Light and tender Rhubarb Muffins made with tangy yogurt and loaded with fresh rhubarb. These healthy muffins are a delicious bakery-style treat!
If you’re looking for another way to celebrate spring, try these strawberry muffins and raspberry muffins.
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Sweet and sour rhubarb muffins taste best right out of the oven. A fresh fruit muffin paired with my morning coffee is perfection, they also make the perfect after school snack for my boys!
This rhubarb muffin recipe is perfect for using fresh rhubarb from your garden or local farmer’s market. Moist and delicious, they’ll be your most made muffin recipe this season.
Ingredients for Rhubarb Muffins
You’ll need a short list of simple ingredients to make easy rhubarb muffins. Most of these staples will already be in your pantry.
- Large egg: You only need one for binding and lifting.
- Milk: Any milk will work. I always use whole milk for a more rich, moist muffin.
- Greek yogurt: A nutritious substitute for butter that adds moisture and texture.
- Oil: Use a mild tasting oil, I like avocado oil.
- Maple syrup or honey: My go-to liquid sweeteners for extra flavor. You can also use agave nectar.
- Vanilla extract: Just a dash of pure vanilla extract adds a warm taste.
- Baking powder and baking soda: Leavening agents that help muffins rise and make them light and fluffy.
- Salt: Enhances the flavor of all the other ingredients.
- Flour: All-purpose flour or whole wheat flour. Baking is a science and not all flours act the same, please stick to these two flours when making this rhubarb muffins recipe.
- Rhubarb: You can use finely chopped fresh rhubarb or frozen rhubarb for a burst of flavor in every bite.
How to Make Rhubarb Muffins
Here’s a quick photo overview of how to make tender rhubarb muffins using one bowl. There is a full recipe card below.
Prep time is only 15 minutes! Cut your rhubarb and preheat your oven to 375 F, spray a non-stick muffin tin with cooking spray or add paper liners.
- Make muffin batter: To a large bowl add egg, milk, yogurt, oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk until smooth with no lumps. Then pour in flour and use a spatula to gently mix just enough to combine. The batter should be slightly lumpy, a few white flour patches is fine.
- Coat rhubarb with flour: In a small bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups rhubarb, set remainder aside for topping, and 1 tablespoon of flour. Stir to coat then add rhubarb to the large bowl with batter mixture. Fold in until incorporated.
- Bake: Distribute batter evenly between the 12 muffin tin openings, I used a regular ice cream scoop to keep them even. Top with remaining rhubarb and bake muffins for 20-22 minutes, a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.
- Cool: Once out of the oven, let rhubarb muffins cool for 10 minutes in the muffin pan, then transfer to a wire rack. Enjoy muffins fresh or freeze some for later.
Cutting Rhubarb for the Muffins
Rhubarb is pretty tart, so I like to cut them into smaller bits. Start by trimming off the leaves and the tough bottoms, discard those, then cut the stalks into small chunks.
Did you know rhubarb leaves are toxic when ingested? The stalks are a great source of vitamin K and fiber but stay away from those leaves.
Tips for Best Results
Here are my top muffin-making tips to make the best rhubarb muffins that are moist and delicious!
- Don’t overmix the batter: Mix the muffin batter just enough to combine the wet and dry ingredients. This will yield light and fluffy muffins every time. If the batter is overmixed, your muffins will be tough.
- Frozen rhubarb: Make sure to thaw frozen rhubarb, lightly press and drain excess moisture and juices to prevent soggy muffins.
- Don’t overbake: Keep in mind all ovens vary. Remove muffins when a toothpick comes out clean and they still look light in color.
- Scoop and level your flour: Use the scooping level method to measure your flour. Spoon flour into the measuring cup and skim off the top with the back edge of a knife. If you weigh flour on a scale, your muffins will not turn out.
- Using other yogurt or sour cream: Substitute Greek yogurt with regular yogurt or sour cream. For a sweeter muffin use flavored vanilla yogurt.
- Use buttermilk instead of milk: Buttermilk adds more tang and rich flavor and yields a more tender texture.
Variations of Rhubarb Muffin Recipe
Here are some optional toppings, flavorings, and add-ins for rhubarb muffins.
- Optional streusel topping: Make muffins more cake like by mixing 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, and 1 tablespoon unsalted butter at room temperature in a medium bowl, then sprinkle on top. You can also sprinkle coconut flakes, oats, or chopped nuts instead.
- Adding 1/2 teaspoon almond extract compliments the other flavors.
- Use melted butter or melted coconut oil instead of oil.
- Replace one cup of rhubarb with one cup of diced fresh strawberries for fabulous strawberry rhubarb muffins. Do not add more than 2 cups of chopped fruit because muffins will be soggy.
- Sprinkle a few tablespoons of turbinado sugar or brown sugar on top, this adds great flavor and texture. Cinnamon is delicious too!
How to Store and Reheat
Store: Rhubarb muffins taste best when freshly baked and warm. These muffins are quite moist so keep them covered with linen towel on a countertop for one day. After, transfer to an airtight container or even any loosely covered container to the fridge for another 3-4 days.
Freeze: Bake and cool completely first to avoid soggy muffins. Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Storage Tip
Don’t miss my posts how to store muffins and how to freeze muffins to keep your leftover muffins fresh longer.
FAQs
No, I never peel my rhubarb. Some rhubarb can be stringy and because of that you may feel like you need to peel it, but as long as you use a sharp knife to chop your rhubarb you are good to go without peeling.
Peak season for rhubarb is May and June. In some areas like US and UK, you can find rhubarb as early as April and into July.
All-purpose gluten-free flour is more dry. I can’t guarantee the results as this recipe relies on gluten in the flour. If you have almond flour, try my almond flour muffins and add rhubarb.
No, in order to keep dry to wet ingredients ratio, you must use a liquid sweetener. The muffin batter consistency will be off if you use granulated sugar.
Absolutely! The total time will change, bake mini rhubarb muffins for 12-15 minutes and do the toothpick test.
This baking hack prevents the fruit from sinking to the bottom and keeps them evenly spaced throughout the muffins.
More Muffin Recipes to Try
- Healthy blueberry muffins
- Healthy carrot muffins
- Almond muffins with berries
- Healthy strawberry muffins
- Lemon muffins
- Almond flour strawberry muffins
- Blackberry muffins
Rhubarb Muffins
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup any milk
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt plain
- 1/4 cup any mild oil I use avocado oil
- 1/2 cup +2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour or 1 1/2 cups 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour (+ 1 tablespoon for dusting)
- 2 cups fresh or frozen rhubarb finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and spray non-stick 12 muffin tin with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Add egg, milk, yogurt, oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk well until combined and no small lumps are visible. Add flour and mix gently with spatula just enough to combine. Do not overmix and a few white flour patches are fine.
- In a small bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups rhubarb and 1 tablespoon of flour, and stir. Add to a muffin batter and fold a few times until incorporated.
- Distribute batter evenly between 12 openings of a muffin tin (I used regular ice cream scoop) and top with remaining rhubarb. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove rhubarb muffins from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Enjoy!
Notes
- Frozen rhubarb: Be sure to thaw and lightly squeeze.
- Store: On a plate on a kitchen counter covered with a towel for 1 day. Then transfer muffins to a container with a lid and into the fridge for another 3 days.
- Freeze: Bake, cool and place muffins in an airtight container or loosely covered container. Freeze for up to 3 months. To thaw, just place one muffin on a counter for a few hours or microwave.
