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Pear crumble is an old-fashioned, timeless recipe with some of the coziest flavors of all time. The brown sugar crumble layer is infused with lots of cinnamon, and the juicy pears cook down into a saucy mixture underneath. Pure heaven with a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream!
This pear crumble is right up there on my short list of favorite desserts ever. It’s also such an easy dessert to prepare, using simple ingredients and supplies, but the flavors are peak comfort.
Those beautiful ripe pears plus all that buttery crumble goodness? There’s nothing better!
Love the flavor of pears? Try making this Caramel Pear Butter to preserve the harvest or infusing them in vodka for this Vanilla Pear Liqueur.
Why you’ll love this easy pear crumble recipe
- Made with a brown sugar crumble topping with so much flavor
- Comes together with just a few minutes of hands-on effort
- Super simple recipe anyone can make
- Uses everyday pantry staples so you can throw it together anytime
- Makes enough for a 9×13 baking dish to feed a whole crew
- Great way to use up lots of pears quickly before they go bad
Ingredients
For the Fruit Filling
- Fresh pears – Almost any type of pear will work, although I suspect Asian pears might not. I used fully ripe Bartlett pears for this batch and they softened quite a bit, so you’ll want to cut them into pretty large pieces (1.5 – 2 inch chunks) or consider throwing in some less ripe pear to balance the texture. Baking is a great way to use some of those unripe pears quickly!
- Sugar – To sweeten the filling.
- Flour – This will thicken up into a sauce in the oven. You can always use corn starch instead, but we will already need the flour for the topping.
- Cinnamon
For the Crumble Topping
- All purpose flour – Unlike a crisp topping that uses oats and flour, this is a true crumble made with only flour and no oats.
- Brown sugar – For sweetness and an extra note of flavor. You can also use white sugar or use a mix of both.
- Vanilla extract – To help bring the topping together and infuse extra flavor.
- Kosher salt – Crucial for flavor! I always use kosher salt, which helps control the amount you’re adding.
- Unsalted butter – It’s key that your butter is very, very cold. You’ll need to cube it into small pieces then cut it into the crumble mixture with a pastry cutter or the tips of your fingers.
- Cinnamon – I use kind of a lot of cinnamon in this recipe and I like it that way. Cue the cozy autumn vibes!
How to Make Pear Crumble
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- In a 9×13 baking dish, toss chopped pears with the filling ingredients.
- In a separate medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients for the crumble. Stir to combine, then add the vanilla extract and cold butter. Use a pastry cutter or your fingers to cut the cold butter into the topping. The mixture should look mostly sandy with some chunks, and should hold together when squeezed.
- Spread the topping evenly on top of the pears.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the pear filling starts bubbling up on the edges. It should be visibly thickened and the crumble should be golden brown.
- Remove from oven and cool 10-15 minutes at room temperature to let the filling thicken. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Storing Suggestions
I find this pear crumble is ideal about 20-30 minutes out of the oven. Not too hot, but still plenty warm. This keeps the crumble topping nice and crisp! You can also store the leftovers in the fridge for the next day, and warm them in the microwave or toaster oven.
Pear crumble freezes well, too. Feel free to freeze your leftovers and thaw and reheat later.
Tips & Variations
- Play around with flavor. Try adding more warm spices, like ground cardamom, ground ginger, or allspice, or use apple pie spice instead of cinnamon.
- Mix and match fruit. Combine the pears with apples for a delicious seasonal dessert.
- Make a pear crisp. Replace the crumble topping with the oat topping from my apple crisp.
- Add more crunch. For extra texture, consider adding some chopped walnuts or pecans to the topping. You can also sprinkle the whole crumble with demerara sugar before baking.
- Add acidity. Fresh lemon juice tastes great in the pear filling.
How to Serve Pear Crumble
All crumbles deserves something creamy on top, whether that’s ice cream, whipped cream, or a dollop of custard. Heck, sometimes I just drizzle a little cream and call it a day.
But, it should certainly be served warm.
FAQs
That’s optional and really dependent on the type of pear and your personal preference. For example, Bartlett pears have really thin skins and when fully ripe, the skins nearly dissolve when baking. But then you have other types, like Bosc pears, have thicker, textured skin that you may prefer to remove.
Although most people use the terms “crisp” and “crumble” interchangeably, crisp toppings traditionally contain quick or old-fashioned oats while crumbles do not. This recipe does not use oats, although you can certainly use my apple crisp topping instead, if you prefer.
More Old-Fashioned Dessert Recipes
- Old-Fashioned Apple Crisp Recipe
- Cranberry Apple Crisp
- Pecan Pie Cobbler
- Pumpkin Pie Crumble
- Pecan Pie Cobbler
If you made this recipe, please leave a comment or ask a question below! I’d love to hear what you think or troubleshoot any issues.
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Old Fashioned Pear Crumble {for a 9×13 Pan}
Ingredients
For the Fruit Filling
- 6-8 pears, approximately 3 pounds; cubed in large chunks
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
For the Crumble Topping
- 1 1/2 cup flour
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, very cold; cubed
- 2 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- In a 9×13 baking dish, toss chopped pears with the filling ingredients.6-8 pears, 1/3 cup sugar, 2 tbsp flour, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- In a separate medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients for the crumble. Stir to combine, then add the vanilla extract and cold butter. Use a pastry cutter or your fingers to cut the cold butter into the topping. The mixture should look mostly sandy with some chunks, and should hold together when squeezed.1 1/2 cup flour, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 tsp kosher salt, 3/4 cup unsalted butter, 2 tsp cinnamon
- Spread the topping evenly over the prepared pears.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the pear filling starts bubbling up on the edges. It should be visibly thickened.
- Remove from oven and cool 10-15 minutes to let the filling thicken. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Nutrition
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