Crock pot Pear Butter Recipe (2024)

This Crock pot Pear Butter Recipe is one of the best ways to preserve an abundance of pears. Not to mention they make the perfect hostess gifts.

Introduction

For most of my adult life, I never gave fruit butter any consideration. To be honest, I had a preconceived idea that fruit butter actually had butter in it (if you could see me now, I am blushing …)

About a decade ago, I had a conversation with a colleague who enlightened me on the subject of fruit butter.

And that is how my obsession with fruit butter began…

I started with this spiced apple butter recipe, and this pear butter was the natural next step!

But I didn’t stop there. I also published a recipe for plum butter that tastes amazing!

What is a fruit butter?

A fruit butteris a highly concentrated form of pureed fruit (apple, pear, plum, etc…). It has a smooth consistency and silky texture, whichcan easily be spread, like butter. Spices are often used to highlight the fruity taste, and they are usually made without any pectin.

How is a fruit butter made?

Fruit butter is made by chopping fruit into chunks and cooking it so that it softens. It is then pureed and cooked again until all the moisture evaporates, transforming into a smooth, silky fruit spread. Fruit butter can easily be made in a slow cooker.

I have previously mentioned that I have a wonderful pear tree growing in my backyard that my dad planted. It truly is a privilege to watch the May blossoms slowly develop into actual pears.

A recent weather warning of thunderstorms and risk of high winds left us no choice but to go pear picking in our backyard – we didn’t want to end up with pears splattered everywhere, blown around by the wind!

Sowe picked the pears… about 40 pounds worth!

Now, my dilemma. What to do with two bushels of freshly picked pears? I considered making thisAlmond Pear Tart. But there are only so many tartsone can make. Ialso have a recipe for a wonderful pear cake, but then again, that would only have used up three pears out of thetwobushels that we had…

That’s the thing with fruit trees – the fruit ripens all at the same time, and then you are left scrambling, trying to find waysto use or preserve it for the long winter months.

So if you are wondering how to preserve pears, I have the perfect solution… make this perfectly spiced pear butter! It really is so easy to make in a crockpot!

How to make Slow Cooker Pear Butter:

The first thing we are going to do is give the pears a good rinse. Once that is done, we need to peel and core the pears. Feel free to use a variety of pears for this recipe.

Pro Tip: Use a melon baller to remove the core of the pear.

Next, we need to add the peeled and cored pears to the slow cooker along with a scraped vanilla been, some orange peel, a few tablespoons of brown sugar, orange juice and a little bit of water.

Pro Tip: The water is added to prevent the pears from scorching so it is important not to skip this addition.

Set your crockpot on high and cook for 3-4 hours. The total time will depend on the ripeness and the type of pears. As soon as the pears have softened enough to be pureed, remove the vanilla bean and the orange peel.

With a handheld immersion blender, process the pears until smooth. You will notice that this is a very wet mixture. Alternatively, the cooked pears can be transferred to a food processor and pureed.

Next, cook it down until there is no liquid that seeps out when a teaspoon of the fruit puree is placed on a dish.

How to use

• Spread it on toast, muffins, breakfast buns, bagels, french toast, waffles or pancakes;
• Swirl it in yogurt, oatmeal, cottage cheese or even ricotta;
• Makes a great topping for ice cream and parfaits;
• Makes a great sandwich spread, especially with cheese

Nutrition Note: This pear butter can be a great fat-free alternative for butter. But remember, fat-free does not mean calorie-free. Moderation is key!

As I was looking for some fruit butter inspiration, I was surprised to see that some recipes actually had up to 4 cups of sugar added to 4-5 pounds of pear. I think that would be appropriate for a jam or jelly, but for a fruit butter? I’ll let you decide.

It’s definitely too sweet for me. I opted for just a couple of tablespoons of brown sugar, due to the fact that my pears were not yet fully ripened.

Recipe origins

My daughter-in-law and daughter are just as obsessed as I am with fruit butter. And so they became my taste testers for this recipe. After some tweaking, we decided to enhance the flavor of the pears with some vanilla beans and just a hint of orange.

In case you are wondering, we tried adding different “warm” spices to the pears (cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice). As you probably know, spices have the wonderful ability to complement and add a little bit of depth to the fruit.

We felt the delicate flavor of the pear was overpowered by the spices, despite the fact that we used very little amounts.

We then attempted a lemon and vanilla bean pear butter, followed by an orange and vanilla bean pear butter. Ultimately, we decided that it was best with a hint of orange. The inspiration for this pear butter came from a recipe found on this site.

It really is one of the best ways to preserve an abundance of pears. Not to mention, they make the perfect hostess gifts.

Enjoy!

THANKS SO MUCHfor following and being part of theShe Loves Biscotticommunity where you will findSimple & Tasty Family-Friendly Recipes with an Italian Twist.

Ciao for now,

Maria

★★★★★ If you have made this Pear Butter recipe, I would love to hear about it in the comments below and be sure to rate the recipe!

Recipe

This recipe was originally published on September 18, 2016 and republished on September 26, 2018 with improvements to the recipe, updated content and a video.