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Rhubarb Streusel Muffins - a moist rhubarb muffin base is studded with fresh rhubarb chunks and topped with a crunchy streusel crumble topping which is lightly flavoured with lemon zest and vanilla. This easy streusel muffin recipe can be made with any fruit but is perfect made with fresh rhubarb.
Table of contents
- Rhubarb Streusel Muffins
- What is Rhubarb?
- Super easy rhubarb muffin recipe
- Streusel Topping
- How to bake muffins evenly
- How to store muffins
- For more Rhubarb Recipes, check out:
- Rhubarb Muffin Recipe
Rhubarb Streusel Muffins
Hi! Happy Saturday! We can still get rhubarb here at the farmer’s market, so I’m going to keep posting rhubarb recipes just in case you can still find it where you are too. I haven’t made muffins for the site in the longest time, which is a bit silly because we are huge fans around here.
I love making homemade muffins - my vegan banana muffins happen almost weekly, and my chocolate cream cheese muffins are a go to for when I need to make something in a hurry.
These Rhubarb Muffins are super easy to make and come together quickly, and are filled with chunks of rhubarb, and are topped with a super easy streusel topping.
What is Rhubarb?
Rhubarb is technically a vegetable rather than a fruit, although it is most often used in sweet applications. My favourite rhubarb recipes include rhubarb custard pie, rhubarb cheesecake, and rhubarb bars.
When is Rhubarb Season?
I grew up eating it year round, as it does well in more mild climates like New Zealand, but Rhubarb season in the US usually begins in the spring and extends into early to mid summer.
Is Rhubarb Poisonous?
The leaves of the rhubarb plant are poisonous, but the stalks, which is the edible part, are totally safe to eat. You can eat rhubarb raw (although it is very tart!) The stalks, depending on the variety and how it is grown, can be a range of colours, from super green to bright pink
What does Rhubarb taste like?
The taste of rhubarb is quite hard to describe - it is super tart and sour, with a slightly tangy taste. It is for this reason it is often used in baking along with plenty of sugar. I love the taste of rhubarb, and how versatile it is paired with fruit - strawberry rhubarb is a super common combination as the sweetness of the strawberry offsets the rhubarb's tartness.
Super easy rhubarb muffin recipe
These rhubarb muffins are super simple, but I tested them a bunch of times to make sure that my base was really solid, so this will hopefully work for other fruit too if you don’t have rhubarb on hand (I will test it with blueberries hopefully this week, once Rich has recovered from 6 batches of muffins in just over a week). The ingredient list is quite simple:
I added yoghurt into the base to help the muffin retain moisture (you can use sour cream if you like too), and then topped them with a streusel / crumble mixture that is super easy - just flour, sugar, and butter, with a wee bit of orange zest and vanilla bean paste for flavour, along with a bit of sliced up rhubarb for a nice wee finish. The rhubarb cooks down perfectly in the muffin and the streusel mixture goes a wee bit crunchy, giving you all the textures all at once.
Streusel Topping
These muffins have a super easy streusel topping. I added chopped rhubarb into the streusel itself to give a nice textural pop.
Streusel topping can be made ahead / be doubled and kept in the freezer (leave out the rhubarb if you are planning on freezing). It adds a super delicious crunch to the muffins. By all means, feel free to leave it off if you just want a basic muffin recipe.
How to bake muffins evenly
Muffins don’t like being too snuggled up. If you have two muffin pans then you can do 6 muffins in each, leaving a space between each muffin to help them cook evenly. If you don’t have two muffin pans then no worries at all, one works just fine too!
How to store muffins
I like to store muffins in an airtight container at room temperature - muffins will last 2-3 days. To freeze muffins, pop them into an airtight container or a ziplock bag and freeze for up to 3 months. To defrost muffins, leave to defrost at room temperature. Muffins which have been previously frozen are much nicer when warmed up or lightly toasted before serving.
For more Rhubarb Recipes, check out:
- Rhubarb Bars
- Rhubarb Custard Pie
- Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
- Rhubarb Cheesecake
❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️
I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!
Answers to your baking questions
Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:
- baking in grams
- adjusting oven temperatures
- what kind of salt to use
- and many more!
I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!
Rhubarb Muffin Recipe
Rhubarb Streusel Muffins
5 Stars4 Stars3 Stars2 Stars1 Star5 from 18 reviews
- Author: Erin Clarkson
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 12 Muffins 1x
Description
Rhubarb Streusel Muffins - a moist muffin base is studded with fresh rhubarb chunks and topped with a crunchy streusel crumble topping which is lightly flavoured with lemon zest and vanilla. This easy streusel muffin recipe can be made with any fruit but is perfect made with fresh rhubarb.
Ingredients
Scale
Rhubarb Streusel
- 100g sugar
- Zest of ½ an orange
- ½ tsp vanilla bean paste (optional)
- 100g all-purpose flour
- Pinch of salt
- 70g unsalted butter, cold, cut into chunks
- 50g fresh rhubarb, sliced thinly
Rhubarb Muffins
- 250g all-purpose flour
- 200g sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- pinch of salt
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 130g full fat greek yoghurt
- 90g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 100g whole milk, at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste, optional
- 200g rhubarb, finely sliced.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375°f / 190°c. Line 1-2 12 hole muffin pans with paper liners (see notes on spacing out muffins)
RHUBARB STREUSEL
- Place the sugar into a small bowl. Add the orange zest and vanilla if using, and rub in using your fingers. Add in the flour and salt and mix to combine, then add in the butter and rub in using your fingers until the butter is incorporated and the mixture is crumbly.
