Easy Pear Butter Recipe (Instant Pot, Slow Cooker, or Stove Top)

Warmly spiced and lightly sweet, this easy pear butter is perfect on biscuits, dinner rolls, or pancakes!

You’re going to love this delicious pear butter, whether you make it in your Instant Pot, slow cooker, or on the stove top!

jar of pear butter with a spoon in it

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I have long considered myself a keeper of the seasons. That’s why every fall, I launch into full apple mode and pear mode before eventually drifting into pumpkin mode.

Fruit butters are something I’ve been making for several years now as a way to use up the season’s bounty.

I initially started with slow cooker apple butter, then moved on to Instant Pot apple butter. I’ve also made pumpkin butter in the Instant Pot!

So this year, as I’ve been working my way through about 12 pounds of fresh pears, I decided to make old-fashioned pear butter!

It’s safe to say I’m a sucker for a good fruit butter recipe, and this version was the perfect mix of sweetness and warming spices.

You’re going to love this easy and delicious pear butter recipe–it’s positively wonderful.

More Delicious Ways to Use Fresh Pears:

overhead view of the mouth of a jar of homemade pear butter

Easy Homemade Pear Butter

You’re going to love this homemade pear butter! It’s one of those versatile spreads that can be used for so many things, and it’s a great way to use up fresh fruit before it goes bad.

Spread it on your freshly baked biscuits or dinner rolls.

Add a dollop to pancakes and waffles.

I also like to stir it into a warm bowl of oatmeal or a cold cup of yogurt.

It can be a simple substitute for apple butter in baked goods, such as in apple butter bread, apple butter snickerdoodles, or apple butter cake.

No matter how you choose to enjoy it, I feel confident that you will indeed enjoy it!

Sweet ripe pears cook with brown sugar and warm spices, plus a little bit of lemon juice, which really brightens the flavors (so don’t skip it!).

Want a version that uses both pears and apples? Try my apple pear butter recipe!

How to Make Pear Butter

Whether you’re using up bounty from your pear tree or putting grocery store pears to use, it’s really easy to make this delicious spread.

I’m including instructions for various cooking methods, too–so whether you make Instant Pot pear butter, prepare it in your slow cooker, or cook it on the stove top, you’re good to go!

Ingredients You’ll Need:

  • Fresh pears
  • Brown sugar
  • Water
  • Lemon juice
  • Ground cinnamon
  • Ground nutmeg
  • Ground allspice
  • Ground ginger
  • Ground cloves
  • Ground cardamom (optional)
Ball jar of pear butter with a spoon resting on top

How to Make this Homemade Pear Butter Recipe:

(Full printable recipe is available below)

Peel, core, and dice the pears. First, you’ll peel, core, and chop up the pears. If your pears are nice and ripe, this should be a breeze to do.

You’ll want to be sure your pears are ripe. I used Bartlett pears, which you can see are different colors depending on their ripeness.

The golden-yellow pears are perfect–soft enough that they have a little give to them when pressed.

The brighter green pears are still somewhat hard and not yet as sweet. Go for the yellow ones!

two Bartlett pears in a woman's hand. One is yellow and ripe, the other is green and unripe.

Combine all ingredients. Next, you’ll combine all of the ingredients together in your cooking pot–whether that’s the insert pot of your Instant Pot, your Crock Pot, or in a medium saucepan on the stove.

Give everything a good stir to coat.

Cook. Last, you’ll cook the mixture until the liquid starts to reduce and the mixture begins to thicken (specific instructions for each cooking method are given below).

The cooking time will be different for slow cooker pear butter, stove top pear butter, or Instant Pot pear butter, but those are all listed in the recipe card below.

You can see what the pears look like after cooking in the Instant Pot below.

cooked pears in the Instant Pot for making pear butter

Puree. Use an immersion blender to puree the mixture if desired (some people prefer to use a food mill).

You can also use a potato masher if you prefer it to be a little chunky.

If needed, cook it a little longer to allow some liquid to evaporate until it reaches your desired consistency.

pureed pear butter in the cooking pot

Transfer to jars and let cool. I typically keep jars of pear butter in my refrigerator or freezer (make sure you have freezer-safe jars if you go that route).

Wipe the rims of the jars before placing the lids on them.

This is a delicious pear butter recipe for canning–simply follow instructions for water bath canning if you’d like to make it shelf-stable.

We love to serve this pear butter on homemade dinner rolls, toasted English muffins, freshly baked homemade biscuits, pancakes, and more!

a jar of pear butter with a dissolveable label on it that reads "pear butter"

Notes and Adaptations:

  • If you have ground cardamom on hand, it makes a really nice addition. However, I know it’s a less-common spice, so feel free to omit it if you don’t have it (it won’t make or break your pear butter!).
  • You can also play around with the amount of sugar, depending on how ripe your pears are. If you have overripe pears, you could probably cut back a tad on the brown sugar.
  • I used Bartlett pears, but you can use Asian pears, Bosc pears, or D’Anjou pears if preferred.
  • Don’t want to go through the process of using a water bath canner? You can store pear butter in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If you’re using freezer-safe jars, you can also freeze it. Just be sure to leave enough head space for expansion, and let the pear butter cool to room temperature before transferring to the fridge or freezer.
a jar of pear butter on a blue and white checked napkin, with a spoon and two fresh pears next to it.

Recommended Equipment:

Yield: Approx. 2-2.5 cups

Easy Pear Butter Recipe

jar of pear butter on a blue and white npakin with two ripe pears next to it

Spiced pear butter is the perfect spread for your pancakes, dinner rolls, or biscuits! Whether you cook it on the stove top, in your slow cooker, or in your Instant Pot pressure cooker, we've got you covered!

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Additional Time 30 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes

Ingredients

  • 3 lbs pears, peeled, cored, and chopped
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 TBSP lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp allspice
  • 1/4 tsp ground ginger
  • pinch of ground cloves
  • 1/4 tsp ground cardamom

Instructions

Instant Pot Instructions:

  1. Add all ingredients to the insert pot of the Instant Pot. Stir together so the pears are coated with sugar and spice.
  2. Close lid and set vent to the sealed position. Select a cook time of 20 minutes at high pressure. Once the cook time is complete, perform a quick release of pressure.
  3. Carefully open lid and use an immersion blender to puree the pear mixture. Use the Saute button to simmer the pear butter for about 20 minutes, allowing some of the excess liquid to evaporate.
  4. Transfer to jars and allow to cool.

Slow Cooker Instructions:

  1. Place all ingredients in a slow cooker and close the lid.
  2. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6-8 hours.
  3. Use an immersion blender to puree the pear mixture.
  4. Transfer to jars and allow to cool.

Stove Top Instructions:

  1. Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then decrease heat to medium low.
  2. Cover partially with a liad and simmer for about 50-60 minutes, stirring occasionally so the bottom doesn't scorch.
  3. Use an immersion blender to puree the pear mixture.
  4. Transfer to jars and allow to cool.

Notes

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

20

Serving Size:

2 TBSP

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 51Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 2mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 2gSugar: 10gProtein: 0g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated and is not guaranteed for accuracy.

Want more delicious recipe ideas?

Check out even more mealtime inspiration on my Pinterest boards!

collage image featuring two photos of a jar of pear butter. One photo has a jar with a spoon scooping out some pear butter, the other photo is an overhead view of the mouth of the jar

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10 Comments

  1. Oh, my goodness, this was absolutely delicious! The spice combination was the perfect complement to the sweetness of the pears. I’ll be making this again and again. Thank you!

    1. Chrysti Benner says:

      Thank you, Cynthia! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂

  2. This recipe doesn’t work. It essentially makes a pear version of applesauce

    1. Chrysti Benner says:

      I’m sorry it didn’t work as expected for you, Erin! It should be quite different than applesauce or pear sauce–it should have a deep, spiced flavor with extra sweetness. If the consistency was the problem, you may need to cook a bit longer after blending to let some more liquid evaporate and allow it to thicken up a bit.

  3. This was wonderful. It tastes just like the one my mother used to make for us as kids. Thank you!

    1. Chrysti Benner says:

      I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it, Tony, and that it brought back fond memories for you! 🙂

  4. Gail Logan says:

    It would have helped me to know how much prepared fruit to use. My pears were really faulty with lots of bad spots. I had to guess at the amount of fruit, sugar and spices.

    1. Chrysti Benner says:

      Thanks for the suggestion, Gail! The next time I make it, I’ll plan to measure it out in cups once the pears are peeled and chopped. 🙂

  5. Very yummy! I found I had to cook this 3 times as long as recommended to get the desired thickness. I followed the instructions for the crock pot to cook on high for 4 hours. I then let it cook 8 hours on low with the lid open slightly. Then another hour on high. I think next time I will cook it for 6 hours on high with the lid closed and then another 6 hours on high with the lid open slightly.

    1. Chrysti Benner says:

      Thank you so much, Shelly! I’m glad you enjoyed it–thanks for sharing your adjustments, too! 🙂

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