I have Friendsgiving on my mind. Not Thanksgiving and its boring, beige, turkey-mashed-potatoes-and-gravy plates, but the boozy Thanksgiving-with-friends edition that we call Friendsgiving. Friendsgiving features turkey, of course, but also offers many colorful, vegetarian sides and at least two pies. At least.
I’m attending two Friendsgivings this year: one this weekend and one the next, which will be shortly followed by the real Thanksgiving with my family. I’ll be rolling into December in my stretchy pants.
I thought I’d share this pear and cranberry crisp in time for your Friendsgiving(s) and Thanksgiving feasts. No, it’s not pie, but it’s fresh, simple and gluten free. The recipe is based off this summer’s popular strawberry rhubarb crisp. I filled it with fall-appropriate pears (apples would also be great) and tart cranberries, which sweeten up as they bake. I also mixed in some walnuts, brown butter and spices for even more fall flavor.
I wanted to be able to share this dessert with my gluten-free friends, so I searched around for gluten-free topping substitutions. I found my friend Dana’s recipe, which had similar proportions and called for almond meal instead of wheat flour in the topping. So simple!
Now then, to peel or not peel the pears. That is the question. I did not peel my pears. However, I later wished that I had peeled the pears because I found the texture of the skin to be a little distracting. My friends did not. I’ll say it’s up to you, but I would peel the pears if I were you. I think a vegetable peeler would be the easiest way to go about it.
Gluten-Free Pear Cranberry Crisp
- Author: Cookie and Kate
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 55 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 6 to 8 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Honey-sweetened pears and cranberries with a gluten-free oat and almond meal topping. Feel free to substitute apples for the pears if you prefer. This simple dessert is perfect for holidays or any cold day, really!
Ingredients
Pear cranberry (or apple) filling
- 4 large Bartlett pears or Granny Smith apples (about 2 pounds), peeled, cored and sliced into small bite-sized pieces
- 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
- ⅓ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot starch or 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
Gluten-free walnut, oat and almond meal topping
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats (certified gluten-free if necessary)
- ½ cup packed almond meal or almond flour
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- ⅓ cup lightly packed brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons plain yogurt (Greek or regular)
Don’t forget the vanilla ice cream!
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a 9 by 9-inch baking dish, mix together the pears (or apples), cranberries, honey, arrowroot or cornstarch, lemon juice, ginger and cinnamon.
- Optional: brown the butter for a more complex flavor. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Swirl the pan by the handle often so the butter doesn’t splatter. Continue to heat the butter, swirling frequently, until you see little brown flecks in the bottom of the pan (this will take about three minutes).
- In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the oats, almond meal or flour, walnuts, brown sugar and salt. Mix in the Greek yogurt and browned butter (or melted butter). Stir until all of the flour is incorporated and the mixture is moistened throughout.
- Dollop spoonfuls of the oat mixture over the filling and use your fingers to break up the mixture until it is evenly distributed (no need to pack it down). Bake until the filling is bubbling around the edges, the top is turning lightly golden and most of the cranberries have burst, 40 to 55 minutes. Let the crisp rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Serve with vanilla ice cream, I insist.
Notes
Adapted from Minimalist Baker’s gluten-free strawberry nectarine crisp and my strawberry rhubarb crisp.
Make it nut free: Omit the walnuts and use ¾ cup whole wheat flour and ¾ cup oats instead of the almond meal and oats specified above. It will no longer be gluten free. If you want to keep it gluten free, I suspect that you could replace the almond meal with oat flour or more oats (haven’t tried that, please comment if you do!).
Make it dairy free/vegan: I believe you could use melted coconut oil in place of the browned butter/yogurt (use 4 tablespoons coconut oil and add up to 3 more, until the topping mixture is moistened throughout) and maple syrup instead of the honey. I haven’t tried it, though.
What’s arrowroot starch? Arrowroot starch is a great thickener to use in place of corn starch, which is often genetically modified. It’s gluten free, too. Look for it in the baking section of well-stocked grocery stores or buy it online.
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
Lia
I’m remaking those individual pear crisps today but this is going on the list for next week!! I’m a fresh cranberry fiend this time of year!
Kate
That’s great, Lia! Me too, I absolutely love fresh cranberries in the cold months. Forget raspberries!
