Name: Gluten-Free Rhubarb Muffins with Almond Flour Streusel
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 70 min
Ingredients: ½ cup (56 g) blanched almond flour; ⅓ cup (30 g) gluten-free oat flour (or ¼ cup / 30 g sorghum flour); 1 ½ tablespoons (12 g) tapioca flour; 3 tablespoons (37 g) packed light brown sugar; ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt; ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon; ⅛ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg; 3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter ((or plant butter)); 2 cups (200 g) diced rhubarb ((about ½-inch pieces)); ½ cup + 2 tablespoons (125 g) organic granulated sugar; 3 large eggs; 9 tablespoons (110 g) oil ((such as suncoco, sunflower, or grapeseed)); ¾ cup (170 g) sour cream or yogurt ((dairy or dairy-free; my favorite is Forager – half DF Greek, half cashew yogurt)); 1 ½ teaspoons GF vanilla extract; ¾ cup (115 g) sweet rice flour; 1 cup + 2 tablespoons (112 g) oat flour ((or ⅞ cup / 112 g sorghum flour, which is what I used)); ¾ cup (84 g) blanched almond flour; 3 tablespoons (23 g) tapioca flour; 2 teaspoons baking powder; ¾ teaspoon baking soda; 1 teaspoon fine sea salt

Moist gluten-free rhubarb muffins with a plush crumb, jammy pockets of rhubarb, and crispy, spice-kissed streusel. In just minutes, the batter can be stirred together using a blend of flavorful flours – almond, oat, and sweet rice. Chill the batter while the oven preheats, and bake up beautiful muffins with domed tops and golden edges in 25 minutes.

a halved muffin loaded with jammy, pink rhubarb

The most popular recipe on TBG during spring and summer is this gluten-ful rhubarb streusel coffee cake that I shared back in 2010. I've shared many other pretty-in-pink rhubarb recipes, but after years of thinking longingly of its salty streusel, floofy crumb, and jammy bits of rhubarb, I finally created a gluten-free equivalent and I can't get enough.

Enter these gluten-free rhubarb streusel muffins. I developed the batter to use oil, not butter, so it's easy to mix up with a whisk and a bowl. It's loaded with chunks of rhubarb that bake into tangy pockets of spring goodness. And don't skip the streusel topping – its buttery brown sugar goodness laced with cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg pairs beautifully with these moist, tender muffins.

This muffin formula works well with other fruit, too. If you don't have rhubarb, try swapping in chopped fresh peaches, plums, or berries. And stay tuned for a blueberry version!

Flour Power: Almond, Oat, and Sweet Rice

This combination of flours is a favorite! Here's what each flour adds to the muffin batter and streusel:

Almond flour: moisture and tenderness. Rich almond flour keeps the muffins moist for days with a delicate texture and buttery taste. It also makes the streusel crisp and buttery.
Oat flour: a touch of earthy flavor (think: whole wheat) and body. For those who can't do even gluten-free oats, sorghum flour works seamlessly (in fact, I actually used it in these photos since I was baking for a friend who can't do oats!) It also adds structure to the streusel.
Sweet rice flour: bouncy chew. Some baked goods are overly tender and mush in the mouth. Not so with sturdy sweet rice flour! Its mild flavor also balances the earthiness of oat flour and nuttiness of almond flour.
Tapioca starch: major floof! The sticky starch traps air pockets helping the muffins poof and rise in the oven. And it helps the streusel clump.

For more flour nerdary, see my epic guide to baking with gluten-free flours.

Sour Cream or Yogurt = the Moistest Muffins (that can be made dairy-free too!)

I've tested this recipe using sour cream, Greek yogurt, and dairy-free equivalents, and they all work beautifully! My favorite version uses a blend of dairy-free Greek yogurt and cashew yogurt from Forager – it makes the batter extra floofy, with handsomely domed tops, and the cashew makes it taste extra buttery.

At the same time, I tested the streusel topping using Miyoko's dairy-free butter, and I also had a slight preference for it over dairy butter. It made the streusel extra-clumpy and delicious.

That said, I made the muffins shown in these photos using dairy sour cream and regular unsalted butter and they were just as dreamy.

So rest assured that you can make these rhubarb muffins with or without dairy, using what you've got tucked away in the back of the fridge. The mark of a sturdy recipe! One reader even successfully used strawberry skyr (hello!):

Delicious!

“Anything rhubarb I have to try so I was excited to see this recipe. The only change I made is that I didn't have plain yogurt or sour cream, but I had strawberry skyr which worked just fine. These muffins were delicious! Not too sweet, a little on the tart side if anything. The trick of refrigerating them before baking was priceless - I've never had muffins that domed up like that.”
—Andrea

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How the Muffin Magic Happens

As easy to whip up as they are to eat! This recipe makes 12 glorious muffins in about an hour, start to finish, including a 20 minute rest in the fridge before baking. During my many experiments with these essential almond and oat flour banana muffins, I found that chilling the batter before baking helps the tops bake up with tall, handsomely domed tops that hold their shape.

