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This past weekend was everything I love about Fall.
Long walks with friends in the crisp autumn air. Lazy mornings enjoyed at the coffee shop nextdoor. Days snuggled in cozy sweaters and fluffy slippers. Turning leaves everywhere on fire with color. Catching up on episodes of my favorite fall shows, and then watching a moving book club pick come to life in the theater with friends. Taking full advantage of Daylight Savings Time to sleep in an extra hour. Sunday morning worship and words.
And of course, in my opinion, all good weekends must include some quality time in the kitchen.
This particular weekend was all about the pears for me. Ever since my trip in October to visit Harry & David, I have been craving pears nonstop. And then somehow buying them nonstop. :)
So to use up a few leftover ripe pears this weekend, I decided to make a quick small batch of stovetop pear butter. It’s basically like apple butter — but with pears!
This is no all-day, enormous batch, canning recipe though. Just an easy pear butter recipe that can be ready to go in 1 hour. It’s also naturally sweetened with honey, so you can feel good about generously layering a little extra onto your toast or muffin or wherever you may enjoy your pear butter.
I’ll add it to my list of things I love about fall. It’s seasonal, full of yummy spices, and oh-so-comforting and sweet.
This easy pear butter recipe can be made on the stove in 1 hour, and is perfect for spreading on toast other favorites!
Ingredients
Scale
3 lbs. ripe pears, peeled, cored and diced
3 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. salt
pinch of groud nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
Instructions
Stir all ingredients together in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for about 50 minutes, covering so that the lid is slightly open, and stirring occasionally. Keep an eye on the mixture so that the bottom does not burn. Once it has reduced slightly and thickened, remove from heat and transfer to a food processor. Pulse until smooth. (Or you can skip this step and keep the pear butter chunky.)
Transfer to canning jars or a heat-proof container, seal, and refrigerate until ready to use. Keep for up to a week.
*If your pear butter is too thin, feel free to run the mixture through a strainer to remove extra liquid. Alternately, let the mixture simmer on the stove longer to reduce more.
I’m using windfall pears so am concerned there’s not enough juices. Not sure what is ‘coming to a boil’ since no water added. Just getting started but have my doubts…
A great simple recipe. Made one wonderful batch, now trying a few changes on the second: adding a few almonds, sliced and toasted, plus a drop of almond seasoning at the end as almonds so good with pears.
This came out delicious, I added two apples to this recipe. Just the right amount of sweetness. Used pumpkin pie spice since I didn’t have any ground ginger. Great recipe.
Mizera Mykle —
Love your idea of adding apple’s and am making it now. Funny thing, I’ve made apple butter and pear butter for 50 years yet never thought to combine the two! Glad for your tip as I’ve a box of apples but only 3 anju pears and two Asian pears so the apples will make enough to share which is my favorite thing. THANK YOU IRENE!
Question – there is not really much liquid.. how does this come to a boil?
Mary —
Those pears will cook out a lot of water.
Susan —
I made this recipe today, tweaking just a little. I cored, but did not peel my pears; this was much like an apple butter recipe I made a year or so ago. My pears were a little under ripe and not so juicy, so I ultimately added one half cup of water to the cooking pot to get things going. The pear butter turned out beautifully! I’m going to share a pint with my niece whose pears tree we picked.
This is a really easy Pear Butter recipe and it is also really good! Just made my second batch of the year! I did add a little light brown sugar to the recipe.
VERY easy with excellent results. The only adjustment I made – and flavorings will depend on type of pear used – was to cut the honey by 1/3rd and double the lemon juice. I like less sweet and more tart spreads and this adjustment made it perfect. Using the recipe otherwise as written, there is no reason to worry about bringing it to a boil – the honey and lemon juice as well as the juices from the pears that soon appear take care of that immediately.
I halved the amounts and used cardamom instead of cloves and the pear butter came out beautifully (and the house smells amazing!). I used Bartlett pears. Definitely keep stirring every so often to prevent scorching.
i made this in my crock pot and used my immersion blender to blend it but that’s the only thing i did different. the pear butter came out so good that both my brother and my dad started just drinking it straight out of the jars i gave them
Thank you so much for this recipe. I had just watched the video and in walks my husband with a milk crate full of pears. …we have no pear trees. He had been riding his side by side in the mountains behind our home and came upon a pear tree that was just growing in the woods. The pears were all over the ground and he picked some of the better ones and brought them to me. We ate some fresh, froze some and the rest I use to try this recipe. It turned out delicious. I ended up with 7+ half pints. It was truly one of the least messy projects I have done lately. I will now use my crock pots to make all my “butters”.
Made this with 9 or 10 very ripe Bartlett pears this morning, skipped cloves. Made 3 half pints and a taste for me. Didn’t know if I should turn upside down like jelly to seal but will refrigerate when cool and give 2 away with instructions to refrigerate and use within a week. Thanks for posting
Please edit my previous comment on pear butter as I processed 5 minutes amd let sit 5 more and will still refrigerate and give your directions for use to my dad and a friend.
This is a great recipe for a delicious pear butter! I prefer mine more caramelized, so I cooked this per the instructions, then ran it through a food mill into my crock pot. I then let it go overnight (on low) until it hits the color and consistency I’m looking for (almost mahogany!). It’s so easy to make and extremely delicious. If you want to save on the cost, find out if your local orchard/farmer’s market has “seconds” which are typically much less expensive. That way, you can double or triple (or beyond) this recipe. I ended up using 12 pounds of pears total! Thanks for sharing this!
