This Salted Caramel Pear Butter turns fresh pears into a rich, silky fall spread with deep caramel flavor and the perfect hint of salt! Made right in the slow cooker and water bath canned for the pantry, it’s an irresistible way to preserve your pear harvest.
Salted Caramel Pear Butter is one of those fall canning recipes that makes the whole house smell amazing while it’s cooking. Fresh pears slowly cook down with dark brown sugar, apple cider, lemon juice, and a touch of salt until they’re transformed into a thick, silky pear butter with a deep caramel-like flavor.
For this shelf-stable version, I’m following the tested Ball® Salted Caramel Pear Butter recipe and canning method, including the ingredient amounts, jar size, headspace, and processing time.
When my pear trees are overflowing, I’m always looking for another way to preserve that harvest. Regular pear butter is delicious, but adding that rich brown sugar flavor and a little salt takes it to a completely different level.
And this one is made in the Crock-Pot, which I absolutely love. I can get the pears started, let them slowly cook down, and end up with beautiful little jars of salted caramel pear butter for the pantry.
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Recipe Tutorial for Salted Caramel Pear Butter
Ingredients for Salted Caramel Pear Butter
For this salted caramel pear butter, you’ll need:
- 4 pounds pears, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped
- ⅓ cup apple cider
- 2 tablespoons bottled lemon juice
- 2½ cups dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons sea salt or kosher salt
You’ll also need a 4- to 6-quart Crock-Pot, immersion blender or food processor, half-pint canning jars, lids and bands, and a boiling-water canner.
A quick note about the sugar: This recipe uses 2½ cups dark brown sugar for 4 pounds of prepared pears, following the tested Ball® Salted Caramel Pear Butter recipe. For shelf-stable canning, I don’t reduce or alter the ingredient amounts.
Step 1: Prep the Pears
Wash your pears well under cold running water.
Peel and core the pears, then coarsely chop them. Add the prepared pears to a 4- to 6-quart Crock-Pot along with the ⅓ cup apple cider and 2 tablespoons bottled lemon juice.
Cover and cook on HIGH until the pears are soft, which should take about 40 minutes.
Once they’re nice and tender, turn off the Crock-Pot.
Step 2: Blend the Pears Until Smooth
Now we turn those softened pears into pear butter!
Use an immersion blender to purée the pear mixture until it’s completely smooth.
I love using an immersion blender for fruit butters because I can do everything right in the Crock-Pot without dirtying another big appliance.
If you don’t have one, you can carefully process the pears in batches using a food processor.
Step 3: Add the Brown Sugar and Salt
Now add 2½ cups dark brown sugar and 2 teaspoons salt to the pear purée.
Stir everything together thoroughly.
This is where that deep salted caramel flavor begins developing. You aren’t making a separate caramel sauce or melting granulated sugar first. Instead, the dark brown sugar cooks slowly with the pears, giving the finished butter its rich color and caramel-like flavor.
Step 4: Cook the Pear Butter Until Thick
Turn your Crock-Pot back to HIGH.
This time, position the lid diagonally so that steam can escape from both sides.
That escaping steam is important because we’re trying to cook moisture out of the pear purée and transform it into a thick fruit butter.
Cook for approximately 3–4 hours, stirring about every 30 minutes.
You’ll notice the pear butter gradually getting darker and thicker as it cooks.
It’s ready when the purée is thick enough to hold its shape on a spoon.
And this is the part where your kitchen starts smelling like fall!
Step 5: Prepare Your Water Bath Canner
While your pear butter finishes cooking, prepare your boiling-water canner.
Heat your jars in simmering water until you’re ready to fill them, but don’t boil the empty jars.
Wash your lids in warm, soapy water and set them aside with the bands.
For this recipe, we’re using half-pint jars.
Step 6: Fill the Jars
Ladle the hot salted caramel pear butter into a hot half-pint jar, leaving ¼-inch headspace.
Remove any air bubbles and adjust the headspace if necessary.
Wipe the rim of the jar clean, center the lid, and apply the band until fingertip tight.
Place the filled jar into your boiling-water canner and repeat until you’ve filled the remaining jars.
Step 7: Water Bath Can the Pear Butter
Make sure the jars are covered with at least 1 inch of water.
Cover the canner and bring the water to a rolling boil.
Process the half-pint jars for 15 minutes, adjusting the processing time for your altitude.
When the processing time is complete, turn off the heat and remove the canner lid.
Allow the jars to rest in the canner for 5 minutes before removing them.
Carefully lift the jars from the canner and place them somewhere they can cool undisturbed for 12–24 hours.
