Cinnamon Poached Pears with Chocolate Sauce, with Instant Pot pressure cooker option

These vegan cinnamon poached pears with chocolate sauce make an elegant yet simple dessert showcasing the lovely bell-shaped fruit. Bittersweet chocolate sauce draping over perfectly poached citrus and cinnamon scented pears, it’s a marriage made in heaven.

Click here to PIN Cinnamon Poached Pears with Vegan Chocolate Sauce!

“There are only 10 minutes in the life of a pear when it is perfect to eat.”  A quote from poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson. I bet Mr. Emerson would have loved this dessert.

Ten minutes might be an exaggeration, but it’s certainly true that perfectly ripe pears are key to perfectly poached pears. This means pears should definitely not be mushy, but neither should they be rock hard. Aim for just ripe, but still firm, with color just beginning to change from green to yellow.

The bittersweet chocolate sauce is vegan, made with coconut oil, coconut milk, and maple syrup, and takes just 10 minutes to make. Pour on top of sweet fragrant poached pears for a true wow-factor dessert–cinnamon poached pears with chocolate sauce.

How to poach pears in a pressure cooker or Instant Pot:

• Put the water, wine, sugar, and cinnamon sticks in the Instant Pot (affiliate link). Bring to a simmer on Sauté, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Press the Keep Warm button so the liquid stays hot until the pears are peeled and cored.
• Slip the pears into the hot syrup and lock the lid. Select High Pressure and set the timer for 3 minutes. When the beep sounds, quick release the pressure by pressing Cancel, and turn the steam handle to Venting position.
• When the pressure button drops, remove the pears and transfer to a bowl. As soon as the syrup has cooled a bit, pour it over the pears. 

How to poach the pears without a pressure cooker:

• Put the water, wine, sugar, and cinnamon sticks in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring a few times as the sugar dissolves. Lower the heat to a simmer.
• Slip the pears into the hot syrup. To keep the pears submerged in the poaching liquid, cover them with a circle of parchment paper and a small plate as a weight. The pears will jostle and find their place lying down in the liquid.
• Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the pears are barely tender, being careful not to overcook. The poaching time depends upon the ripeness of the pears; the riper the pear, the shorter the poaching time.

Cinnamon Poached Pears with Chocolate Sauce recipe notes and details:

• You can substitute Bosc or D’Anjou pears for Bartletts, just make sure they are in their heyday of ripeness, which is harder to narrow down because both Bosc and D’Anjou varieties are more firm when ripe. Look for a bit of softness at the stem end.
• Make ahead: Refrigerated in the poaching liquid, poached pears will keep about 5 days, with the cinnamon flavor getting stronger each day. You can prepare the chocolate sauce ahead as well, and rewarm it just before serving.
• There’s a classic French dessert of poached pears with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream–Belle-Hélène. Needless to say, vanilla ice cream is an ideal complement for cinnamon poached pears with chocolate sauce.
• Did you know? Pears don’t ripen well on the tree—they’re picked when unripe. Let firmer pears ripen at home a day or so under your watchful eyes. Timing will depend on how firm they are when you buy them. If you need to slow down the ripening—keep them refrigerated.

More seasonal pear recipes:

• Romaine Salad with Pears, Blue cheese, and Pecans.
• You might also want to try these Double Chocolate Maple Pear Muffins.

This recipe first appeared on Pressure Cooking Today where I’m a contributor.

Make it a fabulous week–get in the kitchen and cook something delicious!

To get my latest recipe posts and exclusive monthly newsletters, subscribe here. (I hate Spam too and will never share your email with anyone.)

• Follow me on Instagram! It’s my favorite!
• Peruse my Pinterest boards for more vegetarian recipe ideas.
• Find daily vegetarian and healthy living ideas on my Facebook page.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. When you purchase products via my links, it doesn’t cost you anything and I earn a tiny commission, which helps me continue to provide free content here on Letty’s Kitchen. Thank you for supporting Letty’s Kitchen!

