Go Back
–+ servings
fresh pineapple relish

Quick Pineapple Relish: Tasty and Easy to Make

Cut fresh pineapple into chunks; Pulse-chop in a food processor or chopper, along with Serrano pepper and sweet red mini pepper till minced. Stir in salt, sugar, lime/lemon juice and finely chopped cilantro. Serve with chips and other munchies, quesadillas, grilled vegetables/meats, etc. Enjoy!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Course Condiment
Cuisine American, Continental, Indian, Mexican, Thai
Servings 4 people
Calories 36 kcal

Equipment

  • Food Processor/Chopper If not available, see Recipe Notes for alternative ways to make this relish.

Ingredients
  

  • 1 1/2 cup Fresh pineapple - cut into chunks (about 225 g) remove the fibrous core: see Recipe Notes for how to use this core
  • 2 tbsp Sweet Mini Pepper (Red)- finely chopped 1 small mini pepper; if not available, use sweet red bell pepper instead, OK to omit but know that the flavor and color will be different
  • 1/2 tsp Serrano pepper- finely chopped adjust as per spiciness preferred
  • 1 tbsp Green onions - green tops, sliced thin (optional)
  • 1/2 tsp Sugar or Honey Dark honey will change the color a little; same reason why I do not recommend using brown sugar or jaggery
  • 1/4 tsp Salt adjust as per preference
  • 1 tsp Lime / lemon juice - freshly squeezed preferred if not available, OK to use bottled juice
  • 2 tbsp Cilantro - trimmed, rinsed and finely chopped if not available, OK to omit - may use dried parsley for a bit of color - but not too much - I do not recommend using fresh parsley

Instructions
 

  • Prep the pineapple: Use a sturdy knife to first slice off the crown, then slice the pineapple into rings, about 1/2 inch (1 cm) thick.
    Cut the rings in half to make half-moon pieces. use a paring knife to carefully remove the thick and poky skin - be sure to remove any "eyes" remaining on the surface of the peeled pieces.
    Slice each half-moon piece into small-medium bite-sized chunks, slicing off the fibrous core at the center of each slice.
    Measure out 1 1/2 cups of the cut-up pineapple chunks in 2 separate portions:
    1 cup portion + 1/2 cup portion
    pineapple fresh
  • Chop the chunks in the 1/2 cup portion into smaller pieces.
    finely diced fresh pineapple
  • Slit one sweet red mini pepper lengthwise- stem to toe; remove the few seeds, cut each half into thin long strips, then cut sideways to dice finely. Measure 2 tbsp after dicing.
    Finely dice the Serrano pepper too - need about 1/4 of a small-medium pepper. Measure 1/2 tsp after dicing.
    mini sweet peppers minced
  • Trim and thoroughly rinse the cilantro. Spread on a towel to wick away the water stuck to the leaves before chopping.
    Note:
    Adding dripping wet cilantro to this relish will make it watery, so it is best to towel-dry the washed cilantro before chopping.
    Kothimbir
  • Use a smooth sharp knife to chop the towel-dried cilantro. A serrated knife leaves bruised and jagged edges on the delicate cilantro leaves - that's not attractive!
    Fresh coriander, chopped
  • Add the 1 cup portion of pineapple chunks to the chopper/food processor bowl. Pulse-chop till fairly smooth. Do NOT add any water: the relish will become too watery!
    Note:
    If chopper/food processor is not available, see Recipe Notes for alternate directions.
    crush pineapple
  • Add the diced peppers: sweet red and spicy green.
  • Add the 1/2 cup portion of finely diced pineapple
    pineapple crushed
  • Pulse-chop a few times to get the texture you want.
  • Transfer to a bowl and add cilantro, salt, sugar and lemon/lime juice.
    pineapple relish w cilantro
  • Stir it all in and it's ready to serve!
    pineapple relish ready 2 serve
  • Use as a side with Quesadillas - for dipping.
    relish and quesadilla
  • Serve with tortillas, sour cream, pickled jalapenos.... and/or other munchies....
    fresh pineapple relish
  • Enjoy!

Notes

No electric chopper/food processor?
No worries... You can crush the pineapple using one of the following methods: 
  • An electric blender/mixer
    • Divide the mixture and pulse grind in small batches
      • If you do the whole batch at one go, it might become too smooth or might get stuck
        • do not add water if it gets stuck!
          • simply remove a portion,
          • pulse grind the smaller amount left in the blender jar
          • transfer to a serving bowl
          • repeat with the remaining portion(s) removed earlier.
  • Manually-cranked chopper/nut crusher
    • Transfer pineapple, Serrano pepper and sweet red mini-pepper into the manual chopper bowl
    • Crank the handle to chop/crush the ingredients
    • Transfer to serving bowl and stir in salt, sugar, cilantro and lime/lemon juice
    • Serve!
  • Mortar and pestle - chop all the pineapple finely if using this method, to make it easier to get the final texture you want.
    • Place a colander over a bowl and strain the chopped pineapple
      • Save the juice!
      • Let it rest in the colander for 10-15 min to drain well.
        • you might get up to 2-4 tbsp juice, depending on how juicy the pineapple is - save it - you will add it in later.
        • straining the pineapple well makes it easier to pound the pieces without causing a lot of messy splatter.
    • While waiting for the pineapple to drain its juices, crush the peppers
      • Add the diced peppers to the mortar and gently pound until crushed.
        • Use a circular grinding motion after pounding a few times to properly crush the peppers.
      • Scrape it out with a small spoon
    • Transfer small amounts of the pineapple chunks into the mortar and pound gently with a pestle.
      • use a spoon to periodically scrape it from the bottom and mix before you continue to pound it until it reaches the texture you like.
    • Remove from the mortar, transfer to a medium mixing bowl and repeat with the next portion of pineapple.
    • Repeat until it's all done!
    • Add the reserved juice (from straining the pineapple before crushing) to the crushed pineapple in the mixing bowl.
    • Stir in salt, sugar, cilantro and lime/lemon juice
    • Serve!
 
What to do with the fibrous pineapple core?
The center core of the pineapple is always tough and very fibrous. However, it it still has lots of juicy flavor.
So, instead of immediately tossing away the core, perhaps you can first try to extract some juice from it. Here's how to do that after you first cut it up into small-bite-sized pieces.
  • If you have a juicer: run it through and collect the juice; enjoy!
  • If you don't have a juicer, add it to your blender jar.
    • Add water to just barely cover the pineapple core pieces
    • Blend till smooth
      • Add a little water if it gets stuck - about 1-2 tbsp as needed.
      • strain with a fine mesh strainer -  squeeze the fibrous pulp in your fists to extract a little more juice.
      • Collect the juice; enjoy!
  • The fibrous pulp: dispose in trash or dry it and add to compost bin. You can also add small amounts to potted plants or in flower/vegetable beds
    • if it feels sticky and sweet, it's better to rinse the pulp under running water (in the mesh strainer) to remove residual sugar before drying it.
 
Storing Leftovers
Transfer leftover relish in a glass/ceramic jar with a good lid. I do not recommend using a plastic jar. Store in refrigerator. I do not recommend freezing this relish - its texture upon thawing is not the best.
  • Consume refrigerated pineapple relish within 3-4 days.
 
In refrigerator

Nutrition

Calories: 36kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 0.5gFat: 0.1gSaturated Fat: 0.01gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.04gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.01gSodium: 147mgPotassium: 90mgFiber: 1gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 299IUVitamin C: 40mgCalcium: 10mgIron: 0.2mg
Keyword cilantro, Fresh pineapple, Green onions, Jalapeno, Scallions, Serrano, Sweet mini peppers
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!