33 Amazing Rhubarb Desserts You Must Try Today!

Rhubarb is a delicious vegetable that comes from the plant genus Rheum. Rhubarb has long been known for its tart flavor and beautiful pink color. This versatile fruit is often served raw or cooked into pies, jams, compotes, and even ice cream.

Rhubarb is native to Europe and Asia and was introduced to North America during colonial times. The stalks of rhubarb are harvested before they reach maturity, and then the leaves and roots are removed.

Rhubarb is also a great source of fiber, vitamin C, potassium, and manganese.

1. Rhubarb Bread Crumble Cake

Rhubarb is one of those fruits that people either love or hate. We fall into the former category, and this recipe is our way of showing off how delicious rhubarb can be.

And yes, it does require some patience, but the payoff is worth it. You’ll find yourself making this again and again because it just gets better and better every time you make it.

The batter for this cake is very thick, so don’t worry about mixing everything together too much. Once you’ve mixed the ingredients together, pour the batter into a greased 8×8-inch baking dish.

2. Rhubarb Pie

Rhubarb is something you may feel conflicted about, but we do enjoy it in pies and cobblers. And since we’re talking about rhubarb, let us tell you why we love it so much.

First off, it’s tart and sweet at the same time. Secondly, it’s incredibly versatile. You can use any type of rhubarb—red stalks, green leaves, even golden ones.

3. Best Roasted Rhubarb & Strawberries

This recipe is inspired by our love of baking and roasting fruit. We wanted to make something that looked beautiful and tasted delicious.

So we found this dish that combines the best elements of both worlds – the simplicity of a dessert and the beauty of a savory side.

4. Best Rhubarb Gin Fizz

A classic 19th-century cocktail with a modern twist. This drink features rhubarb syrup, rosewater, gin, and lemon juice in a tall glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with mint leaves and serve chilled.

5. Rhubarb Crumble Bars

Rhubarb is one of our favorite fruits. We love it raw, cooked, baked into pies, or just eaten straight out of hand.

So we figured there had to be something else we could do with rhubarb besides baking it into a pie. Enter crumble bars—a perfect balance of sweet and tart, and a good way to use up some extra rhubarb.

These are best served warm, straight out of the oven. If you prefer your cold, let them cool completely, wrap well, and refrigerate overnight. Serve chilled or warmed.

6. Best Rhubarb And Almond Crumb Cake

This recipe combines almond flour with whole wheat pastry flour and uses less sugar than traditional recipes.

You can use whatever fruit you like – strawberries, blueberries, peaches, apples, plums, etc. We used rhubarb because it was in season, but feel free to try something else.

7. Gin And Rhubarb Sorbet

This summer treat combines rhubarb with gin and rose water to make a refreshingly light dessert. You’ll want to serve it immediately because it melts quickly.

Combine the rhubarb, sugar, lemon juice, and vodka in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the mixture reduces to about half its volume, 10 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to a blender and purée until smooth. Add the rosewater and cream and blend again until combined. Pour into a bowl and chill thoroughly.

8. Rye Shortcakes With Roasted Rhubarb And Strawberries

To make this, you’ll combine the simple syrup with lemon juice, orange juice, and sugar; whisk together sour cream, egg yolks, butter, and salt; fold in whipped cream and ground almonds, and bake at 350 °F for about 20 minutes.

Once cool, top each slice with roasted strawberries and rhubarb, drizzle with honey, and dust with powdered sugar. These are great served warm, straight out of the oven, or chilled for a few hours.

9. Rhubarb Curd Style Shortbread

The recipe calls for about 2 cups of rhubarb purée, but we used 4 cups because we altered our recipe. You could use frozen rhubarb, too, but we think fresh is better.

10. Best Rhubarb Scones

This recipe is based on a classic rhubarb cake recipe. We’ve swapped out the butter for full-fat cream cheese, added a little vanilla essence, and replaced the whole egg with an egg white.

These are really rich, so you might want to serve them as a treat rather than breakfast. They’re best eaten straight away, though, because the rhubarb doesn’t keep well.

11. Rhubarb With Cardamom, Early Grey Tea, And Amazing Orange Zest

Rhubarb is a wonderful addition to desserts because it adds acidity, sweetness, color, and flavor.

But you don’t want to overdo it. In fact, you might even prefer to keep it simple. This recipe is a great example of how to make something delicious out of just three ingredients.

The trick here is to use enough rhubarb to give you lots of texture, but not so much that you end up with mushy rhubarb. You’ll know when you’ve got the balance right when you taste the finished dish.

12. Strawberry-Rhubarb Tres Leches Cake

The cake itself is a simple one: three layers of moist sponge cake filled with whipped cream and doused in a sweet custard sauce. But the real magic happens when you add fruits into the batter.

