In this pear custard pie, fresh pears are combined with a rich and creamy 5 minute custard, then baked to perfection for a simple yet elegant dessert.
This crustless pie is my absolute favorite way to enjoy pears, I make it almost every week during the fall months!
I am not a huge fan of pears. I like them fine when they’re cooked but I don’t eat them raw, I think it’s the somewhat grainy texture that bothers me. A long time ago before we had kids a relative sent us a big box of those fancy mail order pears. My husband did his best to try and eat them before they turned to mush but it was just too many pears for him to finish. I made this pear custard pie to use them up and I have been making it ever since. It’s definitely my favorite way to eat pears.
We go through a ton of produce in this house. My kids are total fruit monsters and between the three of them they can polish off a whole pound of grapes or strawberries in one sitting when they’re in the mood. My mom often brings us bags of apples, oranges and pears to help keep our household well stocked in the fruit department. When I have extra fruit on hand, I make blackberry salad or this pear custard pie.
Some weeks we don’t get through all the fruit and that’s when I make pear custard pie. The beauty of this recipe is that it only uses pantry staples that you probably always have lying around. Which means that if you’ve got pears, you can whip this up whenever you feel like it. I’ve made it twice in the last two weeks!
How do you make pear custard pie?
The batter for this custard is made in the blender. After you peel and cut the pears, toss them in the dish and pour the custard over the top. That’s all there is to it, 40 minutes later you’ve got an amazing dessert.
You can sprinkle some powdered sugar over the top if you want to dress it up for a special occasion. I’ve also put some cinnamon sugar on top which is great too. It probably comes as no surprise that the kids love this recipe. I’ve made it dozens of times over the years and it always gets rave reviews. It’s simple, but sometimes the simplest recipes are the best, don’t you think?
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Pear Custard Pie
Ingredients
- 4 firm pears of any variety cored, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup of unsalted butter melted
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar for garnish
- Cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9 inch round pan with cooking spray.
- Arrange the pear slices in the pan.
- Put the butter, eggs, milk, salt, granulated sugar, flour and vanilla into a blender; process until smooth.
- Pour the batter over the pears. Bake for 40-45 minutes until the custard is golden and firm to the touch. Dust the top with powdered sugar before serving.
Can you use canned pears?
Yes that’s fine!
Can it be cooked in a glass pie dish or does it need to be in cast iron? Happy Mother’s Day!
Glass pie dish works just fine!
I did and it was awesome! Thanks!
Have you ever tried it with other fruits?
I made this pear custard pie with pears from a Harry and David gift sent to me for Mother’s Day. I only needed three of the pears. Anyway, it was delicious. It got rave reviews from my fiancee and future mother-in-law. Thanks for sharing this!
Hi!
Made the pear tart using skim milk, and it was the best!! What cooking time would you recommend if I use blueberries and make them in ramekins?
Thanks for such a yummy treat!
I have never tried this one in ramekins so this is a guess on my part, I would estimate probably about 20 minutes or until golden brown!
Hi, I haven’t made this yet but I have a fairly small family, do you think I can half the recipe or put the batter into cupcake moulds, thanks ! I’m extremely excited to try this !
Also I forgot to add, is it okay to use coconut oil instead of butter? And wholemeal flour instead of white ? Thanks !
I haven’t tried the recipe with these substitutions so I can’t say for sure if it would work. I think the whole wheat flour could work but coconut oil does not have the same fat content as butter.
Is it possible if instead of the butter i use cottage cheese or ricotta ?
I believe you could halve the recipe, just reduce the number of servings in the recipe card and the ingredients will automatically recalculate.
Hi. Thank you for this delicious recipe! I followed it precisely, and the taste was amazing! However, my pears were still a little undercooked. I used Bartlett pears, ripe but firm, cored and sliced as thin as possible. Any suggestions?
If you feel like you need to cook it longer you could cover it with foil so the top doesn’t get overly browned. My guess is it had something to do with your specific pears, as typically the pears soften but they shouldn’t be mushy at all.
We only have almond milk. Will that work?
Yes it should be fine!
Can I use a gluten free flour instead?
Cathy
I’ve never tried it with gluten free flour but I think it would work!
OMG…I made this Saturday and it was unbelievable! So easy and quick too. I made fresh whipped cream to serve on the side…yum! Just wish I could post a picture of my beautiful pie!
Delicious and so easy to make! Thank you for this recipe my whole family enjoyed it.
Thanks for the recipe, i also added a little bit of almond extract along with the vanilla. Came out very tasty! How should i store the leftovers? out in counter or in fridge, and how long will it last? thanks!
I store in the fridge, it’s good for 3 days!
Can you freeze this?
I haven’t tried it but I believe others have with good results.
I’m planning to make this soon! I only have a small blender about 600ml. Is this enough to blend the batter?
I think you’d need a bigger blender, or you could use a food processor.
Does it have a crust or just a pear and custard?
Thanks Beata
There’s no crust!
Could I make this with apples?
Yes that’s fine!
Thanks for sharing! Looks so good I really want to give it a go. Can I use self-raising flour instead of all purpose one? Thanks!
I’ve never cooked with self raising flour so I’m not sure if it would work!
Made this and loved it …though I world love more custard. can I double the custard part ..and cook longer ?
I haven’t tried it this way but it should work!
OMG! I can’t beat this recipe. This is the first time I tried a recipe that came out so well at the first time. I love how fluffy it is and needs no labor to prepare a pie crust. And it is also kind of guilt free coz not much of the flour is used. Thank you for an amazing instant recipe. Loved it!
Just curious, in the picture the pears are on the top, but in the recipe the pears are placed on the bottom. Did you put them on the top later…or did the pears float up? Did you flip it upside down? Ours in the oven right now – I love how simple this recipe is – not sure it will look as great though 🙂
The pears float to the top!
Hello there, Can I substitute the butter for anything else ?
I haven’t made it anything but butter, I’m not sure of a good substitute.
I don’t have a blender, could I hand mix it?
Yes just make sure it’s really well mixed!