Made this yesterday and it was so good. I will make homemade from now on. So easy. I used apple and pear as these were on the way out. So so good. Thank you.
I’m using windfall pears so am concerned there’s not enough juices. Not sure what is ‘coming to a boil’ since no water added. Just getting started but have my doubts…
Made this tonight with red anjou pears and omg it is soooooo good. I got four 8 oz jars from it and I am definitely going to make some more!
A great simple recipe. Made one wonderful batch, now trying a few changes on the second: adding a few almonds, sliced and toasted, plus a drop of almond seasoning at the end as almonds so good with pears.
Exactly what I wanted to do! Easy, quick and delicious usage of my over abundance of lovely pears. Thanks so much!
This came out delicious, I added two apples to this recipe. Just the right amount of sweetness. Used pumpkin pie spice since I didn’t have any ground ginger. Great recipe.
Love your idea of adding apple’s and am making it now. Funny thing, I’ve made apple butter and pear butter for 50 years yet never thought to combine the two! Glad for your tip as I’ve a box of apples but only 3 anju pears and two Asian pears so the apples will make enough to share which is my favorite thing. THANK YOU IRENE!
I made it out of a rotten over-ripened bag of pears on my stove and it came back delicious.
Sorry, came out.
Question – there is not really much liquid.. how does this come to a boil?
Those pears will cook out a lot of water.
I made this recipe today, tweaking just a little. I cored, but did not peel my pears; this was much like an apple butter recipe I made a year or so ago. My pears were a little under ripe and not so juicy, so I ultimately added one half cup of water to the cooking pot to get things going. The pear butter turned out beautifully! I’m going to share a pint with my niece whose pears tree we picked.
I will be trying this recipe today thank you
Looks great
Can this be frozen?
This is a really easy Pear Butter recipe and it is also really good! Just made my second batch of the year! I did add a little light brown sugar to the recipe.
The 1x pear butter recipe will fill how many jars?
Can this be frozen?
Can this be frozen?
VERY easy with excellent results. The only adjustment I made – and flavorings will depend on type of pear used – was to cut the honey by 1/3rd and double the lemon juice. I like less sweet and more tart spreads and this adjustment made it perfect. Using the recipe otherwise as written, there is no reason to worry about bringing it to a boil – the honey and lemon juice as well as the juices from the pears that soon appear take care of that immediately.
So GOOD!!!
I made this for a turkey, cream cheese and pear sandwich! Yum!
I halved the amounts and used cardamom instead of cloves and the pear butter came out beautifully (and the house smells amazing!). I used Bartlett pears. Definitely keep stirring every so often to prevent scorching.
Wonderful receipe we love the flavor and give it away for holiday.Thank you
Can you freeze the pear butter so it lasts longer than a week?
Yes, you can. When freezing, make sure you leave about an inch of space for expansion.
Can this recipe be canned? My refrigerator space is at a premium.
Can you freeze this for later use?
Can you make it in a crock pot?
Can you hot bath it and can it for longer shelf life?
i made this in my crock pot and used my immersion blender to blend it but that’s the only thing i did different. the pear butter came out so good that both my brother and my dad started just drinking it straight out of the jars i gave them
Thank you so much for this recipe. I had just watched the video and in walks my husband with a milk crate full of pears. …we have no pear trees. He had been riding his side by side in the mountains behind our home and came upon a pear tree that was just growing in the woods. The pears were all over the ground and he picked some of the better ones and brought them to me. We ate some fresh, froze some and the rest I use to try this recipe. It turned out delicious. I ended up with 7+ half pints. It was truly one of the least messy projects I have done lately. I will now use my crock pots to make all my “butters”.
Can you can this recipe?
Made this with 9 or 10 very ripe Bartlett pears this morning, skipped cloves. Made 3 half pints and a taste for me. Didn’t know if I should turn upside down like jelly to seal but will refrigerate when cool and give 2 away with instructions to refrigerate and use within a week. Thanks for posting
Please edit my previous comment on pear butter as I processed 5 minutes amd let sit 5 more and will still refrigerate and give your directions for use to my dad and a friend.
Easy to make and prepare. I used 3 cans of pares, I didn’t have cloves but a great substitute for cloves is all spice which I do have.
I’ve made this several times and it’s been delicious every time!
Can I put this in a canner and let them seal them put them in where the rest of my can food is or do I have to refrigerate
Made it! Delish. Has anyone canned it in Kars? I am thing about doing that.
I’m a newby! My pears were overripe so I cut out the bad stuff. The texture and flavor is wonderful! Thank you!
This is a great recipe for a delicious pear butter! I prefer mine more caramelized, so I cooked this per the instructions, then ran it through a food mill into my crock pot. I then let it go overnight (on low) until it hits the color and consistency I’m looking for (almost mahogany!). It’s so easy to make and extremely delicious. If you want to save on the cost, find out if your local orchard/farmer’s market has “seconds” which are typically much less expensive. That way, you can double or triple (or beyond) this recipe. I ended up using 12 pounds of pears total! Thanks for sharing this!
Made this yesterday and it was so good. I will make homemade from now on. So easy. I used apple and pear as these were on the way out. So so good. Thank you.
If hot water hot bath, will last much longer correct?
I love the recipe but can it be sealed for more than a week? I don’t want to put it in fridge.
One word…FABULOUS,,
Have you ever canned this? Had lots of pears given to.me…
How many pints does recipe yield?
Can I process as I would jam canning it
I’ve made this countless times, and it always turns out perfectly.