Shel@PeachyPalate
Good call leaving the skins on! Makes it look so much prettier! I’ve never heard of anyone adding Greek yoghurt to a crumble topping but it looks incredible! What do you reckon would be a good sub to make it vegan?
Kate
I used yogurt in place of some of the butter, but I think you could just use vegan butter or coconut oil as specified, then add more until the topping comes together.
Vicki @ WITC
This looks so delicious! I love all things crumble and crisp. I’m having a friendsgiving next week and this would be amazing for dessert!
Antonia
Adding frozen yoghurt is such a great idea. I’ll have to try that as well! Your pictures are gorgeous!!
Harriet
This looks ridiculously simply and delicious. Fruit-based desserts are my favourite for finishing off a big holiday meal!
Laura
Yum! I love the pear-cranberry combo… And such lovely photos to boot!
Skye
This looks so tasty. Crisp and warming, but nuttier than a traditional crumble. Love the idea of friendsgiving, by the way, and lots of pies…
Hillary
I think I just found my Thanksgiving contribution!
Laura (Tutti Dolci)
I love pear + cranberry desserts, and then you added brown butter. Swoon!
Grace
Lovely! I be honest I’ve never baked with cranberries. I’ll have to give this a try. Friends giving is really the best isn’t it?
Kate
The best! Oh, you have to try baking with cranberries soon. They’re lovely.
Honey,What's Cooking
such a great recipe Kate… I love that you didn’t put a crazy ton of butter, I’ve seen ridiculous versions of this recipe. I love Apple Crisp, will have to try Pear Crisp, but I absolutely love the addition of cranberries. So festive!
Kate
Thanks! I replaced some of the butter with yogurt, which lends a nice tang.
Rochelle
I’m loving thoses beautiful colours you’ve got goin on here. Love the fact you added brown butter too. Yum yum yum
Katrina @ Warm Vanil
Friendsgiving is so fun!! Also, I love this dessert – perfect for Thanksgiving and Christmas!
Angie
Looks like it’s a great combination of flavors and textures. It looks delicious too! I love the lighting in the photos.
Rachel @YonderWild
This sounds like a great combo! Yum
Katy
Absolutely lovely. I remember your strawberry rhubarb crisp and I bet this is a wonderful variation of it. I haven’t made a crisp in a while, and I think it’s about time. I might try those vegan suggestions you listed, I bet they would taste great with pears and cranberries.
Kate
Thanks, Katy! Crisps are my fruity dessert of choice since they’re so easy to make. Please let me know if you try the crisp with the vegan suggestions!
Joanne
I think I have, like, FIVE Friendsgivings to go to this year so stretchy jeans shall definitely be necessary. Especially if i’m going to place myself in the near vicinity of this crisp. BIG yum.
Kate
Five?! That’s like Thanksgiving all month long! Sounds delicious.
marcie
This crisp looks so delicious — here’s to Friendsgiving!
Tammela
Pear and cranberry…what a great combination. This sounds glorious.
Jordan
This looks so festive and delicious! I think I’ve found one of my Thanksgiving desserts for this year. :)
Live Local Greens
This looks delicious! Such festive flavours! Do you think frozen cranberries would work just as well? Easier to get hold of….
Kate
Yes, I think they would work great! Just throw the frozen cranberries in with the pear pieces.
dishing up the dirt
Beautiful recipe! I’m going to give this a go at my in-laws house on Turkey Day!
Christine Somers
What about skipping the ice cream, use only a quarter cup of brown sugar and serve for breakfast?
Kate
Great idea! You could add Greek yogurt for substance if you’d like.
Ali
Gorgeous!! I love that your crew does Friendsgivings too. I’m all for stretching this holiday (especially with the boozy food) as long as possible. :)
Alexe @ Keys to the
This looks amazing and your photos are just beautiful!
Liz
What a great combo…my son will love it! :)
Stefanie
I love Friendsgiving! Ours is after Thanksgiving so I am sure I will be wearing stretchy pants too! Oh and I am soooooo bringing this for dessert!
Katie @ Produce on P
This is so genius! What is a Friendsgiving? I’ve never heard of it!
Kate
Friendsgiving is Thanksgiving with friends! It’s the best!
Emily
Hi Kate! I’ve been reading your blog for awhile now so I just first wanted to drop in and say hi! I absolutely love this post – photos are beautiful and this crisp is the perfect friends-giving recipe. It’s refreshing to come across a dessert that’s healthier.