PS If you make this recipe and love it, please consider leaving a blog post comment. Your comments help other readers learn more about the recipe. If you’d also give the recipe a ✮✮✮✮✮ rating, I’d be delighted!

Print Recipe

3.60 from 5 votes

Cinnamon Poached Pears with Chocolate Sauce with Pressure Cooker option

Here are directions for poaching pears in an Instant Pot pressure cooker or in a saucpan, stovetop. Poached pears will keep about 5 days, with the cinnamon flavor getting stronger each day. You can prepare the vegan chocolate sauce ahead as well--rewarm it just before serving.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time35 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, French

Keyword: chocolate sauce, pears, pressure cooker, vegan

Servings: 6 pears.

Author: Letty | @lettyskitchen

Ingredients

For the pears:

• 1 lemon , cut in half
• 3 cups water
• 2 cups wine (see note)
• 2 cups organic cane sugar
• 6 cinnamon sticks
• 6 Bartlett pears , ripe, but still firm

Chocolate Sauce:

• 9 ounces bittersweet chocolate cut in 1/2-inch pieces (I used Trader Joe’s 72% dark)
• ½ cup coconut milk
• ¼ cup coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup

Instructions

To poach the pears in an Instant Pot pressure cooker:

• Put the water, wine, sugar, and cinnamon sticks in the pressure cooker. Bring to a simmer on Sauté, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Press the Keep Warm button so the liquid stays hot until the pears are peeled and ready.
• Peel the pears, keeping them whole, with the stems intact. Rub them immediately with the cut lemon to keep from turning brown. Squeeze the remaining lemon juice into the wine/sugar syrup and drop the juiced lemon into the syrup.
• Slip the pears into the hot syrup and lock the lid. Select High Pressure and set the timer for 3 minutes. When the beep sounds, quick release the pressure by pressing Cancel, and twisting the steam handle to Venting position. Carefully remove the pears with a slotted spoon, transfer to a bowl, and as soon as the syrup has cooled a bit, pour it over the pears. Move the cinnamon sticks back to the syrup and pears in the bowl. 

To poach the pears regular stovetop cooking:

• Put the water, wine, sugar, and cinnamon sticks in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring a few times as the sugar dissolves. Lower the heat to a simmer.
• Peel the pears, keeping them whole. Rub them immediately with the cut lemon to keep them from turning brown. Squeeze the cut lemon's juice into the simmering wine/sugar syrup.
• Slip the pears into the hot syrup. Cover them with a circle of parchment paper and a small plate as a weight, to keep the pears submerged in the poaching liquid. The pears will jostle and find their place lying down in the liquid.
• Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the pears are barely tender, being careful not to overcook. The poaching time depends upon the ripeness of the pears; the riper the pear, the shorter the poaching time. Transfer the pears and liquid, including the cinnamon sticks, to a bowl.

After poaching the pears:

• Cover the pears with the parchment circle and a small plate as a weight, to keeping them fully submerged until you are ready to serve. Serve warm or cold.

Make the Chocolate Sauce:

• Place the chocolate in a bowl. In a small saucepan, over medium flame, heat the coconut milk, coconut oil, and maple syrup just to the boil. Pour over chocolate and let sit a minute. Whisk until smooth. Serve very warm.
• To serve, slice a little piece off the bottom of each pear and so they will stand up.
• Place each pear on a plate and pour the warm chocolate sauce over.

Notes

• If you don't want to use wine, just use all water in the poaching syrup.
• You can substitute Bosc or D’Anjou pears for Bartletts.

Nutrition

Calories: 813kcal | Carbohydrates: 129g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 23g | Sodium: 61mg | Potassium: 624mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 103g | Vitamin A: 60IU | Vitamin C: 17.7mg | Calcium: 205mg | Iron: 2.2mg

Did you make this recipe?Mention @lettyskitchen or tag #lettyskitchen