This post was originally published in April 2019. It has been updated with improvements to the text and recipe as of April 2020.
One of my favourite things about rhubarb has to be how long it lasts, both in the fridge after being cut and in the garden. We treat it like it’s gone in the blink of an eye, a bit like asparagus, but the reality is that if you have a rhubarb plant in your garden, it produces for months.
Even in the hottest days of summer my rhubarb plants in Manitoba kept growing, right up until mid-August or so. It gets left behind sometimes, I think, because it’s one of the first plants to be ready in the spring. More exciting produce like berries and fresh greens take over and we forget about rhubarb a bit.
Healthy Rhubarb Muffins
These vegan rhubarb muffins are an adaptation of my blueberry almond muffins, one of my very favourite recipes, with finely chopped rhubarb mixed in instead of berries. Top the muffins with a little more of the pinkest rhubarb you can get your hands on for that spring-y look.
Half whole spelt flour, half almond flour – this makes for a nutty, buttery treat without much added oil. The end result of this recipe is a softer, slightly delicate muffin – they are vegan, after all, with no weird binding agents.
Great for breakfast or snacks, or even as dessert in a pinch, these are very easy to make. Well worth the little bit of chopping needed for the rhubarb. Ginger and rhubarb are a natural pairing, trust me.
If you like rhubarb you’ll like these. And if not, well, you should probably learn to like rhubarb because it’s great. (If you really like rhubarb, take a peek at this collection of my top ten healthy rhubarb recipes!)
What’s in these muffins?
- Whole grain spelt flour
- Almond flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Sea salt
- Nondairy milk
- Maple syrup (or honey)
- Coconut oil
- Fresh ginger
- Rhubarb (two stalks – forced if you can get it)
You know how to make muffins, so I’m not going to offer piles of tips and notes here on how to do it. Mix, bake, done!
Substitutions
I haven’t tried making these gluten free and don’t recommend it for this recipe, because they’re on the delicate side as is. If you insist on trying, use a 1:1 GF flour blend like the one from Bob’s for the spelt flour.
All-purpose flour, whole wheat, or another ancient grain (khorasan, einkorn, etc) can all be used in place of spelt here no problem. Use what you have on hand. There isn’t a very good sub for almond flour, but hazelnut would work.
I often use honey instead of maple syrup for this recipe, as with all of my recipes, so feel free to switch that out. If your honey is very creamed – that is, thick – then melt it alongside the coconut oil. Coconut oil is needed for this recipe, to help keep the muffins together when they cool, and a liquid oil won’t work.
More Rhubarb Recipes
Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler
Honey Rhubarb Lemonade
Rhubarb Crumble Cake
Gluten Free Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
Rhubarb Almond Cake
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Rhubarb Ginger 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.
Ingredients
- 140 grams / 1 cup whole grain spelt flour
- 100 grams / 1 cup almond flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 250 ml / 1 cup nondairy milk
- 60 ml / 1/4 cup maple syrup*
- 60 ml / 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely grated
- 2 stalks rhubarb, divided (see instructions)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190C / 375F and grease or line a standard muffin tin. Chop one stalk of rhubarb finely, and slice the other on a diagonal for topping the muffins.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a smaller bowl, whisk the milk, maple syrup, coconut oil, and ginger until combined. Add this to the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Fold the finely chopped stalk of rhubarb into the muffin mixture.
- Fill the muffin tins evenly with the batter, then top with a couple pieces each of the sliced rhubarb. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until golden.
- Cool for ten minutes in the tin before removing and cooling fully on a rack. Best stored in the refrigerator if your house is warm, or in a sealed container on the counter for up to three days.
Notes
* Maple syrup combines nicely with the flavours of the rhubarb and almond. If you don't have any, runny honey is a good substitution, if slightly sweeter.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 167Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 191mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 3gSugar: 5gProtein: 5g
This data is provided by a calculator and is a rough estimation of the nutritional information in this recipe.
Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says
I’m so happy you made them! That’s really strange that it took so long, did you change anything in the recipe? I’ve made these several times and have never had any problems with the batter being too wet. Sounds good with the orange zest!
Michal says
I did, I subbed apple sauce for the coconut oil (same amount). That could have been it I guess? 🙂
Dana Leigh Lyons says
Love your insights about rhubarb season – thank you! At my last place, it grew like crazy in my backyard…which I took for granted. Sigh. Nowadays, I can barely stand to buy it in the store. It’s so plentiful, generous and long-lived in the “wild”!
Jo Scard says
Hi, would buckwheat or oat flour work here to make these gluten-free?
Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says
I would be hesitant to make these particular muffins gluten free as they are quite delicate, but if I were to recommend one, I’d choose buckwheat flour. If you do that, I’d suggest adding in a couple teaspoons of arrowroot flour to help bind them.
Karen says
hmmmm not sure this has worked for me. What type of texture should your end batter be? mine is like a wet dough rather than a typical ‘batter’ consistency??
Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says
How’d they turn out for you, Karen? Muffins like this tend to have a bit of a thicker batter rather than the pourable one you might see with cake batter or traditional eggs and butter cupcakes/muffins, but they bake up well.
JT says
We just got our first CSA share of the season and it included rhubarb. I was out of strawberries, so many of the recipes I found were a no go. I liked the ingredient list for these – all roughly things I already have and use regularly, and the fact that it’s vegan made it easy to cut in half. (With only two people in our house we don’t need baked goods by the dozen.) The batter came out like I would expect for muffin batter, and the muffins themselves came out really well – fluffy, not dry, and just sweet enough to be yummy! My husband was super happy with them and it got the giant stalks of rhubarb in my fridge under control with no trip to the grocery store, so it was an all-around win!
For reference, I used sprouted whole wheat flour, half maple syrup and half (home-made) ginger syrup just because I already had some in my fridge. I live in Denver, so relatively high-altitude, but that wasn’t a problem in this case.
I am definitely keeping this recipe and passing it along to the rest of the CSA!
Mollie says
Great recipe. The orange zests sounds like a good addition as well, will have to try that. I added 3 tsp of flax meal to mine. I really like that they aren’t so sweet you get the true rhubarb flavor that way!!!thanks for a great recipe!