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This cozy homemade Pear Sauce is so flavorful and made with little to no added sugar. You can make this recipe in a slow cooker or on the stovetop, and it can also be frozen or canned.
Homemade pear sauce is a classic fall favorite. Flavored with cozy flavors like cinnamon and nutmeg, your house will smell amazing while this cooks away on the stovetop or in a slow cooker.
Enjoy this sauce as a snack, over pancakes, as a side with breakfast, over vanilla ice cream, or alongside a main dish like Air Fryer Pork Chops.
If fruity fall recipes are your jam, you’ll definitely want to check out our guide on Canning Pears, Canning Applesauce, Canning Apple Butter, and How to Dry Pears.
Can I Make This Recipe Sugar-Free?
Yes! Even though the recipe calls for only a scant 1/4 cup of sugar, you can absolutely leave it out. You can even leave the sugar out if you’re planning to can this recipe.
Canning Pear Sauce
Follow the recipe below and then add your sauce to sterilized jars, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace. Process the sauce in a water bath canner for 15 minutes for pints or 20 minutes for quarts.
If you want detailed step-by-step canning instructions, follow along in this post on How to Can Applesauce; the photo tutorial in that post will also work for pear sauce.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- All pears, including Asian pears, will work in this sauce. Choose ripe pears that you would select for eating fresh.
- You can leave the skins on if you prefer, but it will impact the texture a bit.
- The photos above show me using my Instant Pot, but I am using it on slow cooker mode using the glass lid accessory.
- Feel free to adjust the spices and sugar to your preference. If you want to increase the sugar amount, I recommend starting with what the recipe calls for and only adding additional sweetener after the sauce has cooked for a few hours. The sauce will naturally taste sweeter the longer it cooks.
- If you’re making this on the stovetop, use a heavy-bottomed saucepan like a dutch oven to prevent hot spots while it cooks.
- This sauce will keep in the fridge for two weeks, in the freezer for 6-9 months, or is shelf-stable for 12 months if canned.
Pear Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup water
- 8 cups pears {~14 medium pears}
- 1 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup sugar {optional}
Instructions
- Add 1/4 cup of water to the slow cooker.
- Cut the tops and bottoms off of the pears.
- Using a vegetable peeler, peel off all the pear skins.
- After that, cut the pear in half from the top to the bottom.
- Take the knife and make a cut from the stem to the bottom on one side. Repeat on the other side, then jiggle the core out.
- Roughly chop the pears and add them to the slow cooker.
- Add remaining ingredients and stir.
- Cook on low for 3-4 hours, or on high for 2 hours, until the pears are falling apart when stirred.
- Blend the pears with an immersion blender, or transfer in batches to a blender or food processor.
- Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, or freeze for 6-9 months.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How much does this recipe make? I was wondering if I might need to double it for canning.
Hi Charlene, in the printable recipe card/nutritional label it notes 12 servings, and each serving is 1/2 cup. So, you’ll get a total of 6 cups. If you use pint jars, the original recipe would make 3 pints, or 1 quart and 1 pint.
It’s very easy to double or triple if you’d like to can more than that.
Hi Sarah,
Just finished making this pear sauce and it is delicious! I doubled the recipe so I have plenty to can. I thought this would be thicker, more like a butter instead of a sauce. Any ideas on how I can thicken it to make it more like a butter? Thanks!
Hi Charlene, nope, it’s definitely a sauce consistency but I do have a plan to make a pear butter recipe at some point.
To thicken it, you can cook it down more to remove more liquid. You could also strain a portion of it through a fine metal sieve to remove any remaining liquid.
Hi! I really want to try canning, and your instructions look so thorough and easy to follow, but as a super duper newbie, would you mind explaining why adding sugar/lemon juice is not necessary? (if you have any sources, that’d be extra helpful)
Thank you!!
Hi Jessica, the natural sugar content in pears is high enough to be canned without sugar. Peaches, apricots, cherries, and apples are in the same boat.
Sugar is used as preservative in the canning process for many recipes, but in food items that have enough sugar, they are safe for canning as-is. I still add a bit of sugar to the canning process for pears, peaches, apricots, cherries, and apples, because I think it produces a superior canned product. The taste is better, the color is better in the long-run, etc. But it is not mandatory/necessary.
I LOVE pears and never thought of making pear sauce. Thx for the recipe.
You and me both. Pears are SO good!
I am so making this!
It’s sooooo good and makes your house smell amazing.