Vanilla Spiced Pear Butter has all the best flavors. Vanilla, orange, cinnamon, cardamon & nutmeg. This pear butter goes great on just about anything!
This pear butter has the perfect amount of spice! It goes great on pancakes, toast, muffins, oatmeal or even ice cream! Makes a great gift to give out to your neighbors, family & friends during the holidays too.
I recently bought a 30 pound box of peaches (I canned the peaches, froze some and made some peach jam) and then a 30 pound box of pears. A local lady brings in fruit & veggies from Utah during the season so I decided to buy some this year. Then I started thinking, what do with all this fruit?! haha! My mom said I could use all of her canning stuff and showed me how to do it. It is so fun and not really that difficult! Once you do it once you will be hooked. I was intimidated by the thought but now that I did it I want to do it again and again. It is so rewarding. If you like apple butter, try this pear butter! It is unique and has so much flavor. The vanilla goes so well with the pear and all the spices smell and taste delicious. The cardamom adds a special touch so don’t leave that spice out! I also made some Pear Vanilla Jam and some pear sauce. I’ll share the recipe for the jam soon! Oh and thank you to my sweet friend Lisa E. for the homemade bread I used in these pictures! We traded bread for jam and pear butter 🙂
If you are new to canning or want to get into it. I have linked to the items I used for this recipe on Amazon:
Or if you don’t want to commit to that, this Home Canning Discovery Kit looks great and you just use your own stock pot! I haven’t used this before but I think it would be nice for when you just want to can a few jars vs. a big batch.
And if you don’t want to can this pear butter, don’t! Enjoy it within 2 weeks. You can also freeze it once it’s cool in a freezer safe jar or plastic freezer jars.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did!
- 7 lbs. pears, peeled, cored, and coarsley chopped (I used bartlett)
- ½ cup water
- zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 4 cups granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste*
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon cardamom
- ¾ teaspoon nutmeg
- juice of 1 orange
- In a large stainless steel pot, combine the pears, water, lemon zest and juice. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and boil gently for 20 minutes, string occasionally.
- Working in batches, transfer mixture to a food processor or blender and puree just until a uniform texture is achieved. Do not liquefy. Measure 8 cups of pear puree (Use the excess as Pearsauce).
- In a clean large stainless steel saucepan, combine pear puree, sugar, orange juice, vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg. Stir until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring frequently, until mixture thickens and holds it shape to a spoon and liquid does not separate.
- Meanwhile, prepare canner, jars and lids: Wash and rinse the jars in hot soapy water. Drain the jars well of any excess water. Set the screw bands aside - they don't require sterilizing. Place the lids - the flat round portion of the two-piece closures - in a small saucepan, cover with water and bring to a simmer. Don't boil. Keep lids hot until you're ready to use them.
- Ladle hot butter into hot jars, leaving ¼ inch head-space. Remove air bubbles and adjust head-space, if needed, but adding more butter. Wipe rim with a clean damp cloth. Center the lid on jar and screw band down until resistance is med, then increase to fingertip tight.
- Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool and store. When you hear the pop sound you know they are sealed. Or you can press on the lid and make sure it doesn't pop back at you. If one doesn't seal, you will need to store in the refrigerator.
*I used vanilla bean paste. I love the look & taste of the little vanilla beans. It is a little more for the paste but less expensive than a real vanilla bean.
And if you don't want to can this pear butter, don't! Enjoy it within 2 weeks. You can also freeze it once it's cool in a freezer safe jar or plastic freezer jars.
Recipe Source: adapted from Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving via Good Life Eats
If you give this recipe a try, tag a picture on Instagram #bakedinazrecipe I would love to see!
I didn’t notice if you mentioned what type of pears you used. I’d love to make this but want to make sure I buy the right type. Thanks!
I used bartlett pears 🙂 I hope you enjoy!
Isn’t this just the perfect spread for Fall. I definitely am going to be making this to top on my morning toast.
It sure is! So glad you will be making this. Thanks for stopping by, enjoy!
This looks amazing! Now I just need some yummy homemade bread and we’ll be set.
For reals. After I made this I thought I need to make rolls or some bread to go with it!
I made this and I loved it. The recipe is a bright and citrusy in all the right ways. The cardamom is an unexpected and refreshingly different flavor in it. The fresh lemon makes it too. When I made it I found it on the sweet side. I was using very sweet and very ripe Bartlett pears. Next time I will add less sugar and test it for sweetness. I think the ripeness of my pears made it too sweet. Stellar recipe. Thanks for sharing!
I am so happy you enjoyed this recipe! It is a favorite of mine 🙂 Good to know if your pears are really sweet to try less sugar. Let me know how it works next time. Thanks for the feedback!
