Caramelized Pears with Butter Rum Sauce

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. 

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.

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. 

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.

Here are a few other great recipes to try!

• Arugula Pear Salad with Toasted Pecans
• Pear Galette with Rum Sauce
• Three No Oven Thanksgiving Sides
• Roasted Pork Loin with Pear Chutney
• Ultimate Fall Salad