Vintage rhubarb recipes your great grandma made ~ from crumbles and pies, to cordials and fools ~ and they’re ready for a delicious comeback!
Vintage Rhubarb Recipes
Rhubarb is easy to grow and there are rhubarb patches in backyards all over America hitting their stride right now. With the proper care, it can produce from April right through fall. Rhubarb is also one of the first crops available in the spring, which helps explain why there are so many beloved rhubarb recipes out there.
Rhubarb is often paired with sweet strawberries to balance out its famously tart taste but in these classic recipes rhubarb is the star. The flavor is sour if you try to eat it raw, but cooked rhubarb mellows out and has a berry-like flavor that so many of us (raising hand!) find irresistible.
Let’s dig in
- Vintage Rhubarb Recipes
- Rhubarb Snack Cake
- Rhubarb Ice Cream
- Rhubarb Jelly
- Rhubarb Muffins
- Rhubarb Curd
- Old Fashioned Rhubarb Crunch
- Rhubarb Cordial
- Norwegian Rhubarb and Almond Cake
- Rhubarb Applesauce
- Rhubarb Cookies
- Ginger Rhubarb Crisp
- Rhubarb Crumble Tart
- Rhubarb Fool
- Rhubarb Dump Cake
- Rhubarb Sauce Recipe
- Rhubarb Soda
- Rhubarb Shortcake
- Rhubarb Scones
- Rhubarb Butter
- Rhubarb Martini
- Rhubarb Bars
- No Bake Rhubarb Dream Bars
- Rhubarb Bread
- Rhubarb baci di dama cookies
- Creme Fraiche Panna Cotta with Ginger Roasted Rhubarb
- Rhubarb Pudding Cake
- Rhubarb Custard Pie
- Rhubarb Grunt
- Rhubarb Pie
- Pickled Rhubarb
- Rhubarb wine
- Sugar Rhubarb
Rhubarb was definitely more popular in the past century than it is now, particularly during the early to mid-1900s. In fact, during World War II, rhubarb became an important crop because it was hardy and could grow in less than ideal conditions. Our grandmas and great-grandmas treasured their rhubarb recipes but so many of them have been forgotten. Here are just a few of the best.
Rhubarb Snack Cake
All it takes is a few ruby red stalks of rhubarb to make this simple breakfast cake ~ you’ll want to snack on it all day long!
Rhubarb Ice Cream
Rhubarb ice cream has been around for many years and was particularly popular in the early 1900s when ice cream parlors were in their heyday. It’s since been eclipsed by modern ice cream flavors, but the tart flavor is definitely one you need to try.
Rhubarb Jelly
Rhubarb jelly is a great way to ‘spring-i-fy’ your morning toast or scone. But did you know it was also a dessert? It was especially popular in the early to mid-20th century, when jellies and other molded desserts were in vogue.
Rhubarb Muffins
Homey rhubarb muffins harken back to simpler times when the first slender stalks of spring rhubarb would have been baked up into a sweet breakfast treat.
Rhubarb Curd
Silky rhubarb curd is a throwback to traditional British farmhouse cooking where every last stalk of rhubarb would have been used in pies and preserves like this one.
Old Fashioned Rhubarb Crunch
Rhubarb crunch is a dessert that is similar to a crisp or a crumble. It is made with a layer of diced rhubarb on the bottom, topped with a mixture of oats, flour, sugar, and butter. When baked, the topping becomes crispy and golden brown, while the rhubarb becomes soft and tender.
Rhubarb Cordial
This old time tipple is easily made by infusing cooked rhubarb with vodka. The traditional way is to let the mixture sit for about a month. My way is faster and I think produced better rhubarb flavor ~ give it a try!
Norwegian Rhubarb and Almond Cake
A classic Nordic cake!
Rhubarb Applesauce
My 3 year old granddaughter thinks this is the most delicious thing on the planet. You will too 🙂
Rhubarb Cookies
These soft cake-y cookies are bursting with little bits of tart tangy rhubarb!
Ginger Rhubarb Crisp
Make your crisp topping ahead and freeze it so you can have this beautiful dessert on a whim!
Rhubarb Crumble Tart
This beautiful shortbread tart is one of my spring favorites. It’s super easy but elegant enough for any occasion.
Rhubarb Fool
This vintage rhubarb recipe has been around since the 1600s! Basically you fold cooked rhubarb into whipped cream and you’ve done it! It’s light and refreshing, but obviously rich at the same time. All in all, rhubarb fool is a fabulous spring dessert that takes hardly any effort at all.
Rhubarb Dump Cake
This easy cake mix dessert has a vintage vibe and a fresh flavor!
Rhubarb Sauce Recipe
A classic rhubarb sauce is one of the most versatile things you can have in your spring kitchen. Spoon it over ice cream, pound cake, or yogurt!
Rhubarb Soda
The way they used to refresh before Coke and Pepsi! Just mix a rhubarb simple syrup with fizzy water and voila!
