Rhubarb muffin recipe makes a moist sweet and tender muffin loaded with fresh rhubarb under a warm and crunchy brown sugar cinnamon streusel topping.
Rhubarb is one of the first things to pop up once the weather gets warmer. We love the stuff and these Rhubarb Muffins with Cinnamon Butter Crumble is one of the first things I make whenever I get my hands on some.
It’s time for the Spring version of “The Freaky Friday” blog hop, and I’m bringing Rhubarb Oat Muffins with Cinnamon Butter Crumble to the party!
The Freaky Friday blog hop organized by Michaela who runs An Affair From the Heart, is a group of bloggers that are secretly assigned each others’ blogs from which we choose a recipe.
It is so much fun, and the bloggers that participate are all amazing foodies. The biggest problem I always have is picking just one recipe to post about.
This time I had the pleasure of being assigned Michele’s blog “Bacon Fatte“. Michele is a Minnesota gal who doesn’t apologize for her use of bacon, butter, or booze.
How can you not love someone like that? Michele does an amazing job making colorful dishes for the family and some amazing entertaining cuisine.
I had a heck of a task trying to decide on which recipe to make. Her Linguine con le Vongole and her New Potato Salad with Basil, Shallots, and Lemon were all contenders.
Our selection needed to be springy was the only stipulation. You know me, guess what my search gravitated toward?
Yep, bread and Michele didn’t disappoint. I had my eye on her Spiced Bakery Style Ginger Pear Muffins but her Rhubarb Oat Muffins with Cinnamon Butter Crumble were the ultimate winner.
These muffins have such a beautiful contrast between the sweetened rhubarb and warm cinnamon and brown sugar.
Even though the batter is quite thick they bake up soft and tender. They’re perfect with a cup of coffee for breakfast or a special treat with dinner. They’re easy to put together and makes up to 24 muffins!
How to make Rhubarb Muffins
There are two steps to making these muffins. I make the Streusel top first and just set it aside. Let’s start with it.
Cinnamon Brown Sugar Streusel Topping
- Combine flour, old-fashioned oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and turbinado sugar together in a small bowl.
- Dice cold butter. Using two forks or a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it appears crumbly. Set aside (I put mine in the refrigerator).
- Don’t overwork it or it will blend together and not crumble over the muffin.
- Don’t use your fingers. The heat in your hands will soften the butter and break down your crumble.
Muffin Batter
- In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, oats, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together until blended.
- In a separate bowl combine the wet ingredients, milk, vinegar, vanilla extract, oil, and egg. Whisk together.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients using a spatula. Mix only until combined.
- Fold in the rhubarb.
Assemble/Finish
- Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Sprinkle with additional rhubarb pieces and crumble. For an extra crunch sprinkle the top with turbinado sugar.
- Bake
Tips for the perfect muffin
- Chop the rhubarb into smaller pieces to ensure that it disperses evenly and bakes evenly.
- Milk and vinegar listed in the ingredients can be replaced with buttermilk.
- Don’t over mix the crumble or the batter, mixing only as long as necessary. Over mixing will result in a tough muffin.
- You can use frozen rhubarb. Frozen rhubarb holds a lot of moisture and should ve thawed and extra moisture lightly pressed before using it.
- Turn the muffin pan halfway through baking to assure muffins bake evenly. Remove the muffins when a toothpick or cake tester comes out with light crumbs.
- Let the muffins cool in the pan 10 minutes and then remove them from the pan.
- It’s best to use two pans but if you only have one, make sure it’s cool before refilling it.
Storing Rhubarb Muffins
Muffins are best stored in a cake carrier or covered container once they’re completely cool. They don’t do well in a plastic bag because the crumble will become soggy. Muffins freeze well in an airtight container.
Other Rhubarb recipes that you may enjoy
Pin it this amazing rhubarb muffin recipe!
We’re muffin lovers and these are some of our favorites!
- Basic Muffin Recipe
- Mango Muffins
- Lemon Pistachio Muffins
- Crystallized Ginger Muffins
- Double Chocolate Muffins
- Cherry Almond Muffins
Rhubarb Oat Muffins with Cinnamon Butter Crumble
Ingredients
Cinnamon Butter Crumble
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter chilled and cut into 1/4″ pieces
- 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup old-fashioned oats
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp turbinado sugar optional (sugar in the raw)
Rhubarb Muffins
Dry Ingredients
- 2-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1-1/4 cups brown sugar I used dark brown sugar but either is fine
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 tsp white vinegar or lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil or canola
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 2 cups rhubarb chopped – reserve 1/4 cup for topping
Instructions
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two standard muffin pans with cupcake liners or spray with a non-stick cooking spray.
Cinnamon Butter Crumble
- Combine crumble ingredients in a small bowl. Use two forks to cut butter into other ingredients. I use a pastry cutter to cut the ingredients together until it resembles coarse crumbs. If the butter gets too warm it will not crumble. Refrigerate the butter if it gets too soft before crumbling if necessary.
