Amaretto Poached Pears
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These poached pears are an easy, elegant dessert for any occasion. They’re simmered in a sweet Amaretto syrup and served with whipped cream or mascarpone cheese. With just three ingredients, they’re simple to make and ready in 30 minutes!
Poached pears are one of those desserts that feel effortlessly elegant, yet they’re surprisingly easy to make. I love serving them for special occasions, but they’re just as nice as a midweek treat when I’m craving something simple and refined.
These Amaretto-poached pears are juicy and delicately flavored with sweet almond notes from the liqueur. I simmer winter pears—usually Bosc or Anjou, since they hold their shape beautifully—in Amaretto and light brown sugar until they’re tender and infused with flavor. There’s no fancy equipment or technique involved, and it’s a great make-ahead dessert that actually improves as it sits.
I’ll sometimes customize the poaching liquid with a cinnamon stick, vanilla, ginger, or cloves, depending on the season. Light, fragrant, and not overly sweet, these pears are especially lovely around the holidays or as a gentle, satisfying finish to a rich meal.
Make ahead instructions
You can make these ahead of time, and some even say these poached pears taste better the next day. If you’re planning on making them ahead of time, skip the step to reduce the poaching liquid and store the pears in the syrup in the fridge for up to 3 days.
When you’re ready to serve them, first heat up the poaching liquid and then add the pears to gently warm them. Remove them from the liquid, and set them aside to reduce the amaretto syrup.
What to serve with poached pears
Enjoy these poached pears for dessert alongside a dollop of freshly whipped cream, mascarpone cheese, crème fraîche, or vanilla ice cream.
Because the greatest desserts can acceptably be eaten for breakfast, enjoy leftover poached pears in porridge, stirred into yogurt, with pancakes or waffles, or sliced up on sourdough with some ricotta cheese throughout the holiday season, and beyond!
Amaretto Poached Pears Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 pears
- 1 ½ cups Amaretto
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
- Optional: whipped cream or mascarpone (to serve)
Instructions
- Peel the pears and gently remove the core from the bottom with a paring knife or a small spoon.6 pears
- Bring the Amaretto and brown sugar to a boil in a pot just big enough to fit the pears. Add the pears, lower the heat, cover the pot, and simmer for 15 minutes. Turn pears every few minutes to ensure all sides of the pears absorb some of the Amaretto flavor. Remove pears and set them aside.1 ½ cups Amaretto, 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
- Increase the heat to high and boil the amaretto, uncovered, until it is reduced to ½ cup.
- To serve, stand a pear in the middle of a plate. Drizzle with reduced Amaretto sauce over the top and add a dollop of whipped cream or mascarpone cheese beside the pear.Optional: whipped cream or mascarpone
Nutrition
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I tried this recipe except I used 1/2 c granulated sugar & 1/2c dark brown sugar. AMAZING!
That sounds delicious! I love the mix of granulated and dark brown sugar — such a great idea. I’m so happy you loved it! 💛
These turned out perfect. The amaretto was such a nice touch. Thank you!
Made this last night and it was a great hit! I’ve put the recipe in my keeper file under fancy. Pretty much followed the recipe exactly except that I cut the 2 T brown sugar down to 1 T.
I found the most beautiful comice pears at my farmers market last week and let them ripen on my window sill. They were very sweet and just oozing juice but still picturesque and stood up straight. My experience is good fruit can be found but not neccessarily in the stage of ripeness that you want-so plan ahead.
The person who washed the pans, an abstainer who hates all liquor, enjoyed it so much that she licked the sauce pan. It made us roll on the floor. Thanks for the experience.
rachel
That’s such a great story! So happy everyone, including the least likely person, loved them!!
I did not have quirt enough Amaretto so I filled the cup with Kahlua figuring it would be sweet enough did not add any sugar and then added a table spoon of Balsamic Vinegar before the reduction stage. Mascarpone cheese would be my choice but lacking any tonight used a little ice-cream.
Thanks for the inspiration.
gail
That sounds like a great combination! I love how a recipe starts off one way and changes and grows as along the way. Your version sounds super delicious 🙂
Wow, definitely going to try this recipe and hearing your story reminded me of being a kid again and enjoying fruit straight from the trees and everything seemed sweeter and juicier from that time … guess that makes me a fruit snob too 🙂
thanks for sharing your story and recipe … I look forward to more!
At least I’m not alone in my fruit snobbery!
mmmm. love Amaretto. think i will def. have to make this again. great picture btw!
Thanks, Alisa. Let me know if you like them after you make them!
Pears with chocolate sauce sounds fab too! I’ll definitely have to try that one next time 🙂
What a wonderful way to enjoy, sweet succulent BC pears! Thank you, for sharing such a delightful recipe!! So, going to make this recipe again!!
You’re welcome, Mark! Good luck with the pears. Let me know how you like them 🙂
I LOVE pears and share your taste for hand-picked fruit. I recently purchased what looked like some yummy red pears – only to discover that they were completely unripe and hard as a rock on the inside. Bleh. What a turn off! Same thing often for other fruits like Kiwi. The old saying “one rotten apple spoils the barrel” extends for me to “one under-ripe/over-ripe piece of fruit turns me off of that fruit for a long time!”.
Hi Dean,
I know what you mean, sometimes it is hard to get the memories of bad food out of your mind. I hope you try this recipe once those red pears of yours ripen. If you do, let me know how they turn out!
Absolutely delicious .. Again fabulous description.Can not wait to try one of this!!!..;). Next time wil give u some tips of my mom’s pears with red wine..;)
Hi Indi,
I’d love to hear about your mom’s pears with red wine. They sound delicious!