Pear season is here, and this pear butter is one of the easiest and tastiest ways to enjoy them! Along with brown sugar and some cozy warm spices, simmered on the stovetop until thick and smooth, this recipe makes pears shine. It's a small batch, fuss-free recipe that makes your kitchen smell amazing!
Spread it on warm toast, swirl it in your yogurt, spoon it over your pancakes, or serve it with your cheese board. This pear butter is very versatile. Simple to make, easy to store, and full of seasonal flavor, you'll want to keep coming back to this pear butter recipe every year! Just like I do with my stovetop apple butter recipe!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
✨ Simple ingredients - This pear butter recipe uses basic pantry ingredients. Nothing fancy or hard to find.
✨ Easy to make - This small batch stovetop pear butter is not complicated to make. It just requires one pot and a blender, and a bit of stirring!
✨ Big Fall flavors - Warm cozy spices like ginger, star anise, cinnamon, and nutmeg make this pear butter an autumn essential!
✨ Delicious and flavorful - Richly spiced, thick and smooth, this sweet pear spread is so delicious, you'll want to eat it by the spoonfuls!
✨ Versatile to use - You can spread it on your toast, add it to your oatmeal, or chia pudding, or enjoy it with scones or in your yogurt!
Recipe Ingredients
Pears: Use ripe pears for the maximum flavor. I used Bartlett pears, but any variety will work.
Sugar: Brown sugar sweetens this pear butter and adds a lovely, deep caramel flavor.
Lemon juice: Adds a bit of brightness and balances the sweetness.
Spices: I used ginger powder, cinnamon powder, nutmeg, and star anise. Feel free to switch to any other spice you prefer - cardamom, vanilla, all-spice, cloves, or even fennel.
Please see the recipe card below for full information about ingredients and quantities.
How To Make Pear Butter
Step 1: Peel, core, and dice the pears. Add them to a thick-bottomed stockpot with water, lemon juice, cinnamon powder, ginger powder, star anise, and freshly grated nutmeg powder.
Step 2: Bring the mixture to a boil on medium-high heat, then reduce to medium-low, cover, and cook until the pears are soft and cooked through.
Step 3: Cool this mixture for a few minutes. Then transfer to a blender and process until smooth.
Step 4: Pour the puree back into the saucepan, and add brown sugar. Cook on low heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture is thick.
Step 5: Let it cool and then transfer it to a jar or an airtight container. Keep refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.
Top Tips
- Choose ripe pears for maximum flavor. Slightly overripe ones will work well too.
- The mixture does need frequent stirring, otherwise it can burn. So be around, give the pears a stir or two every few minutes.
- You may need to add extra water when cooking the pears.
- I chose to peel the pears for an extra smooth texture. You can keep them unpeeled.
- Blend the pears well. We want a super silky, smooth texture for this pear butter.
- Pears vary in sweetness, so adjust the amount of sugar and lemon juice accordingly.
- Don't skip the spices when making this homemade pear butter. They add the warm, autumnal flavors. But feel free to tweak the quantities per your preference.
- You can easily double or triple the recipe to make larger batches.
- Let the pear butter cool before transferring to a clean jar.
How To Store
I like to make small batches of pear butter and store it in clean jars in the refrigerator. This will stay well for 2 weeks. You can also freeze the pear butter in a freezer-safe jar or container for 2-3 months.
If you want to store for a longer time, please follow safe canning methods to do so.
How To Serve
There are so many ways you can enjoy this delicious old-fashioned pear butter. Here are some ideas:
- Spread it on warm toast - try it on toasted challah, homemade bagels, English muffins, or no-knead jalapeno cheddar bread for a yummy sweet-savory taste.
- Swirl it into cake batter like I did for my apple butter bread.
- Use it as a pastry filling, like in my cherry puff pastry or strawberry turnovers.
- Serve with fluffy cinnamon pancakes, easy eggless waffles, miso scones, or cheese scones.
- This spiced pear butter is absolutely perfect for a cheese board, too!
Recipe FAQs
You can use any variety of pears that are easily available to you. Bartlett, Bosc, Anjou, or Comice - all of these will work well here.
Yes, absolutely. Prep the pears, add them to the crock pot along with the sugar, spices, lemon juice, and water. Cook for 6-8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high, until the pears are cooked through. Puree the pears using an immersion blender in the crock pot or transfer to a blender. Cook for another 30-40 minutes, uncovered ( stirring occasionally) to thicken it more, if you like.
While I prefer to peel the pears, you can use them unpeeled for this easy pear butter recipe! Just make sure you are blending the pears well to get a super smooth texture.
📖 Recipe
Pear Butter Recipe
Ingredients
- 2.2 lbs Pears
- 1 tbsp Lemon juice
- 1/2 cup Water
- 1 tsp Cinnamon powder
- 1/2 tsp Ginger powder
- 1/4 tsp Nutmeg powder
- 1 Star anise
- 1/4 cup Brown sugar
Instructions
- Peel, core, and dice the pears.
- Add the diced pears, lemon juice, water, cinnamon powder, ginger powder, nutmeg, and star anise to a thick-bottomed saucepan.2.2 lbs ( 1 kg) Pears, 1 tbsp Lemon juice, 1/2 cup ( 120 ml) Water, 1 tsp Cinnamon powder, 1/2 tsp Ginger powder, 1/4 tsp Nutmeg powder, 1 Star anise
- Bring to a boil on medium-high heat and then lower the heat to medium-low. Cover and cook the pears until soft and cooked through. This took me about 45 minutes.Keep stirring occasionally. Add more water if needed.
- Cool the softened pears for a few minutes, then transfer to a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Pour the pureed pears back into the saucepan and stir in brown sugar.1/4 cup ( 55 g) Brown sugar
- Cook, uncovered, for another 25-30 minutes on low heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture is thick and smooth.
- Cool and transfer to a jar or an air-tight container. Keep refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Choose ripe pears for maximum flavor. Slightly overripe ones will work well too.
- The mixture does need frequent stirring, otherwise it can burn. So be around, give the pears a stir or two every few minutes.
- You may need to add extra water when cooking the pears.
- I chose to peel the pears for an extra smooth texture. You can keep them unpeeled.
- Blend the pears well. We want a super silky, smooth texture for this pear butter.
- Pears vary in sweetness, so adjust the amount of sugar and lemon juice accordingly.
- Don't skip the spices when making this homemade pear butter. They add the warm, autumnal flavors. But feel free to tweak the quantities per your preference.
- You can easily double or triple the recipe to make larger batches.
- Let the pear butter cool before transferring to a clean jar.
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