Secondly, you’ve inspired me to start a blog of my own – TheCheerfulChew.com – and wanted to let you know you’re on my “Favorite Links” list!
Hopefully we’ll meet in the near future! Cheers!
Kate
Hey Emily! Thanks for stopping to say hi! Your new website is lovely.
Elizabeth
This recipe looks so gorgeous and perfect for a relaxing, fun dinner with friends. We’ve always had Friendsgiving on actual Thanksgiving, but now that I’m so close to family, I’m thinking a true Friendsgiving might be in order. Cheers to all of your feasts!
Kate
Thank you, Elizabeth! I hope you’ll throw a Friendsgiving this year. The more holiday feasts, the better, if you ask me!
Kasey
Gosh, I love Friendsgiving, though this year may be the first time we won’t be doing one :( I may just have to make this for our family meal! Have a wonderful part 1 of 3. Nothing wrong with rolling towards December in your stretchy pants!!
lindsay
yummm… perfect for all the extra ingredient i have on hand right now (including the bag of cranberries i got to make your cranberry-maple skillet cornbread – so good!).
for my vegan cooking i usually just sub earth balance for butter and it turns out great! (used a stick of Earth Balance instead in the cornbread too)
Kate
Thanks, Lindsay! Glad you’re enjoying the cornbread. I made some this weekend!
sasha
made this IT ROCKED
Kate
Yes! Glad to hear it! Thanks, Sasha.
Karen
This looks delish! I’m wondering if I could use maple syrup in place of the brown sugar…Not sure what quantity tho.
Kate
Hey Karen, it might be easier to just skip the syrup in the topping and add a little more honey or maple syrup to the filling. I’m not sure how the added moisture from the liquid sweetener would affect the topping.
Mindy
Made this for thanksgiving and it was an absolute hit! Didn’t even reach for the pumpkin pie after. Thanks for a great recipe!
Kate
Yes! Really happy to hear it, Mindy. Thank you for commenting. :)
Jess
I made this yesterday and it was wonderful! I wouldn’t change a thing! Thank you so much for sharing. I think I have finally found my “go-to” dessert, to add to my little cooking repertoire :)
Oh- and that pretty little spoon in your picture- I have the same silverware! It was meant to be. Now I’m going to comb through your recipes and see what other treasures are on here!
Kate
Jess, I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed the crisp so much! Thank you for commenting. That silverware came from my grandmother. I love using her cooking utensils in my photos. :)
Quinn
Hi Kate!
This recipe is sooo tasty! I made it for my mom’s birthday dessert and it was absolutely scrumptious.
Kate
Quinn, I’m so glad you enjoyed the crisp! Thank you!
Louise
Hi Kate
Old fashioned oats are not gluten free, please change the recipe.
Regards,Louise
Kate
Hi Louise, I’m sorry for the confusion, but oats are gluten free: http://www.cureceliacdisease.org/archives/faq/do-oats-contain-gluten
Linda
The key is to find oats that are processed in a plant that is gluten free. You can count on steel cut Irish oatmeal but many American brands do not guarantee that they are gluten free.
Am excited to try this!
Cheryl Greninger
Although oats are gluten-free, when they are processed, they can be contaminated. Also, wheat and oats are often grown in adjoining fields where errant seeds can grow and contaminate the crop. No person with celiac disease will eat oats that are not certified gluten-free. People who don’t battle this can really hurt a person. Please do some research for your blog!!
Dawn
This looks delicious & I hope to make it soon. Is it ok to sub AP flour for the almond flour?
Kate
Hey Dawn! I’d try using 3/4 cup oats and 3/4 cup flour. That should work.
KMS
This has become a go to holiday recipe for us. It’s hard to find gluten free, refined sugar free deserts that taste delicious. I just replaced the brown sugar with coconut sugar and you’d never know. I’ve also made it with apples and cranberries and did the strawberry rhubarb crisp filling from your site, but with this topping. All were fantastic. :-)
Kate
Thank you! Great idea to replace the brown sugar with coconut sugar, I’ll do that next time. Yum!
Paula O'Brien
Hi! Looks delicious. I’m planning to make the GF apple crisp for my book club tomorrow. Can I assemble tonight and bake it tomorrow? Thanks so much!
