Homemade Pear Sauce is just like homemade applesauce but made with fresh pears! Add additional layers of flavor with cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and vanilla to personalize your sauce. This is a sugar-free pear sauce recipe.
My grandmother had a grove of pear trees and she had an abundance of pears to eat, give to neighbors and of course make delicious pear recipes. Make an extra batch of pear sauce and turn it into pear butter recipe with my easy step-by-step instructions.
Once you wet your feet with canning pear sauce you are going to want to make bread and butter pickles, spiced it up with candied jalapenos, pickled banana peppers or my favorite blueberry jam!
🍐 Ingredients:
- Pears
- water
- lemon juice
- vanilla extract
- cinnamon sticks (optional)
- nutmeg (optional)
- star anise (optional)
Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.
🍐 How to make pear sauce:
- Dice ripe pears into medium-sized pieces.
- Combine the pear pieces, water, lemon juice, vanilla extract and cinnamon, nutmeg, and star anise, if using, in a large pot.
- Cover with a lid and bring to a boil over medium high heat.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, until the pears are soft when pressed with a fork.
- Use an immersion blender to process the sauce until smooth. If you don't have one a potato masher is a great substitute.
- 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.
Food mill instructions:
- Dice pears into medium-sized pieces. Leave skins seeds and stems in tact. The food mill will remove them.
- 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, stirring occasionally, until pears are soft, about 25-30 minutes or until the pears are mush when pressed with a fork.
- Ladle the soft pears into the hopper of the food mill.
- Turn the crank to pass the pears through the fine mesh.
- If desired, pass the skins through the mesh strainer for a second time.
- 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.
How to can pear sauce
- Prepare your hot water bath canner
- Ladle hot pear sauce into hot jars, leaving ½-inch headspace at the top of the jars.
- Remove air bubbles. Wipe rims of the jars. Center lid on jar and adjust band to fingertip-tight.
- Place jar on the rack elevated over simmering water in a boiling water bath, repeat until all jars are filled.
- Lower the rack into simmering water. Cover with enough water to cover the jars by 1 inch.
- Adjust heat to medium-high, cover canner and bring water to a rolling boil.
- Process pint or quart jars 20 minutes. Turn off heat and remove cover.
- Let jars cool 5 minutes. Remove jars from canner; do not retighten bands if loose.
- Cool 12 hours. Test seals. Label and store jars.
📝 Frequently asked questions, answers and tips:
Pears do not need to be peeled before making them into the sauce but you are welcome to peel them if you like. I leave the peels on to add to the nutritional value as well as the fiber content. If you use a food mill you do not need to remove the seeds and stem but if you use an immersion blender or food processor you are going to want to remove the seeds before cooking down the pears.
I like to use Bartlett pears for their natural sweetness but you can add in other pears to make a sauce that is unique to your tastes. Use what is available in your area and what you find to be delicious. Also if you find 'seconds' or pears that are close to being overripe, those are perfect for making into the sauce and are absolutely delicious.
Pear sauce is very similar to applesauce with the exception that pear sauce is made with pears instead of apples. I fed both pear sauce and apple sauce to my babies as some of their first solid food. The pear sauce was especially good in helping to relieve a constipated baby.
👩🍳 Chef Tip
Don't be afraid to combine different varieties of pears to make a sauce that is all your own. Asian pears, Bartlett pears, bosc pears and D'Anjou pears are all sweet and would make super delicious sauce in any combination.
Pear Sauce 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!
EQUIPMENT
Ingredients
- 3 pounds Pears
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon optional
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg optional
- 1 star anise optional
Instructions
- Dice pears into medium sized pieces. Remove the seeds and stem if not using a food mill. Peel pears, if desired.
- 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, stirring occasionally, until pears are soft, about 25-30 minutes or until the pears are mush when pressed with a fork.
- Use an immersion blender to process the sauce until smooth. If you prefer a chunkier, more rustic sauce, mash the soften pears with a potato masher.
- Alternatively you can transfer the cooked pear mixture to a food processor or blender to process, just make sure the pear sauce has cooled down.
- 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.
Notes
How to can pear sauce:
- Ladle hot pear sauce into a hot pint jar, leaving ½-inch headspace.
- Remove air bubbles. Clean jar rim. Center lid on jar and adjust band to fingertip-tight.
- Place jar on the rack elevated over simmering water (180°F) in boiling-water bath, repeat until all jars are filled.
- Lower the rack into simmering water. Water must cover jars by 1 inch.
- Adjust heat to medium-high, cover canner and bring water to a rolling boil.
- Process pint or quart jars 20 minutes. Turn off heat and remove cover.
- Let jars cool 5 minutes. Remove jars from canner; do not retighten bands if loose.
- Cool 12 hours. Test seals. Label and store jars.
How to make pear sauce with a food mill:
- Dice pears into medium sized pieces. Leave skins seeds and stems in tact. The food mill will remove them.
- 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, stirring occasionally, until pears are soft, about 25-30 minutes or until the pears are mush when pressed with a fork.
- Ladle the soft pears into the hopper of the food mill.
- Turn the crank to pass the pears through the fine mesh.
- If desired, pass the skins through the mesh strainer for a second time.
- 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.
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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Phyllis N Brown
A restrurant served a delicious sauce over chicken. It was pear, goat cheese and walnuts. I'm looking for a recipe and can't find one anywhere. I guess i'll have to try and make one up unless you have a suggestion.
Thanks, Phyllis