Brown Sugar Rhubarb Muffins with A Little Bit of Streusel On Top
A tasty little rhubarb muffin with just the perfect amount of streusel on top. Perfect for using up your rhubarb, plus the muffins stay moist for days!
These tasty little rhubarb muffins not only are a great way to use my bumper crop of rhubarb (hello, 15 rhubarb plants) but they are also really, really delicious.
I wouldn’t say rhubarb muffins are something I crave madly, but man alive, I had trouble not diving into the muffins to retrieve another for a midday snack (midmorning and midnight, too, if you want to know the full truth).
The streusel is kind of a little afterthought – a tiny bit of sugary crunch on top of a brown sugar muffin dotted with tart rhubarb pieces – and while certainly not overwhelming, it is still completely necessary in my humble opinion.
The beauty of these simple rhubarb muffins is that they stay soft and moist for days. I made a full batch and on day three as we finished up the last of them, they were just as wonderful as day one, maybe even more so.
I’m telling you, I just couldn’t get enough of the subtly sweet muffin and juicy rhubarb combo. I wasn’t even planning on posting about these (they were made simply in an attempt to use up 1-2% of the tons of rhubarb sitting in my wagon) but they were too good not to share.
Between these muffins that have been made three or four times, this rhubarb cake that’s on the docket, freezing several bags for this favorite of all pies, and chopping up that wagonful above for a little test run of 28 pints of rhubarb/orange jam, I have to say that rhubarb and I kind of need a break from each other.
No offense or anything. While I have a moment without rhubarb, you should definitely get your hands on some and make these muffins.
One Year Ago: Maple Pecan Crusted Salmon
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Rhubarb Muffins with A Little Bit of Streusel On Top
Ingredients
Muffins:
- 2 ½ cups (341 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups small diced rhubarb
- 1 ¼ cups (265 g) lightly packed brown sugar
- ½ cup coconut oil, melted, or vegetable oil
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk
Streusel:
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil, softened
- ¼ cup (36 g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (53 g) lightly packed brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line two 12-cup muffin tins with liners or grease the cups with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Toss in the chopped rhubarb and stir to coat.
- In a medium bowl or large liquid measuring cup, whisk together the brown sugar, oil, egg, vanilla and buttermilk until smooth.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Stir just until combined. Don’t overmix!
- Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.
- In a small bowl, stir together the streusel ingredients with a fork until crumbly and combined. Sprinkle a little bit (about a teaspoon or so) of the streusel on top of each muffin.
- Bake for 16-20 minutes until the tops of the muffins spring back to the touch and/or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Don’t overbake or the muffins may be dry.
- Let the muffins cool for five or so minutes before removing them from the pan to cool completely on a wire rack. These muffins keep great covered at room temperature for several days.
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Recipe Source: adapted from allrecipes (used coconut oil instead of vegetable, changed the streusel to omit nuts, use coconut oil, flour, less sugar, brown sugar in place of white and less cinnamon)
Soooo… our family sat next to you at the Grit tonight. I kept thinking your husband looked familiar and finally put it together. I didn’t want to be a creeper and disturb your date night, but when you left, I told my kids who we sat next to and they said, “Mom!! Why didn’t you tell us?!?!” Because… while over the years, many of your recipes have become family staples and favorites, my middle son lives for these muffins and wanted to come give you a giant hug. We save quart bags of diced rhubarb in the freezer just for these muffins so we can make them year round. You are a superhero in his eyes. 🙂
Oh my goodness, Beverly! That is so fun! And I would have loved it if you would have said hello! I’m sure my husband and I were deep in conversation about how to adequately parent teenagers so we probably looked a little angsty. Haha. Thanks for leaving this comment, though! And if our paths ever do cross again, I would love it if you said hello!
Made a double batch of these today. I’ve made them before and our family loves them. BUT this time I realized hours later that I forgot to add the coconut oil. The muffins tasted great and we wouldn’t have known anything was missing if I hadn’t found the measuring cup full of coconut oil in the microwave.
So yummy. I cut the brown sugar to 1 cup and used half sour cream/half milk for the buttermilk. I think I could cut the sugar a little more, and I’m going to try subbing some applesauce for some of the oil.
These were delicious! I added a tsp of dried ginger to the dry ingredients as well as ~1/4 c of chopped crystallized ginger. Subbed ginger for the cinnamon in the streusel, reduced the brown sugar in the batter by 1/4 c, and used 1/2 all-purpose flour and 1/2 whole wheat pastry flour. I will make these again!
