Vegetarian Recipes

Onion Chutney

If there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s that I LOVE condiments—I always ask for extra on the side, and when it comes to this Onion Chutney, I ask for triple! Chutney comes in all kinds of forms and is often a flavorful blend of fruits or vegetables, spices, and something tangy or sweet, like vinegar and sugar, to balance it out. With its Indian roots, this chutney is packed with bold and vibrant flavors. The recipe I’m sharing here is for a no-cook onion chutney, and it really couldn’t be any easier to make. I love pairing it with samosas or curry, but it’s also a super budget-friendly way to liven up any leftovers in your fridge.

Easy Recipe for Onion Chutney

Onion chutney has deep roots in Indian cuisine, and it can be made in all kinds of ways depending on the region and who you ask. Some are cooked down low and slow for a caramelized depth (similar to our mango pineapple chutney) or served raw and punchy, like this version. What I’m sharing here isn’t a traditional family recipe but more in line with the restaurant-style chutneys you might get with papad (also called papadam or poppadom) at an Indian restaurant. It’s the perfect balance of sweet and tangy, and it’s surprisingly cheap, easy, and unique to make. Trust me, after one taste, you’ll be coming back for seconds!

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Onion Chutney Recipe

This easy Onion Chutney recipe is a no-cook, restaurant-style condiment that’s sweet, tangy, and full of flavor. Perfect with samosas, curries, or naan!

Step-by-step photos can be seen below the recipe card.

Course Dip

Cuisine Indian

Total Cost ($0.99 recipe / $0.08 serving)

Prep Time 10

Total Time 10

Servings (heaping 1 Tbsp each)

Calories 13kcal

Author Melissa Nolan

Equipment

Medium Bowl

Ingredients

1 yellow onion diced, (1.5 cups, 8oz, 165g) $0.74*
1 Tbsp ketchup $0.03
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar $0.08
2 Tbsp brown sugar $0.07
¼ tsp ground cinnamon $0.02
¼ tsp ground cumin $0.02
⅛ tsp salt $0.01
⅛ tsp black pepper freshly cracked, $0.02

Instructions

Gather and prepare all ingredients.
In a medium bowl, add all ingredients. Stir to combine.
You can eat right away or refrigerate.

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Notes

*If you don’t like the bite from raw onions, you can soak them in cold water for 5-10 minutes and drain them. You could also cook the onions in a skillet before mixing them with the other ingredients. But be careful; if you do decide to cook the onions, the serving size shrinks to about half, so I recommend doubling the recipe if you want to serve more.

Nutrition

how to make Onion Chutney step-by-step photos

Gather and prepare all of your ingredients.

The ingredients to make homemade onion chutney in a bowl

Combine in a bowl: Add 1 diced yellow onion, 1 Tbsp ketchup, 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, ¼ tsp ground cinnamon, ¼ tsp ground cumin, ⅛ tsp salt, and ⅛ tsp black pepper to a medium-sized bowl.

Stir to combine all the ingredients evenly. You can either serve it right away or refrigerate it for later (cold onion chutney is DELICIOUS).

Side view of a bowl of homemade onion chutney.

As I mentioned in the recipe card, if you don’t love the bite of raw onions, you can soak them in a bowl of cold water for 5–10 minutes. This “shocks” the onions and helps mellow out their sharpness without losing their flavor.
You can also cook the onions first if preferred. However, this will reduce the total yield significantly, so you’ll need to double the recipe if you want more servings. Add the diced onions to a skillet on the stove with a little oil and sauté them until they’re done to your liking. If you have the time, you could also caramelize the onions for a sweeter, more jammy flavor (see our caramelized onions recipe to learn how to do this!) Then, just mix the cooked onions with the other ingredients and serve.
Don’t have apple cider vinegar? You can use any vinegar you have, but it’ll change the overall taste of these spiced onions.
Try adding other warm spices! I think dried ginger, cardamom, and allspice would be complementary. Have fun with it!

Serving Suggestions

I originally made this raw onion chutney to go with my easy puff pastry samosas, and it ended up stealing the show. The sharpness of the onions, the hit of acidity, and that touch of sweetness go perfectly with the flaky samosas. But I also love serving this chutney with butter chicken and rice or curried chickpeas for a veggie option. It’s also delicious piled onto homemade naan, tucked into a wrap, served with pakora, or on top of cumin rice as a super flavorful midweek side dish.

