Spiced Pear Bread
This spiced pear bread is moist, flavorful, and delicious! Filled with homemade applesauce, walnuts (optional), and fresh pears, it is seriously the best quick bread recipe. (Note: Pictures and recipes updated in Sept 2020)
This is a tale of lack of inspiration.
I think pears hate me. This is the third pear recipe I’ve made in the past month that failed to photograph well. First, there was a very high top brown butter pear muffin. It was just not happening that day I tried taking the photos and I gave up and enjoyed them instead. The recipe was inspired by this one in case you want to indulge!
Then there was this pear tart three weeks ago and the photos were very bland so they stayed in my archives, untouched. Surprisingly, it is one of my favorite recipes so far because the vanilla bean custard filling of the tart is to die for. I was very proud that I developed a recipe idea on my own and it tasted great! Just didn’t picture well at the time.
Not giving up on pears, I made this spiced pear bread the other day only to have the same issues shooting. But bad pictures could not stop me this time from sharing the recipe with you.
This spiced pear bread is moist, flavorful, and delicious! Filled with homemade applesauce, walnuts, and pears, it is seriously the best bread I have ever tried. We devoured it in TWO days. Mr. J loved it so much that I am required to make it again…at least that’s what the not-so-subtle sign of pear purchase is telling me.
Obviously, I can’t blame the pears for my picture misfortunes. It’s all me and my uninspiring moments in October. I’ve not been feeling very motivated about blogging lately because of many things going on in my life and this is clearly coming through in my pictures. But just with pears though. Look at this brown butter cheddar apple pie? One of my favorite photos to date and happened a few days after this bread. Makes me wonder if pears are secretly sabotaging me. But who cares, as I step away from my computer to get inspired once again, I will be munching on this spiced pear bread!
Spiced Pear Bread
This spiced pear bread is moist, flavorful and delicious! Filled with homemade applesauce, walnuts and pears, it is seriously the best quick bread recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 ยฝ cups all-purpose flour + 2 tablespoons divided
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ยผ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ยผ teaspoon all-spice
- ยฝ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ยฝ cup granulated sugar
- ยฝ cup brown sugar
- ยพ cup applesauce
- 1/4 cup Greek yogurt, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup peeled and chopped pears
- ยฝ cup walnuts, chopped (optional)
- 1 tablespoon Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a medium loaf pan with baking spray.
- Whisk together the 1 1/2 cup flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and salt in a medium bowl.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, sugars, applesauce, Greek yogurt, and vanilla extract to combine. In another small bowl, toss the pears with two tablespoons of flour.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until it is combined. Fold in the pears and walnuts, if using.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar and bake for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing and cooling completely on a rack.
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How do you stay motivated? What keeps you inspired?
I think the pictures are great! I love pears and I think they are not used often enough in recipes!
Thank you Nancy! I can be too hard on myself sometimes lol! I’m trying a few more pear recipes and will share soon ๐
That is true. Can you tell me what takes the tarter out of the pears when making pear bread, the the pairs were giving to me from a friends tree,but very sour and tarty,
Thank you if you can message me back at aseacreas@gmail.com
Thank you once again
Carol Gordey from Canada
Your bread looks delicious to me, Zainab! I love pears, and I done bake with them enough. That tart sounded amazing, too!
Thanks Marcie! Me too. I wish I used them more too. I’m reattempting the tart again.
After you had told me in your comment about your pear bread, I had hoped you would share it! I have ALWAYS wanted to bake with pears and this loaf looks so good! It has some serious texture and love all the flavors. I don’t know if any pictures could do justice to this bread, honestly:) Pinning!
Pears are not used enough in fall baking and it’s sad. It’s amazing. Goes very well with fall spices!!
I am so picky when it comes to the food photos that I post. Sometimes I will make something and the photos will stay on my computer for months because I don’t think they are good enough to post! So I know what you mean. But seriously, this bread looks and sounds amazing! Pear is such an underrated fall flavor!
Meghan you have such great photos!! But I do understand what you mean. I wish I baked more with pears. I’m looking into a tart next lol! I will not give up on pears.
Oh yum!! This looks delicious! Perfect for this time of year!!
Yes Cailee perfect indeed! Thanks for stopping by ๐
I’m sorry to hear you’re not feeling inspired lately. I hope everything gets better for you soon.
This bread looks amazing to me though. I love baked goods with pears, they’re great ๐
Thanks Consuelo! I’m sure I’ll get back in the game soon :). Thanks for always being here ๐
Oh this sounds delicious! I loooove pears!
I’d like to invite you to come be a part of the Favorite Family Recipes virtual recipe swap I am hosting on my blog! Check out blog for more details– hope to see you there!
*Susan
Thanks Susan!! I’m heading over now to check out the details ๐
I don’t think pears hate you at all! I’m seeing GREAT pictures of FOOD I WANT TO EAT. It doesn’t get any better than that! Seriously – I would totally eat this Pear Bread, and I’m telling you – I’m totally prepared to devour that entire Pear Tart. They both look amazing, moist and delicious! My mouth is watering with anticipation!
Thank you very muck Kristi! I forget sometimes that the goal is to present food in an edible manner which clearly you are digging :))). The bread was all that- moist and amazing. I hope you get to try it. Will make any cold fall night warmer ๐
I think these photographs look Lovely! In fact, I’m wishing I had a few pears in my kitchen so I could make this very recipe tonight! So tempting!