- Add in the sliced rhubarb and mix to combine.Set aside.
MUFFINS
- Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, yoghurt, butter, milk, and vanilla bean paste.
- Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold lightly with a spatula to only just combine, then add the chopped rhubarb in and finish folding in the dry ingredients along with the rhubarb (it is important not to over mix muffins).
- Using a cookie scoop or a cup measure, measure ¼ cup of batter into each muffin cup, smoothing down lightly with a spoon if needed. Top each with about a Tablespoon of the rhubarb streusel, spreading over the surface of the muffin with your fingers.
- Bake the muffins for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the centres spring back when lightly pressed and a skewer inserted comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan and allowing to cool completely.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.
Key Ingredients
- Rhubarb
- Vanilla
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Reader Interactions
Rita P.I made these muffins last weekend, and they are moist and delicious. It was the first time making these muffins and they are very easy to make. I shared them with 3 of my neighbours and they loved them. I have more rhubarb in my freezer and will be making them again. My hubby enjoyed them too.
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- Erin
Ahhh so happy you love!
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- Claudia
So delicious and not too sweet with beautiful soft texture! I had young rhubarb but it worked amazingly. The streusel is a game changer, will be doing that on all my muffins from now on. Thanks!
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- Emily
These are to die for! I made them with pluots cause that’s what I had. The streusel is so delish!
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- Sara
This is my favorite muffin recipe ever! They are seriously so amazing. I love to change in different in season fruit and find that it works out delicious every time! I can’t wait to make these again ASAP!
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- Meggie
These are by far the best muffin ever!!! The receipe is easy to follow and not too complicated! I will definitely make them again and again!
Thank you so much!
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- Sophie
I've made these multiple times now, none with Rhubarb though! All with different combinations - raspberry & white chocolate, stewed plum & white chocolate, dark chocolate chunks & orange zest.
All totally amazing!! Have also made GF a couple of times and worked well!
The only thing is that I always have waaaaayyyyy more of the streusel topping than I need for one batch of muffins. Not so much of a problem as I just keep it in the fridge for the next batch!Reply
- LaurenSee AlsoSour Cream Rhubarb Muffins
Soooo soooo good. Definitely saving this recipe to use again- the streusel was delicious and had the perfect balance of sweet and tart with the rhubarb.
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- Janice
This is my go to Muffin recipe. My husband who is not a big rhubarb fan even requests them. It really is the best muffin recipe I have tried. I have made these with fresh and frozen rhubarb and both worked perfectly for me. Thanks for yet another great recipe.
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- Caitlin
These muffins are delicious! I had slightly less rhubarb available, so I skipped the rhubarb in the streusel, but still tasted great! Very moist, and the perfect amount of sweetness paired with tart rhubarb. I’m a ‘streusel or I don’t want it’ kinda gal, and I feel like Erin gets that.
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- Mary M
If I am going to make muffins, they are these ones! The best. I love making them for people because the orange with rhubarb is unique and such a pleasant surprise! I cannot say enough good things about this recipe.
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- Megan
These are the best muffins, if you’re going to make muffins make this recipe because these muffins do not suck (why do so many muffins suck?)!! Easy to follow, delicious to eat. Took them to family dinner and everyone raved about them.
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- Beverly
Wow! Just made these muffins and they are so decadent and delicious! I can’t wait to make them again. I might try it in a 8x8 cake pan next time! Thanks for a great recipe!
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- Anna
Absolutely outrageous. Made a batch for Mother’s Day and they’re tender, light, tangy, and just delightful. I subbed buttermilk for the whole milk (it’s what we had), used Siggi’s non-fat plain yogurt, and added a teaspoon of cardamom to the crumble but you can’t taste it at all.
Phenomenal. Thanks!
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- Allison
Just made these and they are delish! Will definitely make again. Would be nice with other fruit as well, I think!
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- Julie
Absolutely delicious and such a lovely texture. Making my second batch today. Thank you for a another great recipe!
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- Julie
Forgot to click the stars. Like all CK recipes I've trued, 5 stars of course 🙂
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- Nicole Kiely
Amazing recipe!
Love that the milk is measured in grams! And that this recipe uses 1 egg in these times of crazy egg prices in Nz. This will be a remake for sure. Thanks for all you do.
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- Jessica
This recipe looks great. Can you use stewed rhubarb instead of fresh?
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- Erin Clarkson
I think it would be too mushy?
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- JoJo McGlade
These muffins are amazing. Quite easy to make, and they turned out great. I was just shy of the right amount of rhubarb so used a bit of apple to make up difference and still worked out great. Fluffy, tasty and looked great.
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- Sophie J
I made these with finely diced strawberries as rhubarb wasn't in season. They were delicious!! I appreciate the measurements in grams too.
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- C
These are so good! Love the little slices of rhubarb in the crumble topping. Such a great recipe to feature rhubarb while we have access to it in the Spring.
I did what I usually do with muffins which is put them in for 10 minutes at a 425F to allow for a taller rise, then lower the temperature and continue baking at the temeprature as written for slightly less than the total time. It makes for taller muffins!
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- Nadya S
I've been craving a good blueberry muffin and I knew this was the best muffin base to use! I used 250g of fresh blueberries instead of rhubarb and I made sure to coat them in the flour mixture before adding the wet ingredients to prevent them sinking. I also skipped the rhubarb in the streusel and used lemon zest since I didn't have an orange. They turned out great! Thanks Erin for always making great recipes I can rely on!
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