These easy-to-make Rhubarb Almond Crumb Bars combine tart rhubarb, a buttery almond-scented crust, and a golden crumb topping for a dessert that tastes just like the classic pie.
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These Rhubarb Almond Crumb Bars are like rhubarb pie made simpler and easier to share. Tart, vibrant rhubarb is gently cooked with orange to form a jammy filling, nestled between a buttery almond shortbread crust and a tender crumb topping. This shareable dessert comes together quickly and works just as well for a casual weeknight treat as it does as the finishing touch to a special meal.
Hello, Rhubarb!
Rhubarb is a very seasonal product (mostly available in May and early June, but with farms usually carrying a small amount throughout the summer), and if you’re new to it, you’re about to find out why it’s so beloved. It’s one of my favorite “non-fruit” fruits—technically a vegetable, but almost always treated like a fruit in baking.
Rhubarb stalks can range in color from green to pink to deep ruby red and resemble celery, with long fibrous stalks and large, leafy green tops. The flavor is slightly floral and very tart and because it's used more as a fruit, it needs a lot of sugar added to it to balance things out. When cooked, it breaks down into a soft, jammy texture, which makes it perfect for crisps, pies, and compotes.
To prep rhubarb, trim off any dried-out bits from the bottom of the stalks and cut away the leafy green tops (they’re not edible). Wash the stalks well, then slice them just like you would celery—into ¼- to ½-inch pieces.
How to Make It
With a jammy fruit filling and both a top and bottom crust, I like to think of these Rhubarb Almond Crumb Bars as an easier version of rhubarb pie and a more portable version of a crisp. This recipe actually came about while I was testing an all-rhubarb pie, which I assumed would be simple but turned out to be unexpectedly tricky. Out of frustration, I pivoted to crumb bars instead, and here we are. After that pivot, I played around with adding in almond flour and extract, to give a unique twist on the rhubarb flavor. The sliced almonds on top add a bit of extra texture and also signal that there's almond in the recipe before you take a bite. My kids aren’t big fans of whole nuts in dessert, so I've also baked these without them (you might notice that in some of the photos), and the recipe works just as well both ways.
Here is a quick visual overview of the steps needed to make this recipe. If you are looking for the full recipe, keep scrolling!
Step 1: Pulse the dry ingredients and the butter together in a food processor.
Step 2: Add in the egg, then pulse until the dough starts to come together around the blade in large pieces.
Step 3: Sprinkle ⅔ of the crumb mixture, press into an even layer, then bake until the edges are light golden.
Step 4: Mix together the rhubarb, sugar and zest.
Step 5: Cook until the rhubarb has begun to break down, then add in the tapioca slurry and cook until thickened.
Step 6: Transfer the rhubarb filling onto the par-baked crust.
Step 5: Evenly sprinkle the crumble on top of the rhubarb.
Step 6: Bake until the crumble topping is golden and the middle of the filling is bubbly and slightly puffed.
Serving + Storing
These pie bars are thick! And they'll also be quite runny straight from the oven so they must be completely cooled before slicing.
Serve as is, or if you like, with a scoop of ice cream! The bars are at their absolute best the day they are made. Like most crumb bars, they get softer as they sit. They can keep at room temperature, for up to 1 day. Beyond that, store them in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
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Full Recipe
Rhubarb Almond Crumb Bars
- Total Time55 minutes
- Yield16 servings
Ingredients
For Crumb Crust + Topping:
- 2 cups (240 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (100 grams) almond flour
- ¾ cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- ½ teaspoon (2 grams) coarse kosher salt salt
- ½ cup (113 grams) cold unsalted butter, diced
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup sliced almonds
For Rhubarb Filling:
- 3 cups (375 grams) diced rhubarb
- ¾ cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon orange zest (from about half an orange)
- 2 tablespoon fresh orange juice
- 1 tablespoon tapioca starch
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF and place oven racks in the lowest and middle parts of the oven. Butter or oil an 8-inch square (or similar size) baking dish. Cut a strip of parchment to fit inside the dish with ends long enough to hang over the edges. This will assist in lifting the bars out after baking. Line the baking dish with the parchment and set aside.
- Add the flour, almond flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, almond extract and salt to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse 2-3 times until combined.
- Add in the butter and pulse 5 times.
- Add in the egg, then pulse until the dough forms large crumbles.
- Sprinkle ⅔ of the crumb mixture into the prepared baking dish as evenly as possible. Using a flat-bottomed measuring cup or your hands, press the mixture into an even layer. Bake the crust in the preheated oven on the lowest rack until it’s lightly golden on the edges, about 12 minutes. Remove and set aside until ready to use.
- Meanwhile, in a medium pot, combine the rhubarb, granulated sugar and zest. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until the rhubarb has begun to break down, 5 to 7 minutes. In a small bowl, make a slurry by mixing together the tapioca starch with orange juice. While stirring, pour the slurry into the rhubarb mixture. Continue to cook until it thickens, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and let it cool briefly, about 5 minutes.
- Transfer the rhubarb filling onto the par-baked crust and spread into an even layer. Add the almonds to the remaining crumb mixture, then sprinkle them both evenly on the top.
- Bake on the middle rack until the filling is slightly puffed up and the crumb mixture is a light golden color, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
- Cut into 16 pieces and serve. Store at room temperature in a covered container for up to 1 day or in the refrigerator for up to 2 to 3 days.
Notes
This recipe was tested using Diamond Crystal coarse kosher salt. If you use Morton's kosher salt or fine salt, decrease the volume by half.
Tapioca starch can be found in the baking aisle at the grocery store, usually near the cornstarch. It’s a thickening agent that works similarly to cornstarch, but leaves the rhubarb filling more clear. Cornstarch can be used in its place in the same quantity, if needed.
If almond flour is not available, sliced almonds can be substituted in equal weight. Process the mixture in the food processor, without the sugar or extract in step 2 first until it's a sand consistency. Then, proceed with the remaining instructions.
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Susan Y.
Wow, these bars are excellent. I doubled the quantities for a 9x13 pan, added about 200 grams diced strawberries/reduced rhubarb a bit for a total of 850 grams fruit and made the crust a touch thinner for a more generous crumb topping. Other than having to cook the fruit down a little longer for the right consistency, the instructions/bake times are near perfect. Delicious and fed a crowd as they are generous in size. Thank you for a wonderful spring/summer treat. Next attempt I will add cherries to the rhubarb, or maybe just let it sing on it's own.