I went very off book based on what I had. Used apples because our tree has given us an abundance, and I blended the wet ingredients with spinach to up the nutrition for picky toddlers. Fingers crossed
Anyone tried making this into bread?
These are delicious. I will be making them again. I used coconut oil and was very pleased with the result.
Can you use frozen rhubarb? Would you have to thaw it? I have so much rhubarb in my freezer!
I haven’t tried it, but yes, I think you probably can. I usually don’t thaw frozen fruit before using in muffins, so I’d try it without thawing.
I always use frozen rhubarb. Just needs a few more minutes to cook!
Didn’t have rhubarb, so made this with apple instead. Accidentally used 1/4 c. too much brown sugar, and added a dash of cinnamon to the batter. By far the best muffins I’ve ever made. This recipe is a keeper.
Both my children, husband and I loved them. Everyone is wondering when I am going to make them again. Thank you!
Happy to hear that!
We absolutely love these muffins. I think they are in our top 3 muffins of all time. I froze a bunch of diced rhubarb in bags so we could enjoy them year round. Thank you for the recipe.
I made these muffins today using gluten-free all purpose flour and they are outstanding. They are light and airy and the flavour is very good.
Mel, once again you post a winner. My husband’s co-workers think I am this amazing cook, and I keep telling them that I really just have good taste in recipes and bloggers. Thank you for the time and care you put into your blog. It is my “go to” whenever I need to bring a dish to share or am simply looking for a new and yummy dish to make.
Thank you, Tory!
I was looking for a new muffin recipe to try and found this one of yours. I have lots of frozen rhubarb needing to be used, so was excited to give it a try! I left my frozen, cut rhubarb out to thaw on the counter just a bit and used it while it was still semi-frozen. I also upped the streusel part… making 1-1/2 of the amounts listed… because we love that extra, crispy sweetness on top. 😉 And these turned out wonderful! My daughter, who generally steers clear of anything rhubarb, kept saying how good they were, to the point of even saying, “I think these are possibly some of the best muffins I’ve ever eaten.” So thank you, from all of my family, for another new recipe hit!
If using coconut oil melted, immediately add to dry ingredients once wet ingredients are combined or make sure buttermilk and egg are room temperature or the coconut oil curdles. Still turned out but was a little worried at first.
Could I use this muffin recipe to make rhubarb bars?
I haven’t tried so I’m not sure. Good luck if you experiment.
I just made these as a Friday afternoon snack and they are yummy! I used frozen rhubarb and didn’t see to thaw/pat dry, but they still turned out fine. A little “undone-y” looking/feeling around the rhubarb, but still tasty! thanks!
I made these for breakfast the other day and figured I would have leftovers for a day or two afterwards (I have 4 boys, but they are all 7 and younger). Well, foolish me should have known. These were so delicious that they were all gone before dinner that day! So so good, my whole family loved them!
My parents’ garden is overflowing with rhubarb and they gave us a bag of stalks a couple of weeks ago, but I’d never cooked with rhubarb before and had no idea what to do with it! I finally pulled it out of the freezer today and made these muffins. I didn’t have quite enough to make up 1.5 cups, so I added in some frozen blueberries, and the combination of flavours worked really well! Aside from substituting coconut oil for sunflower, I think I managed to stick quite faithfully to the recipe. I’ll have to keep your pie and cake recipes in mind for the next time my mum attempts to offload some more rhubarb on to me 🙂
I had a plant ready to be harvested so I’m so glad you posted this recipe. I made these rhubarb muffins and then I also made your rhubarb cake. Since they use a lot of the same ingredients, it was efficient to make both at the same time. I have to say that your rhubarb cake with the warm vanilla sauce has to be one of the best desserts I’ve ever made – and I make a lot of desserts!! The sauce just puts it over the top. Thanks for sharing!
Love the pic of the rhubarb in the wagon! I have some in my freezer and now I know exactly what to do with it. Thanks for the recipe. These look delish!
You mentioned freezing rhubarb to make your strawberry rhubarb pie later. How do you adjust the recipe to accommodate the frozen rhubarb? Rhubarb always has soo much juice once it thaws, so I dont know how to adjust my recipe!
Carmen – I don’t really adjust the recipe, I just make sure the rhubarb is completely thawed and then I drain it really well and pat it dry with paper towels.
Thanks! I always figured I had to keep all that juice. Thanks again for the tip.
These muffins look just lovely! I love the streusel topping – brilliant!
