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This Pear Crumble is a warm, comforting pudding of soft cinnamon and lemon pears under a crunchy oat and maple topping. It uses just 7 ingredients, takes 10 minutes to prepare and serves 8. With gluten free oats and a vegan butter it is gluten free and vegan too. If you love pears, try my Baked Pears as well.
Pear Crumble at a Glance
James's tipUse ripe pears: they make the crumble sweeter, so you need less maple syrup. If yours are firm, add a little extra syrup to the pears.
Key ingredients
- Pears
- Rolled oats
- Maple syrup
- Cinnamon
Why you'll love it
- About 269 kcal and 7g fibre a portion
- 10 minutes to prepare
- Bake now or freeze for later
Quick summary
This crumble tosses chopped pears with lemon juice, cinnamon and cornflour, then tops them with oats, oat flour, butter and maple syrup and bakes it at 180°C fan (200°C conventional, gas 6) for 25 minutes. It serves 8 and is about 269 kcal a portion.
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Why this recipe works
This crumble is a comforting pudding for autumn and winter evenings. It is easy to share with family or friends at a dinner party, or to keep to yourself.
You do not need to spend hours in the kitchen: it takes 7 ingredients and 10 minutes before it goes in the oven. It was inspired by my Baked Pears, and it is lovely with my Cashew Cream. If you prefer another fruit, try my Apple and Blackberry Crumble.
If you only need a topping for your own fruit, use my Oat Crumble Topping.
This crumble is in my 33 Vegan Desserts and 35 Gluten Free Desserts round ups.
Ingredients to make Pear Crumble
For the Pears:
- Ripe Pears: The stars of this crumble, so pick good ones. Ripe pears are sweeter.
- Lemon Juice: Fresh lemon juice brightens the pears.
- Cinnamon: Optional, but it adds a lot of flavour.
- Cornflour: Thickens the juices so the base is not watery. It is called cornstarch in the US.
Crumble Topping:
- Rolled Oats: I use gluten free oats, but any rolled oats work. Some are blended into a flour and the rest stay whole for crunch. For oats at breakfast, try my Baked Oats.
- Maple Syrup: Sweetens and binds the topping.
- Unsalted Butter: I use a vegan block butter, but regular butter works as well.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions
- Pears: Tinned pears work if you do not have fresh; drain them well. You can also mix in apples or cranberries, or swap the pears for rhubarb, blackberries, raspberries, peaches or blueberries.
- Maple Syrup: Honey or agave syrup work too (honey is not vegan).
Variations
- Deluxe: Drizzle over cashew cream, chocolate or toffee sauce, add a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or scatter chopped pecans or almonds over the topping before it bakes.
- Kid friendly: Serve with custard or a scoop of ice cream.
For more autumn puddings, try my Puff Pastry Apple Tart, my No Bake Pumpkin Pie or my Gluten Free Carrot Cake.
How to make Pear Crumble
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 180°C fan (200°C conventional, gas 6). Peel the pears and chop them into roughly 2cm chunks.
Step 2: In a large bowl, mix the pears with the lemon juice, cornflour and cinnamon.
Step 3: Blend two thirds of the oats (160g) into a flour. This takes about 30 seconds.
Step 4: In a large mixing bowl, rub the oat flour, the remaining whole oats, butter and maple syrup together with your fingertips until it clumps.
Step 5: Spread the pears in a large baking dish, scatter over the crumble topping and bake for 25 minutes, until golden and bubbling at the edges.
Step 6: Leave it to settle for 5 minutes, then serve warm with custard, ice cream or my Cashew Cream.
Hint: Riper pears make a sweeter crumble. If yours are firm, add a little extra maple syrup to the pears.
Leftovers
This crumble is best straight out of the oven. Cool leftovers quickly, then keep them in an airtight container in the fridge and eat them within 2 days. Reheat in the oven or microwave until piping hot all the way through. You can freeze it before or after baking for up to 3 months. For another warm pudding, try my Banana Bread & Butter Pudding.
Recipe FAQs
Very ripe pears are the best for this crumble. They are sweeter, so you need less maple syrup.
I use cornflour (cornstarch in the US). It is gluten free and thickens the juices so the crumble does not go soggy.
A fruit filling and an oat topping. For the filling I use pears, lemon juice, cinnamon and cornflour. The topping is oats, maple syrup and butter.
Yes, before or after baking, for up to 3 months. Freezing it before baking works best: cover it well with cling film and foil or use an airtight container. Defrost it in the fridge, then bake as normal until piping hot.
Yes. Assemble it earlier in the day, cover it and keep it in the fridge, then bake when you are ready. You may need a few extra minutes in the oven if it goes in cold.
Yes. Apples, blackberries, rhubarb or plums all work, on their own or mixed with pears. Apple and blackberry is a classic autumn mix: try my Apple and Blackberry Crumble.
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Pear Crumble
Ingredients
For The Pears
- 6 ripe pears, peeled and chopped into chunks
- 1 juice of lemon
- 2 tsp cinnamon, (optional)
- 1 tbsp corn starch
Crumble Topping
- 240 g rolled oats, 3 cups ( I used gluten-free)
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 75 g unsalted butter, (I use vegan)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C fan (200°C conventional, gas 6). Peel and chop the pears into chunks roughly 2cm by 2cm.
- To a large bowl add the chopped pears, lemon juice, corn starch and cinnamon and mix together and set aside.
- Add 160g (two thirds) of the oats to a blender and blend into a flour (about 30 seconds).
- Add this oat flour to a separate large mixing bowl along with the leftover 80g of whole oats, butter, maple syrup and mix together with your hands.
- Add the pear mix to a large baking dish, top with the oat crumble topping and bake for 25 minutes, until golden and bubbling at the edges.
Notes
Nutrition
Another delicious recipe. I’m not a fan of dessert as I hate all cakes, so crumble is usually my choice or nothing. I love the pear in here l, mixed with cinnamon and I added walnuts, I will definitely be making this again. Thank you James
Thanks Johanna 🙂
I love your recipes. And presentation is so simple.
Thank you!
All the best for 2024 ❤️
Thank you Bee 🙂 appreciate the support!
Two words SOOOOO GOOD
Thank you Johanna 🙂
I didn’t like the orange with this at all. For some reason, it just made this horrible bitter taste. I think the next time I make it, I’ll leave the oranges out. It would be so much better with just pear and fig.
I quite liked the orange. Perhaps add more cinnamon. Beauty with James’s recipes is you can adapt to suit you