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Pear sauce is basically just applesauce made with pears, and it’s incredibly simple. Pears cook a bit differently than apples, so making pear sauce isn’t exactly the same as making applesauce, and the flavor is well worth the effort!
How Many Pears Do you Need for Pear Sauce?
Believe it or not, pears have a lot of juice in their tissues, a good bit more than apples. If you’ve ever bitten into a perfectly ripe pear to feel that sweet juice dribble down your chin, you know just what I mean.
That means they take a good bit longer to cook down into sauce, but you’ll also need more pears per pint of finished sauce. The flavor will be concentrated, which is even better. More pears per jar!
Best Varieties for Making Pear Sauce
How to Make Pear Sauce
Canning Pear Sauce
Ways to Use Pear Sauce
Pear Canning Recipes
Looking for more Pear canning recipes?
Pear Sauce
A simple, single-ingredient recipe for pear sauce that's perfect for water bath canning.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 lbs. pears (about 5 or 6 medium-sized pears)
- 1/2 cup water (or apple/pear juice)
Instructions
- Wash, peel, and core the pears and then cut into chunks.
- Add the cut-up pear chunks and 1/2-cup of water to a heavy-bottomed saucepan or a Dutch oven.
- Simmer the pear pieces over medium heat until softened, anywhere from 30-50 minutes.
- Blend the pears and concentrated juice with a stick blender or process using food mill — the pear sauce can be chunky or smooth.
- Carefully ladle the hot pear sauce into a prepared 1-pint jar, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.
- Wipe the jar rim and apply two-piece lids until fingertip-tight; load the jar into the canner and process for 15 minutes (or see chart below).
- Turn off water bath canner and let the pear sauce rest in the hot water for 5 minutes before removing.
- Let the pear sauce cool to room temperature (about 12 hours) and then check the seal of the jar. Store unsealed pear sauce in the refrigerator and use within a week. Store sealed pear sauce in a cool, dark place away from direct light — enjoy within 18 months.
Notes
Feel free to increase this recipe to much larger batch size. Just multiply the ingredients by the number of pints you'd like as a yield. I've made this a super small batch on purpose so that you can adjust as necessary. It takes roughly 2 1/2 pounds of fresh pears to make a pint of finished pear sauce. Once prepared, that 2 1/2 pounds is equal to
about 5 cups of peeled, cored, and diced fruit.
If you want a standard 9-pint canner batch, multiply the recipe by 9 and start with about 22 1/2 pounds of fruit. Similarly, for a 7-quart canner batch, you'd need about 35 pounds of fruit. Pears cook down considerably and have a lot of juice. That means you need a lot to start with to make near sauce, but you also get an amazingly sweet, concentrated flavor without added sugar.
Altitude Adjustments
- 0 to 1000 feet in elevation - 15 minutes for pints, 20 minutes for quarts
- 1,001 to 3,000 feet in elevation - 20 minutes for pints, 25 minutes for quarts
- 3,001 to 6,000 feet in elevation - 20 minutes for pints, 30 minutes for quarts
- Above 6,001 feet in elevation - 25 minutes for pints, 35 minutes for quarts
Fall Canning Recipes
Putting up more than just pears this season?
Fall Food Preservation
There’s more to preserving than home canning…
Chris Coen
I am intrigued by the statement about not having to add lemon juice here for safety’s sake. I made a batch with a different recipe that included lemon juice, and it’s way too lemony/tart. Gonna follow yours this next batch.
Chris Coen
Follow-up: the quantity was exactly as stated (I measured 5 cups prepared pears per pint jar desired), and the flavor was terrific. Definitely did not miss the sugar. I added 3tsp cinnamon, 3/4 tsp nutmeg, and 3/4 tsp cardamom. Getting ready to make up my next batch. 🙂
Karen
Is it necessary to do the hot bath
Ashley Adamant
If you want to keep it on the pantry shelf, then yes. If you keep it in the fridge and eat it within two weeks, you don’t have to can it. If you want it to be shelf stable, you do need to do canning.