12 Best Substitutes For Mango Chutney You Need To Try

Best Substitutes For Mango Chutney

Mango chutney, with its tangy and sweet taste, can elevate any normal dish and bring it to a gourmet level. Be it for desserts or pairing it with chicken, meat, or pork, mango chutney wins it all!

But what about the times when you cannot find this delicacy? Or, what should the people who are allergic to mango chutney use? Well, they can try one of the many substitutes for mango chutneys, like apricot jam and peach chutney, to recreate the taste.

If you want to know more about it, read along as we shall discuss the best alternatives so that you can choose the best one for your dish!

What is Mango Chutney?

What is mango chutney

Mango chutney is an excellent Indian sauce that is generally made of mango, spices, and vegetables.

You will love its mixed flavor of sweetness and tanginess. All the ingredients are cooked so well on a low simmer until it gets thicker. You can have it in both sweet and savory meals.

Which cuisine can I use Mango Chutney with?

You can serve mango chutney with your favorite chicken, lamb, or pork curry. Try this chutney with roasted chicken or duck meat. I am sure you will love it.

As mango chutney is sweet and tangy, many people like to eat it with cheese as well. You can try brie or cream cheese with it as well.

If you are a sandwich lover, try adding some chutney as spread in a chicken salad sandwich or simply make a grilled cheese mango chutney sandwich.

Don’t worry if you don’t like sandwiches. You can try chutney with tortilla cups as a dip. Or, simply coat fries with the chutney, or just serve them with crackers.

Moreover, a dash of mango chutney on roasted fish will also give new flavor to the dish, and next time, you will always have roasted fish with mango chutney only.

Some Tasty Mango Chutney Substitutes

If you don’t have mango chutney at home, don’t worry. You can try other alternatives as well. It may taste like this. However, I am sure you will love the listed below substitute.

1. Apricot Jam

Apricot Jam

You can swap mango chutney with apricot jam. This golden-orange skin fruit jam has tangy-sweet flesh that tastes like a mix of plum and peach and can work as the best mango chutney substitute because it has both sourness and sweetness.

If you have apricot jam at home, you can use it with roasted chicken or with dessert as well. But, in case you don’t have apricot jam but have apricots in your fridge, you can make a quick jam at home.

Are you wondering how to make it?

Just chill! We will share a very interesting recipe with you.

So, to make the jam, you have to simply combine the lemon juice and apricots in a bowl. Then add sugar and cook it.

Stir it until the mixture boils, and the jam consistency is nearly thick like a slurry (25 minutes will be okay). Then cool it down, and it is ready to use. Easy, isn’t it?

2. Peach Chutney

Peach Chutney

You can also try peach chutney. It tastes similar to mango. Try using either chutney or jam. Both work the same.

The delicate floral sweetness of peach chutney can compensate with mango chutney. It has both sweetish and tangy flavors. Plus, it is easily available at the grocery store.

If you don’t like to store peach jam, you can prepare it at home. And the good thing is you can add a few more things and adjust their taste as per your taste requirement.

To make peach chutney, you have to add peaches, small red onions, ginger-garlic paste, white vinegar, and even sweet chili sauce to get the right flavor.

Cook till it becomes a thick slurry, and then you can store it and use it with your cuisine.

3. Apricot Preserve

Apricot Preserve

Just like apricot jam, you can also try apricot preserve. As you know, peaches taste similar to mango. It can be used as mango chutney too.

Now, you must be wondering what is the difference between apricot jam and preserve, right?

Both are similar, but the only difference is that the apricot preserve does not use the fruit puree. It is prepared with fruit chunks instead.

So, be it apricot preserve or jam, you can try both with a fish or chicken sandwich.

4. Cooked Cranberries with Some Lemon Juice

Cooked Cranberries

Just like mango, cranberries are also used to prepare many savory and sweet dishes. Thus, it can work as a great replacement for mango chutney.

However, cranberries are tarter than mangoes, so when you are using cranberries instead of mango chutney, you can add a little sugar or honey and lemon juice to it to adjust the flavor according to mango chutney. It will make cranberries as sweet as mango.

If you like some additional flavoring, then you can also add some red chili, chopped ginger, garlic, mustard, and your favorite herbs while preparing the cranberry sauce.

In combination with meat dishes containing a lot of salt, cranberries work well. It can balance out its sweetness without being too sweet.

5. Fig Jam

Fig Jam

You might be thinking about how fig jam can work as a substitute for mango chutney, right?

Well, that’s true. Fig jam is sweeter than mangoes. But, here is what you can do to use it as an alternative.

