Cilantro Mint Chutney is a delicious condiment served with Indian cuisine. It’s herby, bright, slightly spicy and tastes incredibly vibrant, made with fresh mint, chilies, ginger and garlic. Make it in 5 minutes flat using your blender or food processor. Gluten-free & vegan-adaptable! Video.
The eyes do not see what the mind does not want.– Indian Proverb
Mint chutney has been enjoyed for centuries throughout India – it’s a versatile condiment that is fresh and vibrant, uplifting and elevating many Indian dishes. It’s an easy recipe that can be whipped up in a blender in just a few minutes and can be used on many things to give your Indian meals a punch of flavor that will take them from ordinary to FANTASTIC!
Why you’ll love this recipe!
- It’s fast and easy! Use a blender or food processor and it is ready in under 5 minutes.
- It tastes amazing! Mint chutney tastes fresh, vibrant and tangy, slightly spicy, slightly sweet, with the fresh mint flavor shining through. This green chutney is made with fresh mint leaves, cilantro, ginger, green chillies, garlic, lemon juice and your choice of yogurt (or coconut yogurt) for a hint of creaminess. It is oil-free, low in calories, and tastes amazing!
- You’ll find a millions ways to use it!
Mint Chutney | 30-Sec Video
Ingredients in Mint Chutney
- Fresh Mint leaves – fresh mint is a must here, giving the chutney its fresh, lively cooling flavor!
- Cilantro – we’ve added cilantro (coriander leaves) and tender cilantro stems to the chutney, for more flavor but if so inclined you can swap out fresh flat-leaf parsley or more mint.
- Yogurt– we make our chutney a little cooling with yogurt- full fat whole milk yogurt, sheep’s milk yogurt, or Greek yogurt. Feel free to use vegan yogurt, or even leave it out.
- Citrus juice– fresh lemon juice or lime juice adds a delicious brightness!
- Green chillis– jalapeno chili or Serrano chili for a little heat.
- Fresh ginger and fresh garlic – add a hint of punchy good flavor.
- Salt and sugar – or sub kosher salt and jaggery!
How to make Mint Chutney (Instructions)
Mint Chutney literally takes only two minutes using a blender or food processor. It is incredibly simple to prepare.
- Simply gather your fresh ingredients and place them in a blender or food processor.
- Blend until the mixture becomes smooth and creamy.
- Once you have achieved the desired consistency, transfer the chutney into a bowl or jar.
- For maximum flavor, it is recommended to chill the chutney thoroughly before using! This not only allows the flavors to develop further but also enhances the overall taste.
- Homemade mint chutney will stay fresh for up to 4 days in the refrigerator when stored in a sealed container or jar. In case you have some leftovers, you can also freeze the chutney for later use. This way, you will always have a tasty and aromatic condiment ready whenever you need it!
Ways to use Mint Chutney
Mint chutney is a traditional side dish or accompaniment to Indian cuisine, adding fresh, bright, lively flavor, waking up your taste buds! It compliments many meals. This week we are using this Mint Chutney Recipe on our Frankies Recipe (Indian style Burritos) – that you absolutely must make! But be sure to save any extras (or make a double batch) for:
- Buddha bowls– simple lentils and rice can be elevated by adding mint chutney!
- Tandoori Chicken Kabobs –
- Indian Cauliflower, Chickpea & Tofu Bowls
- Vegetable Biryani or Chicken Biryani
- Perfect Basmati Rice
- Indian Fried Rice
- Naan, paratha, or dosa
- Use as a tasty Dip for veggies
- Use on sandwiches, tacos and wraps to boost their flavor!
- You’ll find a million ways to use mint chutney and it is a wonderful way to expand your experience of flavor profiles.
Mint chutney Variations
- While mint is the star of the show, you can add other ingredients to enhance the chutney’s complexity. For example, adding a handful of fresh coriander leaves (cilantro) like we have here can give it an extra layer of flavor.
- You can also experiment with roasted peanuts for a nutty undertone.
- Try adding fresh grated coconut! This gives a delightful texture and subtle sweet flavor to the chutney.
- Add spices like mustard seeds, ground coriander or ground cumin. Fresh curry leaves are nice too.
- Leave out the yogurt and add little onion for a more traditional version- see the recipe notes.
FaQS
Traditionally, mint chutney is made with fresh mint leaves, chillies, onions, garlic, ginger, salt and sugar.
We think so! It’s full of vitamins and nutrients.
Try adding more mint leaves, cilantro leaves and a little more sugar.
Mint chutney should be tangy, slightly spicy, and slightly sweet, with the mint flavor shining through. The primary ingredients include fresh mint leaves, green chilies (adjust the quantity depending on desired spiciness), garlic, ginger, lemon juice, and a touch of sweetness from sugar or jaggery.
Give this easy Cilantro Mint Chutney Recipe a try this week- I promise, you will looooooooove it. For more tasty sauce recipes to brighten up your meals, be sure to go the sauce category!
More Indian recipes you'll love!
Mint Chutney Recipe
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 ½ cups
- Category: Sauce, condiment
- Method: Blended
- Cuisine: Indian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Simple, FLAVORFUL Mint Chutney is a bright and refreshing Indian condiment to use on Biryani, Samosas, Frankies, Dosa, Kabobs, Rice or Naan. Can be made in 5 minutes flat. Vegan adaptable- see notes. Video.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup yogurt, (see notes for vegan version)
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 bunch cilantro, tender stems ok
- 1 cup mint leaves, packed ( 2 x .75 ounce packages)
- 1 medium jalapeno, sliced
- 2 teaspoons sliced ginger
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/4–1/2 teaspoon kosher salt,
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar (or an alternative like honey, palm sugar, etc)
- optional: 1 tablespoon water, or just enough to get blender going – you may not need this
Instructions
- Blend all ingredients in a blender or food processor until relatively smooth.
