Homemade Pear Sauce
This simple homemade Pear Sauce is flavored with cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg. It’s a quick recipe that takes just 30 minutes to prepare, and I’ve provided canning instructions should you want to store your pear sauce long-term!
★★★★★
Bela says –
“It’s not only tasty, but pretty too! Thanks for a delicious recipe!”
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Just Like Applesauce … But with Pears!
Spiced pear sauce has the same pureed texture and sweet-tart flavor as your favorite applesauce, it’s just made with fresh pears instead of apples.
Pear sauce has been one of my family’s favorite fall recipes for years, and I love to water bath can several jars to keep on hand for snacking throughout the year.
If you’ve never had pear sauce before, here’s why I think you should make it:
✔ Minimal Ingredients: Pear sauce is made with just 5 basic ingredients, plus water, and it’s easy to customize using your favorite spices.
✔ Super Quick: Pears cook down quickly, so you can have this pear sauce on the table in about 30 minutes.
✔ Freezing and Canning Instructions: You can store this pear sauce in the fridge or freezer, and it’s also great for canning.
Enjoy!
-Katie
Special Equipment You’ll Need
You’ll need a few kitchen tools to prepare this recipe. Here’s what I recommend having on hand before getting started:
- Vegetable Peeler — To peel the pears.
- Kitchen Scale and Bowl — To weigh the pears.
- Citrus Juicer — To juice the lemon (here are my favorite tricks for getting the most juice from limes and lemons).
- Large Saucepan or Stock Pot — To cook the delicious sauce.
And if you’ll be canning the pear sauce, here’s what you’ll need:
- Water Bath Canner (or Large, Deep Pot with a Lid & Rack) – I only water bath can my sauce, but a pressure canner should work too.
- Glass Canning Jars, Lids & Bands – Remember to use new lids for a proper seal!
- Canning Funnel – Makes it easier to transfer the sauce to jars.
- Ladle – For scooping the sauce into the jars.
- Jar Lifter (Canning Tongs) – For safely removing the hot jars from the boiling water bath.
Grab These 5 Ingredients
The full list of ingredients with their measurements can be found in the recipe card below, but here’s an overview of what goes into this homemade pear sauce.
- Fresh Pears — Any variety of fresh pear may be used! I tend to use Bartlett pears, but I’ve also used D’Anjou, Red D’Anjou, and Bosc pears. You can use a mixture of different pears or all the same variety. Note that I do NOT recommend using Asian Pears for this recipe.
- Lemon Juice — Freshly squeezed is best.
- Spices — I used a blend of ground cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg, but you may use any spices you like.
How to Make Pear Sauce
- Combine everything in a saucepan. You’ll want to peel, core, and roughly chop the pears before adding them to the saucepan.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer. The mixture only needs to cook for about 20 minutes to soften and break down the pears.
- Blend until smooth. You can use a food processor or immersion blender for this. You’re looking for the pear sauce to be smooth, not liquified!
The above is simply a quick summary of this recipe. Check out the full recipe in the free printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for all the detailed instructions.
Katie’s Tips for Making This Recipe
- Want it sweeter? Try adding brown sugar in 1 tablespoon increments until your desired flavor is reached.
- Don’t have a food processor? You can use a potato masher or an immersion blender at low speed.
- Tempted to change the ingredients? Don’t! I do not recommend making substitutions in recipes that you plan to water bath can unless it is adjusting the amount of spices. Altering the amount of pears or the acidity (by omitting or substituting the lemon juice) would affect the ability to water bath can this pear sauce. Always consult canning experts and reputable sources before deviating from the recipe when water bath canning.
- Having trouble getting your jars open? Head over to my post about How to Open a Jar for 5 proven ways to open jars with tight lids.
Ways to Serve This
One of the best parts of making this recipe is all the different things that you can do with it besides just eating a bowl of it by itself. This recipe for pear sauce is pretty darn good on its own, but here are a few fun serving suggestions:
- Make these cute Bite Sized Cranberry Walnut Tarts, but substitute the easy homemade pear sauce for the cranberry sauce.
- Stir some into Maple Syrup to make pear flavored maple syrup. It will be so good poured over pancakes and waffles for a post-Thanksgiving brunch.
- Stir it into plain yogurt for a tangy, sweet flavor. Then, sprinkle granola and dried cranberries or fresh chopped pears on top.
- Stir a few spoonfuls into your oatmeal as it’s cooking to infuse it with spiced pear flavor. Substitute pear sauce for applesauce in baking recipes for a slightly different flavor, or use it as an oil substitute in baking.
Storage Instructions
Refrigerating: Homemade spiced pear sauce will last for about 3-4 days if stored airtight.
Freezing: Store it in the freezer for up to 6 months. I suggest freezing it in smaller quantities so you can thaw out however much you need at a moment’s notice. For best results, make sure you cool the finished pear sauce to room temperature before freezing!
Canning: If canned properly, pear sauce will last anywhere from 12 to 18 months. I’ve included instructions for how to water bath can pear sauce in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post!