Do the pears need to be soft ?
yes, I would not use pears that are hard. They don’t need to be really soft, but if they are too hard (not ripe) they won’t be as sweet 🙂
Great taste! Just how long did you have to cook it down? I did mine about an hour, and it was still too runny. I went ahead and canned it and was going to use it as pear sauce for hot cakes or French toast. And maybe drizzle it on a cake.
I can’t remember how long, but it did take some time. It doesn’t set up like jam so it will be a bit runny, I hope it ended up ok for you!
I want to thank you for this amazing recipe. I made it this weekend and it is now our favorite for the fall. We love apple butter – but this one has such depth and flavor that were were totally in agreement that it wins over apple butter. I am always looking for way to reduce the sugar when making jelly, jam or spreads, so I used the 1/2 stevia and 1/2 sugar blend. but found it still a bit sweet for me, so next go round I may even reduce that amount some. But I have to say, the cardamon and the vanilla bean paste were the winning combo in this spread. Love it and will add it to our yearly fall treats. This is a perfect spread for inside crepes too!!!
Thanks for sharing it.
I am so happy you loved this recipe! And good to know you liked it with less sugar. I have had a few other people say they reduced the sugar. I will have to try that next time I make this. Happy Holidays!
I had about 30 lbs of Asian pears I picked from a neighbors tree that were just going to go to waste. I searched for recipes and came across yours and figured I’d give it a try. It turned out absolutely fantastic! I gave a bunch away for Christmas and now have people constantly asking when I am going to make more.
Oh I am so happy to hear this! It makes a perfect gift I agree. I have to be careful to not eat too much by the spoon, haha. Glad you found this recipe and enjoyed!
This recipe is divine! How long does keep after you get a good canning seal without the pectin? I also cut the sugar down a bit.
Isn’t it so yummy! I am not sure how long it keeps. I would think a year. I need to do some research on this!
It would have been nice if you could print this recipe.
You should be able to print the recipe, there is a print option on the recipe card. Is it working for you?
Hi there! I’m making this now and I’m using pears from my tree out back and it’s a little harder for me to weigh them since I am cutting out more of the pear than you probably would from the store. Do you know approximately how many cups of chopped pears you used? Or how much they weighed once they were cored, peeled, and chopped?
I don’t remember that. I’ll have to make better notes next time. But I would start with less and add more pear to your liking.
Am anxious to try this. Just want to say, that this summer I think you chose just the right name for your blog. I don’t know about you, but I truly feel baked myself these days. So to prepare butters, which to me are harbingers of fall, makes me feel wonderful! Thanx.
Right?! It’s totally why I chose baked in az. it’s like you are truly baking in the sun during these summer months! I hope you love this pear butter, it’s one of my favorites!
I am sure I will love it. Pretty much anything pear pleases me.
this was delicious. I didn’t even peel them.
Good to know. Also, nice to have to do one less step! Peeling does take a little time. Glad you liked this recipe!
Made this 2 years ago, hubby was reluctant but was one of his favorites on toast. I enjoy it on waffles and pancakes. Had a pear crop off our trees again this year and couldn’t wait to make it again. Thank you!
Yum! on waffles and pancakes is my favorite too :). That is so amazing you are able to use pears off your own trees. I’d love to have fruit trees someday!
I was intrigued by this recipe but unfortunately it was way too sweet and I only added half the suggested sugar. I guess my pears must have been very sweet and ripe. I added more diced pears that were less ripe, another lemon of juice, more spices, a splash of vinegar, and even shaved a green apple in to try and cut through the sweetness, though I think I lost some of the pear flavor from this. We will see how it tastes after some time in the jars.
I am so sorry it was too sweet. I think it could be the sweetness of your pears. It is a pretty sweet recipe. I hope with those adjustments you enjoy the pear butter!
I found this recipe this summer and could hardly wait for our pears to ripen. It did not disappoint! It will definitely become a family favorite.
Yay! Isn’t it so yummy?! I am so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the feedback!
This is a fantastic recipe. Making it for the second year running as I type, using the trees from our back garden.
I assume the 7lb of pears was prior to peeling and removing the core?
yes, prior to peeling! I wish I had a pear tree. That is awesome!
I’ve made 5 batches of this so far this year. We live in TX and have a huge pear tree that produced a lot of large pears. I used 2 cups of honey in place of the sugar and it was perfect! Thanks for the recipe!
Glad to know you liked it with honey! That is a great swap. Jealous of your pear tree. 5 batches, thats awesome!
This looks so good! What a great way v to preserve Produce!
Thanks for sharing! Does keep long?