Cranberry sauce doesn’t need to be fixed, but our Cranberry-Jalapeño Chutney makes a compelling case for shifting gears. It’s still bright and tart, with savory flavors and a bit of heat for a welcome complexity that pairs well with everything from sweet potatoes to roast turkey.

Balancing sweet and savory

I’m a big advocate of combining sweet and savory, but even I had a hard time envisioning how onions would meld with cranberries. However, once the cinnamon sticks and onions began sizzling in the oil, my entire kitchen filled with a welcoming spiced fragrance—warm like the holidays but distinctly savory. I suddenly felt more assured this chutney was a good decision.

The savory elements are what sets our cranberry condiment apart from the rest. Minced red onion, jalapeño and—crucially—salt and pepper add an edge to this holiday classic. Whole cinnamon sticks, minced jalapeño pepper, ground clove and grated fresh ginger all are gently fried in oil to bloom the spices while softening and tempering the sharper flavors from the onion and ginger.

Cranberry sauce nearly makes itself

The recipe only gets easier from there. Cranberries make up the bulk of the sauce (no surprise there). They contain high levels of pectin—a soluble fiber that thickens beautifully when heated with acid and sugar. No cornstarch, flour or other thickener needs to be added. Most of the work lies in preparing the onion, ginger and jalapeño pepper. After that, the recipe requires little else but the occasional stir to keep the ingredients moving.

Once the cranberries, sugar and water are added to the pot, the mixture will seem very watery. It’s important to continue cooking until all of the cranberries burst. Once they do, they’ll release their pectin into the mixture and you’ll see a distinct change in texture. Still runny? Don’t worry, the cranberry chutney will continue to thicken as it cools to room temperature—it’s wonderfully jammy, punctuated with clusters of burst berries and slivers of vegetal jalapeño.

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Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

Allie Chantorn Reinmann is a Digital Staff Writer for Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street. She’s a Thai-American chef who earned her diploma for Pastry and Baking Arts at The Institute of Culinary Education and worked professionally for over a decade honing her craft in New York City at places like Balthazar, Bien Cuit, The Chocolate Room, Billy’s Bakery and Whole Foods. Allie took her know-how from the kitchen to the internet, writing about food full-time at Lifehacker for three years and starting her own YouTube channel, ThaiNYbites. You can find her whipping up baked goods for cafés around Brooklyn, building wedding cakes and trying her hand (feet?) at marathon running. She’s working on her debut cookbook and lives in Brooklyn, NY.