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The Flavor Bender   ›   Recipes   ›   Recipes by Course   ›   Sauces and Condiments   ›   The Best Strawberry Chilli Relish

The Best Strawberry Chilli Relish

Author:

Dini Kodippili







Jump to Recipe


Updated: 7/17/2023
Total Time1 hour hr 10 minutes mins
Quick and Easy Recipes
Sauces and Condiments
The Best Strawberry Chilli Relish - Sweet strawberries with a kick of spice and fruity tanginess. Make it as a thick relish spread, or a sauce and can be used as anything from a spread to a BBQ sauce! 

The BEST fruity, sweet Strawberry Chilli Relish with a spicy, tangy kick. You can make it as a thick relish/spread or a smooth sauce to be used as a delicious glaze on grilled meat or BBQ sauce!

An incredibly versatile and easy to make relish, and a great way to use up those juicy summer strawberries!

The Best Strawberry Chilli Relish - Sweet strawberries with a kick of spice and fruity tanginess. Make it as a thick relish spread, or a sauce and can be used as anything from a spread to a BBQ sauce! 

We used to have a small patch of strawberry plants in our backyard when I was little, which my father tended to with great care. When I was a little older, I remember how my parents told me this story of how the strawberries kept going missing one time and they couldn’t figure out what was happening for months.

They feared that birds or some animal was getting to them before they ever could. Eventually, my father apparently went out and got a bird net once and then set it up, only to find that the strawberries still kept disappearing.

And then one fine day he went out to the backyard and caught the culprit red-handed (literally), and it turned out to be a very small version of yours truly! I thought it was hilarious and although I have no memory of this, I guess it goes to show how my love for strawberries goes a long way back!

The Best Strawberry Chilli Relish - A great way to use up those sweet and ripe strawberries

You guys know that I have an obsession for combining sweet and spicy flavor profiles. Like this peach relish, spicy pineapple popsicles, spicy mango relish, sweet chili sauce, and even this spicy margarita recipe!

I think it’s a great way to challenge and enlighten your taste buds. I’ve always loved eating sweet and spicy tomato relish, so I figured it might work just as well with strawberries too.

Strawberries pair so beautifully with savory flavors like balsamic vinegar and black pepper, so I decided to make this beautifully bright red Strawberry Chilli Relish that you could use at home with whatever you fancy!

The Best Strawberry Chilli Relish - All the ingredients for an amazing Strawberry Relish with a spicy and tangy kick!
The Best Strawberry Chilli Relish - Just add all the ingredients! Easy Strawberry relish perfect to spread on everything!

I added some Aleppo chilli flakes, but you can add regular crushed chili (crushed red pepper) instead, but that’ll make this strawberry relish a bit spicier.

I sliced the strawberries for this recipe, but I have used chopped strawberries as well. The difference is that you get a chunkier spread with sliced strawberries and a smoother relish with chopped strawberries.

If you’re looking to make a delicious spicy strawberry sauce (like ketchup), or a base for a BBQ marinade, then I’d recommend that you chop the strawberries instead.

The Best Strawberry Chilli Relish - Freshly cooked relish! Thick and chunky for spreads! Start with chopped strawberry for a smoother sauce! Easy Strawberry relish perfect to spread on everything!

This spicy strawberry chilli relish is perfect to use up that bounty of strawberries in the summer, even when they are overripe and soft – in fact those are ideal for this recipe!

I often use those to make strawberry jam, strawberry shortcake ice cream, healthy strawberry smoothie etc., but this strawberry relish is perfect too!

The Best Strawberry Chilli Relish - Sweet strawberries with a kick of spice and fruity tanginess. Make it as a thick relish spread, or a sauce and can be used as anything from a spread to a BBQ sauce! 

With that bright red color and the bold, sweet and spicy flavor combo, this strawberry relish is perfect on ANY summer table. It’ll be right at home even on a Valentine’s day recipe menu as well.

Whether it be a grilled chicken, a perfectly cooked steak, a sandwich, a salad, your breakfast, dessert recipes or just straight up from the bottle/jar (like a boss!), this strawberry chilli relish will add a fantastic fruity sweetness and a spicy chilli kick.

The Best Strawberry Chilli Relish - Sweet strawberries with a kick of spice and fruity tanginess. Make it as a thick relish spread, or a sauce and can be used as anything from a spread to a BBQ sauce! Perfect for you morning Bagel!

I often make a double batch of this strawberry chilli relish because we could never get enough of it! It’s such a versatile relish and the possibilities are endless.

I frequently use it to spice up my grilled chicken, and recently, one of my readers said that it tastes great as a glaze for pork tenderloin on the BBQ!

