Drowning in Rhubarb? Here are 10 Ways to Use Your Harvest!

Are you drowning in rhubarb and tired of rhubarb crisp? If you don’t want another rhubarb crisp recipe, than this article is for you. Not only will you find fresh ways to use your rhubarb, but this article is filled with ways you can preserve your rhubarb for later in the season.

Let’s start with the more common recipes and make our way to the lesser known. We all know there are so many great ways to use rhubarb in desserts but here you’ll find other options that go beyond the baked good.

1: Rhubarb Banana Bread

This one’s simple – all you have to do is add rhubarb to your favourite banana bread recipe! You can choose how much you want to add based on if your variety is more tart, but over here our rhubarb is quite sweet so it just adds a nice bit of additional moisture to the banana bread. Whether you prefer to peel your rhubarb or not, cut it up into 2cm slices and add 1/2-1 cup into your banana bread batter at the end and bake it as normal.

2: Blueberry Rhubarb Buckle

So I only recently discovered buckle which is a type of coffee bread. There are tons of recipes on the internet – the one above is a healthier version that we’ve made, and you can see the batter was quite thick. Not all buckles are like that though. My favourite recipe is this one but be warned I wouldn’t consider it to be a health food! We’re obsessed with how delicious it is and we come back to it often. I highly recommend making this for a luxurious dessert to serve up with friends and family.

3: Rhubarb Apple Muffins

This is another great way to use your rhubarb. This is the recipe that I used in the photo above (I’m showing you the muffin batter raw because it’s easier to see the rhubarb!) but I used diced apples instead of shredded because I had them in the freezer from last years apple season. I’m lucky enough to have a neighbour with an apple tree, and a giving spirit, so my freezer stays full of apples all winter long. This means I can make these muffins using local fruits from when they were in season. But you can also freeze your rhubarb and make these during apple season as well. The cinnamon in the recipe gives it a nice cozy flavour that would be great in the fall.

4: Rhubarb Pie

Rhubarb pie.. rhubarb crisp.. fairly similar options – I know. But the fun thing is you can add in other fruits along with it, such as strawberries, which compliment rhubarb quite well. If you’re absolutely overrun with rhubarb this is a great choice because it’s going to use a lot more rhubarb than the recipes above.

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5: Rhubarb Drinks

Whether you’re making cocktails or mocktails, there’s so many recipes online for drinks where you can add in rhubarb. One simple way to make any rhubarb drink is by making a rhubarb syrup that you can add to your drink, whether it’s bubbly water, alcohol or just flavoured water.

It’s simple to make a rhubarb syrup, all you need to do is boil pieces of rhubarb in sugar water. The sweetness depends on your taste preferences but you can do 4 cups of chopped rhubarb, 1 cup of sugar, and enough water to cover the rhubarb and allow it to boil. Bring to a boil, and simmer for approximately 30 minutes, until the water starts to thicken and the rhubarb breaks down. Allow the mixture to cool, and then straight the liquid into jar (this is the most time consuming portion). Don’t throw out the boiled rhubarb though! Check out the next recipe below.

5: Rhubarb Fruit Rollup

This is the best way to use rhubarb after making rhubarb syrup! This makes it a zero waste recipe that allows you to make more food from your stalks. After straining all the liquid from your rhubarb, take the remaining puree that comes from the pot and spread it as evenly as possible onto a dehydrating sheet. Dehydrate the puree at 145°C for 10-12 hours, or until it is fully dry and there are no soft spots remaining. Then you can cut, tear or roll it up and store it in the pantry for multiple weeks to snack on!

7: Pickled Rhubarb

Pickled rhubarb is a fun way to preserve your excess harvest. You don’t need any special skills because most recipes are for quick pickles which are simple to make. I decided to try this recipe out because I had most of the ingredients and it looked interesting. But I also plan to try this recipe because it’s all ingredients that I already keep at home. It makes for a unique and interesting topping on salads from lettuce to quinoa to bean salads.

8: Khoresh Rivas (Persian Rhubarb Stew)

Alright, if you haven’t tried Khoresh Rivas before you must try it. This stew is normally made with lamb, but we like to replace it with eggplant and Beyond ground meat as we don’t eat meat in our household. I adore this recipe because it offers up unique flavours that we don’t eat on a regular basis. Not only does this stew have rhubarb in it but it’s absolutely loaded with herbs like mint and parsley, giving it tons of flavour. Apart from the buckle shared above, this is my absolute favourite way to eat rhubarb.

9: Freeze It For Later

This is a simple way to manage any excess rhubarb you might have. I like to wash it and cut it up into 2cm pieces and store it in a container for later. It’s easy to defrost to use in any cakes or stew later in the year and allows us to eat it year round!

10: Give it away

Giving garden harvests away to friends and neighbours is one of the greatest joys of gardening.

“Not to brag but… I grew that”

Having fresh produce that is local and organic isn’t in reach for many people. When you gift your produce to others, you are showing them the value of gardening and what it can offer them! You can also check with your local food bank to see if they are in need of fresh produce and you can drop it off there as well. Gifting food to others is a great way to use up your excess harvests.

Enjoy your rhubarb harvest!