This easy-to-make Spicy Baby Tomato & Sweet Pepper Chutney dances on the tongue with notes of sweet, sour, and spice. You’ll want to eat this chutney straight out of the jar it’s so good!
If you’re lucky enough to have green fingers and grow your own tomatoes, then you’ll know that preserving them is the best way to enjoy your crop all year round!
I’m quite new to tomato growing so have yet to harvest mine but they’re doing really well for a change. I made this chutney when I came across some bargain mixed tomatoes and sweet mini-peppers.
Where does Chutney originate from?
Chutney (chatni) originates from the Indian subcontinent where they take the form of freshly made sauces to accompany a meal eg yogurt-based cucumber and mint raita, tomato relish, etc.
Along the way, sugar (jaggary) was added to tart fruits in Indian chutneys. Eventually, chutneys got anglicised with the addition of brown sugar and vinegar in order to preserve them for long storage eg Mango Chutney.
What’s in Spicy Baby Tomato & Sweet Pepper Chutney?
I adapted my Mixed Tomato Chutney recipe which was based on a Nigel Slater recipe.
So along with the mixed baby tomatoes, red onions, mustard seeds, garlic, salt, and Muscovado sugar, I added sweet mini peppers, chilli flakes, ground ginger, cider vinegar, and currants.
You might wonder why currants and not sultanas. Well, they’re what I had and they went very well!
However, if you prefer sultanas, raisins, or any other dried fruit, then feel free to use those!
Serving Suggestions for Spicy Baby Tomato & Sweet Pepper Chutney
This tomato chutney is perfect with cheese, cold meats, sandwiches, burgers, stirred into casseroles, or just straight out of the jar.
Believe me, you’ll be inventing excuses to eat this delicious chutney.
How soon can you eat Spicy Baby Tomato & Sweet Pepper Chutney after making it?
Often chutneys need to mature for a couple of months before they’re at their best but this chutney is so delicious you can eat it straight away!
Just wait for it to cool though!
How long will this tomato and pepper chutney keep and how should it be stored?
To enjoy this chutney it’s best I would advise keeping it in a cool, dry, dark place and eating it within 12 months. Once opened it should be kept in the fridge and eaten within 4 weeks.
Although it will be a miracle if you have any left after a week!
What sort of pan should you make chutney in?
A large stainless steel or enameled pan should be used as the vinegar won’t react with these, keeping the flavour at its best.
More Chutney Recipes
Once you’ve tried my tomato & pepper chutney you should check out these chutney recipes:
- Mixed Tomato Chutney
- Easy Green Tomato Chutney
- Easy Spicy Mango Chutney
- Spicy Courgette & Apple Chutney
- Blackberry Chutney
- Spiced Rhubarb Chutney
- Homemade Fruity Chutney
- Spiced Apple Chutney
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Leave a comment and rating below when you’ve made this recipe; I love getting your feedback! You can also share your pictures by tagging @FabFood4All over on Instagram.
Spicy Baby Tomato & Sweet Pepper Chutney
Equipment
- 1 Digital scales
- 1 Chopping Board
- 1 Sharp knife
- 1 Set of measuring spoons
- 1 preserving pan or similar
- 1 long wooden spoon
- 1 ladle
- 1 jam funnel optional
- 3 preserve jars and lids
Ingredients
- 750 g mixed baby tomatoes (red, orange & yellow) halved, leaving a few of the smaller ones whole
- 175 g mixed sweet mini (bell) peppers (red, orange & yellow) diced
- 350 g red onions chopped
- 1 tsp sea salt flakes
- 2 tsp mustards seeds
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp crushed chillies flakes, more if you wish
- 2 garlic cloves finely sliced
- 300 ml apple cider vinegar I used organic
- 90 g currants or sultanas
- 225 g light muscovado sugar
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to a preserving pan except the tomatoes.
- Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer for 25 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the tomatoes and simmer for a further 35 minutes, still stirring. (The chutney will go syrupy and part easily when a wooden spoon is dragged through it).
- Ladle into the hot jars and seal with lids.
- Makes about 800 mls (2 – 3 jars).
Video
Notes
Sterilise jars by washing in hot soapy water (or take straight from dishwasher), fill with boiling water, empty and then place in oven for 20 minutes at 140°C where you leave them until the chutney is ready. Washed lids should be sterilised with boiling water and then left to drain (if they don’t dry in time I pop them in the oven once the jars have finished “cooking” and just run the fan to dry them off for a few minutes).
julia goodall
Just making my second batch. It’s amazing.i sold some at an Autumn charity morning. It looks tastes as good as it looks.
