This pear butter recipe is a cousin to apple butter in that it is a reduction of pear sauce with layers of brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg star anise flavors. Delicious spread over buttered toast or homemade biscuits. A fall favorite for sure!
What is pear butter?
Pear butter does not contain butter! The butter part of pear butter comes from the reduction of the pears and the caramelization of the natural sugars found in the pears. It is creamy, silky and dreamy.
What ingredients are in pear butter?
- pears, peeled, cored and diced
- water
- brown sugar
- lemon juice
- vanilla extract
- ground cinnamon
- salt
- ground nutmeg
- ground cloves
- star anise (optional)
- ground ginger (optional)
How to make pear butter:
- Dice pears into medium sized pieces.
- Combine the diced pears, water, lemon juice, vanilla extract and cinnamon, nutmeg, and star anise, if using, in a large saucepan.
- Cover with a lid and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, until the pears are mush when pressed with a fork. Remove star anise, if using.
- Use an immersion blender to process the sauce until smooth. Add the brown sugar.
- Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally, scraping the caramelized pear butter from the bottom.
- Once the pear butter has cooled completely, portion into glass or plastic containers.
- Cover and store in the refrigerator. The pear butter will keep in the fridge for one week. You can also freeze or can the pear sauce.
Pear butter tips:
- The longer the sauce reduces, thickens and caramelizes, the more prone to burning it becomes. To avoid scorching the sauce, reduce the heat as it cooks or continually stir the sauce.
- The longer the sauce cooks, the darker, sweeter and thicker the sauce will become.
More Jam Recipes:
- Seedless Black Raspberry jam
- Blueberry Jam
- Peach Jam
- Fig Preserves
- Tomato Jam
- Strawberry Jam
- Hot Pepper Jam
- Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
📝 Frequently asked questions, answers and tips:
I wait for pear season to come around so I can make pear butter. It is just a slightly different taste to apple butter because you are substituting pears for the apples but I LOVE to spread it on buttered toast or a fresh biscuit. This morning I had pear butter as an addition to my cream cheese schmeared bagel. I am going to be sad when I run out of this batch of pear butter.
Follow these instructions but leave out the brown sugar. Know that the pear butter will still be sweet because pears are naturally sweet. Pear butter with out sugar may not be as dark and caramel in color. But you are saving on the sugar calories!
Pear Butter Recipe
There is more to a recipe than just the recipe card. Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
HELPFUL KITCHEN TOOLS
Ingredients
- 3 lbs. ripe pears (peeled, cored and diced)
- ½ cup water (or more as needed)
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- pinch of ground cloves
- 1 star anise (optional)
- ½ tsp. ground ginger (optional)
Instructions
- Dice pears into medium sized pieces. Remove the seeds and stem if not using a food mill. Peel pears, if desired.3 lbs. ripe pears
- Combine the diced pears, water, lemon juice, vanilla extract and cinnamon, nutmeg, and star anise, if using, in a large saucepan.½ cup water, 1 Tbsp. lemon juice, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 tsp. ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1 star anise
- Cover with a lid and bring to a boil over medium high heat.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until pears are soft, about 25-30 minutes or until the pears are mush when pressed with a fork. Remove star anise, if using.
- Use an immersion blender to process the sauce until smooth. Add the brown sugar.¼ cup brown sugar
- Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally, scrapping the caramelized pear butter from the bottom.
- Once the pear sauce has cooled completely, portion into glass or plastic containers. Cover and store in the refrigerator. The pear sauce will keep in the fridge for one week. You can also freeze or can the pear sauce.
Video
Notes
- The longer the sauce reduces, thickens and caramelizes, the more prone to burning it becomes. To avoid scorching the sauce, reduce the heat as it cooks or continually stir the sauce.
- The longer the sauce cooks, the darker, sweeter and thicker the sauce will become.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclosure
Nutritional facts are estimates and are provided as a courtesy to the reader. Please utilize your own brand nutritional values to double check against our estimates. Nutritional values are calculated via a third party. Changing ingredients, amounts or cooking technique will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
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👩🏻🍳 Sarah Mock
CEO/Owner/Founder/Culinary Blogger
Sarah Mock is a classically trained Chef and graduate of Johnson & Wales University. A culinary blogger for 14 years Sarah helps the home cook prepare her recipes with professional results.
Olivia Douglass
I've never had pear butter, but this looks AH-MAZING! I'm going to have to try it!