Rhubarb Sauce – only two ingredients!

Rhubarb sauce is so easy to make and it’s a perfect way to prepare the first fruits of spring (or maybe I should say vegetable!). 

Fruit or vegetable, rhubarb is making a comeback. Found in many home gardens, a rhubarb plant is the plant that keeps on giving, and giving, and giving. It’s pretty impossible to kill a rhubarb plant — not that you would ever want to!

Rhubarb is a harbinger of spring. Just when we think winter is going to last forever, the snow melts, the ground warms up a bit, and up through the ground, pink knobs of rhubarb emerge. The stalks grow so rapidly, you can literally see the change overnight. Stretching toward the sun, long stalks with gigantic leaves beckon to be made into delicious spring time treats.

Low in calories, rhubarb is high in Vitamin K and fiber. It’s sort of like a spring tonic. Here in Michigan, it’s absolutely the first crop to be harvested in the spring, and it’s always so welcome.

Rhubarb is also known as a pie plant. This classic rhubarb custard pie by The Spruce Eats is just delish, and rhubarb coffee cake from The Best Cake Recipes looks incredible!

My mom always made rhubarb sauce with rhubarb fresh from her garden. It’s so easy and flavorful. Since it’s really quite sour on its own, you need to add a fair amount of sugar to make it palatable. Experiment a little and you’ll find just the right balance of tart/sweet for you. 

If you’re looking for a sweeter, thicker consistency, try this rhubarb jam from Ten Acre Baker.

How To Make Rhubarb Sauce

Think of rhubarb sauce like applesauce. It’s basically cooked fruit with a little sweetener, in this case, sugar.

Preparing the stalks to cook is easy. Simply cut off the leaves. Don’t be tempted to eat the leaves because they contain a substance that is toxic when eaten in large quantities. Wash the stalks thoroughly, and chop with a really sharp knife into one inch pieces. 

Put the chopped rhubarb into a large saucepan, add a splash of water (not too much, rhubarb is pretty juicy on its own), and sugar. Cook over medium to low heat until the rhubarb chunks have broken down and formed a nice sauce. 

You can double or triple this recipe easily since there are only a couple of ingredients. It just depends on how much rhubarb you’re lucky enough to have. You could also add some strawberries. It’s a very forgiving recipe!

How to serve rhubarb sauce

Serve rhubarb sauce at room temperature or chilled. You can easily make a big bowl of it and keep it in the fridge for a week. It’s ready to eat any time you are.

Eat a bowl of rhubarb sauce for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Serve it as a delicious sauce for pancakes or waffles for breakfast. Stir it into plain yogurt. Top vanilla bean ice cream or pound cake with rhubarb sauce for dessert.

FAQs

Storage and Freezing Tips

Rhubarb sauce can be stored in the fridge in a tightly covered container for up to a week. Rhubarb sauce freezes well. Put into freezer containers and freeze up to 6 months. It’s best thawed overnight in the refrigerator.

You can also freeze raw rhubarb to use later if you have an excess. Wash, dry, and cut into small pieces (about 1-inch). Spread on a sheet pan and freeze for about an hour until frozen. Then, move it to an airtight storage container or freezer bag and freeze for up to 6 months. This method prevents the pieces from sticking together.

More rhubarb recipes

Looking for more delicious rhubarb recipes? Try:

• Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
• Rhubarb Cardamom Shortbread Bars
• Rhubarb Instant Pot Cake (Rhubarb Upside Down Cake)
• Rhubarb and Nutmeg Cake
• Roasted Rhubarb by The Spruce Eats
• Rhubarb Barbecue Sauce by Taste of Home