If you love making homemade applesauce in the fall, you need to try this Lime Ginger Pear Sauce. It's easy to make and packed with a delicious tropical flavor that will add a little flair to your fall!
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Can someone please tell me why pears are so underrated? Why is everyone so obsessed with apples and apple season while pears totally get the shaft? And furthermore, why is apple picking so popular, but nobody ever talks about going pear picking?
This is just one of life's many injustices that keeps me up at night.
In some ways, I get it. Finding the perfectly ripened pear can be a lot more difficult than finding an amazing apple. But that's part of the fun of it.
When you bite into a pear and discover that it's amazingly juicy and flavorful and like the stuff dreams are made of, there's nothing better. No apple can compare.
I'm vowing to make this, not only the season of the apple, but also the season of the pear.
While I love making homemade applesauce, I never considered homemade pear sauce before... Until now. And I still can't decide if I want it to be one or two words. Pear sauce or pearsauce?
In the end, all that really matters is that you join me in embracing pears and try this lime ginger pear sauce for yourself!
I briefly considered making a very basic pear sauce with just a little cinnamon mixed in. But I couldn't stop thinking about how lime and ginger complement pears so beautifully.
This is still a simple recipe to make, but has a bit of a tropical flair to it thanks to the ginger and lime. It's perfect for when you want to bring fall into your home, but aren't quite ready to fully let go of that summer feeling.
🗒 Ingredients
You only need a few simple ingredients to make this dish (but be sure to view the recipe card at the bottom of this post for ingredient amounts and full recipe directions):
- Ripe pears
- Water
- Freshly squeezed lime juice
- Granulated sugar: you can substitute with brown sugar, maple syrup or honey if you prefer.
- Minced fresh ginger
- Salt
🍐 What kinds of pears should I use?
Great question! And the answer is easy; you can use any type of pear you want for this pear sauce.
I often use Green Anjou pears for mine, but Bosc pears, Red Anjou pears, Bartlett pears, or most any varieties of pears will work well.
Simmering the pears with sugar and other flavorings will soften and sweeten them no matter what variety you use... So use your favorite!
👩🍳 How to make lime ginger pear sauce
Once you've chosen your pears and peeled and chopped them into chunks, all you have to do is put them in a large saucepan, along with all the other ingredients (water, lime juice, sugar, fresh ginger, and salt).
I use just a little bit of sugar since pears have a lot of natural sweetness, but you can use maple syrup or honey if you prefer. Or you can leave it out all together if you don't want your sauce to have any added sugar and you're using sweet pears.
Bring the mixture to a boil and then lower heat to a simmer and let simmer for about 20 minutes. Pears should be tender.
Remove the saucepan from the heat, and gently mash the pears with a potato masher.
I like my apple sauce and pear sauce a little bit chunky, but if you want a perfectly smooth sauce, you can use an immersion blender (AKA stick blender) or put the mixture in a blender or food processor and puree it.
Transfer to heat safe containers and refrigerate the batch of pear sauce until cold. It will thicken up a bit more as it cools. You can leave it in your fridge in an airtight container for about 5 days or just dig in as soon as it cools.
How easy is that??
You can also sprinkle a little ground ginger over the top if you want.
The finished pear sauce has the best flavor... You can taste the delicious sweetness of the fresh pears, but also get lots of lime and ginger notes.
Making it feel like half fall harvest and half tropical vacation.
❓ What if I want plain pear sauce?
Love the idea of pear sauce, but don't want the tropical flavors? No problem! It's easy to make this recipe without.
Simply follow this recipe, but instead of using lime juice, use lemon juice instead. You can add a little lemon zest if you want, too. And instead of minced ginger, sprinkle in some ground cinnamon instead.
If you want a sweeter sauce, you can also add in more sugar.
🥣 How to serve
I have a really tough time categorizing things like pear sauce in terms of when they're best eaten. I think that means it's perfect for any time! It makes a delicious side dish to pork (much like how you'd serve applesauce), but I also love it as a dessert (it's a relatively healthy treat).
And I even enjoyed this lime ginger pear sauce a couple times for breakfast with a side of toast. It would also be delicious stirred into a bowl of plain oatmeal.
Here are some ideas for how to serve this pear sauce:
- As a side with pork chops or other pork dishes
- As a side with sausage
- Baked into muffins
- Blended into smoothies
- Topping for potato pancakes
- Topping for oatmeal, yogurt, ice cream, etc.
