This slow cooker pear sauce is like applesauce’s long-lost cousin. If you have some pears on hand that are a little hard and underripe, try them here. Popping them in the slow cooker for an extended period turns the pears sweet without added sugar. Pear sauce is great on its own as a snack or as a substitute for applesauce in recipes.
We’re getting to that part of winter that I’ve come to associate with apples, oranges, and pears. These tend to be the best bets for fresh fruit in my area at this time of the year. As a result, I buy a lot of them.
Sometimes though, I get some apples that are a little mealy or pears that are too hard. These suboptimal specimens tend to be rejected by my family as snacks.
When this happens, I try to find other ways to use these fruits. Incorporating these fruits into our meals in creative ways helps to minimize food waste in our household. It is also a money-saver.
I recently bought a bag of small, hard pears that I needed to figure out something to do with. I decided I could modify my slow cooker applesauce recipe to make a slow cooker pear sauce. It’s a very similar process.
The biggest difference is that the firm pears did not break down as easily as the apples. To get the pears more “saucy,” I mashed them with a potato masher towards the end of cooking.
This recipe makes a sauce that is sweet, cinnamon-infused, and slightly chunky. It will fill your home with a wonderful, spicy aroma while it cooks. Enjoy!
We like pear sauce as a snack, side dish, or as a part of recipes
You can use pear sauce in the same ways that you’d use applesauce. It works as a snack or try it warmed and served with pork chops. Another way to use it is as a substitute for some (or all) of the oil in baked goods.
One cup of pear sauce can be used in place of the three mashed bananas in my healthy baked oatmeal recipe. This is a great option if you want a no added sugar baked oatmeal that does not taste like banana. You’ll retain the moisture and sweetness that you get from the fruit without the banana-y flavor.
While we’re on the topic of breakfast, I had a quick bit of information that I wanted to share on coffee. Are you a coffee drinker? I typically have a cup or two every morning – I love it!
Like most things, though, it is possible to consume too much.
If you’ve been wondering whether you are drinking too much coffee, check out this article over on the SparkPeople blog. In this piece, I gave my thoughts on how much coffee is too much. You’ll also learn about some signs that can indicate that you may be overdoing it.
Occasionally during exceptionally busy times, I’ll have a little extra coffee to help get me through. If I don’t make a mindful effort to cut back again, my intake tends to stay at an elevated level. If you are similar, it is a good thing to be aware of.
I mostly talk about food, but beverages are an important part of a person’s overall dietary pattern too. Water, black coffee, and unsweetened tea are all (nearly) zero-calorie beverages. Plain milk is another of my top beverage picks; it is a natural source of a variety of important nutrients.
And now for the disclaimer…
All recipes on this website may or may not be appropriate for you, depending on your medical needs and personal preferences. Consult with a registered dietitian or your physician if you need help determining the dietary pattern that may be best for you.
The calorie information is an estimate provided as a courtesy. It will differ depending on the specific brands and ingredients that you use. Calorie information on food labels may be wildly inaccurate, so please don’t sweat the numbers too much.
For more information on how the three recipe levels may help with a weight management goal, refer to this post. Let’s get cooking!
Slow Cooker Pear Sauce
Ingredients
- 8 cups pears (peeled, cored, chopped into large pieces)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Peel, core, and chop your pears into large pieces.
- Put the prepared pears in your slow cooker. Tuck in the cinnamon stick. Pour the water over the top.
- Cover the slow cooker and set it on high. Let the pears cook for 6 hours. They will release a lot of juice and soften. After the 6 hours, mash them with a potato masher into a chunky sauce. (Leave the cinnamon stick intact.)
- Turn the slow cooker down to low and cook 1 additional hour. Longer cooking times result in a thicker, sweeter, and darker-colored pear sauce. When you feel it is ready, remove the cinnamon stick.
- This recipe makes approximately 2 cups of pear sauce. It's great warm or chilled.
Notes
This is a level 1 recipe (may help support fat loss). Store brands of unsweetened pear sauce are typically 70 calories per half cup. Your sauce may contain greater or fewer calories depending on how large chop your pears initially and how long you cook them. Cooking the pear sauce for a longer time helps to bring out the sweetness but also concentrates the sugars.
Nutrition
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear how you plan to use it. Will it be a snack, side, recipe ingredient, or something else? Please leave a rating if you give it a go; your feedback is appreciated!
Stacey says
Terrified Amateur says
Yep, the notion certainly entices!
So versatile, too! Wonderfully tempting as a standalone snack, although it also would be great as a "salsa" of sorts, poured over chicken. Or, how about spread over a slice (or two) of toast?
The possibilities dizzy me, Summer!
Summer Yule says
Great idea! Toast with a bit of almond butter and this pear sauce sounds perfect to me at the moment!