by Holly
Rhubarb Muffins are the perfect way to impress special breakfast or brunch guests and a great addition to coffee time. Tart, moist chunks of rhubarb are enveloped by tender cake topped with a cinnamon-spiced crumble.
The tart flavor of rhubarb pairs perfectly in sweet desserts like Rhubarb Crisp and Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler and now of course, these tender muffins!
Cutting Rhubarb for Muffins
Only the stalks of rhubarb are edible. In fact, leaves of this unusual and incredibly tart vegetable are toxic, so “leave” them alone!
To cut fresh stalks for use in cooked rhubarb crisp muffins, trim off the bottoms and the leaves and discard. Then cut the stalks into small chunks. Rhubarb is quite tart so I prefer to have smaller bits in with the sweet cake.
If you have frozen rhubarb, this recipe is an excellent way to make good use of it. Be sure to thaw it first in a colander and discard the excess juices before proceeding.
How to Make Rhubarb Muffins
- Combine dry ingredients (per recipe below) in a bowl and wet ingredients in a separate bowl.
- Create a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the wet ingredients.
- Stir until mostly moistened. Fold in rhubarb.
- Spoon batter into paper-lined or greased muffin tins to 2/3 full.
Optional Streusel Topping
Rhubarb is tart so adding a streusel topping adds a bit more sweetness. Get creative, stir in nuts, coconut or even oats and sprinkle over muffins.
Tips for Perfect Muffins
- Do not overmix, the batter should be slightly lumpy
- Do not overbake
- Fill muffin wells 2/3 full
- Tossing fruit with flour helps keep it evenly dispersed throughout the muffins
- Mini muffins will take about 10-12 minutes to bake
How Long Do Muffins Last?
Like most baked goods, rhubarb muffins taste best served warm and fresh from the oven.
Counter/Fridge: To keep muffins moist and fresh, store them tightly covered in a plastic container or zip lock bag for up to two days at room temperature or a week in the refrigerator. To prevent the tops from getting sticky or soggy, make sure they are completely cooled before storing.
Freezer: Rhubarb crisp muffins can be frozen for up to four months. Thaw at room temperature, or heat them straight from the freezer for 10 minutes in a 350°F oven or for 30 seconds in the microwave.
More Delicious Muffin Recipes
- Easy Banana Bran Muffins – easy and healthy!
- Banana Muffins – so moist
- Easy Pumpkin Muffins – an autumn classic
- Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins – always a favorite
- Banana Nut Crunch Muffins – kid-friendly
Rhubarb Muffins
Prep Time 20 minutes
Servings 12 muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup rhubarb chopped
- 1 ¾ cups flour all-purpose
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg beaten
- ¾ cup milk
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- streusel topping below optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°. Grease twelve muffin wells or line paper liners.
- Toss rhubarb with 1 tablespoon flour and set aside.
- Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl with a whisk.
- In a small bowl, whisk egg, milk, vanilla and oil.
- Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients. Stir just until moistened.
- Shake of excess flour from rhubarb and fold into batter. Do not overmix.
- Fill each muffin well ⅔ full. Top with streusel topping below if using.
- Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove from muffin pan and cool completely.
Recipe Notes
Combine the following with a fork until crumbly: 3 tablespoons flour, 3 tablespoons butter, 3 tablespoons brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 2 tablespoons pecans or chopped almonds. Sprinkle over muffins before baking. Nutrition information does not include topping.
Nutrition Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)
The quantities are not correct. I am an experienced baker, often make muffins, yet the batter was more like dough and extremely dry. I had to add more milk just to be able to put the dough in the muffin tin.
The quantities are correct as written. The images do show that it is a bit thicker batter. We use a cookie scoop to put the batter in the tins, which works easily. Did you measure the flour by fluffing and spooning it into the measuring cup? Adding additional flour would make the muffins dryer. Great idea to add more milk to the dough.
Best rhubarb muffins ever. Made exactly according to recipe. No need to change anything. Loved the streusel topping. Baked for 16 minutes and they were done perfectly.
Not the greatest. The streusel burned as someone else mentioned. I needed to scrap that part off. Muffin taste was just OK. I followed recipe exactly. Some of the recommendations from others might help, but why do people give five stars and then talk about how they modified the recipe??? So misleading.
If the topping burned Zoe, your oven may run a bit hotter, or perhaps you had the rack too near the top.