Instead of simply blending the fruit into the cake batter as many recipes call for, add the fruits separately, as this allows the flavors to come out stronger.

13. Rhubarb Ice Cream Sandwiches

For this recipe, we used homemade vanilla bean ice cream and added a little mint extract to give it a kick. For the topping, we mixed mascarpone cheese with honey and chopped candied ginger (see also ‘35 Delicious Mascarpone Desserts You Won’t Be Able to Get Enough Of‘).

Then we sandwiched the semifreddo between ginger cookies and topped each one off with a dollop of the mascarpone filling. These sandwiches turned out really well, although they’re best eaten within a few days of making them.

14. Rhubarb Coffee Cake Recipe

Rhubarb coffee cakes are perfect for springtime. This one features a cardamom-ginger crumble topping and a lemon curd filling (see also ‘23 Simple Lemon Curd Desserts You Need To Try!‘).

15. Anne Dimock’s Rhubarb Pie Recipe

Rhubarb is one of our favorite fruits — it’s tart and juicy, and it pairs well with almost anything. But we’re always looking for ways to bring out its best qualities, especially in pies.

This recipe combines the natural sweetness of rhubarb with a little spice from cinnamon and adds a touch of vanilla for balance.

The key here is to use very ripe fruit, preferably straight off the plant; otherwise, the rhubarb will taste too astringent.

You’ll also want to make sure you wash the stalks thoroughly before chopping them up. And don’t worry about the crust — it’s really just there to hold everything together.

16. Rhubarb Upside Down Cake

This upside-down cake is one you’ll want to make again and again. Because it’s filled with a sweet, fruity filling and topped with a crunchy, buttery crumble, it’s certain to impress friends and family. Plus, it’s easy enough to make even if you’re short on time.

17. Strawberry And Rhubarb Meringue Cupcakes

We filled this classic dessert with a light meringue topping and topped it off with a sweet glaze. These vanilla cupcakes are easy to make and perfect for summer picnics.

18. Rye And Rhubarb Cake Recipe

The combination of rye flour and rhubarb is one we’ve been missing since we moved away from wheat bread. So we’re thrilled to discover this simple and delicious cake recipe that uses both ingredients.

This cake is light and moist, thanks to the addition of eggs and butter, and it’s great served warm out of the oven. But you could easily make it ahead of time and keep it chilled for up to three days.

19. Ketmer – Cream, Pistachio, & Rose Baklava

The flavor profile here is pretty straightforward—cream cheese, pistachios, and rose water, all mixed together into a light pastry dough. But there are some tricks up the chefs’ sleeves.

For starters, you’ll notice that the cream filling doesn’t actually use cream cheese; it uses mascarpone, a milder cousin of regular cream cheese.

This makes the pastry lighter and less dense, while still maintaining a rich taste. The rose syrup adds a subtle floral note, and the combination of the three flavors works well.

20. Rhubarb Crisp

Rhubarb chips are our favorite way to enjoy rhubarb, they’re easy enough that you can make them once a week and store them in the freezer for later use.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 13 x 9-inch baking dish. In a large bowl, combine rhubarb, sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon; toss well to mix. Transfer mixture to prepared pan. Using a fork, poke holes evenly across the surface of the fruit.

21. No Churn Rhubarb Ice Cream

Rhubarb isn’t just a vegetable — it’s one of our favorite fruits. We love its tart flavor, beautiful pink color, and crisp texture. But we didn’t know much about making rhubarb desserts. Until now.

This recipe is so easy, you’ll be whipping up batches of this rhubarb ice cream all summer long.

You’ll start by boiling down some rhubarb stalks. Then you’ll blend the mixture with sweetened condensed milk, vanilla extract, and half-and-half. Finally, you’ll fold in whipped cream and freeze.

22. Strawberry Rhubarb Tarts

Rhubarb is naturally tart. To make things even better, you can add some sweet strawberries for a tangy treat. This scrumptious recipe combines the best parts of rhubarb and strawberry together in a simple, easy-to-make tart.

Make sure your dough is cold enough to roll out and cut into circles. If it starts to warm up too much, cover it with plastic wrap and pop it in the fridge.

23. Rhubarb Dump Cake

Do you know what we love about springtime? When there are tons of great foods coming out. One such food is rhubarb. If you haven’t tried it, you’re missing out. It’s tart, delicious, and versatile.

You can eat it raw, stewed, baked, or even frozen. But one thing we’ve never done with rhubarb is baked it. Until now.

This recipe for Rhubarb Dump cake is perfect because it’s simple to make and requires just 5 basic ingredients. Plus, it tastes like a fluffy yellow cake with a hint of fruitiness.

