Stuffed Roasted Pears Appetizer with Bacon, Blue Cheese & Walnuts
Home » COOK » Recipes » Recipes By Course » Appetizers & Starters »Be sure to serve this Stuffed Roasted Pears Appetizer on a bed of arugula to add vibrant color to your festive dinner table. The pears are filled with blue cheese, bacon, and walnuts and an absolute taste sensation.
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Stuffed Roasted Pears Appetizer
The full ingredients list and instructions are found in the printable recipe card at the end of this post. I highly recommend reading the blog post all the way through so that you don’t miss any tips or substitution suggestions and ensure that you have all the ingredients and equipment required and understand the steps and timings involved.
Roasted pears are a delicious and versatile recipe that can be easily adapted with your favorite flavors.
In this version, the pears are stuffed with bacon, blue cheese, toasted walnuts, and drizzled with a balsamic reduction for the perfect savory appetizer.
Other combos you could try are goat cheese, dried cranberries, and pecans; or Feta, pistachios, and dried figs.
You could serve two pear halves as a tasty light main dish if desired too.
Ingredients & Equipment Used In This Recipe
While most ingredients can be bought in grocery stores, for your convenience, any specialized or notable ingredients and equipment needed for this recipe have been listed below and linked to Amazon or other stores if available online.
It may not include staple ingredients such as oil, salt, sugar, etc., as you’re likely to have those in your kitchen. The complete list of ingredients with measurements is found in the recipe card.
- Protein – Thick-Cut Bacon
- Fresh Produce – Bartlett or Williams Pears, Arugula
- Dairy – Blue Cheese
- Walnuts
- Honey – try to buy locally produced honey when possible.
- Balsamic Vinegar
Recipes on The Purple Pumpkin Blog use both cup measurements and/or weighted measurements. American cups and kitchen food scales are handy pieces of equipment to have in your kitchen as it means you’ll be able to make all of the different recipes on my blog. I try to give American, imperial, and metric measurements in my recipes. Please note, you can mix cup measurements with weighted measurements, but never mix imperial (pounds, ounces, pints, etc.,) with metric (kilograms, grams, litres, etc.,).
More Recipes Using Blue Cheese
One of the hero ingredients in this dish is blue cheese, so here are some more recipes using the same:
- Iceberg Lettuce Wedge Salad with Bacon & Blue Cheese Dressing
- Apple Walnut Salad with White Balsamic Vinaigrette
- How To Set Up An Easy Cheese Board For A Dinner Party
More Starter/Appetizer Recipes
Looking for more starters to make? Check these recipes out next:
- How To Assemble a Mediterranean Meze Platter for Easy Entertaining
- How to Make the Ultimate Warm Spinach Artichoke Dip
- How to Assemble An Italian Charcuterie Board For Parties & Entertaining
Recipe Tips
- When cooking bacon in the microwave, for best results, place the bacon on a plate lined with paper towels. Top with additional paper towels and microwave for approximately 4 minutes, or just until crispy. Actual time will vary by unit, so check after two minutes and adjust final cook time accordingly.
How Do I Make Stuffed Roasted Pears?
Check out the printable recipe card below with full ingredients and instructions. Any demonstration photos do not print out to save your ink.
Stuffed Roasted Pears with Bacon, Blue Cheese & Walnuts
Ingredients
- 3 oz 85g blue cheese, crumbled
- 4 slices thick-cut bacon cooked crispy and crumbled
- ⅓ cup walnuts finely chopped
- 3 large Bartlett or Williams pears
- 3 Tbsp honey divided
- 1 cup balsamic vinegar
- 3 cups fresh arugula rocket
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6.
- Combine the blue cheese, crispy bacon, and chopped walnuts in a medium bowl and stir to combine. Set aside.
- Cut the pears in half from stem to bottom and carefully scoop out seeds and inside flesh with a spoon to create a cavity. Do not cut all the way through to the outside while doing so.
- Carefully slice off a small section on the backside, as shown, so the pear halves will sit flat while baking. Place in a baking dish and set aside.
- Roughly chop the removed pear flesh and add to the blue cheese mixture. Stir to combine and set aside.
- Drizzle the inside of the pears with half the honey and place the baking dish in the center of the preheated oven. Roast for 30 minutes, then remove the baking dish from the oven.
- Divide the blue cheese mixture equally between the pear halves and drizzle with the remaining honey. Return the baking dish to the oven for another 15 minutes, or until the blue cheese is completely melted and the pears are fork-tender.
- While the pears are roasting, heat the vinegar in a small skillet set over medium heat. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently until the vinegar thickens and is reduced to 1/3 of its original volume. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Remove baking dish from oven and cool slightly. Divide the arugula between six serving plates and top each with a stuffed pear. Drizzle with the warm balsamic glaze and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Notes
- Tip: For best results, place the bacon on a plate lined with paper towels. Top with additional paper towels and microwave for approximately 4 minutes, or just until crispy. Actual time will vary by unit, so check after two minutes and adjust final cook time accordingly.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is always approximate and will depend on the quality of ingredients used and serving sizes. If you need exact calories and macros, please do your own calculations.
Make It A Holiday Dinner!
You’ve made the appetizer, but what about the rest of the courses?
Here are additional recipes to make a full meal for a holiday dinner party!
- Soup: Oven-Roasted Fall Harvest Soup with Butternut Squash & Apples
- Salad: Roasted Artichoke and White Bean Salad with Swiss Chard
- Main Dish: Maple-Balsamic Pork Chops in 20 Minutes!
- Side Dish: Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes – A Quick & Tasty Side Dish
- Beverage: Christmas Margaritas
- Dessert: Ginger Nut Truffles
There are 500+ Recipes on The Purple Pumpkin Blog for you to enjoy – please feel free to check them out too.