Rhubarb Muffins
- In a large mixing bowl add flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, oats, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together to combine.
- in a medium bowl combine milk, vinegar, vanilla extract, oil, and egg. Whisk together.
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix together until just combined. Fold in 1-3/4 cups chopped rhubarb.
- Fill muffin cups 1/2 to 3/4 full. Top with remaining rhubarb and crumble. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
- Bake 20 to 25 minutes rotating pans halfway through baking. Remove from the oven when a toothpick inserted in the middle of the muffin comes out clean. Cool muffins 10 minutes in the pan and then remove them to a baking rack to finish cooling or serve warm.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator. May be frozen for a longer period of time.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
This recipe was calculated using the exact brands and measurements I used to make this recipe. If you are following a strict diet please note changing anything will cause the nutritional info to change. My calculations are intended as a guide only.
Just go see for yourself all of the amazing recipes on Bacon Fatte. I’ll guarantee you’ll want to stay awhile. While you’re at it, take a look at what these other Freaky Friday participants are cooking up!
A Dish of Daily Life – Korean BBQ Chicken Skewers
An Affair from the Heart – Everything Bagel Dip
Bacon Fatte – No Bake Strawberry Shortcake Dessert
Bowl Me Over – Best Enchilada Sauce
Hostess at Heart – Rhubarb Oat Muffins
LeMoine Family Kitchen – Brown Sugar Jalapeño Bacon
Life Currents – French Onion Tart
Lisa’s Dinnertime Dish – Tuscan Pork Sheet Pan Dinner
Mildly Meandering – Roasted Red Pepper Dip
Take Two Tapas – Mexican Beer Cheese Skillet
West Via Midwest – Reuben Totchos
Who Needs a Cape? – Raspberry Daiquiri Pie
Janine
Tuesday 11th of October 2022
Just made these with the following substitutions: 1/2 c oil became 1/4 c oil + 1/4 c plain Greek yogurt 11% MF; 1 c milk became 1/2 c plain Greek yogurt 11%MF + fill to 1c with milk (happen to have 1%); for crumble I used salted butter (thats what i had thawed) then cut the salt in the dry ingredients to just under 1/2 tsp. They turned out great but leaning to the moist side. I also use large flake oats ALWAYS when baking as I find they give a more wholesome texture. Additionally, tsp cinnamon = 1 heaping tsp cinnamon whenever I bake haha. I usually leave rhubarb chunks large as I do like the tangy bite but don't mind these being more mild on the rhubarb flavour (my rhubarb was frozen). Probably would be good with a few other 'winter' spices (cloves, nutmeg, allspice etc) but I found the cinnamon flavour came through nicely as was perfect as is. I found the recipe is under yield for 24 muffins. Only filled 21 cups for me (tip add water to baking cups that remain empty in your tray to keep things more moist). Now to try and avoid eating them all before tomorrow's baby club!
Julie Menghini
Wednesday 12th of October 2022
Hi Janine! Thank you for your tips! I'm sure there are a lot of readers that will find value in them. I hope your baby club enjoys them!
Roberta
Wednesday 6th of July 2022
I'm sorry to say we didn't really enjoy these muffins. They are far too sweet for our liking. I'm not a good enough baker to know how much sugar I can omit without affecting the end product (e.g., too dry, too crumbly). As another reviewer said, some extra spice like nutmeg would jazz up the flavour. The whole purpose of a rhubarb muffin is to enjoy the tartness of the rhubarb. This recipe missed the mark.
Julie Menghini
Thursday 7th of July 2022
I'm sorry it wasn't for you. You can eliminate as much sugar as you want. If you found it too sweet, start with half and go from there. Thank you for letting me know.
Rocco
Friday 10th of June 2022
Not sure what these muffins are suppose to taste like but they are bland and doughy. After 25 min in the oven they were quite raw and doughy. Had to cook them 12-15 min longer but they were still very bland.
Julie Menghini
Friday 10th of June 2022
That's really odd. I've not had anyone with this complaint. You may want to check your oven temperature's accuracy?
Marsha Brunsting
Tuesday 31st of May 2022
I haven't tried them yet, but it looks great. I just found it interesting that under the Cinnamon Brown Sugar Streusel Topping, you say, "Don’t use your fingers. The heat in your hands will soften the butter and break down your crumble.", and in the recipe say, " I used my fingers and “pinch” the ingredients together until it resembles coarse crumbs.
Julie Menghini
Wednesday 1st of June 2022
Thanks for pointing that out for me Marsha! It does work better if you don't use your fingers because the butter is what creates that crunchy crumble and if it's to soft or melted it doesn't work as well. I'll jump over and make that correction and sincerely thank you for pointing that out to me! ~Julie
Lauren
Sunday 29th of May 2022
These are amazing! My 3yo devoured them without a moments hesitation. I substituted 1/2c of the rhubarb for strawberries, but I bet they taste just as good as-is.
Julie Menghini
Monday 30th of May 2022
What a great tip, Lauren! I love it when the kiddos enjoy something I've made. Thank you!