These healthy rhubarb muffins are the perfect way to celebrate spring! Made with fresh rhubarb, buttermilk, and brown sugar, these healthy muffins work well as a simple breakfast, delicious snack, or delightful addition to a spring brunch.
I don’t know about you but I absolutely love rhubarb season and look forward to it every year. While sometimes considered a fruit, rhubarb in fact a vegetable known for its long red stalks and sour taste. Due to its sour taste, it’s rarely eaten raw and, while its dried roots have been used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years, it’s commonly cooked with sugar and used in cakes, pies, pastries, crumbles, and jams. Although rhubarb only grows for a short season, you can actually freeze it raw, blanched, or fully cooked to preserve this special spring treat for use at other times of the year.
How to Make Healthy Rhubarb Muffins
- Prepare the rhubarb by removing any leaves and slicing it into bite-size pieces.
- Combine the dry ingredients and wet ingredients in separate bowls and whisk until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold gently to combine.
- Add fresh, chopped rhubarb to the muffin batter and fold again.
- Fill muffins cup with batter 2/3 of the way.
- Bake until moist and fluffy!
I added a sprinkle of sugar on top of my muffins for an extra touch of sweetness; however, you could certainly omit this step if you prefer.
Is frozen rhubarb as good as fresh?
Absolutely! Fresh rhubarb stalks can easily be stored in the freezer in an airtight container or bag for up to 3 months. The stalks can be frozen whole or sliced into bite-size pieces; simply place the rhubarb on a large baking sheet and transfer it to the freezer until the rhubarb is frozen through, this will take 2-3 hours. Once frozen, remove the baking sheet from the oven, transfer the rhubarb to a container or bag and return to the freezer until you’re ready to use it. Frozen rhubarb can be added directly to the muffin batter, there is no need to thaw the rhubarb before using it.
Buttermilk Rhubarb Muffins
How do you store rhubarb muffins?
Rhubarb muffins, like all muffins, can be stored in an airtight container or bag at room temperature for up to 4 days. To freeze muffins, add them to an airtight container or plastic bag, separating layers by a piece of baking paper or wax paper to ensure they don’t stick together and store them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
If you’ve never cooked with rhubarb, I highly suggest you make these muffins your starting point. Not only is rhubarb the perfect addition to muffins but it’s a good source of fiber and antioxidants, which helps to make this muffin recipe equally nutritious as it is delicious.
More Healthy Rhubarb Recipes:

Rhubarb Muffins
Made with fresh rhubarb, brown sugar, and buttermilk, these rhubarb muffins are light, fluffy and healthy! Not only do they work well for breakfast and snacks but they also store well in the freezer for months to come.
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Prep Time: 10 minutes
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Cook Time: 20 minutes
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Total Time: 30 minutes
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Yield: 12 muffins 1x
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Category: Muffins
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Method: Baked
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Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup butter, melted
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 1/2 cups rhubarb, diced
Sugar Topping (optional):
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a muffin tin with baking cups or lightly grease with butter.
- In a medium bowl, add flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and stir to combine.
- In a large bowl, add brown sugar and melted butter and whisk until well combined. Add egg, vanilla extract, and buttermilk and whisk until smooth.
- Transfer the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold gently to combine until well incorporated. Add chopped rhubarb to the batter and fold again, be careful not to over mix the batter.
- Divide the batter evenly across the muffin liners and then transfer to the oven to bake for 20-22 minutes until lightly golden and/or a toothpick comes out clean.
- Once baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool completely to room temperature in the muffin pan or for at least 10 minutes before removing from the muffin tins. Once removed, transfer the muffins to racks to cool completely.
- Optional: Once cooled, add the sugar topping. In a small bowl, add white sugar and brown sugar and stir to combine. Brush the top of each muffin with a bit of melted butter and sprinkle with the sugar mixture.
- The muffins can be served immediately or stored in an airtight container for 5 days or in the freezer for 3 months.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 muffin
- Calories: 208 calories
- Sugar: 18 grams
- Fat: 6 grams
- Carbohydrates: 34 grams
- Fiber: 1 gram
- Protein: 4 grams
What could I sub the buttermilk with if I’m dairy free?
You can make a dairy-free alternative by adding 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to 1 cup of almond milk (or other plant-based milk)!
Delicious and easy. Solid recipe. Thank you!
★★★★★
I’m so happy you liked them, thank you for sharing!