You can add some lemon juice to it. The taste may vary according to the age and type of fig, so you have to check it while preparing fig jam, and then you can add more sugar as per your taste preference.

Although fig jam is not so popular and it is also expensive, it is best that you prepare fig jam in your kitchen.

Then you can use this homemade jam in your gravy, curry, or with baked chicken slices.

6. Green Mango Chutney

If you are not fond of sweet mango chutney, you can also try your hands on unripe green mango chutney. It tastes best with steak.

Green mango chutney is similar to mango chutney, except it is sourer than ripe mango and is firmer.

So, you can put your favorite herbs and spices to enhance the flavor in green chutney.

7. Melon Chutney

Melon Chutney

You may not be expecting melon chutney here, but it also works as an excellent replacement for mango chutney.

To prepare melon chutney in your kitchen, you will need honeydew or cantaloupe, vinegar, onions, red chile, cinnamon, sugar, and apples.

You can add some herbs to the chutney for a unique flavor too.

Then cook it together and wait till the consistency becomes thicker and smoother, like chutney.

And, it is done. Now you can include this in your tasty meal. Like, you can have it with red meat, cheese, crackers, and bacon too.

Note: Unlike mango chutney, melon chutney cooks down quickly, so it has a smoother inconsistency.

8. Nectarine

Nectarine Sauce

Talking about Nectarine, we can say it is a sibling of the peach fruit. It is smaller than a peach and has more sweetness.

You can use a nectarine sauce in exchange for mango chutney. It is infused with a sour and sweet flavor.

You can prepare the sauce in your kitchen. You just need to add a little lemon juice to the sauce while preparing it, as it’s sweeter than mango.

9. Apple Chutney

Apple Chutney

Have you tried apple chutney? Well, if you answered “no,” then I must say you should prepare apple chutney at home in place of mango chutney. It tastes delicious.

If you think that apples are so sweet that they don’t have any tangy flavor, then how can one replace mango chutney with apple chutney?

Well, you can use green apples to prepare the chutney. It has sourness and sweetness. It can balance the flavor and give you a similar taste to mango chutney.

You can also add ginger, cumin, lemon, and sugar to the sauce.

10. Sweet Chili Sauce

Sweet Chili Sauce

If you are looking for mango chutney while preparing the Coronation Chicken recipe, then this time, try adding red chili sauce. It will work charm and can become a nice substitute for mango chutney.

11. Sweet Papaya Chutney

Sweet Papaya Chutney

Try making papaya chutney at home if you don’t have mango chutney. It can work as a substitute.

You can add lemon or vinegar, whichever you like, and then add some sugar for some sweetness. Then use it with meat or fries.

12. Tamarind Chutney

Tamarind Chutney

Tamarind chutney can also give you a similar flavor to mango chutney; it has the perfect blend of sweetness and sourness.

While preparing tamarind chutney, you can add ginger, clove, mustard seeds, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper as per your requirement and heat it until the mustard seeds get softened.

How to Store Mango Chutney? 

If you want to avoid using any Mango chutney substitutes in the future, you can try storing them in the future.

But how?

The following tips can come in handy:

  • Place your jars in hot water for 4-5 minutes. Remove and clean them with a paper towel and fill the mango chutney. Once done, pop them in the refrigerator.
  • Grease the ice cubes with oil and fill them with mango chutney. Freeze them and use them whenever required.
  • Add jaggery to your mango chutney. This will help preserve the taste and freshness for a long period.

FAQs

Is Mango Pickle the same as mango chutney?

Mango pickle and mango chutney are not the same. While the pickle contains entire pieces of mangoes, the chutney is made with smaller pieces, generally mashed or grated.

What is the difference between chutney and jam?

While chutney and jam contain sugar, jam is considered to be sweeter, while chutney has hints of tanginess due to its acidic profile.

What is mango chutney used for?

Mango chutney can be added to dishes like pork chops, lamb chops, grilled chicken, etc. It works well with turkey burgers, grilled fish, tacos, etc. as well.

Well, that’s a wrap!

There are a plethora of food alternatives that we are unaware of. If you don’t have mango chutney on hand, you can easily make a substitute. Look for fruits that are both sweet and tart.

Mango chutney can be replaced with jams such as fig, peach, and apricot. Sweet papaya, tamarind, or melon chutney can also be made at home and used in place of mango chutney.

If you add a little lemon, herbs, honey, or sugar to jams, they’ll have a mango chutney-like flavor.

If you know any other alternative which is not on our list, do let us know in the comment sections.

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