These Oven-Dried Pears are a delicious and nutritious snack! They make a great addition to a holiday cheese & snack board too.
This recipe was created in partnership with Sprouts Farmers Market. Thank you for supporting brands that make The Nutrition Adventure possible!
Pears are a wonderful winter fruit that can be enjoyed in either sweet or savory dishes, or simply enjoyed on their own as a snack, like these Oven-Dried Pears.
I’ve dehydrated several different fruits in the oven, but I think these Asian pears are my favorite! They turn out crispy, taste great, and look so pretty! These Oven-Dried Pears would be the ‘pear-fect’ addition to a cheese & snack board for a holiday gathering.
This season, you can find a variety of different pears at your local Sprouts Farmers Market. I love shopping for fresh produce at Sprouts because they have such incredible prices! I’m always amazed at the wide selection available in the produce section, and I know that I can often find the more unique produce items at my Sprouts store. While you’re shopping for Asian pears at Sprouts, be sure to pick up the spices and sugar you’ll need for this recipe!
Guide to Asian Pears
When it comes to Asian Pears, forget everything you know about other pears because this particular variety has a lot of unique qualities. From taste and texture, to selection and storage, Asian pears are not like the others in this fruit family. They have a crunchy, juicy flesh (although not as juicy as some other pear varieties), and the skin is a little thicker than other pears, which I’m a fan of. This is my favorite pear for snacking!
Nutrition
This is one nutrient-rich fruit! Pears have a lot to offer, including copper, folate, manganese, potassium, vitamin K, and fiber. A great added benefit of pears is the water content. Including water-rich fruits like pears into your day contributes to daily hydration needs—hooray!
Season
Peak season for Asian pears is in the early fall to winter, but harvest season often begins in late summer.
How to Select
Asian pears differ in shape compared to other pears. They are round like an apple, and also have a uniform skin color. Generally, when selecting pears, the more give you feel, the riper the pear is. That is not the case with Asian pears, however. This variety of pear is ripe when it’s firm, making it a great choice if you like a crisp, crunchy fruit to snack on or to add to salads.
How to Store
Again, Asian pears are unique in how they should be stored. Since they’re best when firm, you can slow down the ripening process by keeping them in the refrigerator once purchased. They should be removed from the fridge and allowed to come to room temperature before enjoying for best flavor. Most other pear varieties need some time to sit on the counter before they reach optimal ripeness, and then can be refrigerated.
How to Use
The sky’s the limit when it comes to ways to use Asian pears! Whether you choose to enjoy them in hand, sliced, diced, juiced, baked, or oven-dried, this variety of pear can satisfy and delivers on flavor. At the end of this post, I’ve included a few recipes featuring pears that I’ve created in the past for some inspiration.
How to Make Oven-Dried Pear Chips
When dehydrating fruits like pears or apples in the oven, it’s important to make thin slices so they don’t take any longer than necessary to dry out. You can slice the pears by hand or use a mandoline slicer to get more uniform slices. If you’re using a mandoline, I highly recommend a cutting glove while using!
Once the pears are sliced, lay them flat on a cooling rack placed onto a baking sheet, being sure not to overlap them. Mix together a little cinnamon, cloves, and granulated sugar in a small bowl and then sprinkle over the apple slices. I only sprinkle the spices on one side but you could flip them and do the other side as well.
Place the baking sheet into the oven for 2 hours to dehydrate the pear slices. Once the pear slices have cooled from baking, they’re ready to eat! Store Oven-Dried Pears in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
[bctt tweet=”Oven-Dried Pears are a simple and tasty snack, and this recipe uses Asian pears —one of the more unique pear varieties! ” username=”karmanmeyer”]
Oven-Dried Pear Chips
Ingredients
- 3 Asian pears
- 1 tsp. Sprouts brand ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. Sprouts brand ground cloves
- ¼ tsp. granulated sugar
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Set up two cooling racks on two large baking sheets.
- 2. In a small bowl, mix together cinnamon, cloves, and sugar. Set aside.
- 3. Wash pears and pat dry with a paper towel. Slice pears into 1/8"-inch thick pieces or use a mandoline to make thin slices. Use a small paring knife to remove any stem pieces or seeds. Lay pear slices flat on cooling racks, being sure not to overlap.
- 4. Sprinkle sugar-spice mixture evenly over all of the pear slices on one side.
- 5. Bake in the oven for 1 hour before flipping slices over. Bake for an additional one hour.
- 6. Store Oven-Dried Pear Chips in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Looking for more recipes using pears? Try these!
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