We’re all about sauces around here! They’re such an easy way to add mega flavor to a meal. And this green chutney is one of our favorites!
What is Chutney?
Chutney is a spicy, flavorful condiment originating in India. It’s known for being full of micronutrients and aiding digestion. It can be made from a variety of fruits and vegetables and has since spread to many countries and taken on different forms. (source).
Our inspired version comes together in just 10 minutes with 6 ingredients and a small blender or food processor (a mortar and pestle would even work). You can find a more traditional recipe for green chutney here!
Chutney is SUPER easy to make: Simply add all the ingredients and blend.
Cilantro is the herb base and garlic and lime add zing. Salt and pepper add additional flavor. And sweetener rounds it all out.
Avocado is added optionally for creaminess — an addition we love and recommend. And lastly, just enough water is added so the chutney becomes a smooth and pourable sauce. Mmmmm.
We hope you LOVE this inspired take on green chutney! It’s:
Flavorful
Perfectly balanced
Quick & easy
Super green
& Very versatile!
It’s especially delicious on Indian-inspired dishes such as dosas, sweet potatoes, aloo tikki, pakoras, and cauliflower “steak”. We think it would also be great on roasted vegetables, tacos, and pretty much anything else you can dream up!
More Flavorful Sauces
- Gingery Lemon Tahini Sauce
- 5-Minute Liquid Gold Sauce (Oil-Free, Plant-Based)
- Easy Romesco Sauce (7 Ingredients!)
- Easy Chimichurri Sauce
- 1-Pot Spicy Mango Chutney
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
Easy Green Chutney
Ingredients
- 2 cups loosely packed fresh cilantro (~1 large bundle as recipe is written / some stems are okay)
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1/4 tsp each sea salt and black pepper
- 2 Tbsp lime juice (1 lime yields ~2 Tbsp or 30 ml)
- 1-2 tsp sweetener (maple syrup, agave nectar, or honey if not vegan)
- 2-3 Tbsp ripe avocado for extra creaminess
- Water to thin (~1/4 cup or 60 ml as recipe is written)
Instructions
- To prepare the chutney, add cilantro, garlic, salt and pepper, lime juice, sweetener, and avocado (starting with the smaller amount and working up for creamier texture) to a small blender or food processor (or use a mortar and pestle) and mix to combine.
- Add only enough water to encourage blending and make the sauce pourable. If it gets too thin, thicken with more avocado or cilantro. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, adding more garlic for spice/zing, salt to taste, sweetener for sweetness, or lime juice for acidity.
- Chutney will keep in the refrigerator up to 3 days or in the freezer up to 1 month. From frozen, let thaw in the refrigerator overnight before using. Try on Indian-inspired dishes such as our dosas, sweet potatoes, aloo tikki, pakoras, and cauliflower "steak"!
Megan says
I love this recipe and make it regularly with the curried socca from Amy Chaplin’s “At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen” book. It is an absolute crowd-pleaser, and easy to make. I often double it for potlucks. Great to have a healthy, flavorful dip to share!
We love Amy Chaplin and her cookbook! What a great idea to combine these two :) Thank you for sharing, Megan! xo
Terry says
Hi there, what is the dish that you are drizzling the chutney over? It looks like some kind of spiced chickpeas sitting on sweet potato skins?
Hi Terry, here’s the recipe for that: https://minimalistbaker.com/masala-chickpea-stuffed-sweet-potatoes/. Enjoy!
Meghna Antani says
Indian here (from Gujarat region if being picky). This is the authentic variant:
– clean cilantro (called coriander here in India) with stems (without roots)
– a handful of peanuts
– salt
– sugar
– lemon juice
– green chillies
Extras:
– garlic
– ginger
– cumin
– mint
– curry leaves
– coconut flesh
I don’t know how to explain it, we use soaked or dried lentil in place of groundnut at times.
ora says
This is addictive!
We’re so glad you enjoy it!
Michelle says
I love the sauce. It is absolutely delicious! I did not have enough cilantro so I used half parsley although I would have preferred cilantro. I did not have avocado so I replaced it with mayonnaise. It was absolutely delicious. Thank you for your wonderful recipes.
Wonderful! We’re so glad you enjoy our recipes, Michelle! Thank you for sharing! xo
Tiff says
Love this sauce ! Easy peasy and right up my alley. Only thing I disliked was adding the sweetener- glad I only used 1 tsp but next time I’ll omit completely. So good on your roasted cabbage and on fish tacos!
Thank you for sharing, Tiff! xoxo
Rachel Harad says
Loved this! It tastes like springtime! I made it as a topping for the cabbage shawarma and have put it on top of everything I’ve eaten since! So fresh and delicious!
Amazing! We’re so glad you enjoy it, Rachel. Thank you for sharing! xo
Peter says
Wife hates avocado. What substitute is there for this recipe?
Hi Peter, it won’t be quite as creamy, but you could omit it and use less water. Hope that helps!
minal says
green pepper.
here’s how I make it–and I make gift jars because people LOVE mine:
1 green pepper for every 2 bunches of cilantro.
lemon juice
sugar
salt
loads of unsalted peanuts…make the chutney THICK.
1 hot spicy pepper–as much as you can take.