Stress-Less Streusel

dry ingredients for streusel — All the dry ingredients go into a bowl

pouring in the melted butter — Adding melted butter

the unbaked streusel in a bowl — Love those tasty, tender clumps! Try not to eat it all straight from the bowl...

Batter Up

prepping the rhubarb — Prepping some fresh rhubarb. I like to cut stalks in half lengthwise, then crosswise about half an inch thick, to end up with diced rhubarb

eggs and sugar in a bowl — Making the batter – first the eggs and sugar get combined

whisking in the oil — Whisking in the oil

whisking in the sour cream — Whisking in the sour cream / yogurt and vanilla. This makes it smell so good!

sifting the flours — Sifting the flours – I use a medium-mesh strainer so the almond flour will go through with the help of a large spoon

stirring the flours into the batter — Stirring the flour mix into the batter

adding fresh rhubarb to the batter — Adding all that beautiful diced rhubarb

stirring the thick muffin batter — The batter will be thick and luscious! Some lumps are ok, but you don't want any flour streaks

unbaked muffins — The batter should fill the muffin tins fully, mounding a little on top. I've found that it helps to press the streusel gently into the batter so it doesn't fall off as it bakes.

the muffins have been baked — They bake up so beautifully! I always feel like a domestic goddess when I pull these from the oven. Baking them higher in the oven helps them turn golden brown on top.

Special thanks to Karl, my vendor friend at the Marin farmer's market, who gifted me many pounds of homegrown rhubarb from his parents and grandparents. This recipe would not have happened without it!

Bojon appétit, my sweets! If you make this, I’d love to know. Please leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.

5 from 3 reviews

Gluten-Free Rhubarb Muffins with Almond Flour Streusel

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Moist and tender muffins bursting with chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb and topped with buttery brown sugar cinnamon streusel. Stir together the streusel and batter in just minutes using a blend of flavorful flours – almond, oat, and sweet rice. Chill the batter while the oven preheats, and bake up beautiful muffins with domed tops and golden edges in 25 minutes.

Alanna Taylor-Tobin

Prep Time: 25

Cook Time: 25

Chilling Time: 20

Total: 1 10

Ingredients

Streusel

½ cup (56 g) blanched almond flour
⅓ cup (30 g) gluten-free oat flour (or ¼ cup / 30 g sorghum flour)
1 ½ tablespoons (12 g) tapioca flour
3 tablespoons (37 g) packed light brown sugar
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter (or plant butter)

Wet ingredients

2 cups (200 g) diced rhubarb (about ½-inch pieces)
½ cup + 2 tablespoons (125 g) organic granulated sugar
3 large eggs
9 tablespoons (110 g) oil (such as suncoco, sunflower, or grapeseed)
¾ cup (170 g) sour cream or yogurt (dairy or dairy-free; my favorite is Forager – half DF Greek, half cashew yogurt)
1 ½ teaspoons GF vanilla extract

Dry ingredients

¾ cup (115 g) sweet rice flour
1 cup + 2 tablespoons (112 g) oat flour (or ⅞ cup / 112 g sorghum flour, which is what I used)
¾ cup (84 g) blanched almond flour
3 tablespoons (23 g) tapioca flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fine sea salt

Equipment

1 muffin tin
12 paper muffin liners

Instructions

Streusel

Make the streusel by combining the almond flour, sorghum flour, tapioca flour, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Stir in the melted butter until the mixture forms moist clumps.

Muffins

Prepare the rhubarb by removing the leaves fully and cutting them into a 1/2-inch dice. I like to cut the stalks in half lengthwise, then crosswise 1/2-inch thick.
In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs. Whisk in the oil, then the sour cream and vanilla. Sift in the dry ingredients, stir until almost combined, then fold in the rhubarb.
Divide between 12 standard muffin tins lined with paper liners; the batter will come to the top. Cover with streusel, pressing it in slightly.
Refrigerate while you preheat the oven to 375ºF, about 20 minutes – this will make the muffins dome nicely.
Bake in the upper third of the oven until the tops are golden and a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs, 25-35 minutes.
Enjoy warm or at room temperature.

Storage

I Iove a warm rhubarb muffin fresh from the oven, but I also tested storing these at room temp and in the fridge. I found that the streusel stays crisp for 1 day at room temp, but if you're storing them longer, they fare better in the fridge to keep the streusel crisp.
I like "refreshing" chilled muffins in a 350ºF toaster oven for 5 minutes to crisp up the streusel and tenderize the middles. I even popped a 7-day old muffin in the toaster oven for a few minutes. Miraculously, it still tasted freshly-baked!

Notes

Need ingredient subs? Slide into the comments section and I'll get back to you ASAP!

Making this? I'd love to see!Tag your snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet!

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Comments

5 from 3 votes

Gluten-Free Rhubarb Muffins with Almond Flour Streusel

Flour Power: Almond, Oat, and Sweet Rice