Substituted artificial sweetner (1:1 ratio) & they still turned out scrumptious!!!
Made these exactly by the recipe. Did not make the streusel topping. Absolutely loved them. I cooked them for 18 minutes and they were good. (I always cook the least amount of time)
Good recipe! Simple ingredients and fast and easy to make. The muffins turn out moist with just the right sweetness. The streusel topping really finishes them off well. I didn’t have any nuts so I added oatmeal to make the topping crumbly. I will make these muffins again.
After reading comments here about the cakiness of the batter I decided to add a mashed ripe banana to it to make the muffins moister and spongier.
And I put a couple of blueberries on top of each muffin instead of streusel to give them some flavor variety. Turned out really well—except I used canola oil rather than vegetable because I don’t have vegetable oil in the house. Melted vegan butter (Miyokos!) might have been a tastier option. Oil leaves an unpleasant aftertaste.
Canola is a vegetable oil.
Crumb topping really didn’t work out. It clumped and wasn’t very tasty.
You are my go to recipe source. Thank you for the many great meals!
Thank you Lisa! So happy to hear that!
Not my favourite rhubarb muffin recipe by any means. Found the muffins too “cakey”. I used the recipe as written the first time. Second time I replaced the milk with buttermilk and the white sugar with 3/4 cup of brown sugar. A little better but still too cakey for my liking.
The best rhubarb muffins out there! I substitute the milk for buttermilk, I also add 2 tablespoons of vanilla instant pudding mix to the recipe. Makes them more tangy and moist! I often substitute blueberries for the rhubarb as well. Thank you for the recipe.
You’re very welcome Sharlene! So glad you love these muffins!
Not bad but not sweet enough and needs a little more flavour. If I were to make this recipe again I would add more sugar and a little cinnamon.
I did not do the topping.
I prepared according to recipe but added one cup of rhubarb and one cup of cranberries both frozen and tossed in flour. These turned out fabulous.
So glad you loved them Cindy!
These were the very whitest muffins I have ever made or seen in my life. My oven was preheated before I put the muffins in and I baked them for the full 20 minutes (despite the inner crumb being done at 18 minutes), to try and get them a bit more golden, but I didn’t want to add any additional time and risk overcooking them.
The flavour was just ok: think store-bought white sandwich bread with rhubarb jam. All the flavour is in the rhubarb.
When it comes to muffins, there are so many better recipes with more colour and flavour out there, so I won’t be making this recipe again.
If you’ve never made muffins before and you want something very simple with a safe, bland flavour this is the recipe for you!
Sorry to hear that N, this recipe is usually a hit with our readers. Did you add in a full cup of chopped rhubarb?
Excellent, will be my go-to fruit muffin from now on. Full of flavour, and delicate like a moist cake (less bread-y than most muffins). I was worried about losing the rhubarb flavour, which often happens to me when making apple muffins, but it’s 100% there!
*Don’t skip the streusel topping
Small tweaks:
– I added an extra half cup of rhubarb because I didn’t want to waste what I had
– I added a little bit of cinnamon to the dry mixture because I’m a cinnamon fiend
– my kitchen was incredibly hot when I made the muffins, so to counteract I used less butter and added oats for the streusel topping
Great tweaks Ellen! Thanks for sharing.
I thought these muffins were delicious, as did 2 of my 3 kids (one refuses to eat anything with rhubarb). I add a little extra vanilla and I some toasted pecans but no topping. Next time I would decrease the sugar a bit because I did find them a little sweet but they are definitely on my to make again list.
Glad you enjoyed them Jennifer!
These are okay at best. I would add more rhubarb. The topping is really good.
Glad you enjoyed the topping Leila!
Fabulous muffins! The streusel makes them take a little longer, but it is totally worth it. The contrasts between the soft muffin nd the crunchy streusel and the sweetness of the streusel and the tang of the rhubarb are what makes them so special. Thanks for a great recipe’1
The topping must be missing an ingredient? It comes out as a floury layer that you can literally just blow off. The nuts also burn when placed on top and then baked. The muffins themselves turned out fine but I wouldn’t recommend doing the topping, unless you enjoy eating a layer of burnt flour…
Whoops, you are so right Brittney! The recipe for the topping has been updated to include the proper amount of butter! That will definitely help it stick to your muffins.