The ultimate rhubarb recipe round-up

The vegetable we treat as a fruit earns its keep over and over and over.

Rhubarb and chocolate crumble Source: Benito Martin

Anyone who has ever grown rhubarb is (a) lucky, (b) a genius and (c) likely to be searching up this very list. When rhubarb starts growing, it doesn't quite know when to stop.

"I think rhubarb can become a glut issue as a healthy plant is incredibly productive and if you happen to plant more than one plant, you'll be inundated with edible stalks - more than you can handle," says Hannah Maloney from Good Life Permaculture. "That's where sharing comes in handy!"

Whether you've got a glut from the garden, or you 'accidentally on purpose' over-bought at the shops, these rhubarb recipes are for you. Sometimes it's all vegetable, sometimes it's more fruit, but all times it's insanely delicious and nutritious when treated just right.

Savoury side

This lentil salad uses very little sugar and is far more savoury than most rhubarb recipes. Source: Sharyn Cairns

It's sadly rare to find a recipe that embraces rhubarb's tart side. So often it features in sweet dishes that add a ton of sugar to hide its natural sourness. This salad recipe manages to balance rhubarb with the strong flavours of olives and goat's cheese, all tempered by a creamy lentil base.

Tart tart

This is a lovely free-form dessert, with a light, flaky dough and sweet-tart fruity filling. Source: Mary's Kitchen Crush

A galette like this strawberry and rhubarb version is the perfect way to showcase fresh fruit and vegetables. They are super-easy to make and the more rustic the end result, the better it tastes...

Savour on

Varkens vlees met rabarber en chilli is a favourite amongst the Dutch. Source: Alan Benson

Another delightfully savoury rhubarb dish is this traditional Dutch pork recipe. Rhubarb, apple cider and chilli offset the richness of the pork and the long, slow cooking time benefits the rhubarb as much as it does the meat.

Bar full

These rhubarb and oat cookie bars go great in the lunchbox, if you somehow have any left over. Source: Benito Martin

Make a fruity take on a standard muesli bar. The tangy rhubarb adds moistness and flavour to make an oat bar so good it practically eats itself.

Crumbