It's spring, and that means rhubarb season is here! These strawberry rhubarb muffins have a crunchy streusel topping and are loaded with fruity tart rhubarb and sweet fresh strawberries.
Note: This post was originally published in 2014. It has been updated with better photos and more helpful information.
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Rhubarb is a perrenial vegetable (yes, it's actually classified as a vegetable, not a fruit) is one of the first produce items to show up in early spring. The red and green rhubarb stalks are incredibly tart on their own, (like pucker-up tart). But that tartness makes rhubarb a lovely addition to sweet recipes.
If you have rhubarb in your garden, you will know not to eat the leaves. The stalks are perfectly edible, but the rhubarb leaves contain high levels of oxalic acid, making them toxic to humans and animals.
If you don't grow your own rhubarb plant, you'll need to be on top of it if you want to get your hands on some fresh rhubarb. It makes a brief appearance in the grocery store or farmers market and then it's gone.
I like to freeze some rhubarb so I always have it on hand to make rhubarb jam, rhubarb crisp and even rhubarb pickles. And I love to make rhubarb simple syrup for cocktails and mocktails. But my favorite way to use rhubarb is this strawberry rhubarb muffin recipe.
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Why you'll love this recipe:
- Great texture: This strawberry rhubarb recipe yields a fluffy, tender muffin and the fruit makes them delectably moist.
- Crunchy muffin tops: The streusel topping results in a crisp and caramelized top.
- Easy to make: Just 10 minutes to mix up, and twenty minutes in the oven, is all you need to make these tasty muffins.
- Convenient: Muffins are a great way to have breakfast on the run, as a grab and go snack, or packed in a lunch box.
- Delicious: You can't beat the classic combo of strawberries and rhubarb, and when you add a cinnamon walnut crumble topping, these delicious muffins are a perfect treat.
Ingredient notes:
To make these easy strawberry rhubarb muffins, you'll need the following ingredients:
See the recipe card at the bottom of this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Muffins
- All-purpose flour: I have tested this muffin recipe using both all-purpose flour and a gluten-free flour blend. My gluten-eating taste testers gave the all-purpose a big thumbs up, and I personally can vouch for the GF version. Both resulted in a tender, moist muffins with a perfect rise.
- Baking powder: Many muffin recipes call for both baking powder and baking soda, which needs an acidic ingredient like buttermilk, yogurt, or sour cream to work as a leavener. Baking powder already has an acidic component, so it works fine on it's own here.
- Butter: Use unsalted butter if you have it, but I have made many batches of muffins with salted butter and you really can't tell the difference. However, if you do use salted butter, omit the small amount of salt in the recipe.
- Sugar: This strawberry rhubarb muffins recipe is very moist because of the fruit mixture that it contains. White sugar has less moisture than brown sugar, so it''s the best choice for the muffin batter.
- Eggs: Use large eggs and have them at room temperature.
- Milk: I'm using cashew milk, my current favorite. But you can use any milk, including dairy milk.
- Strawberries: Look for perfectly ripe strawberries for the sweetest contrast to the tartness of the rhubarb.
- Rhubarb: If you are buying rhubarb at the farmers market or grocery store, look for shiny, slender stalks. The rhubarb stalks are usually red with some green or pink. The color doesn't affect the taste.
Streusel topping
- Walnuts: Replace the walnuts with pecans or almonds if you prefer. Use rolled oats instead for a nut-free topping.
- Brown sugar: Brown sugar gives the streusel topping a delicious caramel sweetness.
- Cinnamon: Don't leave out the cinnamon!
- Cold butter: The butter is cut into the topping ingredients to create that perfect crumbly texture.
How to make strawberry rhubarb muffins
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, or using a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar over medium high speed until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs and vanilla, beating until combined.
- Turn mixer to low speed, and add the dry ingredients. Beat until just combined. Add the milk and beat until just combined.
- Gently fold in the chopped rhubarb and strawberries with a spatula.
- Divide the batter evenly in the prepared muffin cups.
- In a small bowl, put the topping together by combining the nuts, cinnamon, & brown sugar. Cut in butter until crumbly
- Divide the streusel topping evenly over the top of each muffin.
Helpful tips
- Room temperature ingredients: For the best results, butter (except for the streusel topping) and eggs should be at room temperature before beginning. Cold butter is too difficult to blend, and cold eggs can increase the baking time.
