Rhubarb Quick Bread

By Samantha Seneviratne

Updated April 10, 2025

Rhubarb Quick Bread
Todd Wagner for The New York Times
Total Time
1½ hours
Rating
5(2,114)
Comments
Read comments

Beautiful pink rhubarb at the markets signals spring's arrival. A bit sour on their own, the stalks work beautifully with sweet strawberries and blueberries, and citrus. This buttery loaf is made with a bit of orange zest, which perfectly complements rhubarb’s pleasant tang. Dress the cooled loaf with a simple glaze of confectioners’ sugar and orange juice, if you like, or serve fat slices with vanilla ice cream. Leftovers are nice toasted in a skillet with plenty of salty butter.

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Ingredients

Yield:8 servings
  • 8tablespoons/113 grams unsalted butter (1 stick), melted, plus more for the pan
  • 1cup/200 grams plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1tablespoon freshly grated orange zest
  • ⅓cup whole-milk yogurt
  • 2large eggs
  • 1¾cup/223 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
  • 1teaspoon baking powder
  • ½teaspoon baking soda
  • ½teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1¾cup/227 grams chopped rhubarb (8 ounces), cut into ¼-inch pieces
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

343 calories; 13 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 52 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 29 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 268 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 8½-inch-by-4½-inch loaf pan.

  2. Step 2

    In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, 1 cup of the sugar, orange zest and yogurt until well combined. Whisk in eggs. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the flour mixture and 1½ cups rhubarb to butter mixture and fold until combined. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth out the top. Sprinkle the top with the remaining ¼ cup rhubarb and 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake until the loaf is golden brown and set and a skewer inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 55 to 60 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Transfer the pan to a rack to cool for 10 minutes, then cut around the edges and carefully flip the loaf out of the pan. Turn it right side up and let it cool completely before slicing.

Ratings

5 out of 5
2,114 user ratings
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Comments

Leo

I was feeling alternative and used lime zest instead of the orange, which gave it a subtle cocktaily feeling that worked well with the tart rhubarb. Also, on rhubarb quantities, go big or go home. It's called rhubarb season, not quick bread season. You want to taste rhubarb held together by a bit of cake, not cake speckled with polite rhubarb pieces. Be the rhubarb monster of your dreams. Finally, I recommend saving some for the next day–the cake settles into itself wonderfully overnight.

julie b

I've now made this delightful cake five times, and I've passed the recipe on to many people. My only suggestions are: increase the amount of chopped rhubarb to as much as two cups; and don't bother strewing the 1/4 cup rhubarb after the batter is in the loaf pan. But don't forget the crackly raw sugar sprinkled on top!

P Swaback

What happened to the strawbewrries and blueberries mentioned in the description but missing from the ingredient list?

Anthea

Just made this today, to give my father! Following modifications necessary per what I had in hand. First, let me say it came out terrific, and echoing a fellow commenter, it’s more of a lovely cake than a quick bread. That said… used 1/2 cup sugar (plenty sweet!), 300g rhubarb, zest of 4 small clementines, Einkorn al purpose flour (which I weighed as cup measurement exceeded 223g!) and per ChatGPT tip, let the (very thick almost unfoldable) batter sit for 10 mins before baking in 8x8 silicone cake pan (buttered and floured) atop a quarter sheet pan. I began checking at 35min, needed another 10-15 and I tented for the final five. No turbinado sugar on hand so I sprinkled some organic maple flakes (added nothing so I wouldn’t bother). End result was FAB. Next time, might try lemon or lime zest for kicks. Or, maybe for more of a kick!

Carrie

I will double the salt and cut the sugar next time.

QueenSashy

I followed the advice from other readers to increase rhubarb and use lemon zest instead of orange. I also added a little bit of rosewater and it was a huge hit at a recent party, everyone loved it. It's a delicate flavor, so do not expect a flavor bomb...

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