Pear Blueberry Crisp is a favorite dessert, full of sweet ripe fruit with a crisp and crumbly oat pecan topping! It's on the healthier side and gluten-free, perfect for any occasion from weeknights to holidays! Easy to make and absolutely delicious warm from the oven and topped with vanilla ice cream!
- We Love a Good Crisp! - A simple rustic dessert that's pretty healthy and delicious enough for guests? That's why we love it! A crisp is one of the easiest desserts to put together, and Pear Blueberry Crisp is a combination you won't want to miss!
- Eating in Season - Pears and blueberries are in season from summer to late fall, but they are two of those fruits that we can get good quality all year! While you would only make a Peach Crisp in late summer, Pear Blueberry Crisp is much more flexible! We love it around the holidays, and with all that healthy fruit, it really goes with any menu, any time of year!
- If you Love this Crisp, try my Apple Cherry Crisp and this Apple Cranberry Almond Crisp, especially around the holidays!
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Ingredients & Substitutions
With lots of healthy ingredients, this fresh fruit filling is sweetened with honey and topped with a pecan oat crumble that just needs a scoop of ice cream!
- Pears - Any type of pears work great including red, green or yellow, Bosc or Bartlett. More importantly, you want them to be ripe so they are at their peak of sweetness. Leave them on the counter a couple days to ripen.
- Lemon Juice - Squeezing a bit of lemon juice over the sliced pears keeps them from browning and gives them a fresh bright flavor.
- Blueberries - Use a whole pint of fresh blueberries, it will turn your pear crisp beautifully purple! If you only have half a pint, that will work, and 1 to 2 cups of frozen blueberries or mixed berries are fine too! You'll love these Blueberry Banana Oatmeal Muffins too!
- Honey - The filling is sweetened with just a bit of honey, the fruit is naturally very sweet. This could be subbed with sugar or maple syrup if you don't have it.
- Corn Starch - Tossing a bit of corn starch with the pears and blueberries thickens the juices as they bake for the perfect filling.
- Oats - The base of the crunchy topping, use regular rolled oats, although anything labeled old fashioned oats, thick oats, or even quick oats will work. I've found the best quality and value for oats is to get them from the bulk bin at the store. We use these same oats to make the best Homemade Almond Granola!
- Almond Flour - Most crisp recipes use flour, but you can keep this gluten-free, and add a little healthy protein and delicious nutty flavor by subbing almond flour. If you don't have it, regular or any other type of flour will work too.
- Pecans - I like adding a few nuts to a crisp topping and pecans are the perfect addition. They add a little crunch and make the dessert feel a bit fancier, a great pie alternative for Thanksgiving or the holidays.
- Brown Sugar - The topping is sweetened with brown sugar, but not very much. The fruit is the real sweetener for this dish! White sugar or honey would be fine to substitute, or try making Homemade Brown Sugar.
- Butter - That crisp topping is made crispy crunchy with a good amount of butter! I've made crisps with the butter melted or kept cold, and decided it really doesn't matter much. I find it easier to mix with melted butter. If it feels like too much butter to you, you could get by with a couple tablespoons less, or substitute half the amount with melted coconut oil.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
A Pear Blueberry Crisp is a fool-proof dessert that's hard to go wrong! Mix up the fruit filling, pile on the topping and let it bake!
Step 1 - Cut the pears from the core and thinly slice them. They don't need to be peeled.
You can use a bit of the half cup of butter to butter a baking dish.
Step 2 - Toss the pears and blueberries with the honey and cornstarch, your hands are the best tool!
Pour into the baking dish.
Step 3 - Mix up the oat topping with the melted butter.
Step 4 - Spread the topping evenly over the filling.
Let a few pears and blueberries peak out, especially around the edges.
Step 5 - Bake at 375℉ for 40 minutes. Serve warm with plenty of vanilla ice cream!
Recipe Notes & Helpful Tips
- Use Ripe Pears - Firm pears will bake up soft, but ripe pears will be sweeter and have much more flavor. Just leave them on the counter a few days to ripen.
- Leftovers for Breakfast! - Pear Blueberry Crisp is healthy enough to eat for breakfast! We like to top it with a scoop of plain or vanilla yogurt instead of the ice cream.
- Baking Dish Size - I used a medium sized oval baking dish, but this crisp will fit tightly in a square 9x9 pan. A large 9x12 lasagna pan is probably a bit too big. You can also put it in two smaller baking dishes and freeze one for later!
- What to Serve it With - Vanilla ice cream is the best, but whipped cream is pretty good too!
- Storage and Freezing - Baked Pear Blueberry Crisp will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days, or can be frozen for 3 months. You can also make this crisp a day ahead of time and refrigerate it unbaked. An unbaked pear crisp can also be wrapped well and frozen for 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the fridge before baking.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! Using almond flour instead of regular flour makes this Pear Blueberry Crisp gluten-free.
Yes, pears can be substituted with apples, or even 2 of each. The blueberries could also be substituted with another berry or cherries. Or leave the blueberries out for just a pear crisp.
Yes, to make this crisp without nuts, just leave out the pecans and substitute regular flour for the almond flour.
More Dessert Recipes!
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Pear Blueberry Crisp
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Print Pin RateIngredients
For the Filling
- 4 pears ripe (4 to 5 cups thinly sliced)
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 pint blueberries (2 cups)
- 2 Tablespoons corn starch
- 2 Tablespoons honey
For the Topping
- 1½ cups rolled oats
- ½ cup almond flour
- ½ cup pecans roughly chopped
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375℉. Use a bit of the half cup of butter to grease a medium sized baking dish.
- Wash pears, cut down alongside the core, making 4 cuts to remove the core. Thinly slice the pears, they do not need to be peeled. Add them to a bowl with the lemon juice so they don't brown.
- Add all the ingredients for the filling and toss with your hands. Pour into the prepared baking dish.
- You can use the same bowl to add all the ingredients for the topping. Mix well and spread evenly over the filling in the dish. Let a few pear slices and blueberries peek through, especially around the edges.
- Bake for 40 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.
Notes
- Pears - Any variety of pears are fine, leave them on the counter a few days to ripen so they are soft when pressed but not mushy or rotten.
- Blueberries can be fresh or frozen.
- Almond Flour could be substituted with regular flour or any nut flour.
- Honey could be swapped with maple syrup or white or brown sugar.
- Pecans could be substituted with sliced almonds or walnuts.
- Baking Dish - Choose a medium sized baking dish or cast iron skillet that will hold the filling. It should fit in a 9x9 square dish, a 9x12 lasagna pan will be a little too big. You can also divide the recipe into 2 smaller baking dishes and freeze one for later, baked or unbaked. Thaw overnight in the fridge and either bake or just rewarm in the oven.
Ann says
Made this yesterday, using peaches with the blueberries instead of pears. Followed the recipe exactly, and it turned out great!! Froze a small dish before baking for later.
Meryl Downing says
Thanks Ann, wow peaches would make a great substitute!