So go ahead and make a double batch, you just can’t go wrong with a fruity, sweet, spicy relish like this! 🙂

The Best Strawberry Chilli Relish - Sweet strawberries with a kick of spice and fruity tanginess. Make it as a thick relish spread, or a sauce and can be used as anything from a spread to a BBQ sauce! 

Lately, I’ve been using this strawberry chilli relish on my bagels and sandwiches. But for a truly nifty idea – try using this sweet and spicy relish in place of strawberry jelly/jam in these frozen strawberry cheesecake bites for an amazing summer treat!

The Best Strawberry Chilli Relish - Sweet strawberries with a kick of spice and fruity tanginess. Make it as a thick relish spread, or a sauce and can be used as anything from a spread to a BBQ sauce! 

Recipe

The Best Strawberry Chilli Relish - Sweet strawberries with a kick of spice and fruity tanginess. Make it as a thick relish spread, or a sauce and can be used as anything from a spread to a BBQ sauce! 
4.8 from 10 votes

Strawberry Chilli Relish

Author: Dini Kodippili
Yield: Makes about 1 cup
Cuisine: European, North American
The Best Strawberry Chilli Relish - Sweet strawberries with a kick of spice and fruity tanginess. Make it as a thick relish spread, or a sauce and can be used as anything from a spread to a BBQ sauce! 

 Difficulty: 

Easy
This fruity, sweet Strawberry Chilli Relish with a spicy, tangy kick is amazing as a thick relish or spread or smooth sauce to be used as a delicious glaze on grilled meat or BBQ sauce!

US based cup, teaspoon, tablespoon measurements. Weight‌ ‌measurements‌ ‌are‌ ‌recommended‌ ‌for‌ ‌accurate‌ ‌results whenever available.

Common Measurement Conversions
Prep: 25 minutes mins
Cook: 45 minutes mins
Total Time: 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins
Print Recipe Rate SaveSaved!
Makes: 16 servings (1 tbsp each)

Ingredients:
 

  • 455 g ripe strawberries 1 lb. Hulled and sliced (see notes)
  • 1 ½ tbsp chilli flakes/crushed red pepper Add 1 tbsp or less if you prefer a mild relish. This is a spicy relish with chilli flakes as the co-star, I used 1 tbsp crushed chilli flakes and ½ tbsp Aleppo chilli
  • 150 g white sugar ¾ cup
  • ¼ cup red wine vinegar white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar can be used.
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • ½ tsp salt
  • Extra water to thin out the sauce if needed

Instructions:
 

  • Slice the strawberries (or chop if you like a smoother, sauce-like relish).
    455 g ripe strawberries
  • Add the strawberries and all the ingredients (except water) into a saucepan and mix well.
    1 ½ tbsp chilli flakes/crushed red pepper, 150 g white sugar, ¼ cup red wine vinegar, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, ½ tsp salt
  • Bring to a boil and then simmer on low-medium heat for about 40 minutes, until the relish thickens.
  • Stir the relish frequently to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
  • If you like a thick relish, keep it as is. If you prefer a pourable sauce-like consistency, add a few tablespoons of water to thin out the relish.
    Extra water to thin out the sauce
  • Store in an airtight jar, or a sterilized glass jar. It should stay fresh for about a week in a normal jar, but longer in a sterilized jar.

Recipe Notes

NOTE – chop the strawberries instead for a smoother, sauce-like spicy strawberry chilli relish.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 1tbsp Calories: 49kcal (2%) Carbohydrates: 12g (4%) Protein: 0.3g (1%) Fat: 0.2g Saturated Fat: 0.02g Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g Monounsaturated Fat: 0.04g Sodium: 86mg (4%) Potassium: 61mg (2%) Fiber: 1g (4%) Sugar: 11g (12%) Vitamin A: 226IU (5%) Vitamin C: 17mg (21%) Calcium: 8mg (1%) Iron: 0.3mg (2%)

“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”

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About

Dini Kodippili

Dini Kodippili is a professional food writer, recipe developer, food photographer, cookbook author, and baker. Dini has been featured on HuffPost, Cosmopolitan, Forbes, Delish, Food & Wine and more. Learn More

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58 responses

  1. Pearl davids
    November 7, 2024

    Can I make rhis same recipe with cherries. I simply love making it.

    Reply
    1. Dini
      November 9, 2024

      Hi Pearl!
      You should be able to! I haven’t tried it myself, but the flavors will go together!
      The cook times might need to be adjusted to the get the same consistency, so keep and eye on that 🙂
      I hope that helps!

      Reply
  2. Mimi Rippee
    July 5, 2024

    I just printed this! Very excited to make it – this recipe has my name all over it!