24. Rhubarb Muffins

These tart muffins are perfect for fall. They’re moist and tender thanks to the addition of sour cream and eggs. The rhubarb adds a natural sweetness, while the crunchy topping gives it just enough texture.

25. Strawberry Rhubarb No Bake Cheesecake

Cheesecake is one of those desserts that everyone loves, but it can be hard to make because it requires constant attention while baking.

This recipe solves that problem by making individual cheesecakes that bake up fast, without any fuss. They’re easy enough to serve guests too.

You don’t even need an oven to make these treats — just use a microwave to heat the crust, and put the cheesecake batter into paper cups. After they cool down, pop them out, slice ’em up, and enjoy!

26. Dark Chocolate Rhubarb Brownies

Chocolate and rhubarb are often thought of as bitter opposites. But when you combine them in these rich, decadent brownies, it turns out they make a surprisingly good pair.

27. Skillet Rhubarb Cobbler

Rhubarb cobbler is a traditional American dessert made with fruit like apples, pears, peaches, plums, and berries combined with flour, oats, butter, milk, eggs, and cinnamon.

For this recipe, we used rhubarb because it’s in season now and perfect for baking. You could use strawberries or blueberries too.

28. Rhubarb And Lemon Cookies

Lemon and rhubarb are both tart fruits, and it takes some courage to combine them.

But what could possibly go wrong? These cookies prove otherwise. They’re soft and buttery, and the combination of flavors is subtle but delicious. And because they’re easy to make, you’ll want to make them often.

29. Rhubarb Crunch

Rhubarb Crunch is one of our favorite desserts. It’s soft and sweet, with just enough tartness to balance out the sweetness.

And best of all, there are no weird ingredients like gelatin or corn syrup. You’ll find it in most supermarkets, but if you want to make it at home, here’s how.

30. Rhubarb Galette

Rhubarb galettes are very similar to quiches because they are both open-faced pies with a thin pastry base and a filling of fruit. But unlike quiches, where you cut out individual slices, galettes are more like tarts because they are baked whole.

This makes them easier to serve and eat. To make a rhubarb galette, start with a pre-baked 9-inch pie shell. Fill the bottom half of the shell with a mixture of chopped rhubarb, sugar, lemon juice and zest, butter, and flour.

Top with another layer of dough, add some sliced almonds, and bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Let cool before serving.

31. Rhubarb Bread Pudding Recipe

The base of this dessert is a classic bread pudding, but there are some key differences.

For starters, we’re using thick slices of crusty French baguette, which adds depth of flavor and texture. We’ve also added a few ingredients to give our bread pudding a little extra kick.

First, we’ve combined butter and brown sugar to form a caramelized topping. Next, we stirred in cinnamon and nutmeg. Finally, we’ve mixed in chopped rhubarb, which gives our bread pudding a tart sweetness.

32. Rhubarb And Greek Yogurt Popsicles

Rhubarb is one of our favorite fruits. We love how tart and juicy it tastes, and we always look forward to having it around. When we found out about frozen yogurt, we knew there had to be some way to combine the two. And now there is!

This recipe combines two of our favorites — rhubarb and Greek yogurt — and freezes perfectly in cute little molds. They’re great served straight from the freezer or warmed up in the microwave.

33. Pistachio Rhubarb Trifle Recipe

This decadent trifle has it all – sponge, syrup, Custard, and fruit. It’s an enticing explosion that’ll dazzle guests and family members alike with its flavors and textures.

The base layer is made of rich, creamy custard, while the layers are made up of vanilla and almond cake, custard, rhubarb purée, and more custard. Then there’s a topping of whipped cream, a drizzle of Sherry Syrup, and a sprinkle of crunchy pistachios.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do You Freeze Rhubarb?

If you’re lucky enough to have rhubarb growing in your garden, there’s no doubt you have more rhubarbs than you can eat. Luckily, frozen rhubarb keeps well for up to one year.

Simply place chopped rhubarb in freezer bags and store it in the freezer. Frozen rhubarb takes about 3 hours to thaw, and you can cook with it straight out of the bag. You can even add it to smoothies, pies, ice cream, or yogurt.

What Exactly Does Rhubarb Taste Like?

Rhubarb is a fibrous veg similar to celery, but it lacks crispness. Rhubarb is typically cut up into small pieces for cooking purposes.

If you eat rhubarb raw, you’ll find it very bitter and sour. The texture of rhubarb resembles a bite into walnuts; smooth with a slight crunchiness.

In traditional recipes, rhubarb is often paired with strawberries and sugar to make pie or cobbler. However, rhubarb is also great used alone or mixed with other fruits.

Final Thoughts

Rhubarb is not only delicious, but it’s also versatile. This vegetable is perfect for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and desserts. It pairs well with just about anything. Plus, it’s easy to grow at home. So if you haven’t tried rhubarb yet, get started today!