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.
Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
Easy Pear Butter
Ingredients
- 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.
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Wow! Good thing I have a pear tree! Thanks for posting this brilliant recipe.
Lovely recipe! Thank you very much indeed for sharing it. Fabulous way to used up pears before they turn (which they do all too quickly!). Made it this evening and was well pleased with the results — yielded 3 cups. The honey was just enough added sweetness for the pears. A great idea to use that instead of sugar.
I’ve been wanting to make pear butter since I had it this fall on a fantastic grilled cheese sandwich at a tea room outside of Chicago. It was the best grilled cheese I’ve ever had. Can’t wait to try this! Thanks!
My partner and I made 3 batches of this over the weekend. It is phenomenal! We have many pears left on the trees, so will definitely make more of this again this week. Thank you for the simple (and SUGAR FREE) recipe! As an aside, we canned this in a water bath canner and it worked beautifully. Again, many thanks.
MY FAMILY IS DOWN TO TWO AGAIN AND I HAVE TO COOK DIFFERNT. UNLESS I GET A GREAT DEAL ON PRODUCE I USUALLY BUY IT DAILY. I WASTE NOTHINGGGGGGG.I HAD SEARCHED FOR A RECIPE FOR PEAR BUTTER AND NONE OF THEM WERE EASY
TO READ AND WERE NOT ATTRACTIVE WHEN I SAW YOURS I SAID “THANK YOU LORD” IT IS SO PLAIN AND SIMPLE.I DIDN’T HAVE BUT 3 PEARS LEFT BUT I LIKE TO MAKE SMALL BATCHES OF JAMS,JELLIES AND PRESERVES. I PUT UP RED ONION MARMALDE TO EAT WITH MEATS.I LIKE TO GIVE SOMETHING THAT I PUT UP TO PEOPLE FOR CHRISTMAS.I HAD JUST PRINTED SOME OF YOUR RECIPES ON PINTEREST. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
How is this butter? It’s pear puree
Hey Ali, Hope Summer went well;)) Was looking at ur Pear Butter recipe. Had ton’s of Pears this year;/ i’m going to try it out;)) anymore ideas would be awesome!! Thanks again~
Just made this and it is phenomenal! I kept some as a chutney and made the rest into more of a pear sauce than a pear butter due to the amount of fluid. Regardless, I am very happy with it! Thank you for the recipe:)
Could this be frozen? I have a ton of pears and would love to make a big batch.
I have successfully frozen sliced and boiled or blanched pears and apples for months at a time. Make sure you blanch them and cool prior to freezing so they do not turn brown and “icky”. This is especially good for making pies and pear or apple butter during the winter and spring long after you have harvested your pears/apples.
Received a gift of 2 boxes of very ripe pears today. I am so glad I found your butter recipe. It was super easy to make and made the house smell so good! Am looking forward to having it on pancakes in the morning.