Easy Pear Crisp [Vegan Pear Crumble]

Name: Easy Pear Crisp [Vegan Pear Crumble]
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 65 min
Ingredients: 3 large ripe pears (thinly sliced); ¾ cup of brown sugar (divided (plus more for sprinkling on top)); ½ cup of all-purpose flour; ½ cup of quick oats; ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon; ¼ teaspoon of allspice; ½ teaspoon of salt; 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract; ½ cup melted vegan butter

Jump to Recipe Email Me This Recipe

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

This easy pear crisp/crumble combines a sweet pear filling with a warmly spiced, ‘buttery’ oat streusel topping for a fantastic fall dessert perfect for a low-effort mid-week treat and the holidays!

Completed Easy Pear Crisp [Vegan Pear Crumble] in a baking tray alongside a plate of one piece of crisp.

Sweet and Spiced Warming Pear Crisp (Pear Crumble)
The Ingredients
How to Make an Easy Pear Crisp
FAQs
Top Recipe Tips and Notes
Serving Recommendations
How to Make Ahead and Store?
More Vegan Desserts to Consider
Easy Pear Crisp [Vegan Pear Crumble] Recipe

Sweet and Spiced Warming Pear Crisp (Pear Crumble)

As summer turns to fall, I’m preparing the last of this year’s apricot (easy apricot crumble) and plum crisps (and carefully tucking them away in the freezer to enjoy for months to come). Now, it’s time for fall fruits to shine in dishes like stuffed baked apples, apple crescent rolls, and this super easy and delicious pear crisp with oats (aka pear crumble).

With ingredients like pears, brown sugar, and several warming spices like cinnamon and allspice, this Fall/Thanksgiving pear crisp recipe is a delicious fall treat. Plus, it gives crisp, juicy, and inexpensive pears the time to shine for a moment (goodbye apples!).

However, as well as it is great tasting and great at making the house smell wonderful, this dessert is even more brilliant thanks to the fact that it’s foolproof and takes just a few minutes to prep.

It’s cozy, comforting, super simple to prepare, and a great way to use up your pears. Looking for more pear recipes? You might enjoy this apple pear pie or easy baked pears.

The Ingredients

Rely on simple and inexpensive pantry staples to prepare this delicious pear crisp with oats.

Ingredients for Pin for Easy Pear Crisp [Vegan Pear Crumble. measured out on a white surface.

How to Make an Easy Pear Crisp

Like most crumbles and crisps, this easy pear crisp recipe is simple enough for even your kids to get involved. Just chop the fruit, mix the crumble topping, assemble, and bake!

Process shot showing sliced pears and brown sugar mixed together in baking dish.

Process shot showing mixture of Easy Pear Crisp [Vegan Pear Crumble] ingredients in a bowl.

Step 1: First, preheat the oven to 350F/175C and lightly grease an 8-inch pie dish. Then, rinse and thinly slice the pears, transfer them to the prepared baking dish, and sprinkle with ¼ of the brown sugar.

Step 2: To prepare the crumb topping, mix the flour, oats, remaining sugar, spices, vanilla, and melted vegan butter in a separate bowl. Then use a fork or your fingers to mix it into a crumb consistency.

We like to slice the pears by cutting each one in half lengthwise and using a small spoon to scoop out the seeds/core. Then, placing the cut-side-down on a chopping board, use a sharp knife to thinly slice the pear. A mandoline also works.

Process shot showing adding oat filling mixture on top of pear mixture in baking dish.

Step 3: To assemble the pear crisp, sprinkle the streusel topping over the pears and spread it evenly. Bake it in the oven for 45 minutes. Finally, remove the baked pear crumble from the oven and allow it to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Depending on how thickly you sliced the pears, you may need to add up to 10 minutes extra. You can also optionally use a broiler at the end to further caramelize the sugars in the crumble topping.

FAQs

Do I need to peel the pears?

If you don’t like the texture (which can be a little tough) of the peels in the crumble, then peel them, though it isn’t 100% necessary.

How can I tell if pears are ripe?

When making this easy pear crisp recipe, you need to use pears that are just reaching ripeness. This means they should have just a tiny amount of give when squeezed near the stem but not be overly soft. Using ripe pears will lead to a mushy filling.

Can I make pear crisp with canned pears?

Yes, but only if you don’t mind a mushy filling. You may also need some cornstarch (or tapioca flour) to help thicken the pear juices into a jammy consistency.

What if it’s browning too quickly in the oven?

Tent some foil over it and continue baking to avoid excess browning/burn.

Can I make a pear crisp without oats?

Absolutely. It won’t be as crisp and toasty, but it still tastes amazing with a regular ‘buttery’ crumble topping.

What is the difference between pear crisp and pear crumble?

Nothing. They’re the same thing! At one point, they were differentiated between a crisp containing oats and a crumble not, but the terms are now used interchangeably!

Top Recipe Tips and Notes

Sweeten to taste: Adjust the amount of sugar you use based on how sweet the pears you use are.
Adjust the texture: Instead of slicing the pears, you could dice them. This will change the texture slightly.
Adding the spices: We love to spice the streusel topping, but feel free to spice the pear filling instead. It’s a personal preference.
For a super crunchy topping: We highly recommend adding some chopped nuts into the streusel topping. Chilling the topping for 30 minutes before baking can also help make for a crispier top.
Allow it to cool: This will allow time for the filling to thicken before serving.
To save time: Use a mandoline or food processor slicing disk to help slice the pears.

Completed Easy Pear Crisp [Vegan Pear Crumble] in a baking tray.

Serving Recommendations

While it’s possible to enjoy this dish at room temperature or warm, we prefer the latter, preferably with one of the following:

A scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream (or this banana ice cream) (other flavors like pecan or cinnamon work too)
Vegan custard
Vegan whipped cream
A drizzle of vegan date caramel sauce

How to Make Ahead and Store?

You can prep this fruit crisp ahead by preparing the pear filling and crumble topping and storing them separately in the fridge. Remove both from the fridge 20 minutes before baking, assemble, and bake as written.

Once baked, leftovers will store, covered, at room temperature for 1-2 days or in the fridge for 4-5 days.

It is also freezer friendly for up to 3 months (either baked or fully assembled but unbaked). Simply thaw it in the fridge overnight before reheating it.

Reheating Recommendations

Microwave: This is good for single portions and can be done in 20-second intervals until warm (usually between 60-80 seconds total). Just note the topping will remain soft this way.
Oven: For larger portions, or if you want to re-crisp up the toppings, reheat the pear crumble with oats in the oven at 350F until warm (usually around 20-25 minutes).

More Vegan Desserts to Consider

Vegan Desserts

Vegan Apple Pie

Vegan Desserts

Easy Apple Pear Pie

Vegan Desserts

Vegan Lemon Loaf Cake

Vegan Desserts

Sweet Potato Chocolate Cake

If you tried this easy pear crisp recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks!