Rhubarb Sauce – only two ingredients!

At a glance

What stands out: This is such a straightforward recipe, and rhubarb sauce is a nice change from applesauce. Serve it as a simple dessert, or as a topping for pancakes, waffles, or yogurt.

How long it takes: 20 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: sharp knife, saucepan
Servings: 4

Rhubarb (or Pie Plant)

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! You may know it as pie plant (so named because rhubarb makes a great pie!).

Here in Michigan, it’s absolutely the first crop to be harvested in the spring, and it’s always so welcome. 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 rich spring time treats.

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

Rhubarb Tips

Rhubarb is a vegetable that’s more commonly used as a fruit. It’s often used to make pies, sauces, cakes, bars, and so on.

There’s no need to peel rhubarb. Even though it may look kind of stringy, it will all cook down and be evenly tender and edible. Never eat the leaves because they contain a toxic substance.

You can eat rhubarb raw, too, but it is tart. Add thin slices to salads for a nice crunch and burst of flavor.

How it comes together

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

Prep the rhubarb. Preparing the stalks to cook is straightforward. 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 sharp knife into one inch pieces.

Cook it on the stove. 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.

Make as much as you like. 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 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 rich 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.

Keeping leftovers

Refrigerate: Rhubarb sauce can be stored in the fridge in a tightly covered container for up to a week.

Freeze: Rhubarb sauce freezes well. Put into freezer containers and freeze up to 6 months. It’s best thawed overnight in the refrigerator.

How To Freeze Rhubarb

If you have a lot of rhubarb, it’s straightforward to freeze. Wash, dry, and cut into small pieces (about one 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.

• Yield: 4
• Prep: 5 minutes
• Cook: 15 minutes
• Total: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 cups roughly chopped rhubarb (about 1 inch pieces)
• ½ cup sugar, more to taste
• ¼ cup water

Method

1. Put all ingredients into a large saucepan. Cook on medium heat, for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until rhubarb chunks are soft and sauce is desired consistency.
2. Taste and adjust sweetness. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Notes

Increase yield: Recipe can be easily doubled or tripled depending on how much rhubarb you have.

Storage: Rhubarb sauce can be refrigerated for up to one week or frozen for up to six months in a freezer safe container. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.

Tip: If desired, add a couple drops of red food coloring. This is particularly helpful if your rhubarb is more green than red, which can depend on what type of rhubarb you happen to have. The color doesn’t affect the flavor, so it’s more for visual appeal.

Strawberry-rhubarb sauce: Substitute 2 cups sliced strawberries for 2 cups of the rhubarb. Cook as instructed.