Honey Baked Pear Slices (with Yogurt)

Honey-baked pear slices served with Greek yogurt, an elegant dessert, the perfect ending to a festive fall meal. You will just love all those flavors.

Perfectly baked honey pear slices subtly spiced with vanilla and cardamom served on creamy Greek yogurt and drizzled with those incredibly aromatic pan juices, this is a delicious dessert that makes the most of the pear season! You should try this pears recipe; it makes the perfect ending to an autumn meal; it is a healthy, light dessert, easy to make, and incredibly tasty.

I love roasted fruit of any kind; I have been roasting one fruit or other many times, for instance, roasted cherries or plums, apricots, or grapes. Or even more roasted pears, this time with balsamic.

It is a perfect method to make any fruit, even fruit that is not perfectly ripe and which you would not really want to eat otherwise, just perfect, succulent and sweet, and desirable. The natural sweetness of the fresh pears is enhanced during the roasting process. And I don't think I must mention how wonderfully creamy and sweet Greek yogurt mixed with natural vanilla and honey is. A tasty dessert using simple ingredients and healthily satisfying your sweet tooth.

Recipe ingredients

• Pears: Choose slightly underripe to ripe sweet pears, a firm type. I don't pay too much attention to the kind I buy, but I choose a sort that looks and feels firm.
• Honey: Runny, clear honey. Not the opaque, firm sort. You will need 4 tablespoons for the baked pear slices and 2 tablespoons for the yogurt.
• Lemon juice: Freshly squeezed. Don't leave it out; it’s great for the flavor.
• Spices: I used one vanilla pod (½ of it for the pear slices and ½ for the yogurt) and cardamom. Alternatively, you can use star anise, cinnamon sticks, some fresh root ginger, a little nutmeg, or all-spice.
• Greek yogurt for serving, full fat is best.

Recipe steps

Preheat the oven.

• Prepare fresh fruit: Peel (1), core, halve the fruit.
• Place pear halves cut side down on a cutting board and cut into 4 or 5 slices (2). Place pear slices in a baking dish in a single layer.

• Whisk together the honey and the water until the honey dissolves.
• Add the seeds of ½ of the vanilla pod. Save the rest for the yogurt.
• Add the lemon juice.
• Pour this mixture over the pears and stir well to coat the slices.
• Press the cardamom seeds with a knife to open them and place them in the tin as well.
• Scrape the seeds of the second vanilla pod half, place them in the bowl where you will later mix them with the yogurt.
• Place the empty pod halves in the roasting tray as well.
• Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until the pears are softer but still retaining their shape and a bit of a bite. They should NOT be mushy. Start checking after 15 or 20 minutes and take the baking pan out of the oven as soon as they are to your liking.
• Baste with the pan juices at least twice during the baking time.
• Remove the cardamom and vanilla pods before serving.

Yogurt:

• While the pear slices are baking, stir the Greek yogurt with the remaining vanilla seeds and honey in a small bowl (3,4).
• Place the yogurt into 4 dessert cups and top with the pears and some remaining pan juices.

Expert Tips and FAQ

• Use firm fruit, very ripe or overripe pears are not suitable for baking; they will become mushy.
• Don't forget to baste the honey pears with the pan juices a couple of times during baking time.
• Don't overbake the pears; they should become soft but hold their shape. Start checking before the indicated roasting time is reached; the baking time depends on the size and ripeness of the fruit.
• Use full-fat Greek yogurt; it is the best for this recipe; it is so creamy and delicious. Lower-fat Greek yogurt works well, but don't use no-fat yogurt; it is still a dessert.

Recipe FAQ

More recipes with honey?

• Honey Oat Banana Muffins
• Moldavian Yeast Pastries with Honey
• Vanilla Honey Brandy
• Lemon Popsicles