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This Asian Pear Pie is a delicious twist on a classic Homemade Apple Pie. The filling is perfectly sweet, spiced with freshly grated ginger and has the perfect balance of sweet tart apples and fragrant Asian pears. For the flaky all-butter pie crust you can made it from scratch or use a store-bought crust. Serve it with Chicken and Dumplings for the best cozy comforting dinner.
It’s no secret that I LOVE pie. Everything from Classic Cherry Pie, Apple Cranberry Pie, or this Rhubarb Apple Pie is simply the best ever. If you have an abundance of pears Naomi’s Chocolate Pear Tart is simple yet decadent!
Ingredients For Asian Pear Pie
- Fruit – Asian pears are smaller and sweeter than regular pears. They are mixed with sliced apples and a little bit of fresh ginger and lemon juice. The pie filling is sweet and tart with a touch of zing.
- Crème fraîche – Can also use sour cream. It adds an additional tanginess and slight creaminess to the pie filing.
- Pie crust – I made my pie crust from scratch but 2 store-bought pie crusts will work just fine.
For the rest of the ingredients, please refer to the recipe index card below!
How To Make Asian Pear Pie
- For the Asian pear and apple filling – In a medium bowl add sliced pears and apples, brown sugar, crème fraîche, flour, grated ginger, lemon juice and salt. Stir to coat then set aside.
- Roll out the crust – If using a homemade pie crust, roll out the dough on a floured work surface into a 13-inch circle, fold the crust then set it into a pie dish. Allow to chill in the fridge while you roll out the second crust.
- Assemble – Take out the pie crust from the fridge, pour the apple pear filling into it, spreading it out evenly. Top with the second pie crust.
- Bake – Brush the top of the pie with an egg wash, sprinkle with turbinado sugar then bake for 30 minutes or until lightly golden brown, reduce the heat then bake for an additional 30 minutes.
- Serve – Allow your pie to cool for at least 30 minutes before serving or 2 – 3 hours if you want slices that stay intact after slicing.
Tips and Tricks
- Peeling fruit – I don’t peel my apples but you’re welcome to if you like. I personally like the texture. However, I DID peel the Asian pears because their skin is a bit tougher.
- Add a bit of flour to the filling – Flour, cornstarch or tapioca starch is a MUST when making fruit pies of any kind. Mixing it with the fruit before baking thickens the juices which prevents a runny filling. If you’re substituting cornstarch for flour, use 1 1/2 teaspoons since cornstarch has twice the thickening power as flour.
- If you want to make this EXACT topping, you’ll need to make a larger amount of pie crust. Here’s the recipe for the triple pie crust.
- Can’t find Asian pears? Asian pears are usually available in major grocery stores. If you can’t find Asian pears, replace them with Bosc pears, or you can easily make this an all apple pie if you like!
- Chill pie before baking – After assembling the whole pie, place it into the freezer for at least 20 minutes. This helps to firm up the dough and eliminates the possibility of shrinking when baking in the oven.
- Decorating ideas – You can roll out the top crust and simply cut a few slices in the middle for steam, or you can cut the crust into strips to make a lattice pattern. It just depends on how simple or elaborate you want to be!
Recipe FAQs
What’s the difference between Asian pears and regular pears?
Asian pears are native to China and are also found in Japan and Korea. These pears are juicier, fragrant -almost floral tasting with a more delicate texture than regular pears. They are also brown and round like an apple. Because of their high water content and extra sweetness, Asian pears are the star of any recipe without the need to add too many extra ingredients.
How do you keep an apple pie filling from being runny?
Adding flour, cornstarch or tapioca starch to the filling will help thicken the apple and pears juices so you don’t end up with a runny filling.
More Pie Recipes
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Asian Pear Pie
This Asian Pear Pie is a delicious twist on a classic Homemade Apple Pie. The filling is perfectly sweet, spiced with freshly grated ginger and has the perfect balance of sweet tart apples and fragrant Asian pears. For the flaky all-butter pie crust you can made it from scratch or use a store-bought crust. Serve it with Chicken and Dumplings for the best cozy comforting dinner.
Equipment
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 1 9-inch pie dish
- 1 Medium-mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 peeled firm Asian pears, cut into 1/2-inch slices
- 2 to 3 small apples, I used Pink Lady but Gala, Honeycrisp or Golden Delicious are all good!, cut into 1/2-inch slices
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup creme fraiche or sour cream
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- Juice from 1/2 lemon
- Pinch of salt
- 2 homemade or store-bought pie crusts
- 1 large egg, beaten, for egg wash
- 1 to 2 teaspoons turbinado sugar, as topping
Instructions
- To a medium bowl, mix together the sliced pears, apples, brown sugar, creme fraiche or sour cream, flour, ginger, lemon juice and salt. Set aside.
