Pineapple-Cranberry Chutney, with its sweet, tart and savory ingredients, compliments and balances the rich flavors of holiday dishes. It’s the perfect condiment for baked ham, roasted turkey or goose, brie en croûte, pâtés or served alongside cured meats and cheeses on a beautiful charcuterie board when entertaining.
Fruit chutneys are very versatile and are a wonderful condiment to serve alongside rich dishes especially during the holiday season. In this recipe, I used fresh pineapple and cranberries but feel free to use any combination of fresh or dried fruits to make the chutney your own. It will keep about a month in the refrigerator and can also be frozen for about 6 months. With easy to find ingredients, this is a condiment that should be on your “must try” list.

Pineapple-Cranberry Chutney
Makes about 1 quart, adjust the recipe accordingly.
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1/2 large red onion, finely diced
- 2 jalapeños, seeded and diced
- fresh pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into bitesize pieces (canned pineapple can be substituted)
- 1/2 c. golden raisins
- 1 Tbsp. freshly grated ginger
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 c. apple cider vinegar
- 1 c., dark brown sugar, packed (depending on how sweet pineapple is)
- 2 star anise
- 1 tsp. whole mustard seeds
- pinch of ground cloves
- pinch of salt
- a few grinds of black pepper
- 2 Tbsp. rum
- 1 c. water
- 1 12 oz. bag fresh cranberries (frozen can be substituted)
Heat oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and jalapeños and cook, stirring occasionally until translucent. Add the pineapple, raisins, ginger and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes. Take off the heat and add the vinegar, brown sugar, star anise, spices and rum and stir well. Return to the heat and simmer until pineapple is soft the the mixture has thickened about 30 to 45 minuets. Remove the star anise and add 1 cup of water and the cranberries and bring to a boil then reduce heat, cover and simmer until the cranberries burst and soften, about 10 minutes. The chutney will be slightly runny but thickens when cool. Place into a serving dish and refrigerate until ready to serve. Making it a couple of days ahead, will let the flavors meld.
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If you use frozen cranberries, there is no need to defrost them.
The chutney can be prepared a day of two in advance, as a matter of fact the flavors will improve.
This recipe can be doubled or tripled if you want to put the chutney into canning jars and process in a water bath or it can be frozen so that you can enjoy the flavorful condiment throughout the year. If stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, it will keep about a month.
Cook’s notes

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I made the Pineapple-Cranberry Chutney to go with a Honey Baked Ham at Thanksgiving and it was the perfect condiment. If you are thinking about having ham during the holidays, I think you would enjoy it as much as we did. Besides ham, the chutney makes a great side to serve with roast pork, turkey, goose or duck as well. Normally, my husband likes a jellied cranberry sauce, especially with turkey, but I’ve made him a convert with this recipe. After having it with the ham, corn casserole, savory whipped sweet potatoes and creamy fresh green beans and mushrooms, he also had it during the week with ham sandwiches on King’s Hawaiian rolls and as a condiment with fried pork schnitzel.
I just bought some raw milk cheese and would love some of this wonderful chutney to pair with them 🙂 Love its vibrant colour and holiday flavours!
Angie
http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com
Hi Angie, I’m glad you like the chutney and believe it would be delicious with the cheese. I’m envious of your accessibility to the raw milk cheese, I haven’t had any since our last trip to Europe.
I’ve never had pineapple chutney and this sounds wonderful. I must give it a try!
Hi Kay, I think the pineapple chutney is some of the best I’ve had. If you can’t find fresh pineapple, I believe canned will be good too.
This looks wonderful. Would be so nice with cheese too.
I agree with you Darlene, the chutney would be great with cheese. Thank you for your compliment.
That is a fun and unique combination. Great on a cheese board but can’t wait to try it on the side of a holiday ham too. Stay well and take care
Hi Bobbi, I have to say that the chutney was the perfect accompaniment for the ham we had. I also think that it would be great on a cheese board. Thank you for your wish and compliment.
Astonishing – what a brilliant combination!
Thank you so much Mad Dog for your lovely compliment about the chutney…it is much appreciated.
Sounds delicious….. I have always loved making my own cranberry sauce but this chutney sounds amazing… thanks. Wish I could trade with you some of the Honey sweetened Meyer Lemon Jelly I am making today!
That would indeed be a good trade Bishop. Thank you for your compliment, I’m glad you like the chutney, we think it is really delicious.
Sounds wonderfu Karen and I love the touch of rum!
Jenna
Hi Jenna, I agree with you about the rum. It is not much but it does add loads of flavor to the chutney.
I love the flavor combination Karen! Pineapple is so versatile in bringing out different flavors and I imagine this is a very tasty side dish to any holiday meal.
Hi Jan, This is one of the best chutneys I’ve had and I think the fresh pineapple was the reason. Thank you for your nice compliment.
Lovely holiday sauce that would go well with so many holiday meals.
I have to agree with you about the chutney Jovina. We have had it with several dishes and is makes a good accompaniment. Thank you for your nice compliment.
I plan on serving ham for Christmas and this chutney pairs so beautifully with it. The pineapple and jalapeno is a great addition with cranberries!
Thank you for your nice compliment Sandra. The chutney was perfect with the ham…I hope you will enjoy it.
I’ve combined cranberry with oranges and apples a lot, but never with pineapple. I will, though — this chutney looks terrific. Thanks!
Thank you for your nice compliment John, I believe that you will really enjoy the combination of pineapple and cranberry…we loved it.
Karen, I think your chutney would go with anything. I’m smoking a ham for little Christmas Eve and having been pondering what condiment would go well with fresh smoked ham. You have just provided me with the answer. I’ll be using lingonberries instead of cranberries as we have wild lingonberries we harvested this fall in the freezer. I’ll let you know how it goes…
I’m glad I could give you an idea for a condiment for your fresh smoked ham Ron. It should be terrific using lingonberries. We love the taste of lingonberries and always have a couple of jars of Felix Swedish lingonberry jam in our pantry to have with pork schnitzel.
What a lovely combination of flavors. I especially love the addition of the pineapple and the rum!
Thank you Dorothy, we thought that this was a winning combination of flavors that went nicely with the ham.
Such a tasty combination! 🙂
Thank you Ronit, I think the pineapple and cranberry combination in this chutney was a real winner.
Planning on trying it. 🙂
Enjoy! 😘
Your chutney looks perfect and jewel-like. I love chutneys served with meats – my family always had a “relish tray” on the table at Christmas and the New Year. It had chutney, corn relish, pickles (often watermelon rind), spiced apples, and homemade cheese. Your chutney takes me back – thanks!
Thank you David, I’m glad you like the chutney and that it brings back memories of Christmas with your family. My mother always put a relish tray in the table as well and one of my favorites were whole spiced peaches that she bought in a jar…I loved them.
This chutney looks delicious! Perfect for holiday entertaining Karen:))
Thank you for your nice compliment about the chutney Shy. I agree that it is a great item for holiday entertaining.
Well now… this sounds delish! And a touch of rum too! Bingo!
Happy Sunday my friend!
Hi Nancy, I’m glad you like the addition of a little rum, I think it works great with the fruit in the chutney. Thank you for your nice compliment.
I love the idea of the sweet tartness of pineapple and cranberry together.
Thank you Gary, I think the combination was a delicious one. 😊
the flavours here sounds wonderful karen. very similar to what i put in my chutneys:-) how delicious. pineapples grow here in queensland so we are lucky to have regional fruit! happy festive season..
Thank you for your compliment Sherry. Locally sourced fresh pineapple is delicious, come June we are able to buy it from a farm about 5 miles away from us.
This is a totally new but interesting idea for me. Though I do not celebrate Christmas and there will be little entertaining during this unfortunate year anyways . . . I can surely see many moreish ways for its usage. The difficulty will lie with cranberries which certainly are not a usual ingredient here . . . shall see whether they can be found in some shop freezer or substitute with some native berry perchance . . .
Hi Eha, there is no entertaining here as well this year. This chutney has gone well with several different weeknight meals that I’ve made over the past few weeks . I realize cranberries can be a challenge but you might indeed be able to find them frozen or as you say, substitute with another berry.
Karen, the chutney looks delicious and sounds so perfect anytime, but especially the holidays!
Hi Pam, You are correct about this chutney being good anytime, especially since frozen cranberries can be substituted when fresh aren’t available. Thank you for your lovely compliment.
I can imagine this on the ham I will be preparing for Christmas eve
Hi Raymund, the chutney was great with the ham we had. I’ve also served it with pork schnitzel and chicken cutlets. Thank you, I hope you enjoy your Christmas Eve.
Karen – I love chutney, but have never made one. This one sounds perfect for the holidays, all those flavors together must be so amazing!
Hi Laura, If you enjoy chutney, I believe that you would really enjoy this one…we loved it. Thank you for your nice compliment.
We love chutney but usually just do with curry. This has made me see I could use this anywhere I’d use cranberry sauce (which is everywhere now!). Must try while the cranberries are everywhere!
Hi Inger, I’ve served the pineapple and cranberry chutney with several different entrees and it was delicious. I’m glad you like the sound of the recipe and hope you will enjoy it if you try it. Thank you!
I think my husband would enjoy this also. As well as the ham…because i never make it!
If your husband is like mine Abbe, I too think he would enjoy the chutney…thank you.
Sweet, sour, spicy, a beautiful and festive combination. And the pineapple will help digest the proteins.
Hi Eva, the pineapple is a real plus in the chutney…thank you.
Karen, what a wonderful chutney! I’ve never made one with pineapple, but it would be especially wonderful with ham. And I was just looking at my mustard seeds the other day and wondering what else I could do with them.
Thank you! You gave me a smile Jean, first because of your compliment and then about the mustard seeds. You are right, they are an underused ingredient that I will be using more now that I have a fresh supply. 😁
What an inventive recipe! .All those spices.💖 I do like the jalapeños .💖 Nice touch!
Thank you Eva, for your lovely compliment…I’m glad you like how I’ve seasoned the chutney.
I have pineapple that I am waiting to ripen for your cranberry sauce recipe this Christmas dinner! 🙂
So flavorful! And I have a half bag of cranberries in the fridge just waiting for a new recipe! Have a wonderful weekend.
Thank you Liz, I’m glad you like the recipe for the chutney.
I’ve never thought of pairing pineapple with cranberry, but I’ll bet it’s a lovelyk combination.
Thank you Jeff, I believe the pineapple really makes this chutney a winner.
Cranberry Sauce is one of my favorite dish when it comes to Thanksgiving dinner. This version looks heavenly! Definitely something new to try.
Thank You Rahul, I hope you will enjoy the chutney if you get a chance to make it. I appreciate your nice compliment.
This looks fantastic! I love the pineapple and cranberry combination. I didn’t realize all the delicious ways you can serve it.
What a novel idea to pair cranberry with pineapple in a lively chutney like this. The sweet-tart nature of each plays off one another so well. And paired with ham, it would definitely be a winner.