Fifteen plants?! I had one plant that produced like crazy and took up so much space that I finally pulled it out. I cannot imagine how much rhubarb you have to deal with. I wanted to recommend a Buttermilk Rhubarb Cake from Kitchen Confidante’s blog. Fabulous recipe.
Love the wagon picture! I am in the south – a transplant from MN. Rhubarb is in the grocery stores but we pay $3-4 a pound. I am making these muffins tonight!
Wow, those look amazing! I’ve been thinking of growing some rhubarb for years, and these may have convinced me to finally do it! Does it take a lot of space, or spread like crazy? I don’t have a huge yard. Thanks.
Stacey – Rhubarb plants are definitely on the larger size – but one single plant shouldn’t be too cumbersome.
Could you use frozen rhubarb in this recipe
Those look spectacular, great job 🙂
Happy Blogging!
Happy Valley Chow
So jealous of your free rhubarb! Grew up with it in my backyard in Ohio, but no one seems to grow it in St. Louis. It kills me to have to actually pay for it. My absolute favorite pie is called Rhubarb Custard, out of the old Bettery Crocker cookbook, made with an old school Crisco crust. It will change your life. My mom also used to make a rhubarb sauce (almost like applesauce) with fresh ginger–great on it’s own or over ice cream.
Love the muffins. I am so excited to see a recipe for rhubarb drink/punch in the comment thread. I’ve been wanting to search for a rhubarb drink recipe and here it is! Can’t wait to try both of these with my rhubarb.
Two words Rhubarb syrup! Uses a lot of rhubarb and is so amazingly yummy!
Melissa – why didn’t I think of rhubarb syrup??
Lovely rhubarb! My one plant did really good too, but need to get more plants put out. Wonder if you ever heard of making rhubarb drink? We make it and everyone loves it! Here’s the recipe in case you want to try it. 8 cups chopped rhubarb. cover with water and boil for 10 minutes. drain and save liquid. to this liquid add: 2 cup sugar, 2 cup hot water, 2 cup pineapple juice, 1/2 cup lemon juice. Stir till sugar is dissolved. Chill. Stir in some 7-up when ready to serve.(optional) Can be frozen or even canned. hot water bath for 15 minutes.
This drink sounds amazing, Susan! I love this idea – thanks for sharing!
Into my oven they go! So excited to try these, my hubby is a rhubarb lover and trying new recipes along with the old rhubarb crunch standby is always fun:o) We have loved all the recipes we have tried of yours so far. Thank you for your time and energy to provide me with something family friendly and yummy to make for my family!
Just picked up some rhubarb from the farmer’s market last night!! Going to try this! Thanks!
I’m in love with the rhubarb in the wagon! Isn’t it so satisfying using your homegrown crops! I’d love to see more photos of the garden 🙂
I have the same abundance of rhubarb, so thanks for the recipe! Would you know how many ounces the 2 1/2 cups of flour would equal? I must have measuring “issues” and find that I am safer with weights.
Karen – that’s a good question and I agree with you about weighing; unfortunately, I didn’t weigh this flour. Sorry! When I make them again, I will. My guess is it will be right around 12 1/2 ounces (maybe slightly less).
Thanks Mel, and I do love the wagon!
I go with approx 4 – 4.25 ounces per cup of flour. If you did 10 – 11 oz of flour for this recipe it should be enough.
Thanks for your input, Brenda. For what it’s worth, I find it nearly impossible to fill a cup of flour and have it weigh less than 4.75 or 5 ounces. I know that several reputable cooking organizations (like Cook’s Illustrated) use 4 ounces for a cup of flour but I personally think it is a bit unrealistic to measure a cup of flour normally and have it weigh in that range. More realistically, I go with 4.75 or 5 ounces of flour per cup (which is what King Arthur Flour recommends) and find that aligns almost exactly with how I measure normally (using the scoop and sweep method). Everyone is a bit different (which goes back to Karen’s request to have a weight amount – definitely more precise that way!).
They look delicious. I was eyeing up the rhubarb at the market this past weekend. But decided not to buy because I’m not sure we would like it. I’ll have to grab some next time and give these muffins a try. They certainly would help ease my way into it. 🙂
Have a great weekend!
Wow…that wagon full of rhubarb made me smile! The muffins look and sound delicious. Not I’ve got to find some rhubarb!
The wagon picture and this post bring back childhood memories. Grandma always had rhubarb as a side dish just like you would serve applesauce. We kids loved it and often begged for a cereal bowl full as a snack.