Rhubarb Streusel Muffins

These Rhubarb Streusel Muffins are the perfect vessel to highlight the incredible flavour of rhubarb in the spring. These muffins are fluffy, lightly sweetened, and bursting with fruit. Topped with a buttery, crumbly streusel topping.

Every single spring I look forward to those weeks when I can finally make something with rhubarb. That weird looking, unassuming plant with massive leaves hides these tender, long, pink and red stalks that work perfectly in baked goods. Growing up I remember every spring, the house always smelled of rhubarb crumble (basically a big, flat cake with a soft rhubarb sauce topped with a crumbly streusel). It’s one of my mom’s favourite spring time recipes. Why I love THIS recipe–though I love rhubarb crumble–because it doesn’t make an overwhelming platter of food and is simply easier to eat and share. Plus this is basically a breakfast food… kinda.

If you’ve never baked with rhubarb before, consider this your formal invitation to try. If you’re a seasoned rhubarb lover, well.. you already know why you’re here.

Let’s Talk About Rhubarb

Rhubarb is technically a vegetable (yup), but it’s most commonly used in baking as a fruit due to its sharp, bright acidity and its ability to caramelize deliciously with sugar.

The stalks can range in colour from pale green to dark crimson, but that doesn’t often affect the flavour. The redder stalks do appear more beautifully in baked goods – so they’re chosen for baking more often.

Important note: only the stalks are edible (not the leaves). The leaves of the rhubarb plant contain oxalic acid and are toxic, so discard before cooking (or even bringing inside). When harvesting, I cut off the leaves immediately for better storage of the stalks and to avoid bringing small critters inside.

Rhubarb is treasured partly because of its flavour, but mostly because it has an incredible short season to harvest. Yes, it’s still up and standing for the entire year – but after peak season it has a woody texture and isn’t good for eating. Often rhubarb season starts in late April and runs through June, but here in the Okanagan, mine is done by end of May.

Don’t be dismayed by the short season! Rhubarb freezes beautifully (especially pre-chopped) and is perfect to use in muffins, crumbles, and pies.

Prepping Rhubarb for Baking or Freezing

• Cut off the tops before you bring them in.
• Rinse under running water and gently clean them of dirt or bugs. Trim off any fibrous ends and dry them well.
• Chop into small pieces. ¼-½” / 1 cm pieces are best for muffins and my preferred size for freezing.
• No need to cook – save it for the oven.
• Freeze in 2 cup portions so you can make muffins all year long!!

If you’re using frozen rhubarb, there’s no need to thaw it first. Add it straight from the freezer to avoid it bleeding too much colour into the batter or making your batter too wet. Your baking time may increase by a few minutes.

The Case for Streusel (Always)

Once I discovered streusel on a muffin, there was no going back for me. The crisp, sweet, buttery topping makes all the difference and turns a muffin from good to great.

Streusel– the German word for “something scattered or sprinkled”¹–is a simple crumble made from butter, flour, and sugar (and sometimes oats, nuts, or spices). When it bakes, the butter creates steam that leaves behind a crisp, golden crust that contrasts perfectly with the soft muffin beneath.

A Few Streusel Tips:

• Keep your butter cold and work quickly so the mixture stays crumbly, not pasty.
• Don’t be shy with the topping — pile it on generously. It bakes down more than you’d expect.
• A pinch of salt in your streusel goes a long way to making it taste complex rather than just sweet.

Making Your Own Muffin Liners

I haven’t bought muffin liners in YEARS. You know why? They’re extremely expensive and all they are is pre-cut, shaped parchment paper or little crinkle paper liners (ew). I hate those paper liners for multiple reasons, but most of all because it gives the muffin a soggy bottom.

Your muffins deserve nice crisp bottoms, not soggy ones. Plus you deserve to save money.

To cut your own muffin liners, cut 5-6″ (11-13 cm) long square pieces of parchment paper. Cut 1″ (2.5 cm) slits into the middle of each flat side. Press gently into muffin tins to form a shape before filling (this avoids weird pockets and deformed muffins).

