Easy Stewed Pears

These easy stewed pears are simmered in a liquid spiced with ginger and cinnamon until soft and juicy, and are a simple and delicious way of cooking pears. Enjoy them for breakfast with Greek yogurt, or top with a scoop of ice cream and a sprinkling of nuts for a delicious and healthy dessert.

Jump to:

• What are stewed pears?
• Why we love stewing pears
• Ingredients
• How To Make This Recipe
• Frequently Asked Questions
• My recipe tips
• Serving Ideas
• How to stew pears for baby
• Storage
• Variations
• More easy and healthy breakfast ideas for you
• Stewed Pears with Ginger and Cinnamon

What are stewed pears?

Cubes of fresh pear are simmered in water, often with spices, until they are tender. In this recipe they are spiced with fresh ginger, ground cinnamon and mixed spice which makes them into something special. Some recipes add sugar, but I feel no added sugar is needed as gently cooking the pears brings out their natural sweetness.

Why we love stewing pears

• Stewing pears is a great recipe for using up an abundance of pears, or those pears that are hard and with little flavour as it softens them and enhances their sweetness.
• So versatile – you can alter the spices, serve the pears warm or cold.
• This pears recipe is loved by the whole family – as these are sugar free they are suitable for babies and toddlers as well as kids and adults. (For baby led weaning pears see tips at the bottom of the post). My toddler son often eats his serving and then starts on mine!
• Great meal prep recipe stew some pears and enjoy for a quick and healthy breakfast throughout the week and the cooked pears freeze well.
• The recipe is vegan, gluten free, dairy free and nut free.

Ingredients

• Fresh pears – you want ripe pears for stewing, but they shouldn’t be too soft  They should give slightly when pressed. I often use Bartlett pears and Beurre Bosc pears, but have also made this with Corella pears, as in the photos. Use Conference pears and and Comice pears if you are in the UK.
• Cinnamon – I use ground cinnamon, but you could add 2.5 cm/ 1″ piece of cinnamon stick and remove after cooking.
• Fresh ginger – you could use a pinch of dried ginger, but if you want fiery ginger flavour with your pears then use fresh ginger.
• Mixed Spice – this warming British spice is made from various spices including cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. You can substitute it with pumpkin pie spice, or leave out altogether.

How To Make This Recipe

1. Peel and core the pears then roughly chop.
2. Add to a medium sauce pan with water, cinnamon, ginger and mixed spice.
3. Bring to a boil then turn the heat down and simmer for 30 minutes, until the pear is tender.
4. Serve straight away or leave to cool.

Frequently Asked Questions

My recipe tips

• How long you simmer the pears for depends on how ripe they are and their type. Unripe pears take longer to cook, and you will need a few tablespoons more water.
• I personally love the strong taste of fresh root ginger, and so leave the chunks of ginger quite large. If you are not such a fan, then cut it finely or grate it. If you wanted a mere hint of ginger you could leave the chunks big and take them out just before you want to eat them. (Something I do when serving these pears to kids and toddlers.)
• Store the stewed pears in the cooking liquid, they will absorb some of it and become extra juicy.

Serving Ideas

• Sprinkle with roughly chopped nuts or granola for crunch.
• Spoon into granola cups with plain yogurt (Greek or dairy free) for a fun and different breakfast or brunch.
• Serve them warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The combination of hot pears and cold ice cream is so good!
• Pear crumble: spoon the pears and stewing liquid into an oven proof dish, sprinkle over crumble topping and bake in the oven until golden brown.
• Pear Pie: spoon into a baking dish/oven proof dish and top with pastry and bake until golden.

How to stew pears for baby

As there is no sugar or sweetener added in this recipe, they are a great baby led weaning recipe. To make baby stewed pears: leave out the ginger and cinnamon. Cook as below, until the pear is very tender, then mash well so no lumps remain, or puree until smooth, depending on your babies age. Other baby led weaning pear recipes that we loved (and still make!) are pear rice pudding, pear flapjack, and these pear and banana muffins which are one of the most popular recipes on the blog!

Storage

• Fridge: The pears will keep up to three days in a covered container in the fridge.
• Freezer: You can also freeze the pears in individual portions and defrost in the fridge overnight.

Variations

• Sweeter cooked pears: add a spoonful of maple syrup or honey if you want sweeter pears but refined sugar free.
• Stewed apples and pears: Substitute one of the pears for an apple such as pink lady or Granny Smith and cook until the fruit is tender.

More easy and healthy breakfast ideas for you