Camilla
Hi Julia, that’s so good to hear. So pleased you like the recipe as much as I do:-)
Joanne
Absolutely divine!!!! I made this chutney yesterday and it was so easy. I followed the recipe but I did take the skins off the tomatoes – I soaked the tomatoes in boiling water for about 20 minutes or so, quite easy to do, just a little time consuming but well worth it. I would up the chilli flakes to 1 tsp next time, give it a little more fire My chutney is their jars, with Christmas decorations on, ready for gifting, looks fantastic
Camilla
Awesome Joanne, so glad you like the recipe and can make further tweaks to make it to your taste:-)
Faith
Thank You So Much! This is absolutely awesome! I just finished up and I was tasting & sampling, through out the process. I made something similar to this a few years back but could never locate that recipe again. Well, after making this one I’ll no longer look for that previous one nor will I search for a new one. This recipe is a keeper! I had to convert the metric measurements but I had a scale that helped and there are so many apps that one could use if they don’t have a food scale. I didn’t have muscovado so I substituted that with dark brown sugar. I used quarter pint sized jars (4 ounce size) and this filled 8 of them. Again, thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Camilla
Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback Faith, so very happy that you love this chutney:-)
Suzanne
This looks so good! What a great way to eat garden produce!
Camilla
Thanks Suzanne, do let me know if you try it:-)
Jane
Have made this so many times… I love it, I will be making a batch tomorrow to take to friends. The recipe is clear and perfect to me, and thank you for it.
Camilla
Awesome Jane, so glad you like the recipe:-)
Rev
Can someone here can convert measurements to U.S. pounds, cups etc. please?
Camilla
Hi Rev, I would love to help but you cannot accurately convert a weight to a volume measurement and I’m not here to give out false information which could lead to recipe failure. For $1.99 you can buy digital scales that do grams and ounces from Amazon, I highly recommend you buy a set which will enable you to make preserves and bakes accurately from non US sites.
Julie
Looking forward to trying this in summer. (I’m in Australia). Do you think it would work with chopped up full size tomatoes? Would the recipe have to be altered?
Camilla
Cherry tomatoes tend to be quite sweet so the flavour will be a bit different, I’d just use vine ripened tomatoes in that case chopped to a similar size.
Gwen
Do you wAter bath this recipe? If so how longer??
Camilla
Hi Gwen, no water bathing isn’t something we do for jam and chutney in the UK but if you wish to, I’d follow the jar manufacturers guidelines.
Breezy Winkle
Can you explain what you do in the UK if you don’t do a water bath? Do you put it in a hot jar with a hot lid and screw down the ring and let it seal as it cools? I have done this with marmalade and juices.
Camilla
Yes Breezy, it’s the same principle. As the jar cools a vacuum is formed which seals the jar. Although the lid does not need to be hot, it soon heats up with the steam from the hot chutney.
Judy
I have made two batches of this chutney this week. The first batch I made pretty much exactly to the recipe but three times the quantity. I was so impressed I have just made another batch – this times x 4! The second batch I substituted quite a few of the ingredients but kept the ratio the same – once again it turned out beautifully.
Camilla
Awesome Judy, so pleased you love the recipe and that you made it your own too:-)
Jane
Can I skip the dried fruit as I don’t like it in a chutney
Camilla
Having never made this recipe without the dried fruit I couldn’t say. Could you perhaps puree/blend it so that it isn’t noticeable but still adds to the flavour? I never ate figs as a child but I loved Fig Rolls.
Michele
Where do I store the jars and how long does the chutney last,
Thanks
Michele
Camilla
Hi Michele, store the jars in a cool, dark, dry place – I keep mine in a cupboard in my garage, my grandmother kept hers in her cellar. Once open, store in the fridge where it will last at least 2 months.
Jessica
This came out amazing! I was worried to make it after a different chutney recipe didn’t come out to well, but this one was awesome. I didn’t have currants and so substituted raisins instead and it worked great. I also used light brown sugar instead. I fed a family of nine this with other dishes and it was a hit. I didn’t have any canning jars so I’m hoping to eat it on everything as much as possible before it goes bad. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Camilla
Awesome Jessica, so glad you liked the recipe and adapted to what you had. Perhaps you could start saving a few jam jars for your next chutney:-)
Natalya Harris
Instead of canning could one freeze?
Camilla
Hi Natalya, this recipe isn’t canned, which I take to mean giving it a water bath. Just make it as per the instructions for a shelf stable chutney. I certainly wouldn’t freeze it.
Helen
These small tomatoes are expensive in my area. Can I use something else? No thickener? Can I put some flour in to thicken it?
Camilla
Hi Helen, you could use larger tomatoes cut to the size of baby tomatoes but be sure to pick ones full of flavour, a bland tasting tomato just won’t do. As for flour, that has no place in a chutney, the chutney thickens as you cook it due to the evaporation of moisture.
