It’s a well-known fact in my house that while I don’t have a huge sweet tooth, I can completely destroy some ice cream. A cupcake will sit on my counter for days, but I think a container of ice cream in the fridge is a dare. These Caramelized Pears are one of my favorite things to serve alongside some good ice cream.

As the weather cools down, I still love ice cream, but like to it with warming stuff like these perfect caramelized pears with rum butter sauce. 

I think you’ll find this recipe to be surprisingly simple and so completely perfect as the weather cools off.

What pears work well for this recipe?

Most varieties of pears can work for these caramelized pears. Personally, I use bartlett pears because they are readily available this time of year. Other options that would work well are bosc pears or anjou pears.

I wouldn’t use a smaller pear though as they might break down too much during the caramelization process. Read this site for some excellent information on pear varietals. 

I’m not sure if these would work with an asian style pear which tend to be crisper and harder to get a good caramelization on. I didn’t try it with those varieties so just not sure. 

When are pears in season?

Most pears are in season in the fall and early winter and that’s when this recipe is at its best. Of course you can probably find some sort of pear at other times of the year, but this recipe really works best with in-season, delicious pears.

Instructions to make the caramelized pears

Caramelizing pears are one of my favorite easy desserts to make that feels kind of fancy. These are insanely quick to make. Just quarter the pears and add the pear slices to a skillet over medium heat with some butter. Cook the pears for a few minutes per side until they have some nice color on them.

Do keep an eye on these as they cook as the butter can burn onto the pears if you overcook them. They will also start to get mushy and break down too much if you overcook them. 

Caramelized Pears with Butter Rum Sauce
Perfect Pears.

Serve a few pear quarters with a big scoop of ice cream, a few spoons of rum sauce below, and maybe some mint!

Making the easy butter rum sauce

If you are feeling lazy, you can skip this sauce. Pears with some ice cream is plenty good! But, if you want to take it to the next level (say for the holidays), then try it with this sauce.

The rum butter sauce recipe makes a good amount of sauce, more than you’ll need unless you are hosting a party and want to serve this dessert. The sauce keeps great though and can be spooned over all sorts of desserts like cakes and ice cream.

RUm Butter Sauce
Stir stir stir.

This sauce couldn’t get easier though. You can literally just toss everything in a pot!

The key to this sauce is to heat it slowly over low heat. You ultimately want to bring it to a simmer and let it simmer for a few minutes so it thickens, but you want to do it slowly and stir it pretty consistently. The sauce should come together and be really smooth.

You can serve the sauce warm, but I think it’s better closer to room temperature.

Doesn’t get much better than this!

What to serve with these pears?

Vanilla ice cream is the obvious answer here. But I also thought these would be nice with some coffee cake or a sponge cake of some sort. 

These pears with some angel food cake with a drizzle of caramel sauce would be excellent also. 

Pears for dessert

Substitutions and ideas

I think these are best in their purest form because the pears are the star of the show, but here are a few ideas for substitutions!

  • Instead of rum, try to add some maple syrup and dried ginger to the sauce for a different flavor profile.
  • Serve these pears over pancakes for a complete dessert.
  • Add some brown sugar to the pears and broil them for a crispy Brulee crust to these pears.
  • Add these pears to your morning oatmeal bowl for a really delicious upgrade to oatmeal.

Caramelized Pears with Rum Sauce

5 from 2 votes
Author: Nick Evans
Servings: 4 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Caramelized pears are so delicious, I could eat them every day for dessert. Add some rum butter sauce and ice cream and I'm good to go!

Ingredients 

  • 4 pears, quartered
  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 2 cups ice cream, for serving
  • Fresh mint, garnish

Rum Butter Sauce

  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup unsalted butter
  • ¼ cup spiced rum

Instructions

  • For Rum Butter Sauce, combine ingredients in a small pot and heat over low heat until it’s bubbling. Stir continuously while sauce simmers for 5-6 minutes until sauce thickens slightly. Remove from heat and let cool.
  • For pears, add 1 tablespoon butter to a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Once butter is melted, add pears, quartered. Cook for 2-3 minutes per side until pears are caramelized. Cook pears in batches if your skillet isn’t large enough.
  • Serve warm pears with a scoop of ice cream, drizzled with the rum butter sauce and garnished with fresh mint.
    Rum butter sauce will store great in the fridge for a week.

Nutrition

Serving: 1pear | Calories: 750kcal | Carbohydrates: 98g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 93mg | Sodium: 166mg | Potassium: 387mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 67g | Vitamin A: 1137IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 141mg | Iron: 1mg
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American

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Here are a few other great recipes to try!

Caramelized Pears with Butter Rum Sauce: A perfect fall/winter dessert and a great excuse to bust out the ice cream even if it's chilly outside! The sauce on this is crazy delicious! | macheesmo.com