15 rhubarb recipes with only natural sweeteners – maple syrup, honey, and less processed sugar types – whole grains, and various cooking methods. These recipes are a great way to use fresh rhubarb.
Rhubarb Recipes to Celebrate Spring
With true rhubarb season just around the corner in the northern hemisphere, it’s time to celebrate this early spring vegetable! Rhubarb has always been what I look forward to most in spring, to use in cakes, as compote, as the base for crisps and crumbles, and just about everywhere else.
These recipes use whole grains and ancient grains like spelt, or are gluten-free as written with oat or chickpea flour. They’re not only cakes and crumbles, either – here rhubarb is used in lemonade, roasted in a late spring salad, and made into curd, along with more traditional recipes.
Because rhubarb is so sour when raw, an excess of sugar is often added in recipes using it as a counterbalance. I think that overwhelms the rhubarb and makes it into a sticky-overly sweet mess. Instead, here, a variety of cooking methods and natural sweeteners help to draw out its hidden mellow side. You’ll see honey, maple syrup, and other less processed sugars used in these recipes.
I first published this collection in 2018. It’s been updated to reflect new recipes that have been added to Occasionally Eggs and to make it easier to navigate and more helpful to readers.
I don’t use affiliate links. Any links you see here are to other recipes or related information, not paid links.
These are the classic rhubarb recipes, re-imagined slightly to be made with spelt flour and other alternatives like almond and chickpea flour. I make the rhubarb streusel cake most often, several times every spring, and would probably say it’s my favourite. The buttery nature of ground almonds make the rhubarb almond cake something special, though, and you might be surprised by the gluten-free strawberry rhubarb crisp.
Rhubarb Almond Cake
A dairy free rhubarb almond cake with spelt and almond flour, topped with plenty of rhubarb for a sturdy, picnic-ready spring coffee cake.
This vegan and gluten free rhubarb crisp is made with chickpea flour and oats for a healthier, higher protein topping. Strawberries sweeten the naturally tart rhubarb alongside a little maple syrup for a simple and wholesome spring dessert.
This vegan rhubarb streusel cake is a healthier twist on the German classic, made with coconut sugar and a soft spelt base. It's essentially bread and a vegetable and therefore totally acceptable for breakfast.
This lower-sugar strawberry rhubarb cobbler is vegan, made with coconut oil, coconut sugar, and spelt flour. Minimally sweetened and with simple ingredients, it's a nice lighter spring option, especially served with a scoop of ice cream.
This vegan lemon rhubarb cake is perfect for spring – light, full of fruit, sweet and slightly tart. Made with whole grain spelt flour, coconut oil, and maple syrup, it's a slightly healthier cake.
A simple dairy-free rhubarb ice cream made with the first rhubarb of spring. Made with coconut milk, no cashews are needed for this pretty pink ice cream.
An easy, healthy vegan rhubarb tart with almond & kamut flour, maple syrup, and pistachios. The simple press in base makes it so easy to put this together.
A few snacks and breakfast ideas fit in this section, plus a fantastic salad with a lot going on (roasted rhubarb, rye croutons, labneh balls, and more). Rhubarb and ginger are a classic combination and those muffins are delicious, but I highly recommend the rhubarb banana muffins, which are based on a jam recipe my mom made as a child.
Rhubarb Chia Pudding
Rhubarb chia pudding with a creamy coconut milk base and rhubarb compote. This sweet seasonal breakfast works just as well as a dessert and is a nice way to use spring rhubarb.
Vegan rhubarb banana muffins are a spring treat, even if the combination seems strange. Sweet bananas balance out the tart rhubarb in these healthy little muffins.
These healthier rhubarb muffins are lightly sweet, made with almond flour and maple syrup. Ginger adds a bit of a kick alongside the tart rhubarb, and these are made with whole wheat spelt flour for a nice midday snack.
This roasted rhubarb salad with rye croutons and vegan labneh ticks all the boxes for a fabulous vegetarian meal salad – protein, fruit, veg, bread, and plenty of greens. Perfect for the transition time between spring and summer, with both blueberries and sweet roasted rhubarb.
Preserves might be a slight stretch here since none of these can be canned and stored in the pantry. The stewed rhubarb, curd, and compote all freeze well, though, and are certainly good ways to preserve the season for later months if you have a freezer big enough. Honey stewed rhubarb is one of the first things I make every spring when rhubarb comes into season and it’s so satisfying and special for a dish that’s really very uncomplicated.
Stewed Rhubarb with Honey
Stewed rhubarb, made with honey instead of sugar, needs just a few minutes to make. This is one of the simplest and best ways to use rhubarb.
Rhubarb curd is a beautiful pink spring preserve, perfect for toast, ice cream, and adding to baking. This version uses honey instead of sugar, and whole eggs.
This honey rhubarb lemonade is a healthier way to enjoy a spring drink, with rhubarb incorporated for a tart and colourful naturally pink lemonade. This even works with green rhubarb stalks using a special trick – and it's not strawberries.
If you make any of these Spring Rhubarb Recipes or any other spring recipes on Occasionally Eggs, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe. For more OE, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, purchase the Occasionally Eggs cookbook, or subscribe for new posts via email.
About Alexandra Daum
Alexandra Daum is a professional recipe developer, food photographer, and cookbook author. She started sharing carefully tested vegetarian recipes in 2014 and has since published hundreds of recipes with seasonal ingredients and whole grains as the focus. Her work has been featured on CTV, in House & Home and Chatelaine, on popular websites like Buzzfeed and Best Health, and in countless other publications.
About Alexandra Daum
Alexandra Daum is a professional recipe developer, food photographer, and cookbook author. She started sharing carefully tested vegetarian recipes in 2014 and has since published hundreds of recipes with seasonal ingredients and whole grains as the focus. Her work has been featured on CTV, in House & Home and Chatelaine, on popular websites like Buzzfeed and Best Health, and in countless other publications.