
A go-to muffin recipe packed full of fresh rhubarb. You will want to save this one for spring, for rhubarb season - Rhubarb Muffins with Greek Yogurt, with a cinnamon sugar topping. Greek yogurt makes for a lighter and slightly lower-fat muffin recipe. But I promise you won't notice. This is a light and fresh muffin. Just in time for spring rhubarb.

Seriously good muffins.
Our weekly local fresh produce delivery started a few weeks ago and we have rhubarb! A small part of me wanted to hoard it all away until I had enough to make a batch of jam or something. But we were craving something sweet. Enter this simple and lightened-up rhubarb muffin recipe. Sweet, packed full of fresh rhubarb, and easy. I have made it no less than 3 times since the first bunch arrived in the bin.
This is now the first recipe I reach for at the beginning of every Spring season.
There is a lot of cinnamon here.
Why use Greek yogurt in baking
Greek yogurt takes the place of sour cream in this recipe and provides very similar benefits -- it adds some lift, by reacting to the baking soda, a little tang, and moisture to help keep the crumb soft and tender.
Using Greek yogurt cuts the fat of this recipe and adds a bit of extra protein. I've tried both - with yogurt and with sour cream - and the muffins are lovely either way. But if you prefer a lighter, lower-fat muffin, Greek yogurt is the way to go without sacaficing flavour or texture.
This recipe calls for 2% plain Greek yogurt. You could reduce the fat even more and use 0% Greek yogurt as well, although I prefer the texture of 2%. Fat-free if 0% Greek yogurt results in a slightly less tender and less moist muffin. So I don't recommend it.
For best results choose a Greek yogurt with 2% milk fat or higher. Regular sour cream is a higher-fat product (typically 10-18%).
How to make Rhubarb Muffins with Green Yogurt
So, quickly, before rhubarb season is all over, here is how you make these yummy muffins.
Preheat ove to 400 degrees.
Prep a muffin tin with paper liner or by with cooking spray.
In medium bowl, mix together dry ingredients: flours, sugars, baking powder and soda, cinnamon and salt.
See this post for tips on how to measure flour for baking cookies, muffins and quick breads. How to measure flour....
In a large mixing bowl, beat together the wet ingredients: greek yogurt, eggs, vanilla and melted butter, until smooth and creamy.
Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold until just combined. Add in rhubarb. Do not over mix at this point.
TIP - I always add my dry ingredients to my wet ingredients. Which is backwards from every cook book receipe I have ever read. But trust me, it makes no differnce to the end product, certainly with straightfoward muffin recipes like this one and the clean up is so much easier. The dry ingredients slide right of the bowl, so spatula needed. Leaving you with a at least one bowl that just needs a quick and easy wash.
Divide batter between your muffin cups.
Making the cinnamon sugar topping. In a small bowl combin the topping ingredients - 3 tablespoons of white sugar and ½ teaspoon of cinnamon. Sprinkle this on top of each muffin before popping them in the oven to bake.
Bake the muffins for about 20 minutes. The muffins will be slightly golden brown and springing when you lightly press the tops. The sugar will have crysalized creating a slighly crunchy top.
You can also use a toothpick to test the muffins for doneness. Insert a clean and dry toothpick into the center of a muffin, the toothpick should come out clean and dry.
Allow the muffins to cool on a wire rack slightly before serving. These are best served warm.
More muffin recipes!
Storage
These muffins are best served warm, straight out of the oven.
Once completed cooled, they can be stored in a covered container at room temperature for a day or two.
For longer storage, these muffins can be frozen for 2-3 months. Place in a sealed container or large zip-top freezer bag.
To reheat- wrap in a clean paper towl and microwave for 30 seconds at a time, checking for softnesss after each interval. Be careful not to overheat.
Variations
This is a reliable and basic muffin recipe. You could easily sub in whatever fresh fruit you had on hand.
- Blackberries would be awesome with all of the cinnamon.
- Fresh raspberries skip some of the cinnamon and add some lemon or orange zest.
- Apple and cranberries, with the cinnamon.
- The batter is thick and will cook up soft and fluffy.
Recipe can also be baked in mini-muffins. Mini muffines take 8-10 minutes to bake at the same temperature as noted in the recipe below. Cooking time will depend on the size of your pan. Mini muffins are perfect for school pot-lucks.
📖 Recipe
Rhubarb Muffins with Greek Yogurt
Required equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole-wheat flour
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2-½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup 2% plain greek yogurt or sour cream, light or regular
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1-½ cups ¼-inch-diced rhubarb
For the topping:
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper or foil baking cups.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt and whisk to blend.1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup whole-wheat flour, ¾ cup granulated sugar, 2-½ teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- In a large bowl, whisk together the greek yogurt, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredient and lightly stir with a spatula until the batter just comes together; do not overmix. Gently stir in the diced rhubarb. This is a thick batter.1 cup 2% plain greek yogurt, 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, 2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 1-½ cups ¼-inch-diced rhubarb
- Evenly divide the batter among the muffin cups. The batter should mound a bit higher than the tops of the cups.
- Make the topping: In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon and mix well. Sprinkle a generous ½ tsp. of the cinnamon-sugar mixture over each muffin. Use your fingers to gently pat the topping into the tops of the muffins.3 tablespoons granulated sugar, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Bake the muffins until they’re golden brown and a tooth pick comes inserted into the centre of the muffin comes out clean, about 20-22 minutes.
- Let muffins cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes before moving them out of the pan to cool on a wire rack. Best served warm.
Notes
More easy muffin recipes:
Sugar and Spice Pumpkin Muffins
Double Chocolate Banana Muffins
Carol Kuzniak says
These muffins look yummy, perfectly done.
This recipe, I will keep
Dawn says
I was really hopeing you add some gluten and egg free recipes. 😏
Zomick's says
I'm always looking for new ways to use rhubarb. Voila, a perfect muffin. I made 24 smaller ones instead of the large ones. Worked perfectly. Making them again this weekend. A huge hit. An instant staple in my repertoire. Thank you!
Irene says
Can I use all AP flour?
Trish says
For sure!
Heidi Jewell says
Could I just use all-purpose flour instead of a mix of whole-wheat?
Trish says
Of course! Go for it.
Jill says
Can I use gluten free flour? Would I have to change anything else if I did use gluten free flour? Looks delicious
Marg says
These muffins are great. Made a batch yesterday and had to get more Greek yogurt today to make more. I have tons of rhubarb, so I’ve been making pies, cakes and now muffins
Trish says
Rhubarb season has to be my favourite season 🙂
Christina says
Do you think you can use almond flour, instead of the mix of flour?
Trish says
No. Almond flour is completely different. This recipe is not designed for almond flour.
Cat says
You can use 1 for 1 Gluten Free Flour (Bob's). Very good.
Darlene H says
These look delicious! Could you use frozen rhubarb?
Trish says
Absolutely! Frozen rhubarb works perfectly. Keep it frozen, don't thaw it first.
Ann says
I made these today and they are delicious and will certainly become a favorite! I used zero fat greek joghurt and they still turned out great.
Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Trish says
So glad you enjoyed these! 🙌
Christy says
These are great! My whole family enjoys them! Thank you!
Fiona says
I made these today and used my neighbors rhubarb that I had diced and frozen. They came out great and for once actually tasted of rhubarb. Made some rhubarb cookies the day before and they were nice, but never tasted the rhubarb in them - so I made sure to add lots of rhubarb for the muffins - yummy!!!
Shirley says
Hoping amount of butter can be reduced ( thinking of calories). Can you suggest a reduced amount?
Thanking you.
Trish says
I haven't made them any other way but I often have luck using apple sauce for about half of the butter in a recipe. I can't guarantee results though as I have not tried it myself. If you try it let me know how it works out!
Gina says
If I were to make these using the larger muffin pan 6 count - how long would the bake time be?
Trish says
Hi Kathy! I haven't made muffins in a bigger-sized tin so I can't say for sure. If I was to give it a try, I would watch them carefully, checking after 25 minutes and then every 5 until they were browned on top and a bit springy when you touch the center. The toothpick test is also very reliable.
Lisa says
I used all white flour because I didn't have whole wheat. I also substituted the topping with a strudel made with lemon cake mix and butter. The batter is indeed very thick and had me worried, but they turned out amazing! I wish I could add a photo. They are restaurant quality! You have mastered the rhubarb muffin!
Deb K says
Turned out great. Followed recipe, but chopped the frozen rhubarb a little too fine and got a little lost, but taste was delicious. Will definitely make again. Easy to put together.
Mary says
Can i use regular plain yogourt in this recipe
Trish says
Yes, you could. the Nutritional breakdown will be slightly different.
Shirley says
Would one egg suffice? ESP with that much butter? And the moisture of the rhubarb? Even ingredients are so costly now.
Susan says
These are so yummy. I used sour cream instead of Greek yogurt as I didn’t have any, I also doubled the recipe but left the amount of rhubarb, the same, they came out so delicious. I will be keeping this recipe and making it again, and again. thank you for posting it.
Marshs Gibson says
I am really looking forward to trying this recipe. Is it possible to use a self-rising flour such as unbleached White Lily flour made from soft winter wheat?I purchased it specifically to make Southern-style biscuits and they came out perfectly.
Trish says
Hi Marsh! I can't say as I have not used self-rising flour in this recipe.
Dawn says
I was really hopeing you had some gluten and egg free recipes. 😏
Trish says
Hi Dawn! Why don't give these a try.
https://www.infinebalance.com/blueberry-banana-snack-cake/ or these which are my all-time favourites
https://www.infinebalance.com/oat-fudge-bars-gluten-free/
Meri Schroeder says
So far I've only tried one muffin and it was good! I didn't have liners so mine stuck a lot to the pans, but eventually got them removed in one piece. I made these gluten free with 1 1/2 cups of Namaste GF flour and 1/2 cup of almond flour. A nice way to use up some rhubarb.
Staci Covey says
I made these with gluten free flour. I baked them 5 extra minutes. They are delicious!
Susan says
I am diabetic. Can I use Splenda instead of sugar? Thank you! I do love rhubarb!
Trish says
Hi Susan. I haven't tried Splenda so I can't say. I think I would try to find a 1 for 1 baking splenda substitute and give it a try. Please let me know how they turn out!
Joyce M says
This is a really nice & tasty muffin recipe! They had a good density and weren't as cake like as so many are anymore. The flavor is also really good. I did have to add a tablespoon or 2 of milk to thin the batter a little. Mine have kept nicely in the fridge & freezer since I made them 2 weeks ago. I've been packing one in my lunch most days as a morning snack. I'll be making another batch this weekend. 🙂
Thank you for posting this!
Jodi says
Delicious muffins. Perfect sweetness. Topping is delicious. I added a tiny bit of nutmeg, and then 1/2 tsp of Cardamom into the muffins, and then a little of each into the Toppingand love it. Already planning to make them again and just finished lol.
Sara says
It turned out super yummy! Thank you for sharing this recipe with us:)
Sg Conway says
I love your rhubarb muffin recipe and I’m wondering, as rhubarb is now out of season, if I can substitute apples or pear.
Thanking you in advance.
Trish says
Yes of course! It is a great muffin base. I've done apples and raspberries, together. It was fantastic!
Karen says
Delicious, not too sweet. Only change to recipe is for the topping. It says 3T of sugar mixed with the cinnamon then sprinkle 1/2 tsp on each muffin. The measurement should be 2T of sugar = 6 tsp = 1/2 tsp x 12 muffins. 😋
Jennifer says
I made these muffins using 5% whole milk Greek yogurt, and was very happy with the moist, tender crumb. The reason I'm giving the recipe three stars is because the flavor was very bland, despite fresh ingredients, including a new bottle of cinnamon. Trish had said, "There is a lot of cinnamon here" but I could barely taste it. Since I love rhubarb, I will try the recipe again but this time I will increase the cinnamon and maybe even add a dash of allspice. (5 stars for well-written instructions!)
Marnie says
A definite keeper. In addition to the taste, I love how the mounding creates a lovely full looking muffin. I plan to use this recipe substituting other fruit as well.
Mike Barker says
I’ve made it twice now and it is so good. I used one cup flour and one cup quick oats as we were out of whole wheat flour. Also added an orange extract. And topping was turbinado sugar, cinnamon and some orange zest.my daughter and wife chastise me for not following the recipe exactly but my other critics think they taste great!,
Rita says
These are yummy. Used half butter & half unsweetened apple sauce and 2 c frozen rhubarb. Stuck to paper liners so used parchment liners. Topping was way too much, I'd cut in half next time.
Suzanne Gagnier says
I haven't made this yet but I just want to make sure that you use uncooked, big pieces of rhubarb in the recipe. You don’t have to cook the rhubarb first?
Trish says
You don't have to cook the rhubarb first. But best if you chop the stocks into 1/2 pieces. Unless they are super fat stocks, I just slice them
Heidi says
Instead of using whole wheat flour, can one just double up on regular all purpose flour?
Trish says
Yes of course.. sub all purpose for the whole wheat flour in equal mesures.
Barbara says
Can this be made with fresh, uncooked rhubarb?
Trish says
Yes -- I that is how we make it! Freezing the rhubard is handy for when you have a bummper crop and can't use it all at once.
Joni says
Second time making these in 2 weeks. Easy and great!
Trish says
So glad you are enjoying them!
Barbara McFadden says
Very tasty and moist!
Peg says
May be my bad used almond flour and substitute apple sauce for butter. Used 2% Greek yogurt. The tops were fine just way too moist. Fell apart.
Trish says
Yes -- I recipe has not been tested with those substitutions. I can't say you will get good results. 2% yogurt would be fine to use in place of greek.
Lynda says
Was so pleased..mine turned out perfectly. So light and tasty. Have shared these at my work and they always go so quickly. Great way to use my rhubarb. Thankyou for sharing this recipe. The combination of flavours is wonderful.
Trish says
Fantastic!
LD says
These muffins were delicious. The batter was very thick so I was a bit worried, but it wasn’t a problem. They turned out great!