This blueberry and pear crumble is the ultimate comfort food—sweet, simple, and versatile. Prep it in just 15 minutes, bake for an hour, and enjoy a treat that’s perfect for breakfast or evening dessert, with tender fruit and a crunchy oat topping.
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I love simple, cozy recipes like this crumble dessert or my cherry apple crumble.
Crumbles are versatile and easy, just like my small batch chocolate chip muffins and chocolate chip oatmeal banana bread.
These recipes are great for prepping ahead, freezing, and enjoying whenever you want—making mornings a breeze.
For related breakfast treats, you may also like my:
📋 Recipe Notes and Ingredients
You'll find all the details in the printable recipe card below. Here, I'm highlighting some of my favorite ingredients in this fruit crumble that really make it sing.
- Oat crumble - I'm a huge fan of rolled oats (old fashioned oats) in a dish like this. They add texture, flavor, and a bit of fiber and iron to the topping.
- Sliced almonds - Another ingredient in the topping, sliced nuts are excellent additions to crumble recipes. They add a distinct flavor that pairs nicely with the sweet berries. Plus, they also help create a crunchy topping.
- Ground cloves and cinnamon - These two spices smell amazing during baking and add a lot of depth in every bite of this dessert.
- Coconut oil - While my apple and strawberry crisp uses butter in the topping, I wanted to make a dairy-free crumble recipe. For the family members and friends who can't eat or drink dairy, coconut oil is a great alternative to using salted or unsalted butter. It adds an amazing smell and provides the fat needed to moisten the crumble topping.
- Lemon juice - The hint of tartness from lemon juice counterbalances the sweetness of the pears and berries. It also helps preserve the color of the berries, meaning they'll still have a relatively nice, bright color, even after baking.
Substitutions and Variations
The flavor combination of baked pears with blueberries is a good one. But this simple fruit-based dessert is versatile enough to adapt to what you have on hand or what’s in season.
- Berry Substitutions: Swap the blueberries with other fresh fruit like strawberries or blackberries for a different flavor twist.
- Pear Alternatives: If you don’t have fresh pears, apples make a great substitute in this filling, offering a similar texture and sweetness.
- Using Frozen Fruit: Want to enjoy this crumble year-round? Frozen blueberries work well in lieu of fresh berries, making it easy to whip up in winter months, too.
Mix and match based on the seasonal fruit available to you for a personalized touch!
Best Results: Baking in Grams
If you’re not already, use a kitchen scale for accuracy in baking.
While I include cups and grams in my recipe cards, weighing your ingredients and writing or following a recipe using a standard metric like grams ensures consistency.
I highly recommend investing $30 or less in a kitchen scale.
📖 Step-by-Step Instructions for this Crumble
Preheat oven to 350˚F while you prep the recipe.
Prepare Pears for your Fruit Filling: Peel and chop your pears into chunks that are between ¼ – ½ inch thick.
Mix Dry Ingredients for Filling: In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the flour, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, and granulated sugar.
Combine Fruit and Dry Ingredients: To that mixing bowl, add chopped pears and fresh blueberries with your vanilla extract and lemon juice. Stir to evenly coat the fruit mixture with your dry ingredient mixture. Transfer to a 9 by 2 ½ - inch pie dish.
Make Crumble Topping: In a separate medium-sized bowl, mix together the old-fashioned oats, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and ground cinnamon. Pour melted coconut oil over the crumble mixture. Work the oil into the topping until it’s moist and resembles wet sand.
Add Topping and Bake: Add crumble topping to the fruit. Bake uncovered at 350˚F for 50-55 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and fruit juices are bubbling at the edges. If you’re quiet, you can hear the bubbling sounds - that’s when it’s done!
Cool Before Serving: Let the blueberry pear crisp rest for at least 15 minutes before serving.
❓Recipe FAQ for this Fruit Crumble
According to Savoryonline, these options are all baked fruit dishes topped with some kind of pastry.
However, baked biscuits usually top cobblers.
Crumbles and crisps are similar, each covered with a crumbly streusel-like topping.
