30-Minute Honey Poached Pears Dessert
This simple poached pears recipe is a delicious healthy dessert idea! Bosc pears are peeled and gently poached in water and honey with aromatics including cinnamon sticks, ginger, and orange peel. The results are tender, not too sweet poached pears that can be eaten on their own or enjoyed with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Minimal prep work and ready in 30 minutes!
As a Registered Dietitian, I think pears are such an underrated fruit! Not only are pears delicious, they are highly nutritious and provide dietary fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
If you’re looking for healthy dessert recipes, you’ve got to try these honey poached pears!
The process of poaching pears in water with honey gently cooks the pears until they are tender, lightly sweetened, and SO yummy to eat.
Just like my popular poached apples recipe, you need just a handful of ingredients to make poached pears. 5 minutes of prep time and 20 minutes of cooking time means you can enjoy the best poached pears recipe ever in under 30 minutes!
This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, nut free, vegetarian, and can easily be made vegan. To make this recipe vegan, just use maple syrup in place of the honey.
Ingredients in poached pears recipe
Here is everything you need to make poached pears:
- Pears: When shopping for pears, select fruit that is unblemished and without bruises. For poached pears, you’ll want slightly underripe pears that are firm (but not rock hard).
- Honey: Honey adds sweetness to poached pears when dissolved in the poaching water. For a vegan option, you can use maple syrup instead.
- Cinnamon sticks: Whole cinnamon sticks impart a lightly sweet and cinnamon flavor to the poached pears.
- Ginger: Fresh ginger root gives poached pears a warm flavor.
- Orange peel: Shave off a few slices of orange peel to add to the poaching water.
- Vanilla extract: Vanilla extract enhances all the flavors in this recipe.
Best pears for poaching
Bosc pears and anjou pears (green and red anjou pears) are great options for making poached pears. They both have a firm texture that will hold shape well when cooked.
Bartlett pears tend to be softer, so they are the less desirable option for making poached pears.
Pears that are slightly underripe, or just beginning to ripen, are best for making poached pears. They should be firm and give only slightly when you press into them.
Kitchen tools needed
You need a 3-5 quart saucepan, a slotted spoon, a knife, a cutting board, and a vegetable peeler. A swivel peeler is best.
How to poach pears
Poaching pears means cooking pears in simmering sweetened, flavored water until they are fork tender. Here’s how to do it:
Poached pears are done cooking when they are fork tender but not mushy.
Use a slotted spoon to lift the pears out of the liquid and transfer them to a plate to serve.
Serving suggestions
Slice them up and enjoy alone, or pair them with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or creme fraiche. Poached pears are also very delicious with protein-rich Greek yogurt or oatmeal for breakfast!
Storage
Store poached pears in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can enjoy them cold from the fridge, or heat them up in the microwave.
Pears nutrition benefits
Pears are one of the healthiest fruits you can eat! Compared to other fruits, pears are rich in fiber. One medium pear provides 5.6 grams of dietary fiber, or 20% of your daily needs.
Pears are a source of both soluble and insoluble fiber. They contain pectin, a type of insoluble fiber that is linked with gut health. Soluble fibers like pectin bind with water in the digestive tract, which helps lower cholesterol and blood glucose levels. Aim to get 6 to 8 grams of soluble fiber per day.
Pears are also a source of micronutrients, including vitamin C, vitamin K, B vitamins, potassium, and copper.
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30-Minute Honey Poached Pears Dessert
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: serves 4
- Category: dessert
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This simple poached pears recipe is a delicious healthy dessert idea! Bosc pears are peeled and gently poached in water and honey with aromatics including cinnamon sticks, ginger, and orange peel. The results are tender, not too sweet poached pears that can be eaten on their own or enjoyed with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Minimal prep work and ready in 30 minutes!
If you love this recipe, try my popular poached apples recipe.
Ingredients
- 4 medium-large Bosc pears, slightly underripe
- 10 cups water
- 1/2 cup honey
- 3 slices of orange peel
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 1 inch piece of fresh ginger, thinly sliced
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Using a swivel peeler or small knife, peel the pears. Discard the peels and set aside the pears.
- Combine water, honey, orange peel, cinnamon sticks, ginger, and vanilla extract in a 3-5 quart pot.
- Bring the water to a simmer, stirring occasionally, so honey dissolves into the water.
- Gently lower pears into the simmering water.
- Cook for 20-25 minutes, until pears are fork tender. If the pears are not completely submerged in the water, rotate them a few times while cooking to ensure even cooking.
Notes
Serving suggestions
Slice them up and enjoy alone, or pair them with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or creme fraiche. Poached pears are also very delicious with protein-rich Greek yogurt or oatmeal for breakfast!
Storage
Store poached pears in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can enjoy them cold from the fridge, or heat them up in the microwave.
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