Ravishing Rhubarb Recipes

Rhubarb gets its own page here mostly because of its ravishing color. Think pink.

Technically (& legally!)* a vegetable but typically used as fruit - it’s the transition veggie/fruit from winter to spring at the farmer’s market.

Raw, rhubarb is intensely tart — firm, fibrous, and crunchy. Cooking transforms it. The texture softens. The sharp sour/tart flavor mellows. The reddish skin transforms into that signature vibrant pink.

Called Nature’s Sour Candy, rhubarb + a bit of sugar = that balanced sweet-tart rhubarb flavor.

NOTE: the stalks are delicious, but the large leafy tops are toxic due to high levels of oxalic acid. Always trim and discard the leaves before cooking.

Below you’ll find my favorite ways to cook with rhubarb — galettes, cakes, crisps, and simple poached beauties - recipes that celebrate the bright, tangy flavor of these wildly sexy spring stalks.

Rhubarb season is short – let’s take full advantage.

• Vanilla Poached Rhubarb — an easy way to create lusciously silky, sweet rhubarb with endless ways to enjoy it.
• Strawberry Rhubarb Galette — the classic spring pairing gets a subtle upgrade with chopped dates in this rustic free-form tart.
• Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp — the classic sweet-tart combo topped with a crunchy, crumbly layer.
• Rhubarb Cake — tangy-sweet stalks baked into a vanilla-cardamom spiced almond flour and yogurt cake for a bright, naturally gluten-free dessert.
• Rhubarb Tart — crisp puff pastry topped with ginger-vanilla filling, rhubarb, pistachios, and honey.
• Rhubarb Upside-Down Cake — caramelized rhubarb baked over a warmly spiced yogurt cake for a super sexy spring dessert.

When is Rhubarb Season

Rhubarb is in peak season in California from April through June.

The arrival of rhubarb at the farmers market signals the start of spring.

Buying: Look for firm, crisp stalks with vibrant color. Thinner stalks are often sweeter, more tender and less stringy than thicker ones.

Storing: Keep unwashed rhubarb loosely wrapped in the refrigerator crisper for up to one week.

Prepping: Trim and discard the leaves before using. Rhubarb leaves contain oxalic acid and are not safe to eat.

*in 1947, a New York court legally classified it as a fruit for tax purposes to get tariffs