Canned Pear Butter Recipe

This rich pear butter is sweet and a little tangy and filled with warming spices-all of our favorites: cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice! We make it in the crock pot and let it simmer all day. This recipe can be water bath canned or frozen.

Friends, the air is cooling and the pears have ripened on the trees. I’ve got canning and storing away goods on my mind and a bucket full of pears in the kitchen. While we’re in the fall mood, let’s make some pear butter.

Maybe it’s not as popular as its friend apple butter, but this pear butter is just as easy to make. Today’s version is made in the crockpot, for those of us who like to multi-task and have our house smelling heavenly all day long.

And while we’re at it, let’s go ahead and whip up some homemade biscuits. Because what could possibly be better? (And of course I made a cute pear butter printable for y’all too.)

Let’s get to cooking!

Ingredients for Pear Butter

• You’ll need lots of pears, probably about 5-6 pounds before peeling and coring, or about 4 pounds of peeled and cored. Any variety should do except for Asian Pears-they don’t have enough acidity for canning so skip those.
• Spices: Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cloves, Allspice, & Salt
• Brown & White Sugar
• Bottled lemon juice (if canning)
• Apple cider or apple juice (if canning)

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Tools you may need

If you’ve been gifted a huge bucket of pears like I was, then an apple peeler and corer is going to be your best friend and help fly through those pears. Mine is old school from the pampered chef that I bought secondhand years ago. But this similar one on Amazon might do the trick.

If you don’t have a corer/peeler that’s fine, your regular hand peeler will work. You’ll need a crock pot, canning jars (or freezer safe jars), lids and rings, and large stock pot for a canner.

How to make Pear Butter in the Crock Pot

You’re going to peel, core, and slice about 5 pounds of pears. We want those those pears sliced thin, no chunks please.

Add the sliced pears to the crock pot, then pour in the lemon juice and apple cider (if you aren’t canning-you don’t have to add these. I do use the lemon juice either way, because I love the tartness it adds to the final flavor.) Toss in sugars and the warming spices and salt.

*At this point your crock pot might be too full to give this a stir; that’s fine! As it’s cooking, the pears will get soft and juicy and will be easier to stir after a few hours.

Cover with the lid and crank it up to high, you’re going to be cooking for a while to get this just right.

After a few hours of cooking, the mixture should look like this. The pears will be soft and brown and there should be plenty of juice in the crock pot.

Use an immersion blender to blend everything until you have a fine, applesauce like texture. It will have a runny consistency. Now we cook it until it thickens to your liking. A properly done pear butter will hold it’s shape and not have any liquid coming off of it when it’s done.

You can pour a spoonful onto a cold plate or saucer. If it holds its shape and doesn’t run, it’s done. Notice the difference between these two photos. The top picture is of the pear butter after about 5 hours of cooking, just after blending. The bottom photo shows the texture after cooking for a total of about 8 hours (the last 2-3 with the lid off).

Storing Pear Butter options

Once your pear butter has reached the consistency you like, you’ll need to decide how you want to store it.

• Use it fresh! Fresh pear butter will last 2-3 weeks in the refrigerator.
• Freeze it: Ladle the pear butter into freezer safe jars. Let it cool to room temp, then put it in the fridge overnight. The next day, put the jars in the freezer. Be sure to label the contents and add a “best by” date!
• Can it: Pear butter can be safely water bath canned and stored in a cool, dark, and dry place for up to 18 months. (Ball Canning)

How to Can Pear Butter:

1. Prepare a water bath canner. Using a large stock pot, add enough water to fill half way to 2/3 full and bring to a simmer.
2. Wash the jars and place them in simmering water until you’re ready to fill them. Wash the lids and rings and place them aside. (If using Ball lids, they no longer require them to be put in the simmering water to soften the compound.)
3. Using a jar lifter tool, remove the hot jars from the canner. Place a jar funnel over a jar, and ladle the hot pear butter in, leaving a 1/4 inch headspace from the top.
4. Once all jars have been filled, remove any air bubbles by running a bubble freer tool around the edge of the jar.
5. Wipe rims and jar threads with a clean damp washcloth.
6. Add lids and rings, adjust to fingertip tight only.
7. Place a metal trivet in the bottom of the canner or use a jar rack. Put the filled jars back into the canner. Make sure the water covers the jars by at least an inch.
8. Cover the canner with the lid and bring the water to a rolling boil over medium high heat.
9. Once the water is boiling, set a timer for 15 minutes (this is the processing time).
10. When the timer is up, turn the heat off and remove the lid.
11. Let the jars sit in the canner for 5 minutes, then using the jar lifter, remove them and place them on a towel or wooden cutting board or other heat safe surface (the jars are VERY HOT!)
12. The jars need to sit at room temp for 12-24 hours. Check the seals by pressing in the middle. There should be no flexing. If you gently try to pull up on the lids, they shouldn’t move. If a jar didn’t seal, put that in the fridge to use immediately.
13. Store your pear butter in a cool, dark, and dry place for up to 18 months (or check your jar manufacturer’s requirements)-this recipe was processed using Ball jars & lids.

