Rhubarb needs a mate — like a yin and a yang — to balance its tart flavor, and this gluten free Strawberry Rhubarb Muffin recipe is that perfect balance of sweet and tart for any muffin lover.
In fact, I bet this gluten free rhubarb muffin recipe would work well with other “yangs” too, like apples or raspberries, perhaps?
This incarnation utilized the strawberries I already had on hand (we have a few strawberry plants in our yard which produce treasures for recipes like this), but you can absolutely use frozen berries and frozen rhubarb for the taste of spring anytime!
I love that these muffins embrace the old familiar combination of strawberries and rhubarb, but in an unexpected and delicious, portable muffin medium!
These moist little cakes have a sweet topper that reminds me of my Gluten Free Rhubarb Crisp, but they are definitely muffins – compact, easy to eat (several), and yummy for breakfast, tea or a snack!
TIP: If you really love this combination, don’t miss out on the Gluten Free Rhubarb Coffee Cake Recipe on my site, as well!
So grab some rhubarb before it’s too late and give this Gluten Free Strawberry Rhubarb Muffin recipe a try.
It’s the perfect taste of summer, in a muffin cup! Let me know if you try it with anything other than strawberries, too — I’m super curious if you get creative before I have a chance!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter or non-dairy alternative (like Earth Balance® Buttery Sticks)
- 3/4 cup brown sugar (may add more to suit your taste or substitute coconut palm sugar)
- 1 large egg (or 1 Tbs. flaxseed meal steeped in 3 Tbs. warm water)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2½ (337) cups (grams) gfJules™ All Purpose Gluten Free Flour
- 1/4 cup flaxseed meal (or gfJules™ All Purpose Gluten Free Flour)
- 1 Tbs. baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup milk or non-dairy milk + 1Tbs. vinegar OR buttermilk
- 1 cup strawberries, chopped finely (washed and hulled)
- 3/4 cup diced rhubarb
topping:
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans (omit if nut allergic)
- 1/2 cup certified gluten-free oats (Certified Gluten-Free Purity Protocol Quick Oats)
- 1-2 Tbs. brown sugar (depending on how sweet you like your topping)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon cold butter or non-dairy alternative (like Earth Balance® Buttery Sticks)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F (static).
- In a large bowl, beat together the butter and brown sugar until light. Add egg or egg substitute and vanilla, and mix until incorporated. Whisk together the dry ingredients and stir in, alternating with milk until fully mixed. Stir in chopped fruit. Scoop to fill muffin cups 2/3-3/4 full; the batter will be thick.
- In a small bowl, stir together the pecans, brown sugar, oats and cinnamon. Cut in the cold butter using a pastry cutter or two butter knives – when mixed, it will resemble a coarse meal. Sprinkle on top of the muffins or mini-loaves.
- Bake muffins for 20-25 minutes, mini-loaves for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean.
- Remove to cool on wire rack before serving or cutting.
- Yield: 16-18 muffins
** Please keep in mind that nutrition information provided is per serving, which may vary. While we have taken care to provide you with the most accurate nutritional values possible, please note that this information may differ significantly depending on the exact ingredients and brands that you choose to use to make this recipe. Additionally, where options are given for ingredients, the resulting calculation may include all ingredient options instead of only one per line, skewing the totals significantly.
I hope you love this recipe as much as we do!
Pin this recipe to save it for later!
These tasted just okay to me. Not alot of flavour although I followed the recipe faithfully. Also a little dry. I baked for 20 minutes and so glad I checked them at that time. I will not bake so long next time.
I was surprised to see no salt. Is this why they seemed flavourless?
Thanks!
Hi Marion, the recipe is written with salted butter, so perhaps if you used unsalted butter that would have made a difference? Feel free to add a dash next time if you try the recipe — salt is definitely something you can add more of yourself, and I try to not add too much so there’s a baseline where readers can start from and always add. I found that with the spices and sweetness from the sugar, berries, and crumble topping it didn’t need it, but you can always add more! Regarding the timing, ovens differ and it will make a big difference if you make 16 versus 18 muffins, for example, how long you’ll need to leave them in. Good thing you started checking on the earlier side! Keeping good notes on recipes is a great idea for next time!
~jules
These muffins came out *yummy* for me! Two comments/questions:
1) I opted to go nut-free and dairy-free (vegan butter) and my topping didn’t quite come together like it appears in the photo. Seems like the oats didn’t have any moisture to absorb and they just look like oats on top of the muffins. It definitely doesn’t seem right. Any suggestions?
2) I split the mix between 18 liners and the muffins came out a little on the smallish side. I wondered if you have an idea of how to convert the recipe to make BIG muffins? Reluctant to just try spooning more batter into an oversized muffin liner and praying, lol…
Thank you!!
Hi Heather, for the topping, you can always add more vegan butter! Get the crumble to where you like it before baking and it’ll be better in the end. Different styles of oats need more moisture, so perhaps that was at play here. As for the muffins being on the small side, don’t worry about putting more batter into the the oversized liner and baking longer — you can do that here, just keep testing with a toothpick to be sure they’re fully cooked before removing from the oven. I wouldn’t fill more than to the top of the muffin cup, but you’ll have a healthier proportioned muffin that way, for sure!
Hope that helps for next time and I’m glad they were still yummy the first time!!
~jules
Hey Jules can I make these with all strawberries? Not a rhubarb fan.
Hi Vicki, you can skip the rhubarb, but it doesn’t have any taste in these muffins. Strawberries rule the day here!!
~jules
I would like to use all rhubarb. Would I replace strawberries
with 1 cup of rhubarb?
Hi Gloria,
you can certainly do that, but the strawberries add moisture and sweetness, so you’ll probably want to add some honey or other liquid sweetener and/or sugar and also maybe the batter will need milk or other liquid. You’ll have to be the judge as you’re mixing, to see whether it’s too stiff. It should be the consistency of regular muffin batter when you’re done mixing, so add more liquid if you need and expect to need to add more sweetener unless you prefer the slight tartness from the rhubarb without the offset of the berries. I hope that helps!
~jules
Hi,
Can I use maple syrup instead of brown sugar?
Hi – you *can* … but the recipe will need adjustments. Depending on how sweet you like your muffins, the general rule of thumb is to use 2/3-3/4 cup of maple syrup to replace 1 cup of brown sugar + you also need to reduce the other liquids in your recipe by 2 Tbsps for every 2/3-3/4 cup of maple syrup used.
~jules
I can’t digest oats – gluten free or not-
says my Mayo Clinic Celiac Doctor. What can I replace the oats with?
Hi Deb, why don’t you just use a different muffin topping altogether? The topping on these gluten free coffee cake muffins would be delicious on these gluten free strawberry rhubarb muffins!
~jules
Use gf flour instead of oats and make a crusty crumble
These muffins were amazing. One of the best GF muffins I have had. Thanks for sharing.
That is wonderful to hear, Winnie! SO glad!
~jules
Just made these, they are amazing!! Just wondering if you have the nutritional value for these? A friend is on slimming world and I’d like to work out the syn value per muffin, thanks!
So glad you loved them too! I don’t have the nutritional value for this recipe, but if you grab the nutritionals from my flour page linked here, you can plug them in to any online nutritional calculator with the other recipe ingredients and come fairly close for your friend. I hope that helps. Happy baking!
~jules
I have just recently started the Gluten Free lifestyle as my husband’s Doctor recommended that he go gluten free. I made these muffins today and my daughter and my grandchildren loved them and so did my husband . You would never know they were gluten free. Thank you for sharing.
JoAnn
That’s wonderful to hear, JoAnn! And how sweet for you to switch your baking to GF for your hubby – so happy that you have the flour and recipes you need to do it seamlessly so everyone in the family can still eat together!
~jules
How much brown sugar do I use for the topping? Thank you.
Hi Lori – thanks for pointing that out! I’ve fixed the ingredient listing now. It’s really all about how sweet you like your topping; usually 1-2 Tbs. is a good amount. Enjoy!
~jules
Is there a way to make these without vinegar while still avoiding dairy?
Hi Karissa, just use lemon juice in place of the vinegar. It’ll work just fine!
What should oven be set to?
Susan – thanks for pointing that out! I just added the temp: 375 F static (or 350 F convection). Sorry I missed that!
Thanks!! I can’t wait to try these. They look delicious!!
My husband is absolutely goofy for strawberry and rhubarb. And I’m gluten intolerant, so these sound PERFECT! Strawberries? Check. Rhubarb? Check. So Delicious Coconut Milk? Uh oh, almost out! I need to run to the store and get more now! Gonna need some pecans, too! YUM! Can’t wait to make these!
Fantastic Brittany! You’re going to love them, and so glad you already have the rhubarb! It’s almost past time for it where I live! Grab some more if you can find it!!! : )