Pear for Babies

Here's how to safely prepare and serve pear to babies 6 months and up! You can puree or offer as a finger food for baby led weaning.

When Can Babies Eat Pears?

If soft and ripe, pears can be introduced to babies as soon as they’re ready to start solids, usually around 6 months. It’s important to remember that your baby is unique and that rather than going by the calendar, you need to make sure your baby is DEVELOPMENTALLY ready to start solids.

If you’re unsure, be sure to grab this FREE handout!

Health Benefits

Pears are a great source of many vitamins and minerals, including vitamin K and potassium, as well as immune-boosting antioxidants, such as vitamin C.

They’re also a fiber powerhouse, ranking higher than almost every other fruit with 6 grams in just one pear. So next time your baby is constipated, this juicy fruit just may do the trick!

Are Pears Safe for Babies?

As long as the fruit is soft and ripe and is served in an age-appropriate way, it is safe. For kids and adults, slightly ripe but still firm mangoes are ideal as they hold their shape better once cut.

However, for babies, allow the mangoes to get super ripe so it's easy for them to mash with their gums.

Pear allergy is pretty rare as well.

How to Know If Pears are Ripe

An interesting fact! Pear is one of the few fruits that doesn't ripen on the tree! It is harvested when it is not yet ripe and allowed to reach maturity and get sweet and juicy at room temperature.

Apply gentle pressure to the neck of the pear with your thumb. For adults, ideal ripeness is when the area near the stem yields to gentle pressure (but the middle of the pear may remain firm).

For a pear to be safe for serving to babies raw however, the skin and flesh should be soft to the point you can mash between your fingers. If so, slice about the width of your index finger with or without skin

Best Ways to Store

Leave firm, unripe pears at room temperature. You want to check the neck daily. Once it ripens, enjoy immediately or refrigerate to slow down the ripening process. It will keep for 3-5 days.

If you want to speed up the ripening process, place in a paper bag with other ethylene-releasing fruits, like apples and bananas.

How to Serve to Baby (Video Tutorial)

How to Cut pears for Baby Led Weaning

My favorite variety for babies is Bartlett and Comice because they ripen to soft. Bosc and Anjous are firmer and great for steaming.

6+ Months Old

If the pear is ripe, slice about the thickness of your index finger with or without skin. You can also mash with a back of a fork and preload onto a spoon or add to other foods, like oatmeal and yogurt.

If the pear is firm, peel and either:

• Cook. I personally love to steam them. It’s better to keep the pieces large as they will shrink during cooking. If they are too thin, they will get easily crushed in baby’s hands.
  • They will be be quite slippery so try rolling in hemp seeds, ground flaxseeds, nuts, finely shredded coconut, etc. to help with the grip as well as provide a nutrient boost.
  • Mash and add to other foods as suggested above.
• Grate using a box grater

A note on skin: Keep in mind, as with many fruits and vegetables, most of the nutrients in pears are found in the skin. It is safe to leave on if the skin and flesh are really ripe and soft.

Your baby may spit it out, but this is great texture exposure nonetheless! For crisper pears with thicker skin, be sure to peel and cook or grate. You can leave it on when serving a very thin slice to an older baby, but always follow your heart and comfort level.

9+ Months Old

If the pear is ripe and the skin and flesh are super soft, you can dice into bite-sized pieces.

With firm pears, in addition to the suggestions above, you can thinly slice (with or without skin).

EASY pear recipes for baby

Iron is essential for baby’s brain, body, and immune system development. There are two types of iron - heme (found in animal products) and nonheme (found in plant foods). Heme iron is absorbed much more readily compared to nonheme iron.

Therefore, if your family is vegetarian or your baby doesn’t like meat, poultry, or seafood, you may be concerned that your baby is at risk for iron deficiency.

The good news is there are so many great plant-based iron sources. Just remember to always combine them with vitamin C rich foods, like pears, to enhance iron absorption.

Related: Best Iron-rich Foods for Babies

Pear Hummus

You can serve in a bowl with a spoon, although most likely your baby will dive right in with their hands. Embrace the mess! It's an important part of learning to self-feed. You can also preload onto a spoon and hand it over.

Here are our favorite baby bowl/plate and spoons!

You can also spread the hummus on toasted bread, or stir into oatmeal, lentils, quinoa, or yogurt.

Check out the recipe below!

Lentils with Pear

There's no need to measure anything!

Related: How to Cook Lentils for Babies

Pear Oatmeal

Serve as-is or shape into balls to make it easier for babies to eat with their hands. Add some shelled hemp seeds for a boost of iron, protein, and fat.

If the pear is ripe enough that you can mash the flesh between your fingers, you can dice with skin on for babies 9+ months. Depending on your comfort level, you can leave the skin on. It’s where most of the nutrients are and will make it easier for baby to grip the slippery pieces.

Related: Homemade Baby Oatmeal

Edamame Pear Guacamole

This is another no recipe recipe. Simply mash ripe avocado with mashed or grated pear.

Cooked pear is quite slippery so roll in hemp seeds, ground flaxseeds, nuts, finely shredded coconut, etc. to help with the grip as well as provide a nutrient boost.

Nuts and Seeds for Babies

You May Also Be Interested In:

• Mango for Babies
• Beetroot for Babies
• Butternut Squash for Babies
• How to Cook Chicken Perfectly for Babies
• How to Cook Broccoli

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