Rhubarb lovers unite! Spring is here in full force, and that means my rhubarb is coming in strong. These Easy Rhubarb Bars are the perfect way to let the tangy flavor shine through in all its glory. You will love everything about this delicious dessert that's so easy to make!
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Are you a rhubarb lover?
I find people fall into two camps: you either love it or you hate it.
Me? I'm a lover and a purist, especially when it comes to these amazing bars! Don't get me wrong; I love rhubarb in any form (this Rhubarb Apple Crisp is always a must make). But when I can taste the tangy flavor of pure rhubarb - like in these Rhubarb Bars - I'm in heaven.
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Why you will love this recipe
▶︎ This easy recipe only uses a handful of ingredients and they only take minutes to prepare. The hardest part is waiting for them to chill before diving in.
▶︎ Not everyone loves sweet desserts. These have just the right amount of tart and sweet mixed together for the perfect dessert.
▶︎ It's easy to customize and add other fruits to the rhubarb! Simply add your favorite and adjust the sugar depending on the sweetness of the fruit.
Ingredients
You only need a handful of ingredients for these tangy bars.
Ingredient Notes
- Butter: Make sure your butter is cold before pulsing it in the food processor for a light and flakey crust.
- Rhubarb: Fresh rhubarb is best for this recipe. Frozen will work in a pinch but you will need to add an additional 2 tablespoons of flour to the rhubarb to absorb the extra moisture released from the frozen rhubarb.
- Eggs: Room temperature eggs will incorporate easily into the sugar.
Instructions
For those of you who don't like super sweet desserts, this recipe is for you.
Pulse the crust ingredients together in a food processor until they resemble sand and press into a 8 x 8 pan. Bake for 15 minutes.
While the crust is baking, lightly beat two eggs and granulated sugar in a medium bowl. Add the flour and salt and mix well. Gently stir in rhubarb.
Pour the mixture over the hot crust and bake until the filling is set. Cool completely, cut into squares, and serve.
FAQs
It's technically a vegetable but is now pretty much openly identified as a fruit, mostly because of its tendency to be used in desserts in the same fashion you would use a traditional fruit.
Rhubarb is sold at farmers' markets and produce sections of grocery stores. The stalks look a lot like pink celery. It's harvested in the spring with a short season that spans from April to June.
Cool completely after baking and store the bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator. When stored properly, this dessert should last about a week.
These bars do not freeze well.
If you like rhubarb mixed with other fruits, you can easily replace some of the rhubarb with another fruit of your choice. You may need to adjust the amount of sugar in the filling depending on the sweetness of the fruit used.
This crust and filling mixture is a classic favorite, which means it's incredibly versatile and works with almost anything.
Expert Tips for the best dessert bars
✔️ Be sure to chop the rhubarb finely before adding it to the filling. Larger pieces will be harder to bite into and won't cook evenly.
✔️ Completely cool the rhubarb bars before cutting into them.
✔️ When it comes to bar desserts, you will get the cleanest cuts if the bars are slightly chilled. Pop the pan in the freezer 15 minutes before cutting into individual bars.
✔️ Want to amp up the sweetness? Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of one of these rhubarb bars. Strawberry ice cream is tasty, too, for that beloved rhubarb-strawberry combo everyone raves about.
More Easy Desserts
We love an easy dessert! Try these Blackberry Bliss Bars or some of our other favorites.
Still looking for more? Check out all of our Dessert recipes.
Did you make this recipe? We'd love to hear your thoughts!
Please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Your feedback helps us and your fellow readers!
Recipe
Rhubarb Bars
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 cup flour
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar
- 8 tablespoons cold butter diced
Filling:
- 2 eggs
- 1 ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ cup flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 ⅓ cups finely chopped rhubarb
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Instructions
To make the crust:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper.
- In a food processor, pulse the crust ingredients until they are a crumble consistency. Press into prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes.1 cup flour, ⅓ cup powdered sugar, 8 tablespoons cold butter
To make the filling:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar.2 eggs, 1 ¼ cup sugar
- Add flour and salt and combine well.¼ cup flour, ½ teaspoon salt
- Gently stir in rhubarb and pour mixture over the hot crust.3 ⅓ cups finely chopped rhubarb
- Bake for additional 35-40 minutes or until filling is set.
- Cool completely, cut into squares and serve.
Notes
- Butter: Very cold butter makes the best crust.
- Rhubarb: Fresh rhubarb is best for this recipe. Frozen will work in a pinch but you will need to add an additional 2 tablespoons of flour to the rhubarb.
- Eggs: Room temperature eggs will incorporate easily into the sugar.
- If you like rhubarb mixed with other fruits, you can easily replace some of the rhubarb with another fruit of your choice. You may need to adjust the amount of sugar in the filling depending on the sweetness of the fruit used.
Rhubarb doesn't tend to thaw well, I do not suggest trying to freeze these bars.
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Nutrition
Nutrition info not guaranteed to be accurate.
Debbie Holloway says
Do you put parchment paper in the 8x8 pan and then pat the crust in? Thank you.
Yes! Line the pan with parchment and then pat the crust in!
Zenovia says
Tasted amazing and was loved by my family. Only issue I had was crust would not press into the pan even though I measured and used the exact amounts and followed the directions. I did end up adding 2T ice water and then it would pressed into the pan. Not sure why that was.Turned out excellent like a thick flaky pastry crust and still worked great.
Jessie Rasmussen says
This was a great and easy recipe to follow. I didn't have enough rhubarb so I added diced apples and cinnamon to the topping and it turned out great! I love the idea of adding strawberries and a graham cracker crust- I think I'll do that next! Thanks for the great recipe!