Best Ever Pear Bread
Moist and spiced pear bread is a delicious breakfast or dessert treat, made with fresh or canned pears!
This pear bread loaf is both pretty AND delectable, and is sure to disappear fast!
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We love making quickbreads in our family–it’s a great way to enjoy a sweet treat for breakfast, a snack, or even dessert!
This pear bread was one of the first types of bread I started making after my husband and I got married, and it has stood the test of time as a family-favorite recipe.
It’s such a delicious bread, warmly spiced with cinnamon and flavored with the sweetness of pears.
I use the same base recipe for my homemade peach bread, these easy pear muffins, as well as this old-fashioned pear bundt cake, and it never disappoints!
More Delicious Quickbread Recipes:
- Spiced Apple Butter Bread
- Sour Cream Banana Bread
- Strawberry Banana Bread
- Grandma’s Pumpkin Bread
- Easy Pistachio Bread
- Amish Cinnamon Bread
- Sweet Pineapple Bread
Variations of this Pear Bread Recipe
The great thing about this pear bread recipe is its flexibility.
I’ve made it with super ripe fresh pears, and I’ve made it with canned pears. Both options turn out beautifully, so you can totally make it either way.
If you have an abundance of ripe pears, use those! And make a batch of pear butter, pear jam, an easy pear bundt cake from a mix, a banana pear cake, a pear coffee cake, and pear cobbler while you’re at it. 🙂
If you don’t have ripe pears, use canned pears!
For another dessert using canned pears, try my pear cobbler made with cake mix.
The other fun variation is to use streusel topping or not. Again, I’ve made it both ways, and both are delicious. Just depends on what you prefer!
I’ve also combined this with banana bread and made banana pear bread, which is a tasty treat!
How to Make Homemade Spiced Pear Bread
It’s really easy to make this quickbread! You need your basic pantry staples and some pears.
Ingredients You’ll Need:
- Flour
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground nutmeg
- Vegetable oil
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Pears (fresh or canned)
- Vanilla extract
- Brown sugar
How to Make It:
(Full printable recipe is available below)
Combine dry ingredients. First, you’ll start by whisking together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Mix wet ingredients. Next, in the bowl of a stand mixer, you’ll combine the oil and sugar, then add the eggs, pears, and vanilla.
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Last, you’ll gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing just until everything is incorporated.
Top and bake. Next, you’ll divide the batter between two pans. If you’re using the streusel topping, you’ll sprinkle it over the tops of the loaves. If not, you’ll skip that part.
Bake for about an hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
How to Freeze Pear Bread:
The beauty of this recipe is that it makes two loaves, so you can easily eat one now and freeze one for later!
To freeze the bread, simply cool completely and double wrap with plastic wrap before freezing.
Recommended Equipment:
Easy Pear Bread
This spiced pear bread is an easy quickbread to make using either fresh or canned pears!
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 14.5-oz cans of sliced pears in juice, drained and chopped (or 2 1/2 cups peeled and chopped fresh pears)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Streusel Ingredients (if using):
- 6 Tbsp sugar
- 6 Tbsp brown sugar
- 4 Tbsp flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 4-8 Tbsp vegetable oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and grease two 8x4" or 9x5" loaf pans.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the oil and sugar on medium speed.
- With the mixer on low, add eggs one at a time, mixing until combined.
- Add pears and vanilla and mix until combined.
- With the mixer still on low, gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.
- Divide batter among the two loaf pans.
- If using the streusel, combine the sugar, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Add vegetable oil a Tablespoon at a time, mixing with your fingers until the texture of wet sand is achieved. Sprinkle the streusel over the two loaves.
- Bake for about 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Notes
These loaves freeze well. Simply cool completely and double wrap with plastic wrap before freezing.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
20Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 482Total Fat: 34gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 29gCholesterol: 28mgSodium: 216mgCarbohydrates: 44gFiber: 1gSugar: 27gProtein: 3g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and is not guaranteed for accuracy.
Hi! I did this recipe. I found it very good and tasteful, my only observation is the amount of sugar which is quite crazy, the sweetness just covers all the flavors. I recommend reducing it to at least 1 1/4 cups or even just 1 cup. 🙂
Hi Paulina! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Yes, you can definitely decrease the amount of sugar if you’d like, especially since the pears lend some sweetness too! 🙂
Nice and moist, easy to make, I used fresh ripe pears. I did not use the streusel,topping but still felt it was very sweet so next time I v will cut back on the sugar by one quarter cup less and see what happens. Still, very tasty.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Robin! 🙂
To me, it was not too sweet, even with the topping. Loved that little crunch. Will definitely make & gift it again. Nice that it makes 2 loaves.
Thank you, Bonnie! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it. Your gift recipients are in for a treat! 🙂
A friend brought me a 50lb box of cooking pears. I found your recipe and it turned out awesome. Really moist, my husband loves the bread with cup of tea when he gets home from work. Thank you very much. Now to deal with the rest of the pears!
Thank you so much, Diana! I’m glad to hear you and your husband are enjoying the bread. You can always make some pear butter to use up the rest, if you’d like! 😉
Pear pie is delicious, make like apple only substitute nutmeg for cinnamon. Grew up on this. Still my son’s favorite
I’m going to have to try pear pie, Michelle! Sounds delicious!
I made your bread and put in mini loaves to share with my family. I didn’t add the topping, and I doubled up on the spices and used extra pears. I’m one who always has to make recipes my own lol It was excellent and everyone really enjoyed it. Thanks so much!
Thank you so much, Kris! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it–and thank you for sharing your tweaks! 🙂
I made this with the streusel on top and it is delicious! My whole family loves it. My only question is – what is the best way to store it? Should it be refrigerated? Thanks!
Hi Noelle! I’m so glad your family enjoyed it! We store it in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days (if it lasts that long!), but I wouldn’t recommend room temp if you need it to last longer (due to the high moisture content of the pears). You can certainly refrigerate it to keep it fresh longer. Otherwise, you can double-wrap a loaf with plastic wrap and freeze it for later. 🙂
I did not make the topping but felt the bread needed more a “spiced” flavor.
Hi Jackie! Feel free to double the cinnamon next time to give it more prominent flavor. I hope that helps! 🙂
Crysti, your pear and peach bread recipes are the easiest and best I’ve EVER tried! I used canned and store bought. The moistness and taste are old fashioned and comforting! I enjoy your bread with coffee or tea! It’s been a real treat in this snowy and bitter cold weather! THANKYOU so much for this wonderful recipe. I halved mine and plan to try your other recipes too! This bread is a keeper recipe!
Thank you so much for your kind words, Margo! I love hearing that you’re enjoying the bread as much as we do. I agree, it’s perfect for bringing some cheer this time of year! 🙂
When do you add the baking powder on because it’s missing in the recipe but it’s in the ingredient list?
Hi Shyanne! Thanks for catching that mistake! It gets added with the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. I’ll update the recipe instructions! 🙂
A good non-dairy recipe. Like others, I raised my eyebrows at the amount of sugar. Even dropping it to 1 1/2 cups, it was a bit sweet. It was my first try so I didn’t want to mess with the proportions too much. I wish I’d seen the review recommending 1 1/4 or less. I didn’t want big chunks of wet pear so I diced mine and that gave a nice texture. Thanks for a good starting point for personalizing though. Next time I’m doubling the spices, adding some ginger powder, and subbing 1/2 cup of cocoa for the equivalent amount of flour.
Thank you so much, MJ! I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed it–and like you said, the amount of sugar can be tweaked a bit more next time. I love the idea of adding some ground ginger and cocoa powder, too! 🙂
Hi! So I made the recipe with a sugar replacement and had no issue with either, also added walnuts!! Amazing!!
I’m so glad to hear it, Sam! Thank you for sharing. I love the idea of adding walnuts to the loaves for a bit of crunch! 🙂
This looks so cool! What a great combination of flavors!
Hi I would love to make your recipe I have an over-abundance of pears at the moment! I just have a quick question, does your recipe use metric or imperial measurements? I live in Australia where we use metric but I’ve found a lot of recipes online don’t say which they use and the recipes don’t quite come out correctly when I make them because I haven’t used the right measurement. Thank you 🙂
Hi Rachel! I use imperial measurements, so all ingredients are listed in cups/teaspoons/tablespoons, etc. If you give it a try, I hope you enjoy it! 🙂
This looks so good! What a great combination of flavors!
Thank you, Suzanne! 🙂
Can this be made in a 8×8 pan?
Hi Becky! I’ve never tried making it in an 8×8″ pan, but I think it would be fine with some adjustments. You would need to halve the recipe, and the bake time would be a good bit shorter (I’m just guessing maybe around 25-35 minutes?). I hope that helps! 🙂
We loved this recipe! I made and froze 2 loaves in early November from pears we bought at a farm stand. I took one out for pre-Christmas weekend.
It thawed well and still has a light crispy top!
Great flavor and will definitely make again!
I love that you planned ahead so you could enjoy a loaf during the holidays! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipe as much as we do. 🙂
Excellent recipe! Hubby and I both loved it. We didn’t think it was too sweet at all! I loved that it made two loaves. I cook for the homeless twice a week so they will be getting sliced pear bread along with their meal tomorrow. 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you so much! I love hearing that it was a hit, and it makes my day knowing that others will get to enjoy a slice, too! 🙂