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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. 
   
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!
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!

Other Instant Pot Recipes:

• Instant Pot Cranberry Sauce
• Instant Pot Pumpkin Puree
• Instant Pot Red Lentil Soup

Continue to Content

Yield: 4 cups

Instant Pot Pear Sauce

Print

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.

Recommended Products

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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