If you’ve ever opened a jar of store-bought canned pears and found them swimming in heavy syrup, you know they’re often sweeter than they need to be. This low-sugar canned pears recipe lets you preserve pears in a way that highlights their natural flavor instead of masking it.

Home canning gives you beautifully preserved fruit that works just as well for desserts as it does for everyday meals, and you control exactly what goes into each jar. You can even go with a medium syrup; the beauty is that you get to choose!

In this guide, I’ll walk you through how to safely water-bath can pears using a homemade syrup, along with tips for choosing varieties, preventing browning, and getting the best texture in storage. Grab some of our other canning and food preservation recipes on our Food Preservation hub.

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Quick Summary

• Step 1: Prepare water bath canner, jars, and lids
• Step 2: Wash and prepare pears, and use lemon water to prevent browning
• Step 3: Make low-sugar syrup
• Step 4: Pack pears into jars and pour syrup over fruit, leaving headspace
• Step 5: Process in a water bath canner

Supplies You’ll Need

• Water Bath Canner – Used to safely process jars of pears in boiling water for shelf-stable storage. Some canners come with a bundle of tools, too.
• Quart or Pint Jars – Heat-safe glass jars designed specifically for home canning and long-term pantry storage. Look for these at local stores. Walmart, Menards, Farm and Fleet, etc.
• Lids and Rings – Flat lids create the seal during processing, while rings hold them in place until jars cool.
• Jar Lifter & Bubble Remover – The jar lifter safely removes hot jars from boiling water, and the bubble remover releases trapped air before sealing.
• Stainless Steel Funnel – Helps fill jars neatly while keeping rims clean for a proper seal.
• Large Pot – Used to heat syrup and keep pears hot before packing into jars.
• Knife, Peeler, and/or Corer – For peeling, slicing, and removing cores to prepare pears for even packing and better texture. I used a little melon baller to scoop the core out of the pears, but a better tool would have been more convenient!
• Lemon Juice – Prevents browning while preparing pears and helps maintain a fresh appearance.
• Sugar – Creates a light syrup that enhances flavor and helps preserve texture.
• Water – Combined with sugar to form the canning syrup and used in the water bath process.

Why Can Pears in Low Sugar Syrup

My kids love pears and will go through cans so quickly! Unfortunately, it’s hard to find store-bought canned pears without loads of sugar or the dreaded “no sugar added” that only have artificial sweeteners. It’s hard to find a happy medium these days.

For these reasons, I started canning my own pears. Between my neighbor’s small pear trees and grocery store sales, it’s easy enough to grab pears to can some! I like making a low-sugar syrup so that I’m controlling the sweetness and added sugar. I tried a no-sugar recipe once, and I do not recommend it. Not only did the pears lose any sweetness, but they lost all of their flavor too, and weren’t pleasant to eat! Sugar helps the pears keep their flavor, so don’t leave it out altogether.

Give me the Guide!

Best Pear Varieties for Canning

When choosing a pear variety for canning, the best ones are firm and sweet! You want to choose pears that are slightly under-ripe or just ripe; otherwise, your pears will turn into sauce as soon as they’re canned. Some good varieties for canning are:

• Bartlett-These classics are the preferred pears to can because they’re sweet, aromatic, and hold up well to heat.
• Bosc-These will hold their shape better than a Bartlett pear, so if you want firm pears after they’re canned, these are the ones to go with!
• Anjou-Similar to Bosc pears, these are a great choice.
• Kieffer-These are a hybrid pear that can well.
• Seckel-Small, firm pears that are great for canning whole if your recipe calls for it!

Preparing Pears for Canning

Pears are pretty easy to can; there are only a few things you need to do to prepare them. You’ll need to wash and optionally peel, prevent browning while you’re prepping the rest, and cut and core the pears.

Washing and Peeling

When you’re ready to can your pears, it is essential to wash them so no bacteria gets into the finished canned product. Most people decide to peel their pears as well because it can improve texture, appearance, and sometimes flavor. It does take extra time, though, and you lose a little bit of nutrients when you take the peels off.

Whether you leave the skins on or take them off is a personal preference. We usually opt to leave the skins on because we like the added texture, nutrients, and time savings! It doesn’t bother us to see some spots on the peels, and we haven’t noticed any bitterness or loss in flavor. Different pear varieties will have different outcomes, so it would be beneficial for you to do a test batch before committing to a method!

Preventing Browning

While you are peeling and cutting your pears, have a large bowl of water with some lemon juice ready to plop your pears in. This will help prevent browning while your pears wait to be jarred.

Making a Sugar Syrup

Making a sugar syrup is the key to flavorful canned pears. This doesn’t mean you have to put loads and loads of sugar in your canned pears, though. We decided to go with a light syrup and really enjoy the flavor of our pears. I’ve included some options below so you can decide how heavy you want your syrup to be. These amounts of syrup will fill about 9 pints of canned pears, so adjust according to how many pears you have.

• Very Light Syrup – 6.5 cups water to 3/4 cups sugar
• Light Syrup – 5 3/4 cups water to 1 1/2 cups sugar
• Medium Syrup – 5 1/4 cups water to 2 1/4 cup sugar
• Heavy Syrup – 5 cups water to 3 1/4 cups sugar.

Packing Pears Into Jars – Hot Pack vs Raw Pack

There are a couple of ways to pack your pears into jars. I usually opt for raw packing methods because it feels like less work to me, and the easier the better! I’ll break down hot packing vs raw packing, though, and you can decide which version is better for you. Hot packing is typically preferred for the best quality.

Hot Packed Pears

Hot packing pears means putting your prepared pears in hot syrup and letting them simmer for about 5 minutes. Then, put the hot pears in the jars and cover with boiling syrup.

When you simmer the pears, you’re removing the air pockets from the fruit, making the texture better and maximizing jar space. The pears shrink a little bit and won’t float around because the air has been removed. Less air also means less oxidation, which will improve color while they’re in the jars. With hot packing, you want to be careful not to overcook your pears, which will result in mushy canned pears.

Raw Packed Pears

Raw packing pears means you take the pears out of the lemon water and put them directly into your jars, raw. Then, cover with boiling syrup. This method is faster and simpler, making it easier for larger batches. If your pears are a little on the riper side, raw packing will help them hold their shape a little better because you’re not pre-cooking them before canning.

With either method, make sure to leave the appropriate amount of headspace (1/2 inch), remove the bubbles, and wipe the rim before placing the lids on.

Water Bath Processing Instructions

While you’re packing the pears, fill the water bath canner with water and start heating it. You want the water to be hot, so you don’t shock the hot jars. Always add hot jars to hot water.

When your jars are packed (either hot or raw-packed), leave 1/2 inch of headspace in the jars and remove any air bubbles with a knife or a tool. After removing the bubbles, you might have to add a little more syrup. Place the lids and rings on the jars. Tighten the rings to fingertip tight only. Add the jars to the water bath canner and place the lid on the canner. Bring the water to a boil and then start your timer for 20 minutes for pints, 25 minutes for quarts.

Take a look at these altitude adjustments you may need to make:

• 0-1,000ft: Pints 20 minutes, Quarts 25 minutes
• 1,001-3,000ft: Pints 25 minutes, Quarts 30 minutes
• 3,001-6,000ft: Pints 30 minutes, Quarts 35 minutes
• Above 6,000ft: Pints 35 minutes, Quarts 40 minutes

When the timer goes off, turn the heat off on the canner and remove the lid. Let everything sit for 5 minutes, then remove the jars from the canner. Let them sit undisturbed for 12-24 hours and then remove the rings and check the seal. If any lids come off or fail to seal, put the lid and ring back on and put those jars in the fridge. Eat those first!

Storage and Shelf Life

Once the jars have sealed and cooled, make sure the rings stay off. Wash the lids and jars to make sure they aren’t sticky and there’s no food on them. Store them in a cool, dry place in a single layer. Stacking jars can lead to spoiled food if the jars happen to come unsealed.

Eat within 12-18 months for the best quality. If you see any abnormal coloring or bad smells coming from your jars, throw them out. If the jar comes unsealed, throw it out. Bacteria and yeast release gases that cause pressure on the seal, causing the lid to pop off. When the rings are on the jars when they are stored, sometimes the lids reseal themselves, and you won’t know it was ever off, which is dangerous.

More Canning Recipes

Eating fresh pears and enjoying harvests when they’re in season is the best thing, but preserving local and homegrown produce is certainly second best! When you’ve gotten your fill of in-season produce like apples, pears, and berries, you can check out some of these recipes to continue to enjoy them for the rest of the year.

• Applesauce Recipe & Canning Instructions– Making your own applesauce is super easy, and you can add in extra fruit for different flavors.
• Cran-Raspberry Jam– This is a delicious mix of cranberry juice and fresh raspberries
• Pantry Storage Tips– Store your jars without the rings!

FAQs About Canning Pears

Ready to fill your pantry with canned pears?

Canning pears in a light syrup is a simple way to preserve seasonal fruit while controlling the sweetness and stocking your shelves with ready-to-use pears. Whether you’re building a pantry, preparing for the year ahead, or simply making the most of fresh pears, this recipe is an easy place to start.

If you give these low-sugar canned pears a try, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and let me know which pear variety you used and whether you chose the raw pack or hot pack method.

Looking for more ways to preserve fresh produce? Be sure to explore my Food Preservation guides for more canning recipes and traditional kitchen skills.