Gluten Free Pear Crumble

Nothing beats a deliciously spiced Gluten Free Pear Crumble in my eyes. With warming cinnamon and ginger and a buttery, crumbly topping, this is pure perfection. Gluten free crumble is possibly my favourite autumn dessert and this Pear Crumble tops the lot!

I adore a Pear Crumble recipe. Ever since I made my first gluten free pear crumble in food tech allll those years ago, it’s always my gluten free crumble of choice.

Sure, I love a gluten free apple crumble like the rest of us, but there’s something about the sweetness of pears that is just *so* good in a crumble recipe.

And this Spiced Pear Crumble has the warming flavours of cinnamon and ginger which make your house smell insanely good while it bakes.

Making crumble is like a pilgrimage to autumn – to me it’s the mark of the changing seasons and of course, the perfect time to find ripe pears in the shops.

Plus gluten free flour makes a very good crumble topping, so actually your friends and family will never be able to tell this pear crumble is gluten free!

Once you’ve tried this, be sure to check out my Pear and Chocolate Crumble for a special treat, and my gluten free rhubarb and pear crumble too.

Ingredients

There’s a printable recipe card for this Pear Crumble recipe below. But for the shopping list you will need…

• Pears: I have made this Pear Crumble with both conference pears and dessert pears. In fact, any pear works! Just make sure they are ripe – but not overripe.
• Light Brown Sugar: This caramelises the pear filling to perfection.
• Ground Cinnamon
• Ground Ginger

For the gluten free crumble topping:

• Gluten Free Self-Raising Flour: I always use the FREEE gluten free self-raising flour, the Asda self-raising flour or Juvela’s white mix. If you only have plain gluten free flour simply add 1.5 tsp baking powder and mix well to make your own self rising flour.
• Unsalted Butter: This makes the best crumble topping in my opinion! If you need your crumble to be dairy free / vegan, just swap this for a hard vegan butter substitute.
• Light Brown Sugar: I love the slightly caramelised flavour this gives the crumble topping. You can use caster sugar (bakers sugar or superfine sugar in the US) if you prefer, or this is all you have to hand.

How to make Pear Crumble

There’s a printable recipe card below with the method. But here are some step-by-step photos to show you how easy this gluten free spiced Pear Crumble is to make:

Preheat the oven to 180’C / Fan 160C / Gas Mark 4. You will need a 20cm round pie dish (or equivalent) for the crumble.

Peel and core the pears then cut into 1-2cm chunks. You want enough to cover the base of the pie dish in a thick layer with no gaps.

Place the pear chunks in the pie dish and then add the sugar, cinnamon and ginger. Mix together then set to one side.

Make the crumble by adding the butter, sugar and flour into a large mixing bowl. Use your fingers to rub the mix together until it forms a breadcrumb consistency.

Pour the gluten free crumble mixture over the fruit, making sure the fruit is all covered.

Place the crumble in the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes until the topping is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling underneath.

You want the fruit to be soft but with a little bite. Remove from the oven and serve hot with custard or vanilla ice-cream.

Variations

If you want to change things up a little with this spiced pear crumble, here are some suggestions for variations on this recipe:

• Granola Crumble Topping: When I originally published this recipe back in 2016 I included a couple of handfuls of gluten free granola in the topping. This adds a lovely texture especially if the granola has nuts and seeds in.
• Oaty Crumble Topping: I know a lot of people with coeliac disease cannot tolerate oats so I’ve made this an oat-free crumble. But you could add some gluten free oats for extra texture in the crumble topping.
• Extra Ginger: For something extra special and a bit fiery, try adding some chopped stem ginger in syrup to the pears. It’ll make them a bit spicier but so delicious.
• Apple and Pear: Mix it up and try a mixture of apple and pear in your crumble base. Both fruits work equally well with the cinnamon and ginger spices.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some FAQs about this easy pear crumble. If you can’t find the answer to your question here or in the post above, please comment and I’ll try answer!

If you make this recipe and love it, please do let me know by tagging me on my Instagram or using #theglutenfreeblogger. You can also share your creations in my Facebook group! And please do leave a 5* review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ to let others know you loved it too! It would mean the world to me and really helps support my website.