Rhubarb Shortcake
Strawberry shortcake doesn’t hold a candle to rhubarb shortcake! How could it? Rhubarb brings its famously tart berry flavor to the party and makes this dessert even more irresistible.
Rhubarb Scones
Hands down the best way to start a spring morning!
Rhubarb Butter
Rhubarb butter is a sweet spread made from cooked rhubarb that is blended to a smooth, buttery consistency. It concentrates the unique flavor of rhubarb
Rhubarb Martini
An old fashioned gin cocktail that still feels fresh thanks to an infusion of tart rhubarb!
Rhubarb Bars
Gorgeously pink and tangy rhubarb curd bars are right off the church bazaar bake sale table, where they’re always to first to disappear.
No Bake Rhubarb Dream Bars
You won’t find anything like these rhubarb dream bars at a restaurant or a bakery, they’re the kind of thing your grandma would whip up on a summer afternoon — they have a simple, vintage charm.
Rhubarb Bread
Old fashioned rhubarb bread is a tender quick bread loaded with sweet tart nuggets of fruit. Grandma would have offered you a slice the minute you walked into her kitchen.
Rhubarb baci di dama cookies
Elegant Italian cookies filled with a unique roasted rhubarb cream.
Creme Fraiche Panna Cotta with Ginger Roasted Rhubarb
As simple as dessert gets, this creamy panna cotta gets a pretty upgrade with a tangy rhubarb compote, from With Spice.
Rhubarb Pudding Cake
This recipe dates back to the 1930s and is a delicious combination of tangy rhubarb and sweet cake. If you’ve had my Warm Lemon Pudding Cake you’ll have the idea. The one below is from Seasons & Suppers.
Rhubarb Custard Pie
This is a classic American dessert that was popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It is made by lining a pie crust with stewed rhubarb, then pouring a custard mixture over the top and baking until set. The Lemon Apron’s version is below.
Rhubarb Grunt
This is one classic rhubarb dessert recipe that definitely stands the test of time, from Boulder Locavore.
Rhubarb Pie
Garnish and Glaze’s rhubarb pie has a gorgeous old time style lattice crust.
Pickled Rhubarb
A super simple pickled rhubarb recipe from Autumn Giles’ Beyond Canning. If you love ‘quickles’, check out my How To Quick Pickle (almost) Anything tutorial.
Rhubarb wine
The University of Vermont sustainable food systems program shares this easy method for making old time rhubarb wine. I like it because you don’t need any special wine making equipment.
Sugar Rhubarb
Eating raw rhubarb dipped in sugar is a traditional practice, especially among children, in the Northern United States, Canada, and Scandinavian countries. In Sweden it’s known as “rabarberpaj,” or rhubarb pie.
- Rinse your rhubarb and trim both ends. Be sure to trim off all the leaves, as they are toxic.
- Dip the ends of the rhubarb into the sugar and enjoy! Double dipping is encouraged 🙂
My daughter “thinks” she hates rhubarb because it looks like celery (to which she’s allergic). To avoid cutting it into chunks that would remind her of celery, for some recipes, could I just chuck it into the food processor and obliterate the chunks, or is it stringy like celery?
Yes you can absolutely do that. many of my recipes call for pureed rhubarb. I usually cook it first, then puree. If yours is especially stringly you can peel off the strings before using. But I find they soften and puree just fine. Good luck, and if you need help with a specific recipe, just ask.
can you use frozen rhubarb in your recipes? I have too much fresh rhubarb and so I then need to freeze for later. Thanks
It depends, Debbie. Whenever rhubarb is going to be cooked in a recipe, you can always use frozen. But when a recipe calls for diced rhubarb, as in a quick bread, it’s best to use raw.
So this recipe (sugar on raw rhubarb) is not rhubarb pie, or “rarberpaj” in Swedish. Just wanted to correct that as I am from Sweden.
I was going to say the same thing! I wonder where they got it from.
I’ll fix that, thanks ladies!
Lovely! What’s the photo at the top of the post (with squares in a batter)?
Thats a shot of rhubarb custard pie!
Brought back many memories. I will be using most of these.
This recipe should be included in your collection, it’s superb!
https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/contest-winning-rhubarb-meringue-pie/
My grandma gave me a recipe for a rhubarb cake. She’s gone now and I’ve lost it. It was a basic cake recipe like with vanilla and cinnamon with a cinnamon walnut sugar or brown sugar mixture that you put on top before you bake it then when done serve with cool whip if you can find it that would be awesome
Hi Connie! I would suggest starting with my easy rhubarb cake, and adding the cinnamon sugar walnut topping before baking ~ it should be wonderful!
Thanks so much for this roundup of rhubarb recipes!! We have a massive rhubarb patch that is around 100 years old so I could definitely use some more recipes!! So many great ideas!! Thanks Sue!!!
Oh gosh, what a wonderful thing!!