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It’s summertime and rhubarb is in season! If you haven’t started cooking with rhubarb, there’s no time like the present to start. Rhubarb comes into season in spring and you can find it all throughout summer. There are two varieties. The first variety has thin, green stalks with a mild flavor. The second variety is hothouse rhubarb — these are the rhubarb that most of us are familiar with. Hothouse rhubarb has bright pink stalks and a tart flavor This is the kind that we usually find in grocery stores and at farmers markets. We can use rhubarb in savory dishes, but it really shines when it’s paired with sweet, sugary flavors — that’s right, we’re talking about desserts.
Strawberry rhubarb pie might is the celebrity of the rhubarb dessert world. It’s a classic seasonal combo of tart flavors and sweetness that’s beloved by many (ourselves included) That must be why June 9th is Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Day. But, there are a lot of ways that we can make desserts with rhubarb — that’s why we put together this list of 15 amazing rhubarb desserts for you to try this summer.
1. Seasonal Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
This Seasonal Strawberry Rhubarb Pie will have you dreaming. It’s a simple and homey dessert, with lemon juice and a bit of orange zest highlight the tartness of the rhubarb, while cinnamon and allspice play off the sweet strawberry notes. It’s the perfect balancing act of flavors.
2. Rhubarb and Lemon Ice Cream
Sharp and creamy, this Rhubarb and Lemon Ice Cream is a refreshing treat that makes the most of seasonal produce. You’ve probably tried or at least heard of rhubarb pie before, but it turns out that it’s good for more than just baked goods! This ice cream is tangy, creamy, and has a distinct sharpness from fresh rhubarb. Serve it topped with lemon zest and fresh berries.
3. Rhubarb Cinnamon Crumble
This Rhubarb Cinnamon Crumble is a real summer treat, that you’ll want to make over and over again. While many rhubarb-based desserts combine it with sweeter fruit, this crumble is all about rhubarb. It’s tart and tangy, sweetened with just maple syrup with warm notes of cinnamon rounding everything out.
4. Vanilla Rhubarb Coffee Cake
A small departure from pie, this Rhubarb Coffee Cake is a perfect accompaniment to a brunch. For one, it’s a coffee cake – so it’s cinnamon-y and great with coffee. Plus it’s got a mouth-watering balance of sweet vanilla and the tart rhubarb. The rhubarb offers small juicy bursts of tartness in contrast to the soft, moist cake.
5. Healthy Strawberry Rhubarb Bars
These easy-to-make Healthy Strawberry Rhubarb Bars consist of a crispy oatmeal crust, a thick layer of sweet and tangy fruit filling, and a crumbly oat and almond topping. They are perfect with your morning cup of coffee, or have one for an afternoon snack … and also for dessert (basically, you can eat them anytime). Enjoy!
6. Rhubarb, Rosewater, and Lime Sorbet
This refreshing Rhubarb, Rosewater, and Lime Sorbet combines flavors that you don’t often see together. Rhubarb and lime provide tartness, with a burst of bright citrusy flavor from the lime. This frozen treat is sweetened with agave nectar and then softened by the floral notes from rosewater. This sorbet is the cool way to chill out on a hot summer day!
7. Banana Rhubarb Peach Muffins
These gluten-free Banana Rhubarb Peach Muffins may be for breakfast, but they’re so sweet. They’re soft from the bananas with a sweet, nectar-y note from the peaches. But, they’re also balanced out from the sharp, tart notes of rhubarb. You can eat these for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!
8. Strawberry-Rhubarb-Coconut Pops
It goes without saying that strawberries and rhubarb are a match made in heaven. That’s why they show up together in so many desserts, like these Strawberry-Rhubarb-Coconut Pops. They’re swirled together with coconut cream to create a refreshing and delightful summer treat.
9. Rhubarb Banana Jam
Sweet and slightly tart, this Rhubarb Banana Jam is perfect for toast, muffins, and bagels, tastes great dolloped on pancakes, and can even be swirled into vegan yogurt for a burst of fruity flavor. To make this jam, the rhubarb and banana are boiled and then cooled until they reach the ideal consistency. Yum!
10. Strawberry Rhubarb Smoothie
Smoothies are a delicious and easy way to get your daily dose of vitamins and minerals! Did you know that you can make them with rhubarb? This dessert-y Strawberry Rhubarb Smoothie is proof! It’s smooth, sweet, creamy, tangy, and absolutely a delicious way to kick off your morning.
11. Strawberry, Rhubarb, and Coconut Panna Cotta
You’d think that a dessert worthy of being served at high-end Italian restaurants would be a big undertaking at home, but it’s not! This Strawberry, Rhubarb, and Coconut Panna Cotta is ridiculously easy to make. The tart taste combined with the sweetness of strawberries and smoothness of coconut is everything you need in a dessert.
12. Rhubarb Crumble Granola
This Rhubarb Crumble Granola is one heck of a fruity, juicy, sticky, and delicious snack. It has tart rhubarb, plums, dates, coconut, and plenty of nuts and seeds to give you energy. Whether you plan to share it with family and friends or make a week’s worth of breakfast granola jars to take to work and school is all up to you.
13. Strawberry Rhubarb Tart
Nothing tastes like summer like strawberries and rhubarb. This Strawberry Rhubarb Tart has those tastes, only without any added sugar — plus, it’s raw, so you don’t have to bake it! The crust is made from dried apples, dates, and walnuts, so it’s grain-free and gluten-free and the filling is sweet, tangy, sticky strawberry-rhubarb goodness.
14. Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Pie
Fresh sweet strawberries and tart rhubarb fill a buttery gluten-free crust, topped with an oat and brown sugar crumb topping … need I say more? You can leave out the crumb topping if you want to save a few minutes — this Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Pie still delicious with or without. Enjoy!
15. Classic Rhubarb Crisp
This Classic Rhubarb Crisp is, well, a classic. It combines blissful oppositions of flavors like tart and sweet and crumbly and creamy — yum. You’ll be sorely tempted to dig into this before it’s even done cooling.
When it comes to summer desserts, we’re total rhubarb-arians — we can’t get enough of it in our desserts.
Lead image source: Seasonal Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
