Light pink and green in color, rhubarb looks remarkably like celery and is extremely sour in taste. While raw rhubarb is impossible to enjoy (I’ve tried and spit it back out immediately), it becomes deliciously tangy once baked with sweeter fruits like fresh strawberries. One of the major benefits of cooking with rhubarb (besides its slew of health benefits) is that it prevents desserts from becoming sickly sweet. However, when people think of rhubarb desserts they almost always assume you have to pair it with strawberries, like in a classic strawberry rhubarb pie. How wrong you are, young grasshoppers. Broaden your horizons with these 26 rhubarb dessert recipes and prepare to be wowed.
1. Slab Shortcake with Roasted Rhubarb
This is a delicious shortcake is made out of a simple biscuit base that’s topped with sweet cream and roasted rhubarb. This recipe recommends sprinkling turbinado sugar on top of the biscute, but you can use brown sugar as well to get the same effect. This rhubarb shortcake is super easy to make and even easier to slice and serve since it’s in one big sheet.
2. Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins
These muffins pair rhubarb with its best friend, strawberry. These strawberry rhubarb muffins are great in the morning with a cup of coffee. If you’re looking for something a little more dressed up, upgrade these muffins with a whipped cream frosting or cream cheese frosting.
3. Gluten-Free Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
I know I said there’d be no strawberry rhubarb pies on this list, but this particular recipe is gluten-free and I want everyone to be able to eat this treat. You can use any type of gluten-free flour for the crust and filling, or you can buy ready-made gluten-free pie crust from stores like Walmart or Whole Foods.
#SpoonTip: Sugar to Dust is a Lithuanian blog whose posts are written in both Lithuanian and English, so keep scrolling down for the English recipe.
4. Berry-Barb Hibiscus Crumble
This crumble features rhubarb, cherries, raspberries, and hibiscus tea, which is a combination I bet your friends have never tasted before. Hibiscus tea, like rhubarb, has a lot of health benefits. It’s full of antioxidants, may help lower blood pressure, and can strengthen the immune system.
5. Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake
This easy recipe is the rhubarb version of a classic pineapple upside-down cake, and it’s just as delicious (if not more so). This recipe calls for kefir, a fermented milk that’s kind of like drinkable yogurt, but if you don’t have kefir, it can be easily substituted in a 1-to-1 ratio with buttermilk, sour cream, milk, or yogurt.
6. Rhubarb and White Chocolate Blondies
These blondies use white chocolate chips to balance out the sour rhubarb, which is a magical combination. If you’re not that into white chocolate, you can easily use milk or dark chocolate chips. Make sure you read the recipe’s notes before you start making these blondies, because it gives useful tips on how to bake the rhubarb.
7. Vegan Strawberry Rhubarb Cheesecake
This vegan cheesecake is best served cold with coconut whipped cream. If you’re not that concerned with keeping this cheesecake vegan, you can add the strawberry rhubarb topping to any plain cheesecake recipe.
8. Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
Crisps are a great way to use up fruit that’s gone really soft. If you’re feeling adventurous, try this recipe with a different fruit and rhubarb combination. Apples, raspberries, and blackberries are fun options to try instead of strawberries. This crisp tastes great warm from the oven with a scoop of ice cream.
9. Lemon Cake with Rhubarb Rose Frosting
Rhubarb isn’t the main attraction in this dessert, but the rhubarb-rose frosting along with the rhubarb icing pulls the whole cake together. This “healthy” frosting can be used on other cakes and cupcakes too. You normally hear about the benefits of rose water for your skin and hair, but you can also get these benefits from drinking rose water or eating rose water infused food.
10. Rhubarb Ice Cream Shortcake with Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote
This recipe takes a little longer to make because you have to make the biscuits, ice cream, and the compote. If you don’t have the time to make the biscuits, you can buy a can of pre-made dough at the store. Whichever biscuits you opt to make, serve them warm and split in half, then layer with rhubarb compote and ice cream.
11. Vegan Rhubarb Pancakes
These vegan rhubarb pancakes are healthier and pretty easy to make. A banana helps hold the batter together, and almond milk (or whichever vegan milk you prefer) keeps the pancakes dairy-free.
#SpoonTip: This recipe comes from the blog Rhubarbarians, which is all about cooking with seasonal and local produce.
12. Vegan Strawberry Rhubarb Pop-Tarts
Pop-tarts are the perfect way to start the day, especially when they’re vegan, whole-grain, and filled with sweet rhubarb and strawberry compote. This recipe uses a combination of whole wheat and white flours, but you can experiment with using more whole wheat flour to get more whole grains in your diet.
