No-Recipe Pear Recipes
Sep 17, 2019, Updated May 25, 2021
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Pear recipes that you can wing! No formal recipes needed.
This post is sponsored by USA Pears.
Life is too short to live by the rules! No rules or recipes are required to throw together these delicious dishes featuring pears. They’re perfect for busy school nights when there’s no time to consult complicated recipes or put together an intricate meal. But don’t worry, you can be a novice cook and still improvise these easy no-recipe recipes.
Why Pears?
Pears aren’t just for snacking! They are more versatile than you may realize. They add crunch to salads, natural sweetness to savory main courses, and texture to desserts. Pears, particularly certain varieties such as Bosc and Green Anjou, hold up well when baked, broiled, grilled, or poached. Keeping a few pears on hand in the kitchen means you’ll always have something flavorful to whip up for dinner!
The Appetizer
Start your meal off with a quick yet elegant appetizer. Simply crumble blue cheese and chopped walnuts on top of Anjou pear slices and drizzle with honey.
View our pear, wine, and cheese pairing guide here.
Produce Mom Tip: When serving pears on a charcuterie board, dip slices in pineapple juice or lemon juice first to slow down the oxidation (browning) process.
The Salad
If you aren’t adding pears to your salads, you’ve been doing it wrong! There is hardly a green salad that isn’t made better with a few thin pear slices. Toss together whatever greens you have on hand and add in pear slices. One of our favorite combinations? Baby spinach, toasted almonds, dried cherries, balsamic vinaigrette, and either Bosc or Anjou pear slices. Delish!
The Main Course
Pears and pork are made for one another! This classic flavor combination is always one that leaves bellies happy. You can’t go wrong with pork tenderloin and cooked pears or pear compote. For something especially easy yet still plenty tasty, opt for Sheet Pan Pear Pork Chops. Marinate bone-in pork chops in your choice of marinades. Then, arrange bone-in pork chops, quartered Bosc pears, and slices of red onions on a single sheet pan. Drizzle with grapeseed oil and season with fresh thyme, salt, and pepper. Bake at 400 degrees for around 15-20 minutes or until the chops are cooked through.
The Dessert
Keep things simple for dessert. Choose a sweeter variety pear like Concorde, Bartlett, Comice, or Starkrimson. Drizzle quarters with chocolate syrup and/or caramel sauce. Toss on a few peanuts if you like. If you have a few extra minutes, grill the pears first to bring out their sweetness. Concorde pears have a dense flesh that makes them ideal for cooking and grilling.
Pears are so much more than a handheld snack! Get creative and begin adding pears to your dishes. Tell us how you incorporate pears into your cooking in the comments below or tag us in your recipe photos on Instagram @theproducemoms and @usapears.
If you do prefer to cook with a formal recipe, check out our Pear Pinterest board for delicious pear recipes.