Don’t retighten the bands if they seem loose after processing.
Once the jars are completely cool, check the seals. The center of a properly sealed lid shouldn’t flex when you press it.
What Does Salted Caramel Pear Butter Taste Like?
If you’re picturing caramel ice cream topping mixed with pears, that’s not quite what we’re making here.
The caramel flavor comes from the combination of pears and dark brown sugar slowly cooking together.
As everything reduces, the flavor becomes deeper and richer while the salt balances the sweetness.
The result is still very much pear butter, but with this wonderful dark, caramel-like flavor running through it.
It’s ridiculously good on warm toast.
How to Use Salted Caramel Pear Butter
Obviously, I’m going straight for a warm piece of homemade bread with a big spoonful spread over the top.
But there are so many ways to use it.
Spread it over biscuits, toast, pancakes, or waffles. Spoon some into oatmeal or yogurt. Try it over vanilla ice cream or use it as a filling or swirl in fall baked goods.
And those little half-pint jars make adorable homemade gifts.
Tie some twine around the jar, add a cute label, and you’ve basically got fall in a jar.
How to Store Your Canned Pear Butter
Once the jars are completely cool, check that each lid has sealed properly.
Remove the bands, label the jars with the name and date, and store the sealed jars in a cool, dark, dry location.
Any jar that doesn’t seal should be refrigerated rather than placed on the pantry shelf.
More Pear Recipes You’ll Love
If you’re like me and always looking for ways to make the most of your pear harvest, you’ll want to try some of my other favorite canning recipes. Learn How to Make and Can Pear Pie Filling for a ready-to-go dessert in a jar, follow The Ultimate Guide to Canning Apple Pear Butter: Step-by-Step Instructions for another cozy spread, or keep it simple with Canning Pear Sauce: An Easy Step-by-Step Guide. Each recipe is perfect for stocking your pantry and enjoying pears all year long.
More Cozy Fall Butters to Try!
If you fall in love with this salted caramel pear butter (and I think you will), you’ll want to add a few more jars of autumn goodness to your pantry. These are some of my favorite seasonal butters to make when the leaves turn and the mornings get crisp — each one bringing its own unique flavor and warmth to the table.
Pumpkin Butter
My Pumpkin Butter is smooth, spiced, and tastes like a slice of pumpkin pie in spreadable form — perfect for toast or swirling into oatmeal.
Apple Butter
This Apple Butter is slow-cooked until deep and rich, with warm spices that make your whole kitchen smell like autumn.
Carrot Cake Butter
Carrot Cake Butter brings together sweet carrots and cinnamon for a spread that tastes just like your favorite dessert.
How to Make and Can Butternut Squash Butter
This butternut squash butter has maple and citrus. Perfect for canning, gifting, and enjoying fall flavors all season long!
Conclusion
This salted caramel pear butter is exactly the kind of preserving recipe I love.
I’m taking fresh pears while they’re abundant and turning them into something completely different that we can enjoy months after pear season is over.
The pears become silky and concentrated, the dark brown sugar gives them that gorgeous caramel-like richness, and just enough salt balances everything out.
And since the Crock-Pot does most of the cooking, I don’t have to spend hours standing over the stove.
That’s my kind of fall canning day!
Resources: Here are some helpful resources for further information.
- Strawberry Butter – By Belly Full
- Sunshine Fruit Butter – By Seed to Pantry
- Mixed Fruit Slow Cooker Butter – By Food in Jars
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How much sugar goes into salted caramel pear butter?
This recipe uses 2½ cups dark brown sugar with 4 pounds of prepared pears.
I previously described this as the “Ball® Mason ratio,” but I’ve updated the post with the actual measurement so there’s no guessing involved.
2. Do I have to caramelize the sugar first?
No. You don’t need to make a separate caramel.
The dark brown sugar is stirred directly into the pear purée along with the salt. As the mixture slowly cooks and thickens, it develops its deep color and rich caramel-like flavor.
3. Can I make salted caramel pear butter in a Crock-Pot?
Yes! In fact, this tested Ball® recipe uses a 4- to 6-quart Crock-Pot.
The pears initially cook covered until tender. After they’re puréed and the brown sugar and salt are added, the lid is positioned diagonally so steam can escape while the butter thickens.
4. How long do I process salted caramel pear butter?
Process half-pint jars for 15 minutes in a boiling-water canner, adjusting the processing time for your altitude.
5. How much headspace should I leave?
Leave ¼-inch headspace when filling your half-pint jars.
Salted Caramel Pear Butter
Equipment
- 1 crockpot or stockpot
- 1 water bath canner
- 4 half pint jars
- 1 set of canning supplies, lids, rings, funnel, debubbler
Ingredients
- 4 lbs ripe pears, peeled, cored, and chopped
- ⅓ cup apple cider
- 2 tbsp bottled lemon juice
- 2 ½ cups dark brown sugar
- 2 tsp sea salt or kosher salt
Instructions
1. Prepare the Pears
- Wash, peel, core, and coarsely chop the pears.
- Place the prepared pears in a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker with the apple cider and bottled lemon juice.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for approximately 40 minutes, or until the pears are soft.
2. Purée the Pears
- Turn off the slow cooker.
- Using an immersion blender, purée the cooked pear mixture until completely smooth. You can also carefully purée the pears in batches using a food processor.
3. Make the Salted Caramel Pear Butter
- Stir the dark brown sugar and salt into the pear purée.
- Turn the slow cooker back to HIGH.
- Position the lid slightly askew so steam can escape while the pear butter cooks.
- Cook for approximately 3–4 hours, stirring about every 30 minutes, until the pear butter has thickened, darkened, and holds its shape on a spoon.
4. Prepare for Canning
- Prepare your boiling-water canner.
- Keep your half-pint jars hot until you're ready to fill them. Wash the lids in warm, soapy water and set them aside with the bands.
5. Fill the Jars
- Ladle the hot salted caramel pear butter into hot half-pint jars, leaving ¼-inch headspace.
- Remove air bubbles and adjust the headspace if necessary.
- Wipe the jar rims, center the lids, and apply the bands until fingertip tight.
6. Water Bath Can
- Place the filled jars in your boiling-water canner. Make sure the jars are covered by at least 1 inch of water.
- Cover the canner and bring the water to a rolling boil.
- Process half-pint jars for 15 minutes, adjusting the processing time for your altitude.
- Turn off the heat, remove the canner lid, and allow the jars to sit in the canner for 5 minutes.
- Remove the jars and let them cool undisturbed for 12–24 hours.
- Check the seals before labeling and storing your jars.
- About the sugar: The Ball® recipe uses 2½ cups dark brown sugar for 4 pounds of prepared pears. This is the measurement I mean when referring to the Ball® Mason sugar ratio.For shelf-stable canning, follow the tested ingredient quantities, jar size, headspace, and processing instructions rather than reducing the sugar or changing the recipe proportions.Altitude: Adjust the water-bath processing time according to the recommendations for your elevation.
Notes
Canning Safety Note
Home canning isn’t the place where I like to improvise. For shelf-stable salted caramel pear butter, follow the current Ball® Salted Caramel Pear Butter recipe, including its ingredient quantities, jar size, headspace, processing method, and altitude adjustments. If Ball® updates its recommendations, always follow the most current tested instructions.Summary
I hope I have inspired you to stockpile your pantry for your survival needs.
If you were encouraged by this post, I invite you to check out my FREE Printables Page for fun free printables, planners, and charts.
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Here are some more of my canning inspiration posts to check out!
How to Make and Can Butternut Squash Butter
How to Make and Can Fall Spiced Quince Chutney
Quince: How to Can Quince
Carrot Cake Butter: How to Make and Can Carrot Cake Butter
Peach Pie Filling: How to Make and Can Peach Pie Filling
Pear Pie Filling: How to Make and Can Pear Pie Filling
The Best Winter Pantry Staples to Stockpile Now!
More Recipes!
Grapes: How to Make and Can Grape Jam
Apple Cider: How to Make Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar
How to Make and Can Cherry Plum Jam
How to Make and Can Apple Butter In Crockpot
Stockpiling Condiments for Survival: Learn How I Do It!
How to Make and Can Vegetable Pot Pie Filling
Easy Canning Applesauce Recipes to Stalk Your Pantry!
How to Make Peach Jalapeno Jam
Cherries: How to Make Cherry Pie Filling
Cherries: How to Make Cherry Syrup
Salsa: How to Make and Can Cherry Salsa
Peaches: How to Make and Can Peach Salsa
Canning Supplies You Need Now for a Successful Canning Season!
How to Make and Can Balsamic Onion Jam
Cranberry Sauce: How to Make and Can Old Fashioned Cranberry Sauce
How to Make and Can Cranberry Merry Jam
How to Make and Can Strawberry Shortcake Jam
Cherry Jam: How to Make and Can Cherry Pie Jam
Carrot Cake Jam: How to Make and Can Carrot Cake Jam
Quince Jam: How to Can a Year’s Supply of Quince Jam
Root Beer Float Jelly: How to Make and Can Root Beer Float Jelly
Blessings,
The Off Grid Barefoot Girl
