These grilled pears are sweet, delicious, and so tender. These pears on the grill are cooked to perfection and brushed with a sweet cinnamon-sugar mix.
Grilled fruit is one of my favorite things to make. I love the caramelized flavor that fruit gets when it's cooked on the grill, and it's so much healthier than a lot of other sweet treats.
Pears on the Grill
Grilled pears are so good because they have the perfect texture for grilling. They're soft, and as they grill, they get almost buttery. Then, when you baste them with the cinnamon-sugar mixture, it just takes it to another level.
I love it so much, I actually created an air fryer pineapple recipe to get the same effect when the weather doesn't cooperate.
Why You Will Love this Recipe
- The pear flavor is so intense after grilling.
- The cinnamon-sugar mixture adds the perfect amount of sweetness.
- It's an easy-to-make, better-for-you treat that everyone always loves.
Top Tip:
Be sure your grill is thoroughly cleaned and very well-oiled so the pears don't stick.
Ingredients
It only takes a handful of simple ingredients to make these easy grilled pears.
- Pears
- Olive Oil
- Butter
- Brown sugar
- Cinnamon
You'll find the full ingredient list along with quantities in the recipe card at the end of the post.
How to Make Grilled Pears
We'll be hitting the highlights of making this pear recipe today. Honestly, though, it's so simple that the highlights are pretty much all there is to it!
1: Cut the pears in half and remove the core.
2: Brush with olive oil and grill the pears cut side or face down until tender. Leave on hot grill grate for a few minutes without moving to create beautiful grill marks on each side of your pear.
3. Heat the apple-cinnamon mixture in a saucepan while the pears grill.
4. Flip the pears and brush them with the brown sugar mixture.
5. Grill for another minute and enjoy!
Substitutions and Variations
- Any oil: Any vegetable oil with a decent smoke point will work if you don't have olive oil.
- Add heat: Blend a small pinch of cayenne pepper in your oil before brushing your pears.
- Different fruits: Try apples, peaches, pineapples, or bananas sliced in half with the peel on.
- Nuts: Crushed walnuts, almonds, or pecans are delicious when added to this recipe right after the butter mixture is added.
- Balsamic vinegar: A drizzle after cooking adds a nice depth of flavor.
- No cinnamon: Use ginger, cardamom, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, coriander or a blend like garam masala, pumpkin pie spice or curry powder instead.
If you love recipes like this, you may also enjoy these apple wraps or bananas.
Storage
Refrigerator: Store these for up to 3 days in an air-tight container.
Freezer: Store these in an air-tight, freezer-safe container for up to a month.
Reheat: Bake, covered, at 350 for 10 minutes or until heated through.
What to Serve with Grilled Pears
- Ice Cream, Whipped Cream or Yogurt
- Pork chops, Sausages or Chicken
- Salad
- With Cake
- Pancakes or French toast sticks or croissant french toast
- Oatmeal
- On this apple crisp
Tips
- Preheat your gas or charcoal grill. Get your grill nice and hot before you add your pears.
- Don't overcook your pears. Cook them just until they're tender.
- Be sure your grates are very clean and oil them to prevent sticking.
- Pick pears that are just ripe. You don't want to use a soft, over-ripe pear or it will fall apart and become too soft after grilling.
- Fruits have a high water content and get really hot when cooked so allow time to cool before serving.
- Always cut your fruit into large enough pieces that it won't fall through the grates or use a disposable grill pan.
FAQ
The heat caramelizes the sugars in the fruit and softens it.
You sure can. It works just as well and you can cook your fruit in smaller pieces.
Instead of slicing your pears in half you can slice them into thick, 1 ½-2 inch thick rounds, coat with oil and grill for a couple minutes per side.
All varieties of pear will work, even juicy Bartlett pears, just pick one that's as firm as possible and not overly soft. Ideally, use Anjou, Bosc, Concorde or Seckel pears as they hold up the best when heated.
More Fruit Recipes
Grilled Pears
Ingredients
- 6 pears
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 3 tablespoon brown sugar packed
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Heat grill to medium 325ºF to 350°F for a natural gas or charcoal grill fire. Clean and oil all of the grill grates you'll be using.
- Cut pears in half, lengthwise.
- Using a teaspoon or melon baller, scoop out the seeds.
- Brush cut side of pears with olive oil.
- Place pears cut side down on greased grill and cover for about 10 minutes or until tender.
- At the same time, place butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small saucepan. Set pan on grill and allow butter to melt. Stir until mixture is uniform.
- When pears are tender, flip them skin-side down and brush them with brown sugar mixture.
- Allow to grill for 1 more minute. Remove from grill and enjoy.
Notes
- Preheat your gas or charcoal grill. Get your grill nice and hot before you add your pears.
- Don't overcook your pears. Cook them just until they're tender.
- Be sure your grates are very clean and oil them to prevent sticking.
- Pick pears that are just ripe. You don't want to use a soft, over-ripe pear or it will fall apart and become too soft after grilling.
- Fruits have a high water content and get really hot when cooked so allow time to cool before serving.
- Cut your fruit into large enough pieces that it won't fall through the grates.
Nutrition
Lou says
Loved this recipe The pears turned out great You weren’t kidding you can use these grilled pears for so many things.We actually discussed all of the things we’re going to try with them as we ate them all lol Thx for another keeper
Karin and Ken says
You made my day. Thank you for taking the time to let me know. We almost didn’t publish this recipe because we wondered who else would love these pears as much as we do. I’m so glad we did. Thank you again and enjoy. They do taste great with so many different foods. All the best. Karin
Lee says
SUPERB RECIPE!!! Thank you for sharing this My pears turned out better than expected and I wished I made more and will next time and there will be a next time We served them as a dessert with some ice cream but there are so many things you can serve these pears with and we intend to try them all. Way to go KD THANK YOU!!!!
Karin and Ken says
Such a simple recipe with a wonderful result! This is an amazing recipe for any pear fan and you can use it with so many other foods from pork chops to ice cream! Thank you for taking the time to let me know your thoughts on this recipe. As always I’m grateful. Enjoy your day. Karin