You can also pressure can this pear flavor sauce as long as you have the correct tools and consult reputable sources for the instructions. Some tools you might need if you would like to pressure can pear sauce are: Pressure Cooker Canner, The Complete Guide to Pressure Canning, and of course – canning jars.
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More Fall Pear Recipes to Make
Have lots of pears to use up? Head over to my Ingredient Index to explore even more pear recipes!
Pear Sauce Recipe
You should definitely try making this Easy Homemade Pearsauce or Applesauce this fall. It is so tasty!
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 lbs. pears, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped
- 1/4 cup water
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 - 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
Instructions
To Make the Pearsauce
- In a large saucepan, combine the pears, water, lemon juice, cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg.
- Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Reduce heat and boil gently, occasionally stirring, for 20 minutes.
- Transfer mixture to a food processor, working in batches if necessary, fitted with a metal blade and puree just until a uniform texture is achieved. (Do not liquefy.)
- Transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Alternatively, freeze in 1 cup quantities in the freezer and store for several months.
How to Can Pearsauce
- Wash and rinse the jars in hot soapy water. Drain the jars well of any excess water. Set the screw bands aside - they don't require sterilizing. Place the lids - the flat round portion of the two-piece closures - in a small saucepan, cover with water and bring to a simmer. Don't boil. Keep lids hot until you're ready to use them.
- Ladle hot pearsauce into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head-space. Remove air bubbles and adjust head-space, if needed, but adding more pearsauce. Wipe rim. Center the lid on jar and screw band down until resistance is med, then increase to fingertip tight.
- Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool and store.
Notes
RECIPE TIPS
- Do not omit the lemon juice if you intend to water bath can this recipe. The recipe needs acidity to be safely water bath canned.
- You don't need to chop the pears too finely since they'll be cooked down on the stove anyways. But you DO need to peel them, otherwise your pearsauce will be the wrong consistency.
- Feel free to play around with the amount of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom in this recipe. I like it as written, but you can add more or less to suit your tastes. Changing these ingredients would not affect the ability to can this recipe.
INGREDIENT SUBSTITUTIONS FOR PEARSAUCE
I don't recommend making any substitutions for this recipe if you plan to water bath can this recipe for pearsauce unless it is adjusting the amount of seasoning. Altering the sugar content, the amount of pears, or the acidity (by omitting or substituting the orange juice) would affect the ability to water bath can the recipe.
If you are eating this within a week, or storing it in the freezer, you can make any substitutions that you would like.
PRESSURE CANNING
You can pressure can anything that you can water bath can. Make sure you have the right tools and that you consult reputable sources for pear butter pressure canning instructions, as I personally am not an expert at pressure canning.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1/2 cupAmount Per Serving: Calories: 132Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 21mgCarbohydrates: 35gFiber: 7gSugar: 23gProtein: 1g
GoodLifeEats.com offers recipe nutritional information as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although GoodLifeEats.com makes every effort to provide accurate information, these figures are only estimates.
Try Making Pear Sauce at Home!
With just 5 basic ingredients, this spiced pear sauce is a delicious snack that can be enjoyed now or canned for later.
Did You Try This Recipe? I’d love to hear how it turned out! Leave a comment and a review below—your feedback helps others and makes my day.
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Debbie Stephens says
Can this be made in a slow cooker?
Katie Kick says
Yes you can use a slow cooker
Bela says
I have a Bosc pear tree and it’s overloaded this year so I’m collecting pear recipes. The first time I made this, it was a bit tart. Could be my pears weren’t as ripe as they should’ve been which was maybe why I had to simmer 30 minutes instead of 20. I made it again today and added 2 tablespoons of white sugar (before I read your note which suggests brown sugar) and also added a teaspoon of almond extract. It came out a tiny bit sweeter than I thought it would, but this time my pears were more ripe. Ok so next time I’ll try just one tablespoon brown sugar!
It’s not only tasty, but pretty too! Thanks for a delicious recipe!
Katie says
Thanks for sharing your experience! How lucky to have a pear tree – I am envious!
carol says
Just canned a batch – used cranberry juice instead of water and mashed with an immersion blender. Delicious.
Kasey says
I replaced the 1/4 cup of water with 1/4 of maraschino cherry juice and threw in about 10 cherries along with the pears. Yummy, cherry-pear sauce!
andrea says
Hi. I want to make this asap but I don’t have a scale. Do you know about how many pears you used? thanks
Katie says
Sorry I do not know how many pears it was. Maybe you can borrow a scale from someone?
Erin @ Texanerin Baking says
I’m obsessed with homemade applesauce at the moment! My new favorite is raspberry applesauce. I seriously eat it for every meal. So yummy! And pear?! That sounds interesting and like you said, more sophisticated. 🙂
Jennifer says
Going to try canning this yummy recipe since we were given 80 lbs of free pears today! I’ll have to try your pear butter as well and maybe some will be made into a pear pie filling… Yikes! I feel like I have pears coming out my ears!