Tips for the Best Rhubarb Muffins

I’ve been baking since I was a teenager and worked as a baker in a small cafe for about a year. I’m no pastry chef, but here’s a few tips that might help you make the best rhubarb muffins:

1. Don’t Overmix the Batter. This is muffin or cake 101 – the more you mix and work the batter, the firmer the end result will be. This is because flour contains gluten, and gluten strands develop once they moisten and as they are worked or kneaded. Just mix until all the flour bits are gone.
2. Room Temperature Ingredients Matter. Cold eggs and cold yogurt just don’t mix into a batter as smoothly, especially when we combine with the cooled melted butter. Save yourself the (potentially) disasterous outcome (cooked eggs or lumpy re-set butter), and take them out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before you start.
3. Fill Your Muffin Tins 3/4 Full. For domed, bakery-style muffins, fill each muffin 3/4 full or a bit more. This gives you a beautiful domed muffin that doesn’t end up with crisp, spilled over edges.
4. Patience – Let Your Muffins Cook. My mom always told me to stay out of the kitchen when she was baking because we had a tendency to “run” in front of the oven and deflate her baked goods (still not sure that’s true). However, it’s definitely true that if you open the oven for a peak, you risk them deflating or falling instead of getting their full oven spring. Wait at least 15 minutes before opening and rotating the muffins.
5. Test with a Toothpick. I always keep these on hand because the only reliable to know if a muffin is done is by using the toothpick test. Simply poke a toothpick into the middle of the baked good. If it comes out gummy/wet with batter, it needs a few more minutes. If its clean or a few moist crumbs cling to it, remove it from the oven!

The thick batter ensures the fruit doesn’t sink to the bottom. Each bite is deliciously filled with little pockets of rhubarb goodness.

How to Make Rhubarb Streusel Muffins

**Start by removing eggs and yogurt from the fridge to come to room temperature. Melt and set aside your butter to cool.**

Step 1: Streusel Topping – in a small bowl, combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and a small pinch of salt. Cube the butter into ¼” / 1 cm pieces and add to the bowl.

Step 2: Use your fingers to toss the butter in the flour and then smash the cubes of butter into the mixture until its nicely incorporated. You should still have some small crumbs/chunks. Cover and set aside in the fridge until ready to use.

Set an oven rack on the middle shelf and preheat the oven to 375°F. Add 9 parchment paper or muffin liners to your jumbo muffin tins and set aside.

Step 3: In a medium bowl, melt and allow your butter to cool before stirring in first the Greek yogurt until combined, then the eggs and vanilla. Whisk the sugar in until fully combined.

Step 4: In a separate large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and rhubarb (Pro-tip, reserve a few pieces of rhubarb to dot on top).

Step 5: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula until no dry bits remain. Try not to overwork it. This is easiest by first stirring and then folding the mixture over itself repeatedly. It will be very thick.

Step 6: Add 5-6 tbsp of the mixture to each of the 9 muffin liners. Distribute any remaining muffin mixture between the tins. Top with a few pieces of extra rhubarb if reserved.

Step 7: Sprinkle 2 tbsp of streusel over each muffin (you may have extra, that’s ok).

Step 8: Add the muffins to the middle rack of the oven and bake for 28-30 minutes, rotating halfway through, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (not wet). Allow them to cool for about 20 minutes before removing from the tin and allowing to cool. Set aside at room temperature for about 2-4 hours to fully cool and to (slightly) dry out the top – this keeps it from getting soggy in a container.

Storage and Freezing

Store in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 4 days (if they last that long). They will lose their crisp tops by day 3, so reheat in a 300°F oven for about 10 minutes to crisp up the streusel topping or in an air fryer for 5 minutes.

Freeze in an air-tight container or freezer bag (remove as much air as possible) and keep on hand for up to 3 months (if you stretch it, I won’t tell the food safety people). Thaw at room temp and warm in a 300°F oven for 10 minutes or in an air fryer for 5 minutes.

Try My Other Desserts!

(I know not many yet but they will come!)

Recipe adapted from The Loopy Whisk. Her gluten free recipes are amazing!

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streusel ↩︎