These sour cream rhubarb muffins are packed with tart bursts of fresh rhubarb and topped with a buttery, crunchy sweet almond streusel. They bake up nice and fluffy with domed tops, and the combination of tangy fruit, a light vanilla crumb, and nutty crunch makes for the perfect bite every time.
Made with sour cream for a moist interior and no mixer needed, these rhubarb muffins come together easily and are perfect for a spring brunch, a cozy weekend bake, or just a quiet morning with coffee. And just like our pistachio muffins, raspberry white chocolate muffins, and banana nut muffins, these start with a high baking temperature to get those perfectly domed muffin tops.
Rhubarb season comes and goes in a flash, so you have to double down on all things rhubarb for May and June! We love the bright color rhubarb brings to spring, so use your abundance in these rhubarb bars, rhubarb sorbet, and mini strawberry rhubarb pies, too!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
Fresh rhubarb - the tartness of the rhubarb is the perfect match for the sweet, crunchy almond streusel topping. Try this rhubarb crumble cake for a variation!
Moist and tender - thanks to full-fat sour cream, these muffins have a rich, springy crumb that stays soft for days.
Easy prep - No mixer needed! Just two bowls, a fork, a whisk, and a rubber spatula make for a simple muffin recipe that will be on your table in 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- Butter. Unsalted butter is used in melted form to create the almond streusel topping.
- All-purpose flour. Used in both the batter and crumble.
- Sugars. Both brown sugar and granulated sugar are used in this recipe. Light brown or dark brown sugar can be used.
- Almonds. Sliced almonds make for easiest eating, but you can also roughtly chop whole almonds if you want!
- Leaveners. Baking powder is the main rising agent, but baking soda is also used to react with the sour cream and give the muffins just a bit of extra rise.
- Neutral oil. Canola oil or vegetable oil can be used. This is what helps create a very moist muffin!
- Sour cream. Not only does this add a slight tanginess to the batter, but the fat content also creates an ultra-tender muffin.
- Rhubarb. Fresh, pink stalks of rhubarb are cut into small pieces and get mixed into the muffin batter.
See recipe card for full ingredients list and quantities.
Substitutions and Variations
- Nuts. Use chopped pecans or walnuts, or leave them out entirely.
- Frozen rhubarb can be used instead of fresh. Fold it in directly from frozen, breaking up any chunks first.
- Spices. Ginger and rhubarb is a really nice pairing (as seen in these rhubarb curd bars). Throw in ½ teaspoon ginger powder for an extra kick of flavor.
- Make it citrusy by adding 1 teaspoon of lemon or orange zest to the batter.
- Swap the sour cream for full-fat Greek yogurt, kefir, or buttermilk.
How to Make This Recipe
One: Make the almond streusel and set aside.
Two: Whisk together the wet ingredients, then fold in half of the flour.
Three: Add the sour cream and mix it in gently.
Four: Add the remaining flour and mix until mostly combined, but some flour still shows.
Five: Fold in the rhubarb (tossed in flour) until evenly distributed and no flour remains.
Six: Fill the prepared muffin wells with the batter almost the whole way to the tops.
Seven: Sprinkle the almond streusel on top.
Eight: Bake, cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling before enjoying.
Expert Tips
- Use room temperature sour cream and eggs for the smoothest batter.
- Dice the rhubarb small so it distributes evenly throughout the muffins.
- Look for very pink stalks of rhubarb for the best pops of color in the muffins!
- Don’t overmix the batter during the final folds. Too much mixing = gluten development = chewy muffins.
- For domed muffin tops, fill the wells nearly full and use the high-temp start.
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Recipe FAQs
Yes! Wrap tightly and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temp or reheat in a 350℉ oven for about 10 minutes.
Be sure to toss the rhubarb in flour before folding it into the batter. This helps to suspend them within the batter and allows for even rhubarb distribution in every muffin.
Nope! Just trim both ends and dice. The peel softens during baking. Be sure not to consume any of the leafy parts of the rhubarb, as they can be poisonous.
Storage
Store the cooled sour cream rhubarb muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. To help maintain the texture of the almond streusel, loosely cover the container so air can circulate. This helps to keep the tops from getting soggy.
To freeze, wrap each muffin tightly in plastic wrap, then place them in a zip-top freezer bag. Freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature (unwrapped). You can add them into a muffin tin and bake at 350F for a couple minutes to refresh the tops, if you want.
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What to Know When Cooking with The Cozy Plum
- All recipes are created with Diamond Crystal kosher salt, the least salty variety of kosher salt. If using Morton's, you'll need to cut the amount of salt in half as it's 2x as salty. This will be the same for sea salt. Please do not use table salt.
- Switch between Cups vs Metric using the toggle on the recipe card. Baking by weight using a digital scale will always produce the most accurate results.
- Scale the recipe using the '1X' '2X' '3X' buttons on the recipe card. Note that this does not make an adjustment for baking times, only quantities.
📖Recipe
Sour Cream Rhubarb Muffins with Almond Streusel
Equipment
- 12 hole muffin tin
- Whisk
Ingredients
Almond Streusel
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup light brown sugar packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Muffins
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1½ cups diced rhubarb
- 1 tablespoon flour for the rhubarb
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup neutral oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 cup sour cream full fat, room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425℉ and line a 12-hole muffin tin with liners or lightly grease.
- In a mixing bowl, add the melted butter, flour, sugars, sliced almonds, and salt and use a fork to mix it until crumbles form. Set aside.4 tablespoons unsalted butter, ¾ cups all-purpose flour, ¼ cup light brown sugar, ¼ cup granulated sugar, ¼ cup sliced almonds, ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside.2¼ cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Add the chopped rhubarb to a bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon flour. Set aside.1½ cups diced rhubarb, 1 tablespoon flour
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla.2 large eggs, 1 cup granulated sugar, ½ cup neutral oil, 2 teaspoons vanilla
- Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and fold until halfway combined. Add the sour cream and finish folding it in.1 cup sour cream
- Fold in the rhubarb until evenly combined, then fill each muffin well almost full (about ¾ of the way) with batter, then top generously with the almond streusel.
- Bake for 5 minutes at 425F, then reduce the oven to 375F (don’t open it!) and continue baking for another 18-22 minutes.
- Cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then remove the muffins to a wire rack to finish cooling.
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