Buckwheat Rhubarb Muffins with Pecan Streusel

Back this week with another rhubarb recipe for you guys – break out your muffin tin, because you’re going to love these Buckwheat Rhubarb Muffins! Earthy, musky buckwheat combines with tart rhubarb and a sweet, nutty streusel to create the breakfast of your dreams. Am I overstating how delicious these are? Maybe. Guess you’ll have to find out for yourself!

Rhubarb grows plentifully here in northern Minnesota. I’m always a little baffled when I see it in the grocery store. Never in my life have I had to buy rhubarb – it basically grows like a weed here (not in the sense that it grows in the wild, just in that it’s abundant). While I don’t have any plants of my own (apartment living doesn’t really lend itself to gardening), I am lucky to have friends who share their abundance with me so I can make all the rhubarb treats my heart desires.

Different Flours = Amazing Flavor & Texture

I’ve been playing around with using alternative flours – in this case buckwheat and spelt. (I also have a couple of rye flour recipes I’m dying to try!) The different grains add such a rich complexity to the flavor of baked goods – it’s SO much fun to play with! Buckwheat flour adds a pretty strong earthy flavor, so if you’re not into that you can feel free to sub something else (whole wheat would be delicious). Spelt flour on the other hand is more mild-flavored, but it contributes some lovely texture. If you haven’t tried it yet, I think you’ll love it. It’s also great in chocolate chip cookies, so you know, if you have extra and you need something to do with it, you just might HAVE to make some cookies.

So if you need something a little different for breakfast, give these Buckwheat Rhubarb Muffins a try. Leave a comment below and let me know how they turn out for you!

Happy Baking!

Print Recipe

Buckwheat Rhubarb Muffins with Pecan Streusel

A hearty muffin with a dose of rhubarb tartness, topped with a brown sugar-pecan streusel. Adapted from The Mostly Vegan's Cinnamon Pear Buckwheat Muffins.

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time25 minutes mins

Total Time55 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast, Snack

Keyword: Buckwheat Rhubarb Muffins, Buckwheat Rhubarb Muffins with Pecan Streusel

Servings: 12 muffins

Ingredients

Pecan Streusel

• 1/4 c rolled oats
• 1/4 c spelt flour
• 1/4 c brown sugar
• 1/2 c pecan pieces toasted
• 2 T butter melted
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp coarse sea salt

Buckwheat Rhubarb Muffins

• 2 c rhubarb chopped
• 1/2 c milk
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 c spelt flour
• 3/4 c buckwheat flour
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 3/4 c brown sugar
• 1/2 c butter melted
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners (if you like – you can skip them if you want).

Pecan Streusel

• In a small bowl, mix together oats, spelt flour, brown sugar, toasted pecans, cinnamon, and salt.
• Melt butter and add to oat mixture, mixing well and using your fingers to pinch the mixture into clumps. Set aside.

Buckwheat Rhubarb Muffins

• Mix milk and lemon juice together and set aside. The mixture will curdle slightly, and that's just what you want. 🙂
• In a large bowl, combine spelt flour, buckwheat flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together brown sugar, eggs, melted butter, milk-lemon juice mixture, and vanilla. Pour into dry mixture and mix just until combined.
• Stir in chopped rhubarb.
• Divide batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups (about 1/4 c batter per muffin).
• Top each muffin with the streusel mixture (about 1-2 T per muffin).
• Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
• Move to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely – or until you just can't wait any more. (Careful not to burn your tongue!)

Notes

The recipe I adapted this one from is vegan (I added butter, eggs, and milk back in – am I even allowed to do that?!?). So if you’d like, you can easily make these muffins vegan. Take a look at the original recipe here: https://www.themostlyvegan.com/cinnamon-pear-buckwheat-muffins-with-pecan-streusel/. You could just follow that recipe and use rhubarb instead of the pear (though I did increase the sugar a little to counter the tartness of the rhubarb – I’ll leave it up to you if you want to do that as well).

Want to make these gluten free? Instead of spelt flour try oat flour, or even a GF all-purpose flour. I haven’t tried it myself but it should work out great. Buckwheat flour is already GF.