Spiced Apple Chutney with Cranberries and Hot Honey

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Spiced Apple Chutney with Cranberries and Hot Honey This apple chutney brings together diced Honeycrisp apples, dried cranberries, brown sugar, hot honey, and a dry-toasted blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Everything cooks in one small saucepan, moving from a brief spice toasting step to a rolling boil and then a low, uncovered simmer.

As it cooks, the apples become tender and the cooking liquid reduces. The finished chutney is ready when that liquid has become a thick, glossy syrup that binds the apples, cranberries, onion, and seasonings together.

Garlic, finely diced onion, minced fresh ginger, apple cider vinegar, water, and salt join the apples and sweet ingredients after the spices are toasted. Once the chutney has finished simmering, it needs to cool completely before serving.

Ingredients You'll Need

Start with two Honeycrisp apples, peeled and cored, then diced into 1/2-inch pieces. Keeping the apple pieces at this specified size prepares them for the same saucepan cooking stage as the cranberries and the remaining chutney ingredients.

Dried cranberries add to the apple mixture along with 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1 tablespoon hot honey. The brown sugar is stirred into the saucepan with the other ingredients until it dissolves.

The spice mixture is toasted first, before anything else is added to the pan. It consists of 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg, and a tiny pinch of ground cloves.

The remaining ingredients are 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons water, 1/4 cup finely diced onion, 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger, and 1/8 teaspoon salt. These all go directly into the saucepan with the apples, cranberries, sugars, and toasted spices.

Because the recipe moves quickly from toasting to combining, have the apples peeled, cored, and diced and the onion, garlic, and ginger prepared before beginning. The full ingredient mixture is added at once after the spice toasting step, while the saucepan is briefly off the heat.

How To Make It

This chutney is made in a small saucepan. Begin by toasting the dry spices over medium-low heat, then add the full ingredient list, bring the mixture to a rolling boil, and immediately lower the heat for the uncovered simmer.

The simmering stage takes 25 to 35 minutes and is where the apples become tender and the liquid reduces. Stir occasionally during that time, then remove the saucepan from the heat and cool the chutney completely before serving.

Toast the spices

Place a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Keep the pan dry, with no oil or water added for this step.

Add the ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and tiny pinch of ground cloves to the dry saucepan. Swirl the spices continuously for 30 to 60 seconds, until they are highly aromatic.

This is a short, active step, so continue swirling rather than leaving the spices still in the pan. Once the spices are aromatic, turn off the heat for a moment before proceeding with the remaining ingredients.

Combine everything

Add all of the remaining ingredients directly to the saucepan with the toasted spices. This includes the diced Honeycrisp apples, dried cranberries, brown sugar, hot honey, minced garlic, apple cider vinegar, water, finely diced onion, minced fresh ginger, and salt.

Give the mixture a thorough stir to dissolve the brown sugar. At this point, the toasted spices are distributed through the complete apple, cranberry, onion, vinegar, and honey mixture in the same saucepan.

There is no separate cooking stage for the apples, onion, garlic, or ginger before they are combined. Once everything has been stirred together and the sugar has dissolved, the saucepan is ready to return to the heat.

Bring to a boil

Turn the heat up to medium-high. Bring the entire mixture to a rolling boil.

After the mixture reaches a rolling boil, move immediately to the simmering stage. The recipe calls for lowering the heat right away rather than continuing to boil the chutney.

Simmer and thicken

Immediately reduce the heat to low and leave the saucepan uncovered. Simmer the chutney for 25 to 35 minutes, stirring occasionally as it cooks.

Use both the apples and the reduced liquid to determine when this stage is complete. The apples should be tender, and the liquid should have reduced into a thick, glossy syrup that binds the chutney together.

The uncovered simmer is the stage that transforms the combined ingredients from a looser mixture into the finished chutney. Continue cooking within the stated 25-to-35-minute range until the tender apples and thick, glossy syrup reach the specified finish.

Cool

Remove the saucepan from the heat once the apples are tender and the reduced liquid binds the chutney together. Let the chutney cool completely before serving.

Cooling is the final step in the recipe. Serve only after the chutney has cooled completely.

Wrapping Up

This chutney follows a clear sequence: toast the cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in a dry saucepan; stir in the remaining ingredients; bring everything to a rolling boil; then simmer uncovered on low. The finished result is defined by tender apples and a thick, glossy reduced syrup. After removing the saucepan from the heat, allow the chutney to cool completely before serving.

Recipe created by Xena’s Kitchen for Trust Me Try It.

Spiced Apple Chutney with Cranberries and Hot Honey

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 2 Honeycrisp apples peeled, cored, and diced into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon hot honey
• 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/4 cup onion finely diced
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger minced
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Spices to toast:
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• A tiny pinch of ground cloves

Instructions

• Toast the spices: Place your small saucepan over medium-low heat with a dry pan (no oil or water). Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Swirl them continuously for 30 to 60 seconds until highly aromatic.
• Combine everything: Turn off the heat for a moment. Add all remaining ingredients straight into the pot with the toasted spices: the diced Honeycrisp apples, dried cranberries, brown sugar, hot honey, minced garlic, apple cider vinegar, water, diced onion, minced ginger, and salt. Give it a thorough stir to dissolve the sugar.
• Bring to a boil: Turn the heat up to medium-high and bring the entire mixture to a rolling boil.
• Simmer and thicken: Immediately reduce the heat to low. Let it simmer uncovered for 25-35 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cook until the apples are tender and the liquid has reduced into a thick, glossy syrup that binds the chutney together.
• Cool: Remove from heat and let it cool completely before serving.