High-Protein Baked Cinnamon Pear with Ricotta & Walnuts — 18g Protein, Under $3
Baked fruit desserts are one of the oldest and most underrated categories in home cooking, and this cinnamon pear version is the one that makes people reconsider what a healthy dessert can be. A ripe pear halved and baked until soft and caramelised, then filled with a creamy ricotta and honey mixture and scattered with crushed walnuts — it is warm, sweet, slightly floral from the pear, and rich from the ricotta in a way that feels genuinely indulgent. At 18 grams of protein and under three dollars, it is also the kind of dessert that passes as a fruit course or a proper sweet finish equally well. Minimal effort, maximum warmth, and genuinely worth making even for one person on a Tuesday.
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C) and line a small baking dish with parchment.
- Halve the pear lengthways and use a small spoon or melon baller to scoop out the core, creating a hollow for the filling.
- Place the pear halves cut-side up in the baking dish.
- Drizzle a little honey over each pear half and dust lightly with cinnamon.
- Bake for 15–18 minutes until the pear is tender when pierced with a knife but still holding its shape. The cut surface should be golden and slightly caramelised.",
- While the pear bakes, mix together the ricotta, honey, cinnamon, and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Remove the pear from the oven and let it cool for 2 minutes.
- Spoon the ricotta mixture generously into the hollow of each pear half.
- Scatter the crushed walnuts over the ricotta.
- Finish with an extra drizzle of honey and a dusting of cinnamon. Serve warm.
Notes
Pears are at their cheapest and best when bought in season — typically autumn — and a single pear provides a full dessert serving at almost negligible cost. Buying them slightly underripe and letting them ripen at room temperature gives you complete control over timing and costs less than buying ready-to-eat pears. A small tub of part-skim ricotta used across dessert and breakfast recipes throughout the week brings the per-serving cost down significantly. Walnuts bought in a small bag cost very little per tablespoon and keep for weeks in a sealed container.
