As kids, we used to dip stalks of fresh rhubarb from my Grandma Mary’s garden into bowls of sugar. I still love rhubarb just as much, and it’s great in muffins!
These Rhubarb Muffins have chunks of rhubarb in tender muffin topped with a cinnamon-spiced crumble topping.
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These Rhubarb Muffins Are Perfect for Summer Because…
- They’re the perfect balance between sweet and tart.
- The recipe is easy to make.
- These muffins are moist and delicious.
- You can make these with an optional streusel topping. It gives the muffins an extra crunch and some added sweetness.
Ingredients for Rhubarb Muffins
Rhubarb: When picking rhubarb, look for medium-sized, firm, and crisp stalks that snap easily when bent. Rhubarb can range in color and sweetness—opt for redder stalks for a sweeter taste or greener ones for a more tart flavor.
Greek Yogurt: I use vanilla Greek yogurt as the creaminess adds moisture to these muffins. You can replace it with regular Greek yogurt or sour cream.
Butter: This recipe uses melted butter for the best flavor, it can be replaced with an equal amount of vegetable oil.
Dry Ingredients: This recipe calls for all-purpose flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. The salt enhances the flavor, the sugar adds sweetness, and the baking powder helps the muffins rise.
Struesel Topping (optional): Rhubarb is tart, so adding a streusel topping adds sweetness. Get creative; stir in nuts, coconut, or even oats, and sprinkle over muffins.
How to Make Rhubarb Muffins
- In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients (recipe below). In a separate medium bowl, combine the wet ingredients.
- Create a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the wet ingredients. Stirring until mostly moistened.
- Fold in rhubarb and spoon the batter into muffin cups or greased muffin tins to ⅔ full.
- Bake until a toothpick comes out clean.
How Long Do Muffins Last?
Like most baked goods, this rhubarb muffin recipe tastes 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 2 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 4 months. Thaw at room temperature, or heat them straight from the freezer for 10 minutes in a 350°F oven or 30 seconds in the microwave.
Extra Rhubarb?
Did your family love these Rhubarb Muffins? Leave us a rating and a comment below!
Ingredients
- 2 cups rhubarb chopped
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg beaten
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup vanilla Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup butter melted, or vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- streusel topping recipe in notes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°. Grease twelve muffin wells or line paper liners.
- Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl with a whisk.
- In a small bowl, whisk egg, milk, yogurt, butter, and vanilla.
- Add the rhubarb to the flour mixture and toss to combine. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients.
- Stir just until moistened. Do not overmix.
- Divide the muffin batter over 12 wells. Top with streusel topping (below) if using.
- Bake for 16 to 19 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove from muffin pan and cool completely on a baking rack.
Notes
Combine the following with a fork until crumbly: 3 tablespoons flour, 3 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 ½ tablespoons softened butter, and ¼ teaspoon cinnamon.
- 2 tablespoons pecans, walnuts, or chopped almonds can be added to the topping if desired
- do not overmix the batter
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Breakfast, Dessert, Muffins
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
I agree with the below comments about them being bland and not browning correctly. Thought I would take a chance with this recipe but will not be making again.
Sorry to hear that Emily, this recipe usually works well for readers. I would recommend the streusel topping for a nice browned topping with good flavor.
I wish I had of read the reviews….. these are SO dry. And yes, I used the right amounts. Pretty flavourless.
Sorry to hear that, Erin. If dry, it may be too much flour. You can check out our flour measuring guide for more information.
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.
Hi, I agree with you Zoe. The muffins are just okay…I also followed the recipe to the T and the taste was just ok – bland? A lot of work for the results of ‘I’m disappointed.”
I am sorry to hear that Delores, we love this recipe! I’m sorry it wasn’t everything you expected.
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