Thanks Monet!! I’m a little hard on myself sometimes lol! And I wish you had all the ingredients last night.
All your pear desserts sound wonderful — especially the tart with vanilla bean custard! I still haven’t gotten around to making any pear desserts. We just never get enough pears from our CSA to have enough for baking. But I imagine that their pale color probably makes them very difficult to photograph. I sometimes have the same problem with apples (I’m planning to make an apple cobbler in a few weeks, but I already have a feeling it won’t photograph well).
Hope you’re enjoying your sister’s visit, my friend! I think it’s totally fine to step away from the blog if other plans get in the way : )
Thanks Jamie! I can’t wait to see the cobbler ๐ and I have no worries your pictures will be great as usual! I just made a Pear tart (I didn’t give up) that used only one pear so that might come in handy for your CSA low yield. I’ll share it soon.
Ps: I owe u an email and it’s coming soon :). My sister is occupying all my free time outside of work. Finding time to blog is getting harder but I’m not complaining ๐
I hate when photographs don’t turn out ๐ So frustrating! I’m glad you shared these though, b/c that bread looks delicious! I love using applesauce and yogurt in quick breads. Makes me feel better about eating a HUGE slice
I agree! Healthy-ish breads go so quick because of less guilt. Thanks for the sweet comment ๐
Zainab, I have had similar experiences with pears hating me! But I’m so glad you shared this bread because it looks divine. I really want to try making pear and Gorgonzola pizza. Maybe it will work better since I won’t be baking pears into something?
Amy that pizza sounds so gooooood!! Make it happen soon please and of course share :))
I think these pics look great! I never let a good recipe go unposted from bad pics . . . otherwise there wouldn’t be many recipes on my blog ๐ Pears are so awesome to bake with.
Laura, thank you very much! And I will have to go with your advice from now on ๐
I think this bread looks awesome ๐ Some things are just trickier to photograph – I’ve been there!
Thanks Jennifer..I agree pears are that for me. Hope you are having a great day ๐
I think the photos look great! They are definitely making me want to give pears another chance and make this bread!
Pears deserve a second chance! I had my first pear just a few years ago…they are not native to West Africa so I didn’t experience their juicy nature until I moved here.
I love pears in any way, shape, or form. Your bread looks fantastic and I must try it! Pinning it.
Julia thanks for sharing!!
Wow Zainab! This looks so good and sounds good too! The pictures are really good and make it look so appetizing!
Thanks Ciara! This bread is now my favorite…kicked my good ole banana bread’s behind lol!
Oh really? Well I will have to try it then. I love banana bread but love to change things up and maybe my husband would actually like pear bread better (which would be a plus) ๐
I can totally relate, sometimes the most delicious recipes are hard to photograph ๐ . However, I think your pear tart picture was great, I would love to see your vanilla bean custard filling recipe.
I’ll have to just remake the tart to share :))
I love your pear recipes! That tart looks phenomenal! Pears are so under-appreciated, I think. I’m glad to see that you are giving them their due! Hope you come out of your funk soon, but, for what it’s worth I think you’re doing an amazing job! <3
Thanks Ally! I agree with you that pears are not that represented. I’m enjoying baking with them so far. I’m stubborn so I made another tart a few days ago and I think I got some good photos. Will share it soon ๐
Pears, walnuts and applesauce. Oh yeah….
This may actually make me enjoy eating pears with this bread. Thanks for sharing.
Even if the pictures are the best, if the recipe is yummy, it’s still worth posting. At least that’s what I try to think when I end up with pictures I don’t like. This bread sounds amazing. I grew up with a pear tree and have a soft spot for anything with pears in it.
I like this recipe. I added to my Pinterest Board (Fall). It could be a good recipe for Christmas, too.
Cecilia
I’ve been thinking about making a maple/pear bread, and this is a wonderful recipe to give me a spring-board for that! Thanks for sharing on Saturday Night Fever!
Yum, this looks great!
I haven’t baked with pears, but I’m going to try this recipe! I think it looks delicious, and you should share that pear tart too! It looks beautiful. I’ve had dishes that I can’t take a good photo of no matter how hard I try. It’s extra hard these days since we’re running out of daylight earlier. I think these pictures look nice though, and your recipe speaks for itself! Thanks for sharing it at Saturday Night Fever ๐
Dear Zainab, I think the tart looks wonderful and the pear bread! You’ve got me in the mood for baking with pears now. I can only imagine how that custard tasted with the pears…Mmmm sounds like heaven to me. I love the idea of pear bread…perfect with a cup of tea. Blessings, Catherine xo
I’m inspired by this recipe!! I made a pear cobbler this year for the first time and loved it. We totally forget all about pears and apples take center stage, but they sure do make for some tasty baking ๐
I’m a 17 year old UK student trying to gain some decent cooking skills before university, and I’m loving this blog for some of the more indulgent stuff! I baked this bread tonight, and it’s come out fabulously! Thankyou ๐
Hannah, I am very happy to hear you loved this bread!! It is one of my favorite ๐ I am even more excited you can find other recipes on blog that you will love!! I am learning to bake as well so I am sharing easy reliable recipes here. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help ๐
I’m wishing I had a big slice of this bread right now! And I feel you about the photographs. It’s so frustrating when a dish is soooo good but I feel uninspired by my photos. It’s the perfectionist in us! But I think your bread looks amazing! I want to reach right into my computer and grab it!
Thanks Liz!!