Blend green pepper first, then add cilantro and hot pepper. Add lemon juice, salt and sugar to taste, lastly add peanuts.
SNL says
I enjoyed dairy free yoghurt – 20% coconut base (Koko original yoghurt to be precise). This also made the sauce freezable. I reduced the sweetener because DF yogs are too sweet as it is. I don’t chuck coconut in everything, so I would notice coconut flavour and I found the sauce versatile.
Thanks for sharing!
Kelsi says
I had everything on-hand except avocado so I decided to try a few tablespoons of cashews quickly soaked in hot water and blended the sauce up and turned out great! This is the first time I have made this so not sure how the cashews compare with avocado, but would make this again either way. Fresh, bright & flavorful!
Smart! We’re so glad it turned out well! Thank you for sharing, Kelsi!
M A says
Indian here. We use groundnuts instead
Alan says
Looks great, but could there be a substitute for the avocado as my wife is allergic to them?
Hi Alan, it won’t be quite as creamy, but you could omit it and use less water. Hope that helps!
Jennifer says
Absolutely love this sauce!!! It’s well balanced and delicious.
Yay! Thanks so much for the lovely review, Jennifer! xo
Sue Richardson says
I made this & was disappointed. The colour was an unappetising dark green & it needed more sweetener because of the rather bitter under taste of the cilantro. Could also do with less garlic – 1 clove is enough. Won’t make it again.
Hi Sue, sorry to hear that was your experience! It should be a vibrant green and not bitter- is it possible you used something other than cilantro?
Danielle says
Hi Sue 👋! I was wondering if you accidentally used flat leaf parsley? I have done that before and it is very bitter.😬 Hope this helped and you will retry the recipe again. 🙌
Nora says
This is so simple and delicious
Thanks for sharing, Nora! xo
Anne says
It was great on our salmon! My teenagers loved it!
Yay! Thanks for sharing, Anne!
Melanie says
I opened my email inbox to see this chutney recipe and boy was I excited! I just had some delicious cilantro chutney with samosas a few days ago and it stayed on my mind that I wanted to remake the chutney. So timely to come across yours–you’ve saved me the trouble of recipe searching!
Your version is slightly different with the avocado included but the taste is still on par. (I only needed 2 tbsp of water but those looking for subs could probably omit the avocado and do all water.) It was super simple with ingredients I basically always have on hand. Even less fuss than pesto. This is a super all-around sauce that I will definitely make again!
How timely! We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Melanie! Thanks so much for sharing!
AJ says
Hello! This looks delicious! What do you think would make a good sub for avocado?
Hi AJ, it won’t be quite as creamy, but you could omit it and use less water. Hope that helps!
AJ says
Thanks so much! I’ll give it a try or use a substitute and I’ll update here soon.
Jeny says
I really can’t stand cilantro (yep, I’m one of THOSE people), what could I substitute for it?
If this has already been asked, I apologize. 😊
Hi Jeny, we think mint could work. Let us know if you try it!
Rhonda says
TY! Jenny you’re one of my people. I was wondering what it would be like with arugula or many onion and garlic?? I’ll give it a try.
Love all of your recipes!
Loretta says
I’m one of those oddball folks whose taste buds don’t handle cilantro well. Any suggestions to use instead of cilantro?
Hi Loretta, we’d suggest mint. Let us know how you like it!
Meghna Antani says
Indian here. We’ve always used groundnuts
DebV says
I made this to go with the fish tacos and it is a good stand bye for a proper cilantro/coriander chutney which tends to be spicier. Loved the freshness of the cilantro and garlic but did not care for the sweetness of the maple syrup even though I only added 1 tsp. I think next time a jalapeno or red pepper flakes will be added to kick up the spice level.
Thanks for the feedback, Deb!
Andrew says
Is there a full recipe for the main picture, looks amazing?
Coming soon =)
Jeanne Monast says
how long will this last in a refrigerator?
~3 Days. For future reference, you can find this in the recipe box above the “ingredients” header. Hope that’s helpful!
Pooja says
Hey there, thank you for the recipe! I’m Indian and make variations of this chutney a lot, always with random measurements based on what I have on hand. I find adding half a Roma tomato increases the flavor, and I usually skip the sweetener.
Love the modifications! Thanks so much for sharing, Pooja!
Peggy says
Delicious! Perfect with my son’s serrano chicken!
We’re so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing, Peggy!
Jamey Walls says
This was the easiest, most delicious recipe! It’s always my favourite when ordering Indian food. Now I can make it at home! Thank you so much for sharing ☺️x
Yay! We’re so glad you enjoyed it, James! Thanks so much for the lovely review!
Lu says
Hello from Europe!
Can you tell me what cilantro is?
Is it watercress? Is it rocket salad?
What could be substituted instead of this?
Merci beaucoup!!
Hi Lu, cilantro is called coriander in some parts of the world. We think watercress and arugula/rocket would be too strong. Hope that helps!
Jo Noble says
I have made this and it is a standby except for a couple changes. The raw garlic is too strong for me. I use garlic powder instead. I also use a medjool date for sweetness.
Thanks for sharing, Jo!
Dhun says
I’m from India, we make it every week for meal prep. I like to add mint leaves in it as well for extra freshness and a deseeded chilly gives it that extra kick…
Thanks for sharing, Dhun!