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Pear Walnut Bread makes a delicious recipe for breakfast, a snack or a dessert! Get this family favorite pear walnut bread recipe to share with your family and friends!
This Pear Walnut Bread reminds me of my Grandmother. I miss her terribly this time of year.
Every fall, my Grandmother’s kitchen would smell like what I could only imagine at the time the best bakeries of the world must of smelled like. You see, we lived waaaay out in the country and bakeries just weren’t in our neck of the woods. Mrs. Agnes made the very special cakes for celebrations such as weddings or golden anniversaries, but everyday celebrations like birthdays, holidays, and Sunday suppers were met with cakes loving made in our own kitchens. And breads? No one would have ever dreamed of having someone make their own breads other than the standard sandwich breads Grandmother and Mama would pick up for convenience sake more than anything else.
My Grandmother’s kitchen was magical and I miss being in it with her.
Thankfully, I have this delicious Pear Walnut Bread that is just like a gift from her each time I make it. Filled with bits of fresh, juicy pears, crunchy walnuts, and aromatic spices, it definitely takes me right back to her warm and very inviting home in an instant.
Here’s the Pear Walnut Bread recipe I know you’ll love, too.
Pear Walnut Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- 3/4 cups vegetable oil
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 pears peeled and diced
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º F. Spray one large tube or bundt pan or two loaf pans with non-stick baking spray. Set aside.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Cream together vegetable oil, sugar and eggs. Spoon in flour mixture and mix until just combined. Stir in pears, vanilla and walnuts.
- Pour into prepared baking pan(s) and bake for 60 minutes, or until skewer or toothpick come out clean when inserted in the center of the bread.
- Remove from oven and allow to rest in the pan(s) for about 10 minutes. Turn out and allow to cool completely.
Nutritional Information
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
This sounds perfect. Wish I had a slice right now. Thanks for sharing!
This looks absolutely amazing!
I love walnuts and that glaze look so good! What a perfect holiday bread! 🙂
A couple of questions, if you dont’ mind!
How ripe should the pears be? Soft, firm? Is it okay if they’re not quite ripe or very soft? I find I have a hard time with pears. They’re always rock hard when I buy them and either ripen so quickly that they’re pretty mushy or they never really ripen much. I love pears and would like to try this recipe, but I want it to turn out well!
Also wondering about your glaze. Anything special in it?
Thanks!
Hi Michelle,
I’ve used firm and very soft and like it both ways. I will say that the softer the pear, when mixed, makes the pear bread even more moist. For the glaze, I made a glaze with just a hint of maple and some coconut.
Thanks so much!
Robyn xo
Thanks Robyn, I’m going to have to try this soon. I like the idea of maple in the glaze. The thought of that reminds me of a baked pear “pancake” I’ve made in the past that’s sooooo good!
Yum. Pear bread. I love the glaze dripping down.
Thank you, Robyn. Have a great weekend!
This is one seriously GORGEOUS loaf!
You should hear me oooooing and aaaaahing right now. I love the spices in this and pears.
Awwww, what a wonderful way to keep your grandmother with you through this amazing bread. That glaze has me totally sold!
What a great fall treat! Love baking with pears!
Made this for work and it was a huge hit! Everyone commented on how moist and flavorful it was. I am already making it again for a special meeting tomorrow. I made it with a sugar and cinnamon sprinkled crust instead of the glaze and the result was impressive. I used three pears instead of two, let them sit for two days and their texture inside the bread was great. This is now a simple go-to recipe that everyone loves! Perfect for the holiday season
Hi! Made this today..got one loaf and 12 muffins out of this batter. I must say it is quite delicious and turned out well. I noticed the batter was very thick And I kept looking at the recipe thinking that I forgot to add some kind of liquid due to the thick texture. What a wonderful recipe! I have an older oven so I took 15 minutes off! Thanks for sharing your bread recipe! (so excited that I’ve got muffins and bread in freezer! Lol)
Found the mixture too dry?Had to add another egg plus another 1/4 cup of oil,anyone else have the same problem?
Hi! Thank you so much for the recipe!!!! I just finished making it and it absolutely delicious. It made the house smell so great. One thing though I did not have walnuts so I substituted with almonds. I was also a bit worried since I found the mixture a bit dry when I was making it. However I followed the directions and it came out perfect.
Can you kindly share the recipe for the glaze ? Thanks
To make it healthier, could you substitute applesauce for the oil? If so, equal amount?
This pear and walnut bread is crazy good!!! I just followed the recipe exactly and it made three perfect loaves in some of those throw away foil bread pans. If I were to change anything would be to maybe add one more pear. I don’t think it would change the integrity of the bread. This is a wonderful use of pears and a sweet bread I will definitely be making again.
Would love to make this! Just wondered – I have a lot of pears to use from our pear tree. They are kind of small pears; could you clarify about the pear amount in cups, like 1 cup, for example. Thank you very much!
This cake is delicious! I decided to try it with 3 pears instead of 2. After it cooled, I added a glaze that consisted of 1 c. Powdered sugar, 2 T. melted butter, 1 t. vanilla, 1/4 t. cinnamon and about 2 T. or so of milk.
Thanks for sharing this fantastic recipe!
We recently bought some pears at a fruit market in our area. Have never made pear bread, but think that would be a treat to take to a cousin & her family who is “down for the count” with back trouble (Along with a casserole, 3 soups, a pork chop/sauerkraut meal and freshly made applesauce). The picture of the recipe shows a glaze or frosting…but that wasn’t included in the recipe. Do you have a favorite or do you leave yours “au natural?” Can’t wait to try this recipe!
What a wonderful cousin you are to make these delicious meals for your cousin and her family while she is not feeling well. I know she must appreciate you so much! For the glaze, I make it the same as on my pumpkin banana bread but use vanilla extract instead of vanilla bean paste. Either works well though and those little specks in the vanilla bean paste sure are pretty! 🙂
I’ve made this recipe twice now. The first batch I used 3 very soft pears, the 2nd batch I used 2 hard pears. I like the batter better with the 3 very ripe pears as the batter was more moist. I also like cloves better than nutmeg so I used that instead, and I cut back on the sugar to 1 1/2 C. I’ll have to look for a glaze recipe as I don’t see one here. I froze my loaves and have the 2nd batch in the oven so have not had any to eat yet. But the batter is yummy!!
Thanks so much Melinda! Hope you enjoy it! xo
What is the “frosting” recipe used on the Bread? Please do not sell, give or rent my email address.
Hi N –
For the glaze, I make it the same as on my pumpkin banana bread but use vanilla extract instead of vanilla bean paste. Either works well.
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I hope you enjoy the bread! Glad to have you visit!
Can the dough be made and put in the fridge overnight?
Justin, I have never stored this dough in the refrigerator. I’m afraid it might not rise as well and not be as moist.
I made muffins with this recipe and they were delicious. My batter was a bit thick so I added two tablespoons of Greek yogurt. Didn’t have walnuts so I substituted pecans. I like the idea of the cinnamon sugar topping but I made a simple glaze with powdered sugar, vanilla, water, cinnamon and nutmeg. I also added a bit of nutmeg to the batter. I baked them for about 15 minutes. They were wonderful.
These muffins sound delicious, Sue. Thanks!