Sweet and soft, this pear bread recipe made with fresh pears is absolutely mouth watering. Perfectly spiced with cinnamon and studded with velvety chunks of ripe pears this bread makes a perfect snack or dessert.
This is the best homemade pear bread ever. It is so delicious and it is surprisingly easy to make. In fact, it is one of my favorite quick breads.
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It is so simple, just dice your pears and add in a few pantry staples like sugar, flour and cinnamon.
It also makes a wonderful Christmas bread or a great treat for any other occasion. Imagine waking up and drooling over freshly toasted pear bread for Christmas brunch.
Speaking of holidays it is also a perfect addition to a Thanksgiving meal, Hanukah feast or even Easter brunch. It’s not spooky, but pairs perfectly with Halloween treats as well (pun intended ;).
Oh, and it makes the kitchen smell so good! Your home (and mouth!) will be filled with the sweet spicy goodness of soft yummy pear bread.
How to choose the best pears
The best pears for pear bread will be firm yet ripe and sweet.
To determine if a pear is ripe, gently push down on the top of the pear, where the stem meets the fruit. It should give just a little there as you push it.
Do not buy pears with soft spots around the body of the pear. This means that they are overripe.
Pears actually ripen after they are picked so are usually harvested when they are mature but not fully ripened.
Any variety of pear will work well in pear bread but my favorite are Bosc, Bartlett, Anjou and Comice.
If you buy pears that are under ripe they should ripen up in a few days when left on the counter. To help them ripen up quicker, place them in a brown paper bag with an apple or banana for a few days.
Ingredients
First and foremost you will need pears, about 5 medium pears should do the trick. You will need 4 cups total after they are cored and diced.
Aside from pears you will need basic baking ingredients which include:
- Oil - I usually use olive oil but you can use any vegetable or cooking oil that you prefer
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Flour
- Cinnamon
- Soda
- Salt
Instructions
To make this luscious pear bread start by coring and dicing pears into approximately ¼ inch to ½ inches pieces. Peeling is optional.
Combine sugar and diced pears and let sit for about 15 minutes or until sugar starts to dissolve.
While the sugar and pears sit, line and grease the pan and begin to prepare the batter.
Preheat oven to 350.
Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and grease the paper.
Mix together the flour, cinnamon, soda and salt.
Add in the olive oil, eggs and pears. Mix until everything is incorporated but don’t over mix.
Pour into loaf pan and bake for about 70-80 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted come out clean.
Let cool before slicing.
Substitutions
You can easily substitute other similar fruit in this recipe. Apples are the closest substitute if you do not have pears.
Other fruits such as asian pears, pineapple, quince, fresh figs, mangos or papaya all work very well as a substitute for pears in baked goods.
Canned pears can also be used in place of the fresh pears. Just be aware that they will not be quite as firm as fresh pears.
You can also use some almond flour in place of the regular flour in this recipe. Substitute up to half of the flour with almond flour.
Using 1 cup of almond flour and 1 cup of regular flour will increase the protein and nutrition while lowering the carbohydrates. The texture and taste will be the same.
Variations
You can add in different goodies to you pear bread to mix it up a bit. Try adding in ½ cup of one of the following:
- Raisins
- Dried cranberries
- Chopped dried apricots
- Coconut flakes
- Chopped walnuts
- Chopped almonds
- Chocolate chips
Spice up your pear bread by adding or substituting different spices. In addition to cinnamon you can add ginger, cloves, nutmeg, or cardamon.
Add a pinch of cayenne pepper add a little kick to your bread. You could also leave out the cinnamon out entirely.
Adding in a teaspoon of vanilla extract is another option.
You can easily make muffins (or cupcakes!) out of this recipe instead of a traditional loaf.
For muffins just divide the batter between 12 lined or greased muffin cups. Bake in a 400° preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until the edges begin to turn golden brown.
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan to make a super delicious pear cake. Bake at 375° for about 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Top pear cake with your favorite frosting. Mix 4 oz softened cream cheese with, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1 ½ cups powdered sugar for a quick and delicious cream cheese frosting.
Storage
Store your pear bread in a sealed container on the counter for three or four days. Alternately, you could wrap it in plastic wrap.
I usually like to go ahead a slice the whole loaf and place it on a serving plate, this makes for easy serving and grabbing. Loosely cover the serving plate with a plastic bread bag.
If you don’t want to use plastic you could also cover the plate with a large serving bowl turned upside down.
It will also last up to a week in the refrigerator but is most delicious when it is fresh.
Freezing
You can easily freeze this bread as well. Wrap well or place in an airtight container and freeze for up to 4 months for best flavor.
To eat, just defrost on the counter for several hours and then slice and serve.
You could also slice it ahead of time, before you freeze it. Then when you take it out of the freezer it will be all ready to go.
Tips
Double this recipe if you have a lot of pears to use or if you love this recipe. I usually double it and eat one loaf right away and freeze one for later.
Recipe
Pear Bread
Ingredients
- 4 C. Diced pears
- 1 C. sugar
- ½ C. olive oil
- 2 eggs
- 2 C. flour
- 2 t. cinnamon
- ½ t. soda
- 1 t. salt
Instructions
- Core and dice pears into approximately ¼ inch to ½ inches pieces. Peeling is optional.
- Combine sugar and diced pears and let sit for about 15 minutes or until sugar starts to dissolve.
- While the sugar and pears sit, line and grease the pan and begin to prepare the batter.
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and grease the paper.
- Mix together the flour, cinnamon, soda and salt.
- Add in the olive oil, eggs and pears. Mix until everything is incorporated but don’t over mix.
- Pour into loaf pan and bake for about 70-80 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted come out clean.
- Let cool before slicing.
Notes
Frequently Asked Questions
Bosc, Bartlett, Anjou and Comice pears are the best for pear bread.
Yes, you can absolutely use canned pears. Just keep in mind that they will be a little bit softer in the bread than fresh pears. Make sure to drain all the liquid from the can first.
Yes, you can freeze pear bread. I usually like to make tow loaves, one to eat right away and one to freeze.
Wrap well or place in an airtight container and freeze for up to 4 months for best flavor.
Yes, you can substitute other fruit in this pear bread recipe. Apples are the closest substitute if you do not have pears. Other fruits such as asian pears, pineapple, quince, fresh figs, mangos or papaya all work very well as a substitute for pears in baked goods.
Pear bread is one of my personal favorites when you have a lot os pears. You can also make dried pears, pear sauce, baked pears and pear cake. You can also slice, remove the cores and freeze for later use.
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Please make sure to leave your ratings, questions and comments below!
Elyse
This pear bread is soooooo good! Yummy, big chunks of pears. I will definitely make again.