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Instant Pot Pear Sauce

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At the end of each summer and beginning of fall, the old pear tree at my husband’s aunt’s house is weighed down by the weight of at least 100 pears. And these aren’t the soft, juicy variety that is so common to the American grocery store. These pears are heavy and crisp as peanuts.

If left to ripen on the counter, they will soften up considerably, but I love to cook them down into delicious pear sauce. And with the addition of the Instant Pot to my kitchen four years ago, this recipe has become infinitely easier. (Wondering if an Instant Pot is right for you? Check out my full test and review.)

This instant pot pear sauce recipe can really work for any fruit you’re looking to sauce, like apples. And the speed at which it’s finished will completely astound you!

How to Use Up Pears

The idea to begin making pear sauce came to me after I spent an entire day canning pears. That was tons of work! My hubby’s grandmother and aunt would spend several days each fall peeling and canning mountains of pears from that same pear tree.

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I determined very quickly that… I didn’t have time for that. And since I had a toddler and an infant at the time, pear sauce seemed to be the perfect solution to both my time issue and the food issue. What better food for both of my kiddos than fresh pear sauce? (And these are the same pears we use for Fresh Pear Cake, and Fresh Pear Crisp which are both delicious!)

Since I began making this recipe many years before the Instant Pot, I do know that it can easily be modified into a slow cooker pear sauce recipe. You’ll simply need to set your crock pot on low for 6 to 8 hours and keep your eye on it. And if you don’t have the crunchy variety of pear that I used here, no worries.

Grab whatever kind of pears you can get your hands on. Since pear skins are so thin, I don’t even bother to peel them. There’s fiber in the skin, right? In fact, USPears.org shares that a medium sized pear packs around 6 grams of fiber and most of that is in the skin! So eat pears to your heart’s content!

Since the homegrown pears we use are not as sweet as an asian pear or bartlett pear, I tend to add a small amount of coconut sugar. This pairs well with the cinnamon and gives our pear sauce a full fall flavor. If you are using a sweeter variety of pear, then skip the coconut sugar. 

Instant Pot Pear Sauce Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to whip this pear sauce recipe up!

  • 8-10 medium pears
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon (or even try Pumpkin Pie spice if you’re feeling adventurous) 
  • 1/4 cup coconut sugar (optional)
  • Instant Pot (I love my 6-qt and find it is plenty big for my family of 5)
  • Immersion Blender

Homemade Pear Sauce Recipe

  1. Begin by washing and chopping pears into one inch cubes.
  2. Place chopped pears, water, cinnamon, and coconut sugar (if using) into the Instant Pot. Stir to combine. 
    chopped pears and cinnamon in silver instant pot bowl
  3. Close Instant Pot and be sure it is set to Seal. Use the manual function and set the time to five minutes.
  4. Once the Instant Pot is finished, let the pot release pressure naturally for five minutes, then use the quick release. Your pears should be fully cooked and smell amazing! Cooked pears with cinnamon on a wooden spoon
  5. Use the immersion blender to puree the cooked pears, adding just a bit more water if necessary (but I’ve never had to add more). Once the pears are sauced to your liking (some prefer chunkier pear sauce), spoon pear sauce into glass jars and allow to cool on the counter. 
  6. Store pear sauce in the fridge and enjoy!

How to Store Pear Sauce

Pear sauce can be canned and stored for up to a year. Use a water bath canner for the pear sauce that has been put in sanitized jars.

Pear sauce can also be frozen if it won’t be eaten within the week. Use freezer safe containers to freeze your sauce into manageable portions.

This particular recipe doesn’t yield a huge amount, but it could certainly be doubled if you’re planning to preserve the pear sauce. 

This homemade pear sauce is delicious to eat on its own or served with pork. My kids also like it warmed up and eaten as breakfast on cold mornings. Brrr! I’d love to know if you’ve tried making pear sauce and any additions you’ve made to it. Have a great week and happy gardening!

jar of pear sauce beside two pears on a buffalo check placemat

Other Instant Pot Recipes:

Yield: 4 cups

Instant Pot Pear Sauce

Instant Pot Pear Sauce

Fresh pears cook down in just 5 minutes into a delicious pear sauce with a hint of cinnamon.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Additional Time 5 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 8-10 pears
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup coconut sugar (optional)

Instructions

  1. Wash and chop pears. Place pears, cinnamon, water, and coconut sugar into Instant Pot.
  2. Seal pot and use the manual function to set the time for 5 minutes.
  3. When cycle is finished, allow the IP to natural release for 5 minutes. Then use the quick release to release the remaining pressure.
  4. Use an immersion blender to blend the cooked pears to desired consistency.
  5. Spoon pear sauce into containers and store in the fridge.

Notes

Slow Cooker Pear Sauce: To use a slow cooker, use the same ingredients, but set crock pot on low for 6-8 hours. Check every so often to be sure no extra water is needed. When pears are cooked through, use an immersion blender to puree the pears to desired consistency.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 100Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 2mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 5gSugar: 18gProtein: 1g

Debbie

Saturday 31st of July 2021

I have used this recipe every August for the past two years. It makes the BEST pear sauce. I do strain my pears in a colander after I cook them because it produces a lot of juice, and I like for my sauce to be thick. Pear juice is very healthy and delicious too, so there is no waste.

Courtney

Monday 2nd of August 2021

Thank you so much Debbie!

Julie

Friday 6th of November 2020

I did end up filling my instant pot and it turned out great! however there was still so much liquid(4c worth) that came from the pears. I ladled it off so it was the thick consistency we like.

Courtney

Saturday 7th of November 2020

Hi Julie! I'm so glad doubling worked out. Pears can vary greatly in the amount of juice they contain. I typically use what grows here, which is a harder, drier pear, but you did exactly the right thing by ladling off some juice. You can could have also used the saute function on the IP to cook off some of the extra liquid. Have a great weekend!

Julie

Friday 6th of November 2020

If I have an 8qt instant pot can I double this?

Courtney

Friday 6th of November 2020

Hey Julie! I would think you definitely could!

Barbara

Friday 18th of September 2020

In the process of harvesting apple pears. I’m going to try this recipe with them. Thank you!

Courtney

Friday 18th of September 2020

Yes! I hope you enjoy it! We've already harvested some this year and made pear cake and pear crisp. We're planning for the pear sauce this weekend!

Dawn

Monday 31st of August 2020

About how many cups of cut up pears does it take. My tree’s pears are smaller and when I tried the recipe it came out with too much liquid so I am wondering if I didn’t have enough cut up pears.

Thanks

Courtney

Tuesday 1st of September 2020

I would say about 8-10 cups of pears. Mine yielded about a cup of chopped pears each. I hope this helps!

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