Deliciously sweet and so moreish, this pear applesauce combines fresh fruits and a good pinch of warming spices. It's so easy to make on the stovetop as a dessert topping or to spoon onto oatmeal for a fun breakfast!
We all know applesauce is delicious, but I love to mix it up by adding different fruits for extra flavor! Much like my blueberry applesauce and peach applesauce, this recipe combines sweet fresh fruits with a pinch of spice and is perfect for both kids and adults alike.
And it's so easy! Cook up this apple pear sauce on the stovetop in about 20 minutes with just a few ingredients. It's a cozy, fresh and nutritious breakfast, snack or dessert sauce - serve cold or warm, just the way you like it!
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⭐ Why this recipe is so good
Simple ingredients. We use fresh fruits and pantry staples to make a flavorful fruit sauce - all easy to find in stores!
Kid and adult friendly. You can use this pear sauce as a work or school snack, or as a kid-friendly sweet treat (perhaps reduce the amount of spice).
🍐 Ingredients
All the ingredients and their quantities are set out in the recipe card below.
Some notes on a few of them:
- Apples - I suggest to use red apples or a mix of red apples and green apples such as Granny Smith apples for a delicious combination of sweet and tart flavors.
- Pears - I like to use Bartlett, Bosc or conference pears to make sauce as they cook down well.
- Spices - we use a pinch of ground cinnamon (or cardamom) and ground ginger to give a nice flavor. Feel free to add more if you like warming spices!
- Apple juice - while you can use water, using juice gives extra sweetness and even more apple flavor! If cartons are not tolerated by my low histamine readers, you can use freshly squeezed or swap for water.
📖 Swaps and variations
Add lemon juice. If lemon juice works for you (likely not my low histamine readers), then adding a squeeze gives a nice tang of citrus.
Add vanilla extract. A quarter teaspoon of vanilla extract is delicious. Please note that it scores 1 on the SIGHI list, with a ? as a liberator, if you're low histamine.
🔪 How to make pear applesauce
Making this homemade pear and apple sauce recipe is so easy to do on the stovetop with minimal ingredients and basic kitchen equipment.
All the instructions are set out in the recipe card below, but these step by step photos should help guide you.
Step 1: Add peeled, diced, de-cored apples and pears to a Dutch oven or large pot, along with the apple juice, cinnamon (or cardamom) and ground ginger (image 1).
Step 2: Bring the fruit sauce mixture to a light simmer, then reduce the heat and cook for 18-20 minutes until the apples are fork tender (they will usually take a little longer to cook than the pears), stirring occasionally (image 2).
Step 3: Allow the fruit to cool, then either use a potato masher to mash the apple and pear sauce if you like a thicker chunky consistency or transfer to a blender to blend to a smooth fruit sauce (image 3).
💭 Recipe tips and notes
- Dice the apples and pears into small pieces that are roughly the same size for an even cook time.
- The apples will take a little longer to soften, so check they are fork tender before blending or mashing into the sauce.
- Make sure your pears are ripe so they cook down well.
📋 Frequently asked questions
Using apples that cook well is best for making applesauce. Varieties such as Golden Delicious, Pink Lady and Honeycrisp apples are all sweet, delicious and good for cooking. If you like a more tart flavor, you can always add in some Granny Smith apples too.
Bartlett, Bosc and conference pears all cook down well to make sauce.
You can choose to have a chunky or smooth apple pear sauce. For a more chunky texture, use a potato masher. If you like a smooth sauce, then blend using an immersion blender or in a blender.
It's very easy to freeze this applesauce. Simply allow to cool, then spoon into small freezer-safe containers. It can be frozen for up to three months, although my low histamine readers may wish to read the SIGHI guidance on freezing foods.
🥣 How to serve applesauce
Enjoy spoonfuls of this pear applesauce as a quick snack, or try out:
- Spoon onto pancakes or waffles for a fun brunch idea!
- Stir the sauce through oatmeal or enjoy as a topping for blended oats for breakfast, or use to make my applesauce overnight oats recipe.
🍎 More fruit sauces
Choose from so many fun fruit sauces here including my popular mango coulis and passion fruit coulis, as well as these recipes:
I'm always in the kitchen, so come join me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to be the first to hear of new recipes! And I love to hear from you - so please do leave a star rating ⭐⭐⭐ and comment if you've tried the recipe!
📖 Recipe
Pear Applesauce
Ingredients
- 6 red apples peeled, de-cored, diced
- 4 pears peeled, de-cored, diced
- ⅓ cup apple juice or water
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon or cardamom*
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
Instructions
- Peel the apples and pears, removing the core, stems and seeds.
- Add the diced apples and pears, apple juice (or water), cinnamon and ground ginger to a Dutch oven or large pot. Bring to a light simmer, reduce the heat to low and cook for 18-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Allow the fruit to cool, then either blend using an immersion blender or food processor for a smooth sauce or use a masher for a thicker chunky texture.
Notes
- You can use a mix of apples to make the sauce for a lovely flavor. Red apples give sweetness, and adding a green Granny Smith apple would add some tartness to the sauce.
- Bartlett, Bosc and conference pears all work well to make fruit sauce.
- Nutritional information is auto-generated and should be understood to be an estimate.
- Pears and ginger score 1.
- Cardamom scores 0, but has a note (in French) that some varieties may not be well tolerated.
- If apple juice from a carton isn't tolerated, swap for water or freshly squeezed juice.
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