- Paired with cheese
Bonus points for the fact that it will make your kitchen (and potentially entire house) smell like a little piece of fall heaven. A super easy-to-make recipe that takes just a little effort and doubles as an automatic fall cheer spreader? It doesn't get any better than that!
Personally, I absolutely love the way the lime and ginger flavors complement the pears natural flavors and think this combination really is a fabulous match. Fall with a tart tropical touch might be my new personal aesthetic.
🥫 How to can pear sauce
I eat this pear sauce too quickly to can or jar it. But if you want to make the recipe and save it for later OR you have a plethora of pears and want to make a double or triple batch, you can certainly can it.
This guide for canning applesauce will tell you everything you need to know in terms of canning any fruit sauce.
🧊 Can you freeze?
Yes, you can! Pear sauce is super easy to freeze and a great solution if you have room in your freezer and don't want to can.
First, make the pear and sauce and let it cool completely.
Then, decide how large of portions you want to freeze. You can freeze in single-serve potions if you want to eat it a little bit at a time. Or you can freeze all of the sauce in one container if you will be eating it all at once at a later date (it's not a good idea to freeze, thaw, and then re-freeze).
You can either use freezer-safe bags or any kind of freezer-safe airtight container. I like using bags because they can lay flat and don't take up much room in your freezer (just make sure to squeeze all the air out of the bag before sealing).
Once frozen, pear sauce should last for up to 9 months. Make sure to remove from freezer, thaw completely, and give it a good stir before enjoying!
🛒 Where to buy
I promise you that this homemade recipe is better than anything you can buy in the store, but I totally understand if you're in a rush or just want something super easy.
However, despite the fact that this delicious sauce is as easy to make as applesauce, there just aren't a lot of pear sauce products on the market (unless we're talking about baby food; there are tons of pear baby foods!). And the ones that are are often mixed with apples.
Here are some options:
- Williams Pear Puree
- Lazzaris Pear Sauce
- Brittany Apple Pear Sauce
- White Leaf Provisions Apple and Pear Sauce
- Mott's Pear Applesauce
Don't get me wrong; I know apples will always be the true fall standard, but can't we all join together and give pears a little love, too? Try this lime ginger pear sauce and then make a pear pie and let's start a pear revolution together.
I suddenly have the urge to plant a pear tree or two in my yard.`
Oh, and if you haven't enjoyed pears with cheddar cheese, please go do so and then give me a call to discuss.
🎉 More pear recipes
If you're always on the hunt for delicious pear recipes, check out some of my other favorites:
- Pear Old Cubans
- Pear Muffins
- Pear Syrup
- Pear Fritters
- Winter Kale Salad with Butternut Squash and Pears
- Cinnamon Pear Sangria
- Roasted Pears with Goat Cheese and Bacon
- Caramelized Pear, Pancetta, and Gorgonzola
- Maple Ginger Pear Pie (from Sweet Little Baker)
And if you're just not ready to get off the apple train yet, try my Pumpkin Pie Applesauce for something a little different.
The next time you have an abundance of pears, you know what to do!
What's your favorite recipe that features pears?
📖 Recipe
Lime Ginger Pear Sauce
Ingredients
- 3 lbs pears (about 6 medium pears), peeled and chopped into chunks
- 3 tablespoon water
- 3 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat to a simmer and cover. Let mixture cook for about 20 minutes, until pears are cooked through and very tender.
- Remove from heat and mash pears with a potato masher or fork. If you want a completely smooth sauce, you can put it in a blender and puree.
- Transfer pear sauce to a bowl and refrigerate until cool. Sauce will thicken a bit as it chills.
- Serve as a side to a pork or sausage dish or as dessert, a snack, or breakfast. I like to serve with a little ground ginger sprinkled over the top.
Notes
- Kept in an airtight container, this pear sauce should keep in your fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freeze in airtight containers or freezer-safe bags for up to 9 months.
Useful Products
See Web Story for this recipe.
Anne Lawton says
I love the idea of making pear sauce instead of applesauce, thanks for sharing!
Linda Phelps says
This recipe makes pear sauce taste so decadent. It was so easy and so delicious. We have two pear trees and like to change up the flavor of our pear sauce. This is our favorite.