Lucienne Turner
Do you seal the jars while it’s still hot? I’m preparing the ingredients to do it this morning.
Camilla
Hi Lucienne, yes you always seal jars whilst hot in order to form a vacuum/seal.
Lucienne Turner
Thanks a lot. It was my first time doing this and everyone loves it.
Camilla
Awesome Lucienne, so glad it went down well with everyone:-)
Lisa | Handmade in Israel
I made this last night! Chutney isn’t readily available in the supermarkets here and my supply ran out. I found your recipe and had a go. It is so delicious. I won’t be buying ever again!
Camilla
So pleased you like it Lisa, can’t wait for tomato season to start again here:-)
Marie Mitchell
I have made the sweet pepper chutney and it has been a wonderful success !
I I have varied it by adding some sweet apples , pears and cinnamon .
All in all a wonderful recipe . !
Thank you so much !!
Camilla
Excellent Marie, great to add your own twist, sounds delicious:-)
Amanda
This recipe looks amazing! I have a glut of tomatoes that stayed orange, quite hard and just would not ripen, do you think I could use these successfully?
Camilla
Hi Amanda, I made this chutney yesterday with about a quarter of my green/orange tomatoes mixed in with red, orange and yellow ones. I would add some ripe ones to the mix too as I’m not sure what the flavour would be like using just under-ripe tomatoes. Or you could be brave and just use what you have and let me know how it goes. Just cook them from the get go like the green tomatoes in the recipe.
Darlene
OM Camilla, I neglected to give you a 5 star on my previous comment.
Sorry …..here is 5 for you. 🙂
Camilla
Aaw, that’s so kind Darlene:-)
Darlene
Hello Camilla, OM Goodness, I have this on the stove right now, it is delicious. Love the spice in it. I just wish I had doubled the recipe. Have to make another one after this batch. We are over run with tomatoes of all sizes this year. Thanks so much for this recipe.
Darlene
Nova Scotia
Canada
Camilla
Thank you so much Darlene, so glad you like the recipe over in Canada:-) I too have had a bumper tomato harvest from all my self seeded tomatoes that I wasn’t intending to grow this year!
Mette
Hi Camilla. Just made this – I added some of my Padron peppers too as I have many in the green house at the moment. The chutney is so delicious and recipe very easy – thank you for being such an inspiration!
Camilla
Aaw, thank you so much Mette, enjoy your chutney:-)
Debra Grove
It sounds fabulous. Being Canadian, I don’t even own a kitchen scale, and use volume measurements with a measuring cup. Frustrating.
Camilla
Hi Debra, I’m afraid you can’t accurately convert a weight to a volume. Do invest in a set of digital scales, they’re not expensive and a whole new world of accurate baking, jam making etc will be opened up to you. In fact I had a lady from Canada thanking me for my weight measures the other day as she realised is was so accurate (yes it was first LOL).
Renu
I make chutneys, but in a different style. This sounds delicious with the vinegar and all the different seasoning ingredients in it. Would go perfect with crackers and cheese. Bookmarking this to try soon.
Camilla
Thank you Renu, I’m sure you’d love it:-)
Susan Alexander
I made this with part of the glut of tomatoes I currently have. I added a couple of teaspoons of grated fresh ginger instead of dry and it wasn’t until after I had added the apple cider vinegar I realised it had honey and ginger in it, so I added 100 mls of malt vinegar to make up the quantity. With our own homegrown chillies the end result was amazing, definitely the best best chutney recipe so far this year!!! Thank you
Camilla
So glad you like it Susan, thank you for your feedback:-)
Mayuri Patel
I make a variety of chutneys but most are of Indian style. This spicy baby tomato and sweet pepper chutney looks so tempting. I can imagine how well I’d be able to pair it with some plain rice, or with a cheese sandwich or even just roll it up on a roti and enjoy as a quick snack.
Camilla
Thanks Mayuri, they all sound like great serving suggestions:-)
Meghan
I’ve never actually made chutney before. This recipe looks so delicious and flavorful. I’ll definitely have to give it a try.
Camilla
Thanks Meghan, I’m sure you’ll love it, so easy and so delicious:-)
Em Simmonds
My husband made this last night, absolute hit. Really easy and he loves it x x thank you
Camilla
So glad to hear that Em, thank you for your feedback:-)
Mandy
What a delicious chutney – saving to make asap. Thanks for linking to my rhubarb chutney x
Camilla
Thank you Mandy, I’m sure you’ll love it:-)
Choclette
I do love a good homemade chutney. Bread and cheese just isn’t the same without it. I’ve not come across this combination before but it sounds delicious.
Camilla
Thanks Choclette, I’m sure you’d love it:-)