Storage Instructions

Homemade onion chutney can be served straight away or stored in the fridge for up to 2-3 days in an airtight container. Just note the onions will get softer and lose their freshness the longer they are stored. Give everything a good mix before serving!

This Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala boasts a rich and aromatic sauce, and tender juicy chicken. Make four servings for the price of one take out! Budgetbytes.com

Easy Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala

$8.82 recipe / $2.21 serving

Overhead view of a bowl of chicken curry salad.

Curry Chicken Salad

$9.69 recipe / $2.42 serving

Butternut Squash Curry

$7.23 recipe / $1.81 serving

A black bowl with Indian Creamed Spinach on a wooden plate with a piece of naan in the side of the bowl

Indian Style Creamed Spinach

$5.35 recipe / $1.34 serving

The post Onion Chutney appeared first on Budget Bytes.

Vegetarian Recipes

Cherry Blondies

Whenever I’m craving something sweet, but I’m sick of the same old same old, I whip up a batch of these fudgy, chewy, fragrant Cherry Blondies! The creamy white chocolate, tart cherries, and crunchy almonds make this recipe stand out. This is not your typical blondie! I don’t use almond extract too often, but pairing its flavor with cherries and white chocolate is just a no-brainer to me. (But a little goes a long way, so use it sparingly!)

Easy Recipe for Cherry Blondies

Blondies are like brownies, just without the cocoa. Instead, they’re made with brown sugar and vanilla, and have the BEST buttery flavor and chewy texture.

For these cherry blondies, I mix in canned cherry pie filling (it adds a sweet-tart cherry flavor without a lot of fuss or cost), slivered almonds, and white chocolate chips. I also brown the butter first to bring out a nutty, almost toffee-like richness that’s totally worth the extra few minutes. A mix of brown and white sugar strikes the perfect balance of moisture and structure, while a splash of almond extract adds a frangipane-style flavor. Bake them once, and you’ll see why I keep coming back to this combo. 😋

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Cherry Blondies

These easy Cherry Blondies are loaded with white chocolate, almonds, and cherry pie filling for a sweet treat that’s simple to make and hard to resist.

Step-by-step photos can be seen below the recipe card.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Total Cost $5.82 recipe / $0.64 serving

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1

Chill Time 20

Total Time 1 30

Servings slices

Calories 429kcal

Author Jess Rice

Equipment

8×8” Baking Dish
Parchment Paper
3 Mixing Bowls
Sauce Pan
Hand Mixer

Ingredients

1¾ cups all-purpose flour $0.28
½ tsp baking powder $0.02
¼ tsp salt $0.01
1 large egg $0.29
1 tsp vanilla extract $0.47
½ tsp almond extract $0.15
½ cup cherry pie filling $0.73*
1½ sticks salted butter cut into cubes, $1.48
½ cup granulated sugar $0.19
1 cup brown sugar $0.91
¼ cup white chocolate chips $0.42
¼ cup slivered almonds $0.87

Instructions

Grease and line an 8×8” baking dish with parchment paper and preheat oven to 350℉.
Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Set aside.
In a separate mixing bowl, combine the egg, vanilla, almond extract, and cherry pie filling. Mix together and set aside.
Cube the butter and melt over medium heat until frothy, whisking once in a while to make sure the milk solids don’t stick to the bottom of the pan and burn.
Once butter is browned, it will have a nutty aroma and darken in color. (Babysit it! Don’t let it burn!) Remove from heat.
Combine browned butter with granulated and brown sugar.
Mix with a hand mixer on low until combined. Then, add the wet cherry mixture and continue to mix until combined.
Finally, gently mix in the dry flour mixture little by little until a batter forms.
Fold in white chocolate and almond slivers.
Transfer batter to greased and line baking dish and add some extra white chocolate and almonds on top, if you have them.
Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cool for 20 minutes before cutting. The interior may still be a little gooey. These are chewier than your typical brownie! Enjoy.

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Notes

*The ingredients in a can of cherry pie filling are pretty simple, but I have found the Duncan Hines Comstock brand “Simply Cherry” in a can to have fewer ingredients and no added coloring, so if you see it next to the regular cherry pie filling, you may want to spring for that can instead. You could try making these with fresh cherries, which I skipped because I couldn’t find any at my local grocery store, just make sure you pit them first!

Nutrition

how to make Cherry Blondies step-by-step photos

The ingredients to make cherry blondies.

Gather all of your ingredients and preheat your oven to 350℉. Grease and line an 8×8” baking dish with parchment paper. Set this aside for now.

Flour, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl.

Mix the dry ingredients: Add 1¾ cups flour, ½ tsp baking powder, and ¼ tsp salt to a mixing bowl and combine. Set this aside.

Cherry pie filling, egg, and vanilla extract in a bowl.

Mix the wet ingredients: In a different mixing bowl, combine 1 large egg, 1 tsp vanilla, ½ tsp almond extract, and ½ cup of cherry pie filling. Set this aside for now as well.

Brown the butter: Add 1½ sticks of cubed salted butter to a saucepan or skillet over medium heat. Melt the butter until frothy, being sure to whisk it once in a while to avoid the milk solids from burning and sticking to the bottom of the pan. Babysit it, and don’t let it burn! It typically takes about 5-8 minutes for butter to brown.

When the butter is browned, it’ll smell nutty and be darker in color. There will also be flecks of brown throughout (those are toasted milk solids, and they’re full of flavor). Remove it from the heat once done.

Brown and white sugar added to a bowl of browned butter.

Make the batter: Pour the browned butter into a mixing bowl and add ½ cup granulated sugar and 1 cup brown sugar.

The wet ingredients for cherry blondies added to the creamed butter and sugar.

Use a hand mixer on low to combine the browned butter and sugars. Once mixed, add the wet cherry pie filling mixture and keep mixing until thoroughly combined.

Dry ingredients added to the wet ingredients to make cherry blondies.

Now, gently fold in the dry flour mixture a little at a time until a thick batter forms.

Slivered almonds added to the batter for cherry blondies.

Finally, fold in ¼ cup white chocolate chips and ¼ cup slivered almonds.

The batter for cherry blondies in a lined baking dish.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish. If you have any extra, top the batter with a few white chocolate chips and slivered almonds to make it look extra pretty.

Finished homemade cherry blondies in a baking dish.

Bake: Place the baking dish into the preheated oven and bake for 50-55 minutes. They’re done once a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let your homemade cherry blondies cool for 20 minutes before cutting for the best results. They may still be a little gooey! They’re definitely chewier than your average brownie but just as delicious. Enjoy!

Overhead view of a baking dish of cherry blondies with one missing.

Tips for Browning Butter

I brown the butter in this cherry dessert recipe because it gives the blondies the most amazing, deep, nutty flavor that plain melted butter can’t match. You could skip this step and just melt it, but it definitely wouldn’t taste the same.

It’s honestly so easy to brown butter, and only takes about 5-8 minutes from start to finish! Here’s how to do it right (we also have a step-by-step breakdown with photos on how to brown butter you can check out, too!):

Use a light-colored pan if you have one. It makes it easier to see the color change.
Watch it closely. Browning happens fast, and it can burn before you know it. Stay nearby and use medium heat.
It’ll start to froth. That’s normal. Just keep gently stirring so nothing sticks to the bottom.
Look for brown flecks. Those are the milk solids toasting, which is exactly what you want.
Pull it off the heat right away. As soon as it smells nutty and the color deepens, about 5 minutes, take it off the heat! It’s ready to use.

You can even make a big batch of browned butter and keep it in the fridge for 1-2 weeks and use it in future recipes. It’s obviously delicious in my cherry blondies recipe, but it’s also amazing tossed with plain pasta, drizzled over roasted veggies, or mixed into oatmeal.

Line your pan with parchment paper. It makes it way easier to lift the blondies out and slice them cleanly once they’ve cooled.
Let them cool in the pan. As good as they smell fresh out of the oven, I let my blondies cool for at least 20 minutes to help them set up properly. They’ll slice neater, and the texture will be just right.
Check for doneness with a toothpick. You’re looking for a mostly clean toothpick when inserted into your white chocolate cherry blondies. If you hit a cherry or a melty white chocolate chip, it might smear a bit, so try a second spot! Don’t forget, they may still be a little gooey on the inside rather than cakey.

Storage Instructions

Personally, I enjoy these cherry pie blondies cold! I like to keep them in an airtight container in the refrigerator and grab one whenever I need a sweet pick-me-up. They’ll be good for up to 3-4 days when stored this way. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe container.