Big Buttermilk Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins
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These jumbo buttermilk strawberry muffins start with a light buttermilk batter, and are generously strewn with fresh berries and rhubarb. The thing that sets them apart from your usual muffin recipe is the crumbly, buttery brown sugar streusel topping.
Plus, they’re big enough to share! It’s one of my favorite strawberry recipes when they’re at their peak season in the spring and summer months.
Featured comment:
“Absolutely outstanding! This recipe produces the PERFECT strawberry rhubarb muffin. It’s more than a muffin. It’s nearly a life-changing experience.”
-Fitz
Moist strawberry muffins
With their crumbly topping and a buttery, tender texture, these jumbo beauties might remind you of a good coffee cake, only with fresh strawberries.
Muffins are the morning version of cake, when it comes down to semantics. But muffins generally have less sugar than cake, so I tell myself that it’s totally fine to enjoy them as an all-day, anytime snack!
Baker’s facts:
- The basic great American muffin is a type of traditional quick bread, usually leavened with baking powder rather than yeast.
- Adding buttermilk to the batter gives the muffins a fluffy crumb and moist texture.
- TIP: The muffin batter plus the toppings fill up the muffin cups, so I like to bake the muffins in tulip-shaped parchment paper cups to ensure they keep their shape better (plus they look pretty).
- It’s very easy to make your bakery-style liners out of parchment paper — cut 6-inch squares of paper to fit a jumbo pan, or 5-inch squares to fit a standard muffin pan.
- Don’t worry if all you have are standard paper liners (or even no liners at all) — just be sure to oil your muffin pan thoroughly, including the top of the pan.
More strawberries and rhubarb recipes
- Super refreshing Strawberry-Rhubarb Gin Cocktails
- Light and flaky Buttermilk Scones with Roasted Strawberry Jam
- Pink Rhubarb Bellinis with prosecco
- Strawberry Crostata Tart with Mascarpone Cheese
Strawberry Rhubarb Buttermilk Muffins with Brown Sugar Streusel
Ingredients
Streusel Crumble:
- 5 tablespoons (75 g) unsalted butter, melted
- ¾ cup (100 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (110 g) light brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
Muffins:
- 8 ounces (225 g) strawberries, hulled and chopped
- 2 stalks rhubarb, 6-8 ounces, diced
- ¼ cup (32 g) cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Grated zest from 1 orange or lemon
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- ¼ cup (60 ml) canola oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup (250 ml) buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees (200C) with a rack positioned in the middle. Oil a 6-cup muffin tin and fill with muffin liners or tulip-shaped parchment liners.
Crumble topping:
- Place the ingredients for the streusel in a bowl and mix until it forms large, moist crumbs. Set aside.
Muffins
- Put the strawberries, rhubarb, cornstarch, brown sugar and lemon juice in a bowl and gently stir to combine. Set aside while you mix the rest of the batter.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and grated zest. Make a well in the center and stir in the egg, oil, butter, buttermilk and vanilla. Mix until the batter just comes together and the flour is incorporated.
- Divide the batter evenly into the muffin cups. Spoon the strawberry mixture evenly over the batter (about ½ cup for each one), then top with the streusel crumbs (2 tablespoons or so per cup)
- Bake 22-27 minutes, until the muffins are golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out with a few moist crumbs.
Notes
- The recipe makes 6 jumbo “Texas” style muffins or 12 standard-size muffins.
- The muffins keep well for a few days, wrapped or stored in a covered container.
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.
This recipe sounds delicious, there’s a few changes I’d like to make however. What would you suggest if I switched out the corn start and canola oil? Thank you!
Hi Chantal: You can easily swap the canola for another oil you prefer (even melted butter), and use arrowroot instead of cornstarch. Come back and let me know how they turn out!
Family loves them! I had to use milk with lemon juice for “buttermilk”, I reduced flour in crumble to 1/2c and used 1/4c oatmeal. For me this make 18 regular sizes muffins and they are all good sized.
Using frozen strawberries?
Yes, they’ll work fine – I would defrost first, then drain well before chopping.
What if I don’t want to use rhubarb? What changes do I have to make?
Hi Debi – You can modify by omitting the rhubarb and using an additional 8 ounces of strawberries. I hope you enjoy them!
Hey there Karen!
I was looking for an awesome Strawberry Rhubarb recipe to take to work and this one fits the bill! I love that your instructions are thorough, but simple and give just the right amount of tips to make it turn out great! I LOVE making jumbo muffins!!!❤️ I plan to use sunflower oil instead of canola oil and can’t wait to harvest a few stalks of my rhubarb plant for the first time this year! I will happily double this recipe and share pics, as well as a review of the final result! This will be so much quicker and easier than a Strawberry Rhubarb Pie! Thank you for sharing! ✌️❤️🧁
Absolutely outstanding! Studied the recipe. Weighed and gathered ingredients in mise en place. Paid careful attention and followed every step of the directions to the letter. This recipe produces the PERFECT strawberry rhubarb muffin. It’s more than a muffin. It’s nearly a life-changing experience.
That is amazing!! Thanks for sharing :))
Great recipe. Used whole wheat flour and decreased sugar by 20%. Added rolled oats to streusal.
Batter went together great —-can hardly wait to taste!
This is an elegant muffin. I appreciated your clear instructions and the video on the parchment liners. Altitude adjustments of slightly more egg/buttermilk and slightly less sugar/leavening/heat worked for me at 5,000 ft. Thank you!
So glad you liked them Christine! Thanks for sharing the tip for altitude baking, too 🙂
YUM! These muffins look and sound so comforting and perfect as a sweet breakfast – simply yummy!