Kate
Paula, I’m so sorry I didn’t answer quick enough. I bet that would work!
Leslie
This is fabulous! Started getting brown at 45 min. I agree that it would be great for breakfast too. I have never cooked with pears before and will now add them to my winter fruit favorites. Thanks!
Kate
Thanks, Leslie! Glad to hear it!
Myra
This was delicious and so pretty with the cranberries. Thank you for so many great recipes. I love your blog!
Jennifer
I would like to make this the day before to take it somewhere. Does it reheat well?
Kristen Hill
Made this recipe tonight and wow it was amazing!
Deborah Mickler
Doubled this recipe for Christmas brunch. 7 pears and 1 apple. What I had on hand. Beautiful and delicious. (We had to have a taste…I mean a helping.)
Your recipes have been my go-to for the last couple of years. Your dishes are full of flavor and always look so pretty. Looking forward to saying thank you by purchasing your book for friends and family. So happy for your success. You always make vegetarian yummy.
Cheryl Greninger
You might want to mention that you have to use gluten-free oats in the recipe for those who are trying to make a gluten-free dessert for someone else. Regular oats can be contaminated with wheat (in the field and in processing) and that is a serious issue for many.
Kate
Hi Cheryl, thanks for pointing that out. I generally do make notes about certified gluten-free oats but it looks like this one is missing one. I’ll fix it now.
PGalo
This recipe was delicious. I used fresh picked pears from my neighbor’s tree and defrosted cranberries since I couldn’t get fresh. The pears were small and thin skinned so I used 10 and kept the skin on and they were still so tender. I did use Greek yogurt for two but will make the last one without since I don’t have any more. P Making my neighbor a batch right now and going to make one more to share at work!
Kate
What lucky neighbors and coworkers you have, P! Your version sounds excellent. I hope everyone enjoys the crisp!
Karen Smith
Do you think you could make this in the instant pot?
Kate
I believe the instant pot has recommendations on how to convert recipes. I am not as familiar with this process and haven’t tested this recipe, but let me know how it goes if you try it!
Angela A
Question: when you say “old-fashioned oats” is that the quick-cook kind, the medium-cook, or the long cook? I have two kinds of rolled oats that are either supposed to cook for 1) 1 minute or 2) 10-20 minutes. I’m guessing it makes a difference which kind I use!
Kate
Yes it will! Not quick cooking. I would say the medium cook – make sure they are flat. If that makes sense?
Virginia E Moss
I made the gluten free pear cranberry crisp and it was fantastic! I have made your apple crisp before and it was very good. Too. Thank you! I’m celiac and love these recipes. How do I get a copy of them? Are they in one of your cookbooks? For some reason I’m unable to print them.
Kate
I’m glad you loved this one! You can print these off the blog. You need to make sure you allow the pop-ups as once you click the print icon, it will open a new tab. I hope this helps, Virginia!
Sarah
Make this every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Delicious for dessert or breakfast.
Kate
What a great dish to have during the holidays! Thanks for sharing, Sarah.
Amy Estes
Wow this looks amazing! I love the pop of color from the addition of the cranberries.
Kate
Thank you!
Stephanie
Would I be able to assemble this ahead of time, freeze it, and then reheat it, or would it lose a little something? If freezing is an option, what would you recommend for reheating?
Kate
I haven’t tried so I’m not exactly sure. I would be concerned about the crisp getting soggy. If you do try, I would reheat in the oven so you can maintain the crispy.
Hilary S Laing
This crisp is perfect!! I typically make your apple crisp, but I had a surplus of pears. I used comice pears and substituted rhubarb for the cranberries because I needed to use up some rhubarb. I think I would have preferred the cranberries. I now know to use your topping no matter what goes underneath!!
Allie
I made this for the first time a few weeks ago and then decided to have it as my birthday “cake” a few days ago. It was a perfect healthier alternative and everyone loved it!
The first time I made it I used pears and corn starch and I felt like there was actually too much corn starch. The second time I made it with Granny Smith apples and no thickener and it was perfection!
Yum!
Christy Johnson
So so so delicious!! I’ve made this a few times this fall and it’s been enjoyed by all every time. Thank you! I recently discovered your website and everything I’ve made has been fabulous!
Edie
Great recipe! Thanks! Made it last night for a friend get together! I had CRAISINS so I dropped the honey down to 1/4 cup and cornstarch to 2 tablespoons. Worked great!
And I made it NUT FREE (sort of) by using shredded coconut for both the walnuts and almond flour. I ground a bit using my immersion blender. Served it at a girls night and toddler play group and a brunch (with plain Greek yogurt as apposed to the vanilla ice creami served at the others). Always a hit!
Thanks again!!!
Kate
You’re welcome! Thank you for sharing, Edie.
tina d
I made the blueberry crisp last week, which was excellent. I left the yogurt out of the topping and I really liked the way the topping came out. I didn’t love this pear crisp for two reasons: there wasn’t enough liquid in the fruit filling, so the pears never really softened completed, even though it was in the oven for 55 minute; and also, this time I included the yogurt in the topping and it came out too clumpy.
Jennifer
I tried this recipe because I had cranberries in my freezer. I made the apple version and it was a hit. So much so that I wrote the recipe down in case it one day is removed from the internet.
BEVERLY DEWELL
I made this today for our once a week healthy dessert. It is fabulous. I followed the directions except I used coconut oil in place of butter, and coconut sugar in place of the brown sugar…it did not compromise the flavor. A winner!!
Jeanette
This was a hit with my family – especially my kids- even my middle kid who doesn’t like a lot of fruit outside the typical apple, oranges and bananas. I had small pears so used for a few more – so glad you added weight too. Loved additional of yogurt instead of more butter. Thanks!
Nicole
This was delicious! I used half honey half maple syrup in the filling, and used pecans instead of walnuts. Very yummy as a change up from the usual apple crisp in the cold months.
Kelly
Looks beautiful and looks tasty as well!
Question re: the flour
My friend has a gluten allergy and almond and….chick pea… and tapioca allergy (goodness). Can I use rice flour for this recipe instead?
Thank you!
Kelly
Kate
Hi! I haven’t tried it, sorry. Maybe oat flour, but I can’t say for sure without trying it.
Jenny
I have a 5 year old son with Celiac disease so I am always on the hunt for good gluten free recipes. The whole family loved this dish and we didn’t even have ice cream with it. Thanks for sharing this truly delicious recipe : )
Kate
I’m delighted this one was enjoyed, Jenny! Thank you for your review.
Ann
have made this before and it was amazing. I am going to make it again but I need to do as much as this as possible in advance. how would you do it? What can I do ahead of time?
Thank you!
Kate
Hi Ann, I haven’t made it ahead of time. You could try mixing the topping ahead of time. I would caution mixing the filling to far ahead of time though so the starch doesn’t clump.
Amy
I made this with granny smith apples and it is delicious! I may be eating some for breakfast right now, topped with plain greek yogurt rather than ice cream :)
Kate
Thank you for sharing, Amy!
Martha P Childers
I LOVE this recipe. It’s the perfect blend of sweet and sour. All my friends and neighbors who have had it, love it, too. It’s challenging to find yummy cranberry recipes, and this does the trick! One tip– pears that aren’t very ripe leave a crunchier texture. I prefer ripe pears, because they’re sweeter. Both are good.
Kate
I’m glad you loved it, Martha! Thank you for your review.
Patty
Great opportunity to use the fruits I had–I did pears and apples, mixed, since I didn’t have enough of each. Made 9 servings, great with ice cream. Very popular.
Kate
Great to hear, Patty! I appreciate your review.
Jo Sandoval
1st attempt at a gluten-free crisp, easy peasy. the only minus is waiting for the crisp to cool.
Denise
Can I make this in advance
Kate
It’s best right away. Let me know if you try it!
Allie
My store had zero fresh cranberries– not even frozen! I improvised by adding a cup of canned whole cranberry sauce and omitted the honey since the cranberry sauce has sugar in it. Needed to use up some pears and this solution worked very well in a pinch! Probably better with fresh cranberries though. Will try doing that next time. It was delicious anyway.
Kate
Thank you for your review, Allie!
Heidi
I made this recipe twice this weekend (once for a dinner party and once for my family) and it was terrific both times! I did not have any gluten sensitive eaters and so used regular flour and it worked great. I did peel my Bosc pears, but would probably have left the skin on if I had used green pears. Everyone loved the sweet with the tart and I even had several people who rarely eat dessert take seconds!