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
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:
Made this recipe and love it?
If you made this recipe then I would LOVE for you to leave me a review below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram if you make it!
A note on salt and oven temperature
It is important to note the type of salt that is called for in a recipe. I use Diamond Crystal salt throughout my recipes - if you use a different sort of kosher salt or regular table salt you will need to adjust accordingly as some salt is 'saltier' than others. Morton's salt is twice as salty, so you will need half the quantity. Same goes for a regular table salt. I am working to get gram measurements throughout my recipes for salt but still getting there.
All oven temperatures are conventional unless otherwise stated. If you are baking on fan / convection, you will need to adjust the temperature. An oven thermometer is a great investment to ensure that your oven is the correct temperature.
Using the double / triple function in the recipe card
You will notice that there is a '1X' '2X' '3X' button in my recipe card. This can be used for doubling or tripling a recipe. However, please note that this only doubles the ingredient quantities in the ingredients list and NOT in the method. If there are quantities or pan sizes in the method of the recipe (for example weigh out 150g brown butter), you will need to scale this number manually. It will also not change the baking time in the recipe so you will need to adjust this yourself too. It is always a good idea to read through a recipe fully before doubling it just to check this. If you would like to scale this recipe or convert for another pan size, use my calculator!
Tools and equipment
For a list of my go-to tools and equipment, I have a post you can refer to here.
Why is this recipe in grams?
I post my recipes in grams as it is the most accurate way to bake. Cups are not only inaccurate but they vary in volume worldwide. There is no way for me to provide one cup measure that works for everyone. However, posting in weight fixes this issue. If you would like the recipe in cups you are welcome to convert it yourself via google, but please do not ask me to do it for you as I am not comfortable providing a recipe using a method that I have not tested. Baking with a scale is easy, accurate, and also makes cleanup super simple. Here is the scale that I use if you would like a recommendation! Here's to accurate baking!
Rhubarb Muffin Recipe
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Rhubarb Streusel Muffins
- 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
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.
Keywords: Muffins, Streusel, Rhubarb muffins, streusel muffins
Comments
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.
Ahhh so happy you love!
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!
★★★★★
These are to die for! I made them with pluots cause that’s what I had. The streusel is so delish!
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!
★★★★★
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!
★★★★★
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!
★★★★★
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.
★★★★★