- Lightly flour your work surface and rolling pin. Roll out the first pie crust, rotating and flouring it every so often so it doesn’t stick to the surface, to a 13-inch circle. Roll the dough over the rolling pin and place it over a 9-inch pie dish. Transfer to the fridge while you roll out the second pie crust.
- Roll out the second disk of dough and create a topping however you like. Do a normal lattice, an intricate lattice, make braids. The possibilities are endless, just remember that the freezer is your friend. If your pie dough ever becomes too soft to manage, be sure to put it on a cutting board and stick it in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes. It’ll instantly become easier to work with.
- Remove the pie dish from the fridge and pour in the filling, including all the juices that the pears and apples have released—this is the good stuff! Place the pie crust on the top however you like and seal it up! Transfer the whole pie to the freezer for about 20 minutes (this will firm it up and eliminate the possibility of shrinking like crazy).
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the pie on a baking sheet and brush it with egg wash and sprinkle the top with turbinado sugar. Transfer to the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the pie is lightly golden brown. Turn the heat down to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 30 minutes.
- Allow the pie to cool for at least 30 minutes, if you’re impatient. If you want sliceable slices that stay in tact, allow the pie to cool for 2 to 3 hours.
Notes
Tips and Tricks
- Peeling fruit – I don’t peel my apples but you’re welcome to if you like. I personally like the texture. However, I DID peel the Asian pears because their skin is a bit tougher.
- Add a bit of flour to the filling – Flour, cornstarch or tapioca starch is a MUST when making fruit pies of any kind. Mixing it with the fruit before baking thickens the juices which prevents a runny filling. If you’re substituting cornstarch for flour, use 1 1/2 teaspoons since cornstarch has twice the thickening power as flour.
- If you want to make this EXACT topping, you’ll need to make a larger amount of pie crust. Here’s the recipe for the triple pie crust.
- Can’t find Asian pears? Asian pears are usually available in major grocery stores. If you can’t find Asian pears, replace them with Bosc pears, or you can easily make this an all apple pie if you like!
- Chill pie before baking – After assembling the whole pie, place it into the freezer for at least 20 minutes. This helps to firm up the dough and eliminates the possibility of shrinking when baking in the oven.
- Decorating ideas – You can roll out the top crust and simply cut a few slices in the middle for steam, or you can cut the crust into strips to make a lattice pattern. It just depends on how simple or elaborate you want to be!
Nutrition
Calories: 344kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.003g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 191mg | Potassium: 190mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 155IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this Recipe? Please Rate & comment below!
I was unsure about this recipe, but my pie turned out excellent. I used sour cream. I followed the recipe and substituted the flour for kraft minute tapioca. This ensured the pie would not be watery due to the juicy pears. I did not have issues with curdling sour cream like other reviewers. Also added a touch of cinnamon and nutmeg.
I made this pie using sour cream. Unfortunately the sour cream curdled leaving a weird appearance to the final slices. The pie has a weird texture with lumpy sour cream. The cook times on this are maybe a bit short to get the golden dark color on the crust. I would need to play with cool times with sour cream as it is delicate to work with.
I just made this pie and the flavor is excellent. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of liquid. Does this have to do with the apples and pears themselves? (I added the 3 tablespoons of flour.)
Trying this today and the recipe didn’t have vanilla listed so I didn’t use it. I hope it still comes out good! Fingers crossed.
Would I be able to make this with ALL Asian pears? I have an Asian pear tree and need to use them up.
I’m allergic to apples and the loss of apple pie has always been my biggest regret. Asian pears are the closest thing I can eat. I’m going to replace the apples with more pears,and I am so grateful to you for this recipie!
let me know how it goes! asian pears are so wonderful–so fragrant and delicious!
The recipe doesn’t call for vanilla, but in your blog it says you used vanilla. Just thought I’d let you know. The pie was amazing, the Creme Fraiche was perfect.
Oh thanks for letting me know. Let me fix this. Glad you loved the pie 🙂
I live in the Bay Area and I’m lucky to have a neighbor who grows Asian pears and apples. He was so gracious to gift me both. I made your pie and it was AMAZING! While my crust didn’t turn out as beautiful as did yours, it was pure deliciousness! Thank you for a great recipe, Adrianne!
This is wonderful to hear! I love Asian pears so much. They’re ridiculously special. You’re so lucky to have a neighbor who has them like that!
Look how golden and crispy the top of the pie looks, its perfect!! Basket weave is a gorgeous way to finish the pie off, and the asian pears are such a unique touch! Love it!