However, it used to be that oats were included in the topping and would make the dish crisp as it bakes. But often nowadays, people interchangeably use the terms "crumble" and "crisp."
I used Bosc pears here. They soften while baking but still hold their shape. I like that they're not mushy and still have a nice texture.
According to this article from Spruce Eats, Bosc are the best pears. Anjou pears do well for baking, as well as Concorde and French butter pears.
Some crisp and crumble recipes call for brown sugar in the topping because it gives it more moisture.
However, if you prefer a crispier, crunchier topping, try tweaking the recipe by substituting some granulated sugar for the called for brown sugar.
The topping will be be paler and crunchier because it won't have the color that comes from using brown sugar, though. It all depends on your personal preferences.
Freezing and Refrigerating
Cool Completely: After baking, let your pear blueberry crisp cool to room temperature on a cooling rack.
Cover and Store: If you plan to serve this pear and blueberry crumble later, cover the pie dish with foil, plastic wrap, or a lid to prevent it from absorbing other food scents in the refrigerator. It'll still taste good stored there for 2-3 days.
Freeze Individual Portions: Scoop portions into airtight containers and freeze. Reheat gently in the microwave when ready to serve.
Freezing Before Baking: Assemble the dish, cover it with plastic wrap and foil, and freeze for up to 2 months. When you're ready to bake it, thaw it in the fridge overnight. Let it sit at room temperature for half an hour before baking to avoid cracking the dish.
💡 Tips for Serving this Blueberry and Pear Crumble
Serve Fresh: Let the crisp cool for at least 15 minutes on a cooling rack before serving. Use a spatula or wooden spoon to scoop portions.
Reheat: For day two, reheat portions in the microwave. Scoop the desired amount from the dish onto individual plates and heat until warmed through.
Add a Topping: Top with whipped cream, scoop of vanilla ice cream, or yogurt for an extra touch.
Flavor Note: The fruit juices thicken as the crisp cools, making it even more flavorful the next day!
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More Breakfast and Brunch Ideas
Blueberry and Pear Crumble
Use frozen or fresh fruit to make this blueberry and pear crumble. Covered with a crumble topping made from old fashioned oats, it's a winner!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 65 minutes
- Yield: 1 9-inch baked crumble 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Pear Blueberry Filling
- 4 large pears (I used Bosc), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks that are ¼ – ½ inch thick (870 grams)
- 2 ¼ cups (about 300 grams) blueberries
- ¼ cup (55 grams) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (35 grams) all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp of ground cloves
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 4 tsp lemon juice
Crumble topping
- ⅔ cup (65 grams) old-fashioned oats
- ⅓ cup (45 grams) all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup (65 grams) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal Kosher salt (or ¼ tsp of table salt)
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup (30 grams) sliced almonds
- ⅓ cup + 1 T (75 grams) coconut oil, melted
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350˚F.
- For your filling, peel and chop your pears into chunks that are between ¼ – ½ inch thick
- In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the flour, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, and granulated sugar.
- To that bowl, add chopped pears and blueberries with your vanilla extract and lemon juice. Stir to evenly coat fruit with flour/sugar mixture. Transfer to a 9 by 2 ½ - inch pie dish.
- For your crumble topping, in a medium bowl, mix together the old fashioned oats, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and ground cinnamon. Pour melted coconut oil over the crumble mixture and combine until it’s moist and appears similar to wet sand.
- Top pie dish with crumble topping, and bake uncovered at 350˚F for 50-55 minutes, or until top is golden brown and fruit juices are bubbling at the edges. Let crumble cool at least 15 minutes before serving.
Notes
- This dessert is delicious when reheated on day two. Just scoop the number of servings you need from the dish and heat them up in the microwave on individual plates.
- If desired, add your topping (like whipped cream or ice cream) right before serving.
Please note that the nutritional information is an estimate and based on one serving of this crumble, which would yield approximately 8 servings.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 scoop
- Calories: 231 kcal
- Sugar: 29.8 g
- Sodium: 153 mg
- Fat: 13.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 10.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 50.8 g
- Fiber: 6.5 g
- Protein: 4 g
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