Here is a recipe for an easy to prepare cranberry pear sauce, which can be made in a slow cooker. It will keep in the refrigerator, for up to one week, and can be prepared a day or two before Thanksgiving Day.
I got the idea for this recipe after reading the Slow Cooker Ready & Waiting Cookbook, written by Rick Rodgers. On page 185 of his cookbook, there is a recipe for a Cranberry Pear Walnut Sauce. I’ve modified the recipe slightly.
Homemade Cranberry Pear Sauce
I used Bosc pears for this recipe. When I went to the store to purchase the ingredients for this sauce, there were 3 varieties of pears to choose from. I was going to buy the green skin variety, then saw the sign on the brown skin variety that said Bosc pears. UPDATE: I’ve also used the green skin Bartlett pear variety in this recipe so I don’t think it really matters which kind you use. The pears, orange, dried apricots and cranberries all cook down into a delightfully smooth, yet slightly chunky, sweet and tangy sauce.
The original recipe called for 1 cup of dark raisins. As I’m not a fan of raisins, I decided to substitute 3/4 cup chopped, dried apricots. The original recipe also called for only the zest of 1 orange, but I added the zest along with the flesh of a large navel orange.
The original recipe also called for 1 cup of toasted, chopped walnuts but I decided to omit the nuts. I’ve never had cranberry sauce with nuts so that ingredient just seemed weird to me. Also, depending on how tart or sweet the ingredients are, and your own personal preference for a sweeter or more tart cranberry sauce, you will need between 1 1/2 to 2 cups of sugar for this recipe.
Cranberry Pear Sauce
Equipment
- Colander
- Slow cooker
- Cutting board
- Small paring knife
- Large chef's knife
- Vegetable peeler
- Citrus zester
- Measuring cups
- Large mixing spoon
- Storage container with lid
- Decorative serving bowl
- Large serving spoon
Ingredients
- 1 bag whole cranberries – 12 ounces
- 4 cups pears – 3 to 4 large pears
- 1 whole orange
- 3/4 cup dried apricots – chopped
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 cups granulated sugar – Depending on how tart or sweet you like the sauce, you can always use more or less sugar.
Instructions
- Place the cranberries in a colander, rinse off and discard any damaged berries
- Add the washed cranberries to the slow cooker
- Zest the orange and place the zest in the slow cooker
- Remove the remaining peel, chop the orange into pieces and add to the slow cooker
- Add the reamining ingredients (apricots, water and sugar) into the crock pot or slow cooker
- Stir the ingredients together using a large mixing spoon and place the lid on the crockpot
- Cook the sauce on high for approximately 4 hours, or until most of the cranberries have popped and the sauce looks like chunky applesauce
- Add the cranberry pear sauce to a large storage container, place the lid on the container and let it cool down overnight in your refrigerator
- When you are ready to serve, place the cranberry sauce in a decorative bowl with a large serving spoon
- You can store any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to one week
Notes
Cranberry Pear Sauce Recipe Tips
Serve the cool sauce, in a decorative serving dish on Thanksgiving Day, to accompany the rest of your holiday meal. This Thanksgiving cranberry sauce can be made a few days ahead of time and stored in your refrigerator until ready to serve. Leftover cranberry sauce can be served as a type of homemade jam, along with freshly-baked muffins, the day after Thanksgiving. This sauce also tastes great on top of vanilla bean ice cream. Since this sauce comes out like chunky applesauce, you can also eat it as a quick snack all on its own, NOM, NOM, NOM!
More Thanksgiving Recipes
Here are links to few of my other favorite Thanksgiving recipes:
- Green Bean Casserole
- Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- Sweet Potatoes with Maple Pecan Butter
- Sauteed Brussels Sprouts and Parsnips
- Creamy Au Gratin Potato Casserole
- Roasted Red Skin Potatoes with Parmesan Cheese
- Low-Carb Vegan Mashed Cauliflower
- Pumpkin Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Slow Cooker Cranberry Pear Sauce
Herbal Breakfast Cookbook
Discover all kinds of delicious meals to serve along with your morning coffee in the Creative Cottage e-book: Herbal Breakfast Cookbook; 40 Creative Recipes for Your Morning Meal.
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