Easy Rhubarb Muffins with Glaze
This recipe for easy rhubarb muffins with a crumb topping has an orange-infused glaze that adds a delightful flavor and are made with whole grains to keep them healthier. Perfect for breakfast, snack or afternoon tea.
Be sure to check out these Best Bread Recipes for more simple bread ideas!
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Every afternoon between around 3:00 I start craving a cup of tea. Strong Irish Breakfast tea from Trader Joes (awesome, trust me) with a bit of milk.
Mmmm, it’s so comforting that I usually have it all year round – much to my daughter’s dismay. She cannot believe that I would drink something hot when it’s hot outside (though when it gets really hot, like 95 degrees, I do switch to iced tea – I’m not completely wacko).
So in the spring when the stalks of our rhubarb plants are big enough, I like to make a batch of a favorite snack to go with the tea – a lightly glazed rhubarb muffin with a hint of orange (well, half a muffin along with a few nuts for protein, just like I wrote here about weight loss and maintenance).
They are so moist, with a crumbly streusel top and orange-infused glaze which makes them perfect with a cup of tea.
Of course, they are also perfect for breakfast with a cup of coffee in the morning. It’s totally your choice!
TIP: if you want a double-rhubarb treat, add some of this honey lemon rhubarb butter to the muffin like I pictured here – whoa, shockingly good.
Glazed Rhubarb Muffins Recipe
Ingredients
You’ll need baking basics for this recipe in addition to the rhubarb and orange:
- Whole wheat pastry flour – pastry flour will keep your muffins lighter than regular whole wheat.
- Whole rolled oats
- Brown sugar
- Baking powder, baking soda and salt
- Egg
- Butter or coconut oil
- Orange juice – about 2 oranges
- Zest of 1 orange
- Diced rhubarb
- Cinnamon
- Powdered sugar – for the optional glaze which adds such a lovely finish.
Easy Ingredient Swaps
- I like fresh rhubarb for these muffins but you can use frozen: simply thaw and dust with a bit of flour before using to avoid sogginess.
- You can substitute all purpose flour for the pastry flour.
- Coconut sugar will work as well as brown sugar.
- To keep it dairy free, use coconut oil instead of butter.
- The orange juice is refreshing, but you can use water or another juice like lemon or apple if you don’t have any and omit the zest (or use lemon zest).
Instructions
A few simple steps are all you need to make these tender muffins:
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees and line or grease 12 muffin cups.
- Stir the dry muffin ingredients to a bowl.
- Whisk the wet muffin ingredients in a smaller bowl and then add to the dry ingredients, mixing just until moist (don’t over mix).
- Fold in the diced rhubarb.
- Mix up the topping ingredients and spoon it evenly over the muffin tops.
- Fill muffin cups evenly – about 3/4 full and bake about 20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool for 10 minutes in the pan and then turn the muffins gently out onto a rack.
- Whisk together the glaze ingredients, if using, and drizzle over the tops of the muffins while cooling on the rack.
BAKING TIPS:
- I like to chop the rhubarb into a small dice to make sure that they are distributed and bake evenly.
- Turn the muffin pan halfway through baking to assure muffins bake uniformly when baking non-convection.
Tips for Storing
- To avoid crushing the streusel, store in a lidded container big enough to hold them at room temperature about 3 days.
- To store longer, freeze in the container or flash freeze on a cookie sheet and then add to freezer baggies or containers.
- Will store for 3-4 months in the freezer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Rhubarb is actually a perennial vegetable (though the US declared it a fruit in the 1940s for importing) with celery-like stalks that you can harvest to use in cooking. The leaves are mildly poisonous (read more about this in the Ultimate Rhubarb Guide), so toss them and use only the stalks which are usually combined with other fruit or sugar to balance the tartness.
Rhubarb is one of the first spring plants we can harvest in the garden, usually about mid-spring. Harvesting of the stalks can continue through mid-summer when you should leave the remaining stalks to grow and feed the plant for the next year.
Grocery stores should have it stocked in the produce aisle from May through the summer.
I have never peeled the stalks I’ve harvested from my garden unless the stalks are old (or mid summer stalks) and they are already starting to peel, and then it’s usually just the cut ends where they have already started peeling. Smaller, more tender stalks do not need to be peeled and it’s your choice on larger stalks.
There is no difference between the two except for color. Older varieties tend to be more green since wild rhubarb is green and newer varieties have been bred to be more red. Both work in recipes, though the color will obviously be different in the finished product.
Recommended Tools Used in This Recipe
- I love the heavy duty USA brand pans like this muffin tin.
- I prefer greasing the tin, but if you like liners, parchment baking cups never stick to the baked muffins.
- Using a spring-loaded large muffin scoop makes filling the cups a breeze.
- A 4-cup glass measure with a spout is useful for mixing and pouring the wet ingredients.