- Don't over mix: For fluffy muffins, only mix ingredients until they are just combined. Over mixing will result in tough muffins and the baked muffins will have peaked tops rather than domes.
- Paper liners: Paper liners are great for easy cleanup, or use cooking spray, vegetable oil, or butter to grease the muffin pan.
- Fill the pan: Use a cookie scoop or ice cream scoop to fill the muffin cups evenly.
- Streusel topping: Be sure to use cold butter for the topping. Cut the butter into the streusel ingredients with a pastry cutter, or use your fingers. The mixture should resemble coarse crumbs.
- Storage: Store the completely cooled muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the fridge for up to a week.
- Freeze: To freeze, place cooled muffins on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Put them in the freezer for 2-3 hours until they are frozen. Transfer the muffins to a ziplock bag or airtight freezer container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw frozen muffins at room temperature.
Variations
- Gluten-Free: Substitute a gluten-free flour blend containing xanthan gum for the all purpose flour. If your blend doesn't have xanthan gum, you will need to add some according to the package directions. You can also try some alternative flours to make oat flour pumpkin muffins, almond flour blueberry muffins, or banana blueberry oatmeal muffins.
- Fruit: Raspberries or blueberries, are equally good with rhubarb. You can swap either for the strawberries.
- Nut-free: Replace the walnuts in the topping with shredded coconut or rolled oats.
Frequently asked
Yes, you can use frozen strawberries and rhubarb if fresh ones aren't available. Thaw and drain them before adding them to the muffin batter to prevent excess moisture.
I have tested this recipe with less sugar. However, rhubarb is very tart, so the amount in this recipe works perfectly. However, you can reduce the sugar. Just keep in mind that sugar provides moisture, so your muffins can end up dry and crumbly if you reduce it too much. Sugar also increases shelf life.
Can't get enough rhubarb?
If you like this strawberry rhubarb muffin recipe and want more rhubarb, I have more recipes for you!
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a rating in the comments below and let us know how it turned out. Did you make any changes? We would love for you to share and your feedback is important! Thank you for visiting The Food Blog!
Recipe
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Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup butter
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup milk
- 1 cups rhubarb chopped
- 1 cups strawberries chopped
Streusel Topping
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- ⅓ cup brown sugar packed
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon cold butter
Instructions
Muffins
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners, or spray with cooking oil.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, or using a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar over medium high speed until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs and vanilla, beating until combined.
- Turn mixer to low speed, and add the dry ingredients. Beat until just combined.
- Add the milk and beat until just combined.
- Fold in the rhubarb and strawberries with a spatula.
- Divide the batter evenly in the prepared muffin cups.
Streusel Topping
- In a small bowl, put the topping together by combining the nuts, cinnamon, & brown sugar.
- Use a pastry blender or your fingers to cut in butter until crumbly. Mixture should look like coarse crumbs.
- Divide the streusel topping evenly over the top of the muffins.
- Bake muffins for 20 minutes or until tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer the muffins to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Room temperature ingredients: For the best results, butter (except for the streusel topping) and eggs should be at room temperature before beginning. Cold butter is too difficult to blend, and cold eggs can increase the baking time.
- Don't over mix: For fluffy muffins, only mix ingredients until they are just combined. Over mixing will result in tough muffins and the baked muffins will have peaked tops rather than domes.
- Paper liners: Paper liners are great for easy cleanup, or use cooking spray, vegetable oil, or butter to grease the muffin pan.
- Fill the pan: Use a cookie scoop or ice cream scoop to fill the muffin cups evenly.
- Streusel topping: Be sure to use cold butter for the topping. Cut the butter into the streusel ingredients with a pastry cutter, or use your fingers. The mixture should resemble coarse crumbs.
- Storage: Store the completely cooled muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the fridge for up to a week.
- Freeze: To freeze, place cooled muffins on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Put them in the freezer for 2-3 hours until they are frozen. Transfer the muffins to a ziplock bag or airtight freezer container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw frozen muffins at room temperature.
Debbie
Question: my rhubarb sat too long in the refrigerator, sadly. Can I make this just using only strawberries or will it be too sweet them? Thanks so very much.
Colleen
Hi Debbie, You can make the muffins with all strawberries, but I would cut the sugar to 1/2 cup. I would love to hear back how it turns out for you!