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I LOVEthat my son loves to eat fruits and vegetables, and consider myself lucky because he is really willing to try anything at least once these days. Great right? But let me tellyou what happens when well-meaning grandparents hear “my grandson likes pears” and bring them faster than you can eat them? I knew the situation was bad, but actually counted this morning as I was putting away groceries and realised that we had 15 pears in the fridge! I knew the easiest fix was to makesome sort of pear dessert, and made what turned out to be the most perfect pear crisprecipe for dessert for Friday night dinner!
I grew up with apple crumble as a regular in our home, but am not sure that we ever had pear crisp, so I looked online for some recipe inspiration. As far as reviews go this recipe by Ina Garten had the best reviews by far so I decide to use it as my starting point.
Except that I had 15 pears and 1 apple, I wanted a vegan pear crisp recipe, and Ina’s recipe calls for way more sugar than I am comfortable with. Oh, and my son is allergic to cinnamon. So, I did a bit of tinkering, and now I’m ready to share the final result with you! Vegan, gluten-free and nut-free, this pear crisp recipe is super allergy-friendly and is a nice seasonal recipe to welcome spring with!
Remember, if you want to make this dish gluten-free, you’ll need to be sure to use gluten-free oats, and spices.
Prepping yourPear Crisp Recipe
- Pre-Heat – pre-set the oven to 180 C so it can warm up while you do your prep work.
- Wash – I always wash my produce really well using a produce wash like this onethat I use. You won’t realisehow dirty your fruit/veg is until you see the water it was left to soak in.
- Cut – After rinsing, peel and core the pears, and slice into thin wedges. I prepped 10 medium green pears and it gave me a bit more than 5 cups of cut pieces. Using a sharp knife (I like to use a boning knife) will make this go quickly.
- Prepare the Fruit Layer – mix all the ingredients together to create a sauce and add it to the pear. Toss well, and then spread the pear mixture evenly across your baking dish.
- Prepare the Topping – combine all the ingredients together in a bowl and mix well – it will transform into a clumpy, crumbly mixture. Spread the topping across the fruit layer so that it completely hides the fruit and is relatively even.
- Bake – depending on your oven’sability to hold the temperature you may have to bake less or more time, until the crumble topping browns nicely and the pear layer begins to bubble (roughly 40-45 min).
- Eat – remove from the oven and let cool slightly. Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream or on its own. Store any leftovers in the fridge to heat up later.
The Perfect Pear Crisp Recipe | Vegan and Gluten-Free
This pear crisp recipe's citrus flavours is a deliciously refreshing twist on the traditional cinnamon based pear or apple crisp recipe. Pair this gluten-free vegan baked pear dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a perfect finish to any meal.
Author: Accidentally Crunchy
Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 9 servings
Ingredients
The Fruit Layer
- 5 cups pear, peeled, cored and sliced into wedges (appx 10 medium pears)
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp orange juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp orange zest
- ⅜ (1/4 + ⅛) cup maple syrup
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- ½ tsp cinnamon (optional)
- ¼ cup flour (gluten-free or wheat)
The Topping
- 1.5 cups spelt flour (can substitute gluten-free flour or regular wheat flour)
- ½ cup + 2 tbsp brown sugar
- ⅓ cup coconut sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup oats
- ¼ cup + 2 tbsp coconut oil (in its liquid state)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 C.
- In a bowl, combine the orange juice, lemon juice, orange zest, lemon zest, maple syrup, nutmeg (and cinnamon) and flour, giving it a quick stir with a fork.
- Add the pear to the bowl and toss the pear in the mixture so it is well coated.
- Layer the pear filling evenly across a 9" baking dish, or 9 ramekins, and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, add the flour, brown sugar, coconut sugar, oats and warmed coconut oil and mix together until you have a crumbly, well combined mixture.
- Sprinkle the topping evenly across the pear until it is well covered (you may have a couple of tbsp of topping left over, or you can add it all to the pan).
- Bake the crumble for 40 minutes, or until it is browned on top and the pear filling begins to bubble.
- When ready, remove from the oven. Serve warm with whipped topping or a scoop of ice cream, or simply on its own.
Hope you enjoy this pear crisp recipe! What other fruit crisps do you like to make? Let us know!
