out in your beetroot chutney. Making it at the moment
Hi Suzanne
Yes you remove the bay leaf and cinnamon stick after cooking. as you wouldn’t be putting it into just one jar. I maybe should have mentioned that.
K
How much does this make si lll know how many jars and what size to sterilize
Hi Giselle
It makes over 1 kilo of chutney. So it depends on the sizes of jars you are using as to how many to sterilise.
K
Hi, is it possible to used canned beetroot as fresh beetroot can be quite expensive from where I live and not always available. Thanks
Hi Peter
I’ve never heard of canned beetroot here in UK so can’t help you there I’m afraid.
K
Could I can this to put on the shelf for longer?
Hi Trudie
Yes, you can. It’s just not something we normally do over here.
K
It is blooming delicious. I did change the recipe to 2 onions as mine were large, used molasses sugar as that was all I had and only used 1 chilli, which I now regret,
but the result is delicious! Thank you
Hi Kirsty
Thrilled to hear you liked the beetroot chutney so much.
K
Hi, I can have apples. Is there a substitute or can I add another beetroot or something else?
Thank you, Trina
Hi Trina
You could use pears instead or even miss out the fruit element entirely and just use more beetroot.
K
Do you need to process the jars in a hot water bath?
Thank you,
Estella
Hi Estella
Here in UK we do not do processing of jars and our chutneys keep perfectly well, so no instructions for canning.
K
I can apples, tomatoes here in the UK I love it as i always have fruit for pies and toms for soups or tomato sauce. However I’m going to go the chutney route to see how I get on.
Hi Marie
Hope you enjoy making chutneys.
K
I made your delicious chutney m last week and we are currently on our second jar!! DELICIOUS!!! As I only managed 7 jars from my first attempt I’m off to make more today. Thank you for the yummy recipe
Hi Marie
So glad you like this beetroot chutney so much and are making more. Must say I make it myself every year and it always gets used up.
K
I have made 6 small jars and a little extra. Will be making this again. Really nice relish. Gave a jar to close friend and they luv it. Thankyou.
Hi Robyn
Glad you like the recipe so much.
K
I haven’t made it yet but the recipe reads delicious. What type of chili do you put in? In the states there are many different chilis.
Hi Jennifer
Just basic jalapeno chilli are fine for this. Hope you try the recipe.
K
This sounds delicious. Do you use raw beetroot straight from the garden or do you cook it before cubing it for the recipe?
Hi Dawn
It is fresh beetroot from the garden as shown in the photos. You peel and chop it first then cook as per instructions to make the chutney. Hope you try it.
K