Old-Fashioned Warm Pear Crisp
This warm pear crisp is a classic Southern fall dessert that’s big on fruit and topped with a perfectly crunchy oat and brown sugar crumble. Made with fresh Bartlett pears and simple pantry staples like cinnamon and quick oats, this easy, 20-minute prep recipe delivers a cozy, bubbling dessert that’s even better with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It’s the perfect way to use up a harvest of pears for a weeknight treat!
A Cozy Classic for Chilly Afternoons
I’ve always felt that the best recipes are the ones that make the whole house smell like cinnamon, and this pear crisp is exactly that! It takes me right back to those autumn afternoons when the air gets a little crisp, and you just want something warm and sweet to finish off supper.
Pear crisps are such a popular fall dessert, and they’re perfect for beginner bakers. In fact, this easy crisp recipe only takes 20 minutes to prep. This particular recipe for pear crisp is all about the fruit filling, with just the right touch of crumbly brown sugar oat topping to set it off. Thanks to the warm and cinnamon-spiced pears, this crisp isn’t overly sweet, but just right. I highly recommend serving your classic pear crisp with a drizzle of caramel sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice cream to ultimately make the perfect dessert.
Now, you can easily swap the pears for apples in this recipe for pear crisp. But another option is to combine the two to make an apple pear crisp. How good does that sound?
Recipe Ingredients
- Cinnamon
- Pears
- Butter
- Quick oats
- Brown sugar
- All-purpose flour
- White sugar
Recipe Notes
- I recommend using fresh and firm Bartlett pears in this recipe for pear crisp. Just make sure they’re not too ripe or too sweet. I wouldn’t recommend using canned pears as they’re too mushy for this particular pear crisp recipe.
- If you want, you can make this dessert up to 48 hours in advance. Once the crisp has baked and then completely cooled, place it into an airtight container in the fridge.
- If you want a topping with extra crunch, sprinkle some chopped pecans or walnuts on top.
- For something different, use crystallized ginger instead of cinnamon in the pear filling. Alternatively, opt for ground cinnamon and nutmeg – the ultimate fall spice combo!
How to Make Warm Pear Crisp
1. Prep the Filling
Preheat your oven to 375°F and spray an 8×8 baking dish with cooking spray. Peel and dice your pears, then toss them directly into the dish.
Sprinkle your white sugar, flour, and cinnamon over the top and give it a good stir until every piece of fruit is well-coated.
2. Mix the Topping
In a medium mixing bowl, combine your oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and softened butter. Use a long-tined fork to cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs.
3. Bake Until Bubbly
Sprinkle the oat topping evenly over the pears. Slide the dish into the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes. You’re looking for the fruit juices to be bubbling around the edges and the topping to be a beautiful golden brown.
4. Serve it Up
Let it sit for just a few minutes after it comes out of the oven to let the juices set. Serve it warm in a bowl with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream or a drizzle of caramel sauce if you’re feeling extra indulgent.
Storage and Leftovers
If you happen to have leftovers, they stay great in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. I think it’s best to reheat it in the oven or air fryer to help that topping crisp back up, but a quick zap in the microwave works just fine for a late-night snack. You can even freeze the baked crisp for up to three months, but just make sure it’s completely cooled before you wrap it up tight!
You may also like these recipes for other fabulous fruit crisps:
Ingredients
Filling
- 8 cups peeled pears about 8-10 medium-sized pears
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Topping
- 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
- 1/3 cup brown sugar dark or light, I prefer dark
- 1/4 cup softened butter
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- caramel, drizzled over top optional
- vanilla ice cream or whipped cream topping optional
Instructions
- Spray an 8×8 baking dish with cooking spray. Peel and dice pears and place them in the dish. Place white sugar, flour, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon on top of pears and stir until well coated.
- In medium bowl place oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Cut together with a long tined fork until well blended and crumbly. Sprinkle over top of pears.
- Bake at 375 for 40-45 minutes. Serve hot on its own, drizzled with caramel, or topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
I loved this with the pears. A friend of ours grows them and gives me a ton. I have used them frozen with success. I would recommend doubling the crisp topping as I did 1-1/2 times but would have liked more. I served it with vanilla ice cream and Trisha Yearwood’s Buttermilk caramel. Divine!
I know I’m not colored blind but I can’t find the blue save recipe. I have scrolled up and down but am missing it, I guess.
Thanks for all you allow the Lord to do through your life. Best legacy ever!
Yum,yum-going down memory lane again. Whatever fruit was handy was what my grandmother used and she always shared with my mom. I can remember when a family friend had pear trees and they knew my mother canned and frozen veggies and mentioned to her that they did not want them and come get them or they would waste. The word waste was a red letter word to my mother and I helped her can those pears, (what we did not eat and make something like this). It was such good eating during the winter.
I saw this recipe recently (thanks for the repost) and remembered I have frozen pear slices from last fall. My neighbor does not like pears and let me pick hers. I made it with two quart bags of pears. A lot of the juice was released from the frozen pears as they defrosted. I poured about half of it back in with the pears; I wasn’t sure if I should put any or all back in but it came out good. There was not much crisp so maybe there was too much liquid in my pears.
I can see from the comments above that all kinds of adjustments can be made.
The pear crisp lasted less than 24 hours in this house of four! Great recipe, thank you!
It does sound like you might have had to much juice, I bet it tasted great though! I love home grown pears, they just can’t be beat!!
Used this recipe as a guide to make apple crisp. (I had a few apples and oatmeal left over from Christmas.) So I obviously subbed apples in place of the pears, used a dash of cardamom in with the cinnamon, and most importantly I used packets of instant Maple & Brown Sugar Instant Oatmeal in place of the plain oatmeal. It turned out to be the best apple crisp I have ever made!!
Pears are pretty expensive in Canada, while apples are cheap as dirt. Regarding quick oats, I never buy them, preferring rolled oats that can be pulsed into quick oats. I am a pretty good cook, so I think this delicious recipe will turn out just fine.
Congrats on the new floors! This looks so delish that I will defiantly be making it very soon!! <3
How ripe do the pears need to be? I have to buy them from the grocery store, and they can be quite hard. Thanks!