Any Tips to help me with this? 

Cooking pear butter takes several hours so I like to start this early in the morning and let it cook all day, but if you’re comfortable leaving a crock pot on during the night, you can start it late in the evening and turn it to low overnight.

What to do with pear butter?

Pear butter is excellent on toast or biscuits. You can also use it as an ingredient in cakes or cookies!

Pear Butter Questions

Is Pear Butter similar to Apple Butter?

Pear butter is almost the same as apple butter. It’s made the same way, using the same ingredients. While the texture is smooth, it’s ever so slightly gritty, just enough that you know for sure you’re eating pears and not apples.

Where can I get those cute labels?

To print these as sticker labels, you’ll need Avery Kraft Brown labels, or any kind of paper you’d like to print them on. Download here.

Print Recipe

Canned Pear Butter Crock Pot Recipe

Easy recipe for Spiced Pear Butter, with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice.

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 8 hours hrs

Servings: 4 half pint jars (8 oz)

Ingredients

• 5-6 pounds pears (to yield 4 pounds of peeled, cored, and sliced pears)
• 1 ½ cups brown sugar
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp nutmeg, cloves, allspice
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp bottled lemon juice
• 1/3 cup apple cider

Instructions

Cooking the Pear Butter

• Peel and core pears, then chop very thin.
• Add the pears to the crock pot and pour in the cider and lemon juice. Add sugars, spices, and salt.
• Turn the Crock Pot on high for 5 hours. Stir every hour or so. After 5 hours, the pears should be brown and there should be lots of liquid in the pot. Using an immersion blender, gently blend the pears until it looks similar to applesauce.
• Place the lid on sideways or remove the lid and cook for another hour. Stir frequently to prevent sticking. Continue to cook until the mixture is thick and mounds easily on itself. It should take 2-3 hours for the pear butter to reduce to the right consistency. To test, pour a spoonful of pear butter on a cold plate. If it holds it shape and doesn't run with liquid, it's done.

Canning Instructions

• Prepare a water bath canner. Using a large stock pot, add enough water to fill half way to 2/3 full and bring to a simmer.
• Wash 4-5 half pint jars and place them in simmering water until you’re ready to fill them. Wash the lids and rings and place them aside. (If using Ball lids, they no longer require them to be put in the simmering water to soften the compound.)
• Using a jar lifter tool, remove the hot jars from the canner. Place a jar funnel over a jar, and ladle the hot pear butter in, leaving a 1/4 inch headspace from the top.
• Once all jars have been filled, remove any air bubbles by running a bubble freer tool around the edge of the jar.
• Wipe rims and jar threads with a clean damp washcloth.
• Add lids and rings, adjust to fingertip tight only.
• Place a metal trivet in the bottom of the canner or use a jar rack. Put the filled jars back into the canner. Make sure the water covers the jars by at least an inch.
• Cover the canner with the lid and bring the water to a rolling boil over medium high heat.
• Once the water is boiling, set a timer for 15 minutes (this is the processing time).
• When the timer is up, turn the heat off and remove the lid.
• Let the jars sit in the canner for 5 minutes, then using the jar lifter, remove them and place them on a towel or wooden cutting board or other heat safe surface (the jars are VERY HOT!)
• The jars need to sit at room temp for 12-24 hours. Check the seals by pressing in the middle. There should be no flexing. If you gently try to pull up on the lids, they shouldn’t move. If a jar didn’t seal, put that in the fridge to use immediately.
• Store your pear butter in a cool, dark, and dry place for up to 18 months (or check your jar manufacturer’s requirements)-this recipe was processed using Ball jars & lids.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Ball Canning’s Salted Caramel Pear Butter

If you try this recipe and love it, it would mean the world to me if you left a comment and 5 stars!

More canning recipes to try!

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Hot Pepper Jelly Recipe for Canning Step by Step