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Celebrate spring with Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins. Crowned with a crumbly brown sugar-cinnamon streusel, this bakery-style muffin recipe might just make you fall in love with mornings again.
I’d like to nominate the brilliant human who originally thought of pairing spring’s sweet strawberries with the tartness of the rhubarb for TIME’s Person of the Year. Yes, I know this happened ages ago, and food historians have yet to hone in on who, exactly, deserves this trophy, but the sweet-tart, craveable combination is such a treat. I look forward to celebrating this power couple every spring and summer in Homemade Strawberry Rhubarb Pie, which allows the produce duo to peek out through a flaky lattice pastry, as well as in many batches of Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins.
Rocking the same buttery brown sugar streusel you might know and love from my popular Blueberry Muffin recipe, these bakery-style muffins steal the show at every bake sale, brunch party, or even family breakfast or snack time I share them at. The best news? A dozen sweet-tart Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins can be yours in just 45 minutes.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Equipment and ingredient notes
- Muffin pan: I personally tested 8 different muffin pans in my home kitchen to figure out which one worked the best. My favorite was the USA Pan 12-Cup Nonstick Muffin pan. It effortlessly released muffins and cupcakes without paper muffin liners, even when they were still warm, and the coating is made from non-toxic silicone. Learn more in my post about The Best Muffin Pans.
- Rhubarb: Technically a vegetable, although often used in sweet formats more common for fruits, fresh rhubarb is in season and at its best in April, May, and June in most parts of America. If you can’t find it near you during those months, consider ordering it online from a retailer like Melissa’s Produce. See “Recipe FAQs” for details about swapping in frozen produce.
- Strawberries: Conveniently, the seasons for these two garden goodies overlap. Fresh strawberries are in season and hit their peak in May, June, and July. Remove the stem and the hull before proceeding.
- Butter: You’ll need this in two separate formats: ½ cup (8 tablespoons) melted for the strawberry rhubarb muffin batter, plus 2 tablespoons cold and cut into pieces for the streusel. Melt the butter in a saucepan on the stovetop, or do so in a bowl in the microwave, heating in 30 second increments, checking in between, until melted.
Step-by-step instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a muffin tin with silicone or paper liners (if it’s a high-quality non-stick pan, you might not need them). In a large bowl, sift together 2 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, and ½ teaspoon salt. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, toss together strawberries, rhubarb, and 1 tablespoon granulated sugar. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk eggs until smooth. Add the ½ cup melted butter, milk, and vanilla, and whisk until combined. Add egg mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until combined. (Dough will be lumpy in texture.)
- Drain strawberry rhubarb mixture using a fine mesh strainer. Gently fold strawberries and rhubarb into the batter.
- To prepare the streusel topping, in a medium bowl combine ¼ cup flour, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, cinnamon, and ⅛ teaspoon salt.
- Using a pastry cutter, cut in butter until topping is crumbly and coarse.
- Fill prepared muffin cups with batter. Top each muffin with streusel topping, about 1 tablespoon each.
- Bake until muffin centers bounce back when lightly pressed, about 18 to 22 minutes.
- Cool muffins on a wire rack for several minutes before removing from pan. Cool completely and store in an airtight container, up to 4 days.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: My Strawberry Rhubarb Muffin recipe creates 12 regular-sized muffins, ideal for a snack, a bake sale treat, or as part of a breakfast or brunch spread. To make a Strawberry Rhubarb Muffin a meal, pair it with a carton of Greek yogurt or cottage cheese or a couple of eggs and a piece of fruit.
- Storage: Store cooled leftover muffins in an airtight container or zip-top bag lined with a paper towel at room temperature for up to 4 days. The paper towel helps absorb excess moisture to maintain a crumbly streusel.
- Freezer: Transfer cooled Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins to an airtight container, double-layer of plastic wrap, or freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to enjoy them, thaw the muffins at room temperature overnight, then reheat thawed muffins at 300 degrees for 3 to 5 minutes or until warm.
- More spring flavor: If you really want to drive home the sunny spring energy, add 1 tablespoon of lemon zest (or the amount from 1 lemon) to the muffin batter.
- Blueberry Muffins: My bakery-style Blueberry Muffins come topped with a buttery brown sugar streusel that takes their flavor over the top.