- Taste and adjust salt and lemon to your liking.
- Refrigerate until serving.
- Chutney will keep 4 days in the fridge.
Notes
To make this thicker, feel free to add desiccated coconut or peanuts.
If you would like to make this vegan – either sub coconut yogurt or soy yogurt, or silken tofu. If using silken tofu, you might want to add 1 tablespoon olive oil and for sure, more salt and lemon.
If you would like more of a traditional Indian Mint Chutney, without the “creaminess” leave out the yogurt, add ¼ cup-½ cup of chopped onion and a bit of water to get the blade moving.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ¼ cup
- Calories: 21
- Sugar: 1 g
- Sodium: 39.7 mg
- Fat: 0.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 2.2 g
- Fiber: 0.7 g
- Protein: 1.7 g
- Cholesterol: 1.9 mg
Fantastic
Wow! You’re not kidding! This chutney is one of the most flavourful things I’ve ever tasted! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Made this last night and also made Tandoori Glory Bowl to go with it. It was delicious! I followed the chutney recipe exactly, subbing-in vegan almond milk yogurt for regular. I didn’t add any water, but added a small handful of unsweetened/unsulfured coconut flakes to thicken it up. Blended on high in my Vitamix till it was perfectly smooth, then popped it in the fridge for an hour (which thickened it up even more). Now I’m looking for another vegan Indian main course recipe I can use for the left-over chutney and cinnamon-infused brown basmati rice!
Perfect! thanks and happy you liked it!
Delicious dish—thank you!
Made the chutney without yogurt or mint and it still added so much flavor!
What else could I use besides cilantro. I’m allergic to it.
You could use a combo of mint and flat-leaf parsley.
I made this dish for my wife who is vegetarian and it’s her favorite! I’m making it again today for my family who’s visiting from out of town.
Awesome! So happy she liked it John!
I don’t like creamy mint/cilantro chutney, so I did nut use yogurt or vegan options. I use 1/2 an onion and a wee bit of water. It adds enough moisture to keep things moving but still have a thick finished product. Yummy. Hard to go wrong with this stuff. 🙂
Delicious! I used honey instead of sugar and skipped the garlic and ginger. But next time I’ll add those.
I wish I had read the comments first. Definitely add the yogurt a bit at a time, and don’t add water unless needed. For me it came out white and runny. It was absolutely DELICIOUS, however. Just didn’t match the pictures in color or texture. Regardless, it came out beautifully fragrant, spicy, and tangy. Wow! So freaking good!
VEGAN version with a very herb forward flavor—skip the yogurt and sugar, and sub pickled jalapenios for fresh (they emulsify better) and pickle juice (from pickled jalapeños) for the water to give some salty tang. A tbsp of oil will also help with emulsification, but is optional. Salt and pepper to taste. Ginger is optional.
So delicious. I made the vegan version (used Forager Cashewgurt) and it was as good as any I’ve had. I made way too much for the Indian dinner, so I’ve been having it on Mexican food and it works really well. I tried it on an avocado and cheese sandwich, but it overpowered it. Thanks for such a simple and delicious chutney.
Delicious! I made this over the week-end, served it twice to company, and ate it myself with whatever else I was having for lunch. It accompanies just about anything. I served as a side with a South African chicken curry recipe, a top sweet potatoes, with naan, etc. Everyone loves it. And it is a good use for the mint that runs ‘too’ rampant in my garden.
Tasty, but runnier than I like for adding to frankies. Skip the water, add more use half as much yogurt (Greek) and add lemon juice to taste once it all comes together. I use a magic bullet so it all comes together easily, and skip the sugar for a kore pronounced sour/spicy/herby kick.
Tip, add yogurt after you’ve blended all the ingredients. Don’t blend the yogurt or it’ll go thin.
Made the cilantro mint chutney this weekend. You were right— I do want to put it on everything I eat!!!
Turned out great!
Absolutely delicious and SOOO easy to make! Was the perfect accompaniment to aloo samosas. Highly recommend this recipe. Thank you so much for sharing it!
Im so glad you liked it Kelly!
By adding coconut and yogurt, chutney would be perfect to have it with south Indian dishes.
LOVE this recipe! This is what brought me to your site in the first place. There is a perfect amount of tangy-ness. I didn’t have a jalapeño, but it was still great. I think I added a pinch of cayenne. I also used jaggery for the sugar. We use it with tamarind sauce when I make Indian food, or sometimes just as a dipping sauce with naan.
I love it chatni it’s my favorite
I made it recipe wow it’s amazing
Thanks
I added 1\2 small white onion, another tbsp of lemon juice. Perfect!!
I am obsessed with this sauce – it’s absolutely delicious on a rice bowl and EVERYTHING!! Super easy to make and the flavors add a nice complexity. I love it!
Im so glad you like it Jill!
How much is one bunch of cilantro in grams is .Planning to make it soon.Just wanted to know the cilantro quantity in grams.
It is about one cup packed cilantro leaves and tender stems, or 70-80 grams.
This sounds delicious! The ginger in the recipe, is this just ginger cut up, or is it some sort of pickle? Can I use regular ginger or would I be missing out taste-wise?
I would like to make the mint cilantro chutney. How long will this keep in the refrigerator? If not very long, can it be frozen? Thanks
I would say up to 4 days. It’s a pretty small batch. I would not recommend freezing, it would loose its lovely color.
I just ruined this by adding the yogurt to the blender – went very thin unusable – should have listened to everyone else – nice flavours though
Sorry about that, it thickens as it cools. I will adjust recipe.