    Reply
  3. Patricia Bangel
    May 26, 2024

    Can this recipe be processed for long term storage

    Reply
    1. Dini
      May 28, 2024

      Hi Patricia
      Unfortunately I’m not familiar with canning so I can’t be sure!
      I store this in the freezer for upto 6 months or so though.
      I hope that helps!

      Reply
      1. Pearl
        November 7, 2024

        Hi Dini, I sterilize my bottles add the hot relish and it keeps for a very long time in the fridge

        Reply
  4. Kyla
    January 27, 2024

    Would I be able to can this using a water bath canner?

    Reply
    1. Dini
      January 27, 2024

      Hi Kyla
      Unfortunately I’m not very experienced with canning, so I can’t be sure if this is safe to can.

      Reply
  5. Waheeda
    September 2, 2022

    Omw, I cannot wait to give this a try, can I use frozen strawberries & if i don’t have balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar can use normal white or brown vinegar & maybe add a dash of red wine? What is the shelve life of this relish should I jar it. Thank u.

    Reply
    1. Dini
      September 6, 2022

      Hi Waheeda!
      You can use frozen strawberries! You will need to cook it longer to get the same consistency though because of the extra water in frozen strawberries.
      I don’t recommend using white vinegar as a substitute for balsamic vinegar. But you can use apple cider vinegar instead. It should last about 5 – 7 days in the fridge.
      I hope that helps!

      Reply
      1. Waheeda Carels
        September 8, 2022

        5 stars
        Thank u, I tried it, I added a quarter cup of Merlot & 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1 grated apple & also 3 tsp of atchar /pickle masala with a few curry leaves. Came out amazing… Different sweet & spicy perfect with cheese platters & to add as a side relish to ur barbeque. This will also go great as a samoosa dip. Love it, Thank u

        Reply
  6. Pearl Davids
    July 26, 2022

    Looking for more relishes please really love this one.appreciate

    Reply
  7. Craig Criddle
    June 19, 2022

    5 stars
    I tried this on chicken and pork, but my favorite way to eat it is for the dressing on coleslaw

    Reply
  8. Christine Spiteri
    January 19, 2022

    Can this relish be frozen? And if so, for how long?

    Reply
  9. Christine Spiteri
    January 19, 2022

    5 stars
    You can’t get enough of it.

    Reply
  10. Christine Spiteri
    January 14, 2022

    5 stars
    Simply YUMMY! I reduced the amount of chilli flakes to 1 1/4tbsp though.

    Reply
  11. Susan
    October 18, 2021

    Love the strawberry relish so much

    Reply
  12. Jacki Bourn
    September 3, 2021

    I liked the flavour but mine ended up being quite liquidy

    Reply
    1. Dini
      September 5, 2021

      Hi Jacki
      If the relish was liquidy, then it needed to be cooked longer. Each stove and/or pots are different, so the heat in your stove ay have been less than mine, or your pot may have been smaller than mine too. This means you need to cook it longer to get the same consistency.

      Reply
  13. Katie
    May 28, 2021

    5 stars
    It was amazing with salmon. I used to make a a strawberry sauce with Prosecco for salmon but this was way better.

    Reply
  14. Alison
    August 27, 2020

    This is the second time I made it every one loves it

    Reply
  15. Meme
    July 20, 2020

    4 stars
    This is good, has a nice kick but it definitely did not cook down to a relish
    texture. More like a jam

    Reply
  16. Marie
    July 19, 2019

    Can you process this recipe in a hot water bath as you do jams to extend shelf life?

    Reply
    1. Dini
      July 19, 2019

      Hi Marie!
      I would love to be able to give you a definitive answer, but I am not very familiar with canning, and don’t know how the process will impact the relish. Sorry about that!
      Cheers,
      Dini

      Reply
  17. Jane
    May 6, 2019

    I’ve made this a couple of times and love the taste but it’s always too thin, how can I get it thicker please?
    If I simmer it longer the strawberries just go to mush and let out more juice. Baffled

    Reply
    1. Dini
      May 7, 2019

      Hi Jane
      Unfortunately, you do have to cook it for longer to make it thicker. This relish is more like a jam, so it does get “mushy”. If you do want to make it thicker without cooking it too long, you could use pectin to thicken it, or reduce the vinegar (which will change the taste). I hope that helps.

      Reply
  18. Ds Panicker
    April 30, 2019

    Wow, amazing recipe, I have tried this recipe and came out really well. Thank you

    Reply
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Hey There!

Hi! I’m Dini, a third culture kid by upbringing and a food-geek by nature. I was born in Sri Lanka, grew up in New Zealand and lived in Australia, and then the US, before moving to and settling down in Canada. My food is a reflection of those amazing experiences!

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