13. Almond Rhubarb Picnic Bars
These bar cookies are oh-so pretty with the ombré pink to green chevron pattern on top. They’re made out of classic frangipane, an almond pastry cream, with toasted almonds and rhubarb on top. If you don’t want to spend the time cutting the rhubarb diagonally and laying it in a chevron pattern, these cookie bars will taste just as good if the rhubarb is cut and laid down in straight lines.
14. Rhubarb Panna Cotta Tart
Panna cotta is an Italian dessert that’s basically sweet pudding made out of gelatin and cream. This panna cotta is made in a brown butter tart shell with a yummy roasted vanilla rhubarb topping and is best served cold on the day made so the crust doesn’t become soggy.
15. Braided Yeast Bread with Strawberry & Rhubarb Chia Jam
If you’re looking for something a less sugary and more filling, this is the rhubarb dessert recipe for you. The filling is a unique combination of strawberries, rhubarb, and chia seeds. The chia seeds give the filling a little crunch, and they’re full of great nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, fiber, and calcium.
16. Coconut & Buckwheat Chia Pudding with Rhubarb Compote
This chia pudding contains buckwheat, which actually isn’t a grain, despite its name. Buckwheat is high in fiber, trace minerals like magnesium, and B vitamins. Not only is this dessert beautiful, but it’s also also healthy, vegan, and gluten-free.
17. Strawberry-Rhubarb Margarita Bars
If you love margaritas and want the perfect margarita-inspired dessert to go with your drink, this is the recipe for you. These bars are reminiscent of lemon bars, except they’re filled with strawberries, rhubarb, lime zest, and a splash of tequila.
18. Rhubarb Bread with Coconut Cashew Cream
This rhubarb bread is really more of a cake, but either way it’s delicious, especially with the almond-rhubarb crumble and coconut cashew cream on top. This recipe is also gluten-free and contains no added sugar. Instead, it’s sweetened with honey and applesauce.
19. Rhubarb Bread Pudding
Bread pudding isn’t a dessert you see every day, so step out of your comfort zone, and try this rhubarb version. This bread pudding has the perfect ratio of custard to spongy brioche, and the tangy rhubarb and sweet strawberry jam swirls only add more deliciousness.
20. Raspberry Rhubarb Sorbet
Sorbet is a light dessert perfect for a hot summer day, especially for those who are lactose intolerant. This rhubarb sorbet also has no added sugar and is instead sweetened with raspberries and honey.
#SpoonTip: Use this sorbet as a base for a summer cocktail. Just add a couple scoops of this sorbet, a shot of vodka, and a lightly flavored soda to a glass.
21. Rhubarb Ginger Bars
These rhubarb ginger bars are sweet yet tart at the same time, so they’re good when you’re feeling something not too sugary. Ginger is also great for digestion, nausea, and inflammation, though I’m not sure how many health benefits you’d reap from this dessert. Serve these bars warm or chilled with a sprinkle of powdered sugar.
22. Vegan Rhubarb Almond Tart
If the eye-catching color of this pie and the beautiful braided rhubarb on top doesn’t entice you, the almond-cashew custard nestled in a crumbly crust definitely will. Oh, and it’s vegan. If the rhubarb braiding isn’t up your alley, just lay the strips of rhubarb on top, and it’ll still look pretty good.
23. Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Ice Cream Sandwiches
These ice cream sandwiches take a bit of work because the two “bread” pieces are mini strawberry rhubarb pies, but the end product is worth it. You can also eat these “deconstructed,” aka mini pie with a scoop of strawberry ice cream on the side.
24. Rhubarb Meringue Cups
This rhubarb dessert recipe is surprisingly easy to make, but your friends will think you slaved away for these elegant-looking sweets. However, these meringues do take a while to bake so they’re crisp inside and out and not soggy. These meringue cups are then filled with vanilla whipped cream and topped with roasted rhubarb.
25. Rhubarb Raspberry Cookies
People need to start pairing rhubarb with raspberries more often because they’re just as good of a team as strawberry and rhubarb. These rhubarb raspberry cookies are the perfect portable snack for picnics and potlucks.
26. Strawberry Rhubarb Coconut Popsicles
To end this summery rhubarb dessert list, we need a very stereotypical summer sweet. These popsicles are vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, and made with only four ingredients. The strawberries, rhubarb, coconut milk, and maple syrup complement each other to make a delicious frozen treat.
It’s prime rhubarb season from April to June, which means time for all the rhubarb dessert recipes. However, if you’re picking rhubarb by yourself, make sure to cut off the leaves because they’re poisonous. Hop on the rhubarb train before its season ends to up your summer dessert game, get all the health benefits, and impress your friends and family.