Fall

Warm Braised Pineapple

by:
March 19, 2015
4.7
3 Ratings
Warm Braised Pineapple
Photo by Bobbi Lin
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

This is my favorite quick dessert. It always impresses, and I can either make it at home or grab a few ingredients on my way to a friend's house for dinner and pop it in the oven while we relax and enjoy a meal and company. Because the pineapple slowly braises with sugar and spices in the oven, the cook time is forgiving, leaving you to enjoy friendship and a cocktail without having to worry over baking. It can be served with scoops of your favorite ice cream, a dollop of Greek yogurt, or some good old-fashioned whipped cream. —deensie

Test Kitchen Notes

WHO: Deensie is a brand new member of Food52—with a killer recipe out of the gate.
WHAT: A simple, batchable dessert for summer entertaining and lazy weeknights alike.
HOW: Peel and quarter a pineapple, then braise it for two hours, topped with brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and orange zest. Waste no time spooning it over vanilla ice cream.
WHY WE LOVE IT: We often fall into habitual ways of eating our favorite summer produce—berries go into pie, pineapple is served raw, and strawberries get a dollop of whipped cream. This recipe breaks the mold and shows us just how wonderful a sweet, warm pineapple can be. —The Editors

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 pineapple
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 4 cinnamon sticks
  • 1 orange
  • 4 tablespoons butter
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 300° F. Trim the pineapple from its skin and cut it into quarters, length-wise, from the top to bottom. Core the pineapple and lay each quarter down on its cut belly in a 8- by 12-inch baking dish.
  2. Sprinkle the top of each quarter evenly with the brown sugar and lay a stick of cinnamon over each half.
  3. Use a vegetable peeler to zest strips of orange over the pineapple. Juice the orange, then pour the juice over the pineapple.
  4. Cut the butter into small pieces and dot the top of each pineapple quarter with roughly 1 tablespoon. Cover the baking dish with foil and cut 6 vents into the foil. Bake for approximately 2 hours (or longer, the pineapple is very forgiving!).
  5. After two hours, remove the pineapple from the oven. Discard the cinnamon sticks and orange peel. Transfer the hot pineapple to a cutting board and, using a fork to brace it, cut it into 1-inch cubes. Place the cut pineapple back into the baking dish and stir it in the braising sauce. Serve the braised pineapple and its juices with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a dollop of Greek yogurt, or some good old-fashioned whipped cream.
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5 Reviews

asbrink
asbrink April 29, 2019
This seemed like a brilliant way to make my canned pineapple chunks more interesting for the sake of pantry cleanout. I used about 1.5 20oz cans and just braised it in the juice from the cans, with the same amount of butter and sugar and one huge cinnamon stick. It was a LOT of juice and 2 hours at 300 degrees covered just created more juice from the fruit itself. To cook this down, I took off the foil and braised it uncovered at 350 degrees for another hourish until the juice had reduced down. The pineapple on top browned a bit but was super resilient--it didn't dry out at all under direct heat. If I did this again (when I do it again), I would just start it at 350 degrees uncovered to begin with to speed it up.

But the pineapple turned out DELICIOUSLY--it lost most of its fibrous texture and absorbed all the buttery, cinnamony juices. I served it warm in a puddle of hot walnut praline sauce a la Deb Perelman @ Smitten Kitchen, topped with a cold scoop of whipped Greek yogurt a la Stella Parks @ Serious Eats.
 
rmandell
rmandell September 15, 2017
I didn't have two hours so I put this in the microwave for 20 minutes. It turned out great. I sliced the pineapple into rings and put it in a glass dish with all the other ingredients listed. (I didn't have orange juice, so I substituted pineapple juice.) It turned out great.
 
Brie
Brie February 16, 2016
Technically this is not a braise...the pineapple is not cooked with liquid.
 
KathyS
KathyS January 25, 2016
So easy, delicious, and healthy. YUM!
 
Stef_art
Stef_art July 15, 2015
Very good - I tried it last nite. Instead of the orange juice I used a mix of water and rum and instead of the cinnamon a mix of warm spices. My suggestion is to peel the pineapple before cooking. excellent easy dessert. stefano