- I love this smaller size whisk for making glazes.
- A large heavy duty cooling rack lasts forever (and doubles as a meat/poultry roasting rack).
Don’t forget to check out all of my favorite kitchen essentials.
More Rhubarb Recipes You’ll Love
- Amazing Honey Lemon Rhubarb Butter
- Fantastic Rhubarb Honey Crumb bar recipe
- Small Batch Honey Rhubarb Ginger Jam
- Rhubarb Chutney Salad Dressing Recipe
- Spicy Rhubarb Chutney to Can or Freeze
- Easy Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce
- 3 Ingredient Rhubarb Strawberry Sauce
And for all things rhubarb be sure to check out The Ultimate Rhubarb Guide where you’ll be able to find growing info about rhubarb, preserving ideas, and a whole list of recipes.
But right now I want you to make a batch of these tender rhubarb muffins, brew a cup of tea and see what I mean.
You may just have a new favorite, at least during rhubarb season – and since they freeze wonderfully you can stretch that season a bit longer!
I hope you love these delicious rhubarb muffins – if you make them, please leave a rating and a comment letting me know, I’d be so thankful!
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Glazed Orange Rhubarb Muffins
Equipment
- 12 cup muffin tin
- large bowl, wooden spoon
- cooling rack
Ingredients
Muffins:
- 1 ¼ cups whole wheat pastry flour (can substitute all-purpose)
- 3/4 cup whole rolled oats
- 1/3 cup brown sugar or coconut sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup melted butter or coconut oil
- 1/2 cup orange juice plus more for glaze
- zest of 1 orange divided
- 3/4 cup diced rhubarb
Topping:
- 1/4 cup whole rolled oats
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon butter softened
- 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
- remaining orange zest
Optional Glaze:
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons orange juice
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 12 muffin cups by greasing or adding cupcake liners.
- In a large mixing bowl combine the first six ingredients, mixing well.
- In a 4-cup glass measure combine egg, oil, juice and zest; stir into the dry ingredients, making sure that everything is moist but not over mixing. Fold in rhubarb.
- Fill prepared muffin cups about 3/4 full (a spring-loaded large cookie or ice cream scoops works great for this).
- Combine all the topping ingredients in a small bowl and divide it evenly over the tops of the filled muffin cups.
- Bake for about 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick come out clean, rotating pans halfway through baking.
- Cool for a 10 minutes in pan and then remove muffins to a wire rack – carefully, these are delicate muffins.
- Meanwhile, prepare the glaze by whisking the juice and powdered sugar together until it’s a pouring consistency. Use a spoon to drizzle the glaze over the tops of the cooling muffins.
- Serve slightly warm or let cool completely before storing at room temperature for a day or two. These muffins freeze beautifully for a couple months, as well.
Notes
Nutrition
I made these muffins this afternoon. Doubled up the recipe so i had some to freeze and converted into metric (I’m in the UK)… Absolutely gorgeous. Really, honestly there’s no way there’ll be any going in the freezer now! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe.
Oh, I’m so glad Debbie! I’m waiting for this year’s rhubarb to ripen and then I’m making some more. 🙂
Ooooooooh, these sound amazing. I couldn’t take it anymore. I cut three small stalks off my plant today and made the Rhubarb Takes The Cake. Had my first piece after dinner. As delicious as I wanted it to be. Tomorrow is Mimosa Friday with the Mom Club, so I can pawn some off on them. Otherwise, I’d eat the whole dang pan. I’m definitely trying these muffins. Yum, yum.
Mimosa Friday? That’s some kinda mom club!! 😉
Hi Jami,
This is definitely a keeper! Thanks. And by the way, my hubby and I love our cup of Irish breakfast tea around 3:00 every day too ( tea time means a break from working in the garden ).
🙂
These look so good. I have never used rhubarb. I don’t see it around here much. Maybe I haven’t looked good enough.
Hmm, that’s too bad, Charlotte! I didn’t realize it was scarce in some parts of the country until Angi mentioned it being hard to find in Texas on yesterday’s TGP. 🙁
I read this post about 7:30 on Thursday morning. I went straight to the garden to pick rhubarb and the muffins are in the oven right now. I’m sure they will be as delicious as they look! Thank you.
Wow, that’s the first time I’ve gotten a comment like this, Sue – you’re quick. 😉 Of course I think your timing is perfect – you’ll have them fresh from the oven for breakfast!
We did have them for breakfast–and they were delicious. A half of muffin with my afternoon tea, too 🙂
PS the mobile version of your site is perfection!
Wow, thanks, Ann – though I bet you haven’t tried to search anything, lol – I’ll plug in the exact title and it will tell me that there are no results, ha! Seriously shrug my shoulders at all these technological things!
These look amazing and your photos are stunning. Plus I love anything with citrus so these are a definite must try!
Thank you so much, Ann!