Stewed Rhubarb
So I had this whole thing written about how under-appreciated a fruit rhubarb is, and how lets be honest, very few of you are jumping for joy when rhubarb season rolls around. Just before publishing the post, I told a friend about this stewed rhubarb recipe. Her response, “that sounds great, rhubarb is a totally neglected veggie”….wait, a vegetable? It seems its under-appreciated to the point that no one evens knows if its a fruit or vegetable.
So being the massive nerd that I am, I turned to my trusty (although not always accurate but lets pretend that it is) friend Wikipedia for a little clarification:
“Rhubarb is usually considered a vegetable. In the United States, however, a New York court decided in 1947 that since it was used in the United States as a fruit, it counted as a fruit for the purposes of regulations and duties. A side effect was a reduction on imported rhubarb tariffs, as tariffs were higher for vegetables than fruits.”
So I guess we were both right? What an unsatisfying victory. Apologies if you’ve started to doze off, I think its about time we move back to this delicious stewed rhubarb recipe.
This Stewed Rhubarb with Orange is incredibly versatile and can be used in a long list of ways. I love it for breakfast in the morning served with SCD yogurt and a drizzle of honey over top. You can add a few spoonfuls to a smoothie or simply eat a bowl full on its own. It can be heated and served over ice cream, or used in a crisp or pie. It also can be added to Orange and Rhubarb Muffins to make them melt in your mouth moist. This rhubarb also freezes well, so I recommend doubling the batch so you can store some for later. I prefer it to be on the liquidy side but if you like it to be thick then just cook it down for a few more minutes until more of the moisture evaporates.
Whether you classify rhubarb as a fruit or vegetable, the one thing I know you will agree on is that this stewed rhubarb is seriously good.
Here are a few other fruity recipes you might enjoy:
- Dairy Free Orange Julius
- Green Super Spinach Smoothie
- Grapefruit Bowls with Fruit Salad & Orange Poppy Seed Dressing
- BBQ Fruit Salad
- Citrus, Fennel, Avocado & Shrimp Salad
- Caramelized Peaches & Cream Popsicles
If you make this recipe let me know in the comment section below, I would love to hear what you think or take a photo and tag me (@everylastbite_) on Instagram, I love seeing your photos!

Stewed Rhubarb
Ingredients
- 8 cups chopped rhubarb
- 1/3 cup honey *or maple syrup add 1 tbsp more if you prefer it sweeter
- 2 tbsp orange zest
- 1/4 cup orange juice
Instructions
- Wash and chop rhubarb into 1/2 inch pieces.
- In a pot on medium-low heat combine all of the ingredients, cover and let simmer.
- If you prefer the rhubarb to remain quite chunky, let simmer for 15-20 minutes. For a smoother consistency let the mixture simmer for closer to 25 minutes.
- Store in the fridge for up to a week. Serve either hot or cold.
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Made this today and loved it! I’ve always been a big fan of rhubarb but needed a new refined sugar free recipe. This came out beautifully and I loved the added zest from the oranges.
I’m so happy that you enjoyed it! I love the rhubarb and orange combo, its one of my favourites 🙂
I tried making it with 1 tbsp cinnamon, 1 tbsp maple syrup, and a green apple. A bit tart but husband is diabetic. The apartment smelled wonderful! Thank you!
So happy to hear that it turned out well without as much sweetener!
Delicious – although I cheated a bit and also added a couple of dsps of ginger jam, to give it that rhubarb and ginger kick. Didn’t have any stem ginger to hand.
Wonderful with 0% plain yoghurt to make a sort of rhubarb fool, plus am putting it on porridge tomorrow.
So happy that you enjoyed it! The addition of ginger sounds to die for
Would you be able to water bath can this?
This turned out really yummy. It’s the first time I’ve cooked rhubarb and I made a triple batch! I’m looking forward to adding this sauce to muffins and experimenting with it. The orange zest gives it a nice tangy kick, but I ended up adding quite a bit more honey to make it a little sweeter.
I have a recipe for rhubarb muffins that uses this stewed rhubarb and they are absolutely delicious! Definitely worth making with any leftovers you have
I found this recipe really easy to make & absolutely delicious! I had a punnet of Rubycots (red fleshed Apricots) in my
fridge which I had to use up, so I chopped
these up & added them as well! Sensational!
I ate this dish cold with mango flavoured coconut yoghurt. Very refreshing. I am in Melbourne, Australia & it has been very hot
so this is the perfect dish for a heat wave climate!
Awesome! So happy to hear that!
Thank you for the recipe. I made it with honey and added a little bit fresh ginger Soooo very tasty!
Loved this recipe on buttered toast for breakfast. My husband started stirring it into his bowl of steel cut oats, which already had a touch of honey, cinnamon, ginger and raisins. He’s hooked!
Amazing ! Best stewed rhubarb recipe ever !
Love this recipe! Trying it today!
Wow! the first time I taste stewed I can’t imagine how tasty it is.
Wow! the first time I taste stewed I can’t imagine how tasty it is. Thank you so much.
I tried this and I changed some things. I used my own gf flour blend, egg replacer instead of eggs, vegan becel for the butter, and rhubarb for the blueberries, but only one cup. I cut down the sugar to roughly 2/3 cup. I also added an extra Tbsp of hemp hearts, and a bit of powdered ginger. Phew! And it worked! But my muffin cups were very full. If I were to do it again, I might get out another muffin tray just so I could add more rhubarb. They’re still cooling, but the flavour is good.