- Chocolate Chip Muffins: Learn the secret to homemade Chocolate Chip Muffins that beat anything you can buy. These muffins are soft, tender, and not too sweet – just a perfect ratio of muffin-to-chocolate.
- Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins: Homemade Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins can play triple duty as a brunch menu addition, snack recipe, or spring dessert idea.
- Coffee Cake Muffins: These easy Coffee Cake Muffins are perfect for brunch, breakfast, or as a food gift. No need to fight over the biggest slice; all of these walnut-studded cinnamon muffins are equally-sized and over-the-top delicious.
- Morning Glory Muffins: This moist muffin recipe is packed with carrots, apples, pineapple, raisins, coconut, and walnuts.
- Pumpkin Muffins: Learn how to make Pumpkin Muffins from scratch, then discover how to turn this easy breakfast recipe into dessert!
Frequently Asked Questions
When fresh strawberries and rhubarb are in season and readily available in your garden, at the farmers market, or in the supermarket, these Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins really shine! That being said, if you’ve got some chopped rhubarb stalks in the freezer, or if you can only find frozen berries and rhubarb, by all means, make these muffins with frozen produce. It’s best to thaw both overnight in the refrigerator first to allow for accurate measuring, then proceed as directed.
Of course. If you like raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, or even cherries more (or simply have them available in surplus), feel free to swap those fruits in for some or all of the chopped strawberries. Just aim for 1 cup total of fruit to pair with the rhubarb. The blueberries should be fine as is, but if you go the route of the others, chop the raspberries, blackberries, and pitted cherries in 1/4-inch pieces before adding them to the muffin batter.
If you don’t have butter on hand, vegetable oil is a good substitute for this muffin recipe.
Rhubarb leaves are toxic to both people and animals. So while the stems of the rhubarb plant are fine to enjoy, avoid the leaves at all costs.
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Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins
Equipment
- Muffin pan (see note 1)
Ingredients
For the muffins:
- 1 cup rhubarb cut into 1/4-inch pieces (about 2-3 stalks, see note 2)
- 1 cup fresh strawberries washed, drained, hulled, and cut into 1/4-inch pieces (see note 3)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar divided
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup butter melted
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the streusel topping:
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons butter cold, cut into pieces
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a muffin pan with cupcake liners (if it's a high-quality non-stick pan, you might not need them). In a small bowl, toss together strawberries, rhubarb, and 1 tablespoon granulated sugar. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, sift together 2 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, and ½ teaspoon salt. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk eggs until smooth. Add the ½ cup melted butter, milk, and vanilla, and whisk until combined. Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir until combined. (Dough will be lumpy.)
- Drain strawberry-rhubarb mixture using a fine mesh strainer. Gently fold strawberries and rhubarb into the batter.
- To prepare the streusel topping, in a medium bowl combine ¼ cup flour, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, cinnamon, and ⅛ teaspoon salt. Using a pastry cutter, cut in butter until topping is crumbly and coarse.
- Fill prepared muffin cups with batter. Top each muffin with streusel topping, about 1 tablespoon each.
- Bake until muffin centers bounce back when lightly pressed, about 18 to 22 minutes. Cool muffins on a rack for several minutes before removing from pan. Cool completely and store in an airtight container, up to 4 days.
Notes
- Muffin pan: I personally tested 8 different muffin pans in my home kitchen to figure out which one worked the best. My favorite was the USA Pan 12-Cup Nonstick Muffin pan. It effortlessly released muffins and cupcakes without paper muffin liners, even when they were still warm, and the coating is made from non-toxic silicone. Learn more in my post about The Best Muffin Pans.
- Rhubarb: Technically a vegetable, although often used in sweet formats more common for fruits, fresh rhubarb is in season and at its best in April, May, and June in most parts of America. If you can’t find it near you during those months, consider ordering it online from a retailer like Melissa’s Produce. See “Recipe FAQs” for details about swapping in frozen produce.
- Strawberries: Conveniently, the seasons for these two garden goodies overlap. Fresh strawberries are in season and hit their peak in May, June, and July. Remove the stem and the hull before proceeding.
- Yield: My Strawberry Rhubarb Muffin recipe creates 12 regular-sized muffins.
- Storage: Store cooled leftover muffins in an airtight container or zip-top bag lined with a paper towel at room temperature for up to 4 days. The paper towel helps absorb excess moisture to maintain a crumbly streusel.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.