Pears are baked with cardamom and orange for this simple, satisfying dessert. A sweet date paste adds rich flavor with whole foods, plant-based ingredients. This makes the perfect recipe for weekend meal prep. Or, use for a healthy, vegan finish at a dinner party.
Baked Pears: Healthy, Whole Foods, Plant-Based Dessert
Fruit always makes for a simple dessert. Eating fruit is a healthy way to enjoy a whole foods, plant-based sweet treat while also getting tons of nutrition. While it’s easy to grab a banana or an apple, it’s also nice to enjoy some grilled pineapple, roasted peaches, or baked pears. Baking pears helps intensify their sweetness. Plus, it gives you the opportunity to add interesting flavor from dried herbs and citrus.
What are Best Pears for Baking?
When it comes to choosing the best pears for a recipe, there a few things to keep in mind:
- Texture: First, you want a pear with firm texture. Green Anjou, Red Anjou, Forelle, and Bosc pears all have a firm, crisp texture. In turn, these pears hold up well to cooking. They are the best varieties to use for roasting, baking, poaching (LINK), or making a pear chutney (link). Softer varieties, like Bartlett or Comice will get mushy and dissolve if you try to cook them.
- Size: The bigger the pear, the longer it will take to cook. Plus, consider portion sizes for your pears. Think about how you want to serve your pears. If you’re hosting a dinner party and want a small, individual dessert, then perhaps you want small Forelle pears. If you just plan on enjoying the pears for a weeknight treat, then choose a bigger size. If it doesn’t matter, just go with what’s on sale and available.
- Color: Pears generally come in four colors: red, green, brown, and yellow. For an elegant presentation, I love red-skinned pears. I think they look absolutely beautiful after baking. Green and yellow skins tend to turn brown after baking. However, if you’re peeling the pears (or if you’re not too picky), choose whatever color pear is on sale and available.
What is Date Paste?
Date paste has become a popular go-to ingredient for many whole foods, plant-based eaters. Date paste is made by soaking dates in water, then pureeing into a smooth, thick paste. According to Chef AJ at Forks Over Knives , you want about 1 cup water to 1 pound (about 2 cups) pitted dates. You can use this date paste to add natural, whole foods sweetness to puddings, smoothies, sauces, frosting, and other dessert recipes.
I use this basic idea to replace caramel and maple syrup in many of my plant-based recipes. For instance, this recipe for baked pears was based off a Maple-Baked Pears recipe I saw. I replaced the maple syrup with a watered-down version of date caramel. I still got rich, sweet flavor. However, using dates means I get extra fiber and nutrition. Plus, I don’t get the sugar spike that many syrups can cause.
Dates and water are the only two ingredients for a whole foods, plant-based date paste 
Dates are pureed with water for a quick, easy date paste
Infusing Flavor: Cardamom Pods
Cardamom is one of those secret, under-used spices. It has a bright, fruity flavor that pairs well with berries, orange, cherries, and pears. Cardamom comes both in whole pods or ground. You find it often in Indian cooking, where it’s used in both savory and sweet recipes like Chana Masala or sweet rice pudding.
The cardamom pods from this recipe actually come from a spice company called Maya Mountain. Maya Mountain procures the finest spices, oils, cocoa, and other flavors from Belize farmers. They are committed to paying their farmers above fair trade wages. Plus, 10% of all profits go back to organizations working within the Belize community.
Other Variations of Baked Fruit
Depending on what’s in season, you can use this recipe as a template for baking other fruit. In the summer, stone fruits like peaches, plums, and apricots would be delicious. During the fall, swap out the pears for a variety of apples.
You’ll Love this Healthy, Plant-Based Baked Pears Recipe! It is:
- Packed with Pear Flavor!
- Easy to make
- Sweet and Satisfying
- A Light, Low-Fat Dessert
- Perfect for Weekend Meal Prep
Chef Katie’s Healthy, Plant-Based Cooking Tips for Baked Pears with Date Paste, Cardamom, and Orange:
No Refined Sugar or Syrup? I’m on a mission to get rid of empty calories. This recipe don’t use any refined sugar, maple syrup, or other refined sweetener. The pears and dates provide plenty of sweetness, along with healthy fiber and essential nutrients.
Weigh Your Ingredients: For precise measuring and consistent results, always weigh your ingredients. A small kitchen scale makes this easy to do. This will save you time and give you more delicious muffins and breads.
Use a vegetable peeler to remove strips of orange zest from the fruit 
Cover the pears with the date paste for a sweet, plant-based dessert 
Bake pears until knife-glide tender. You should easily be able to pierce a pear and let the knife glide out
Baked Pears with Date Paste, Cardamom, and Orange
This healthy, vegan breakfast combines the flavors of banana bread with baked oatmeal. A must-have recipe for a plant-based diet. With cinnamon and raisins, this is a dish kids and adults will both love!
- Easy
- Servings: 4
- Ready In: 40 minutes
- Yield: one 8×8” or 9×9” square pan
Kids and adults will love diving into this warm, satisfying breakfast. Serve with Chia Coconut Cream, Gluten-Free Oatmeal Raisin Pancakes, or just dive in with a spoon.
Baked Pears with Date Paste, Cardamom, and Orange
Ingredients
- 4 medium firm pears (red Anjou, green Anjou, or Bosc)
- 5 whole Maya Mountain cardamom pods
- 3 strips of orange rind
- 8 dates pitted
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- To make the Baked Pears with Date Paste, Cardamom, and Orange: Preheat your oven to 350F.
- Cut the pears in half. Use a paring knife to remove the core. Place the pears, cut-side-up, in a baking dish. Place the cardamom pods and orange rind in the baking dish. In a blender, puree the dates with water. Pour the date paste over the pears, caradamom, and orange.
- Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the cover and bake until golden on top, another 10-15 minutes. The pears are done when they are knife-glide tender. A knife should easily slide in and out.
- Serve warm.
Notes
45 minutes
4 Servings
Nutrition Facts
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings 4.0 | |
| Amount Per Serving | |
| calories 135 | |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Total Fat 0 g | 1 % |
| Saturated Fat 0 g | 0 % |
| Monounsaturated Fat 0 g | |
| Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g | |
| Trans Fat 0 g | |
| Cholesterol 0 mg | 0 % |
| Sodium 5 mg | 0 % |
| Potassium 234 mg | 7 % |
| Total Carbohydrate 36 g | 12 % |
| Dietary Fiber 7 g | 29 % |
| Sugars 23 g | |
| Protein 1 g | 2 % |
| Vitamin A | 3 % |
| Vitamin C | 18 % |
| Calcium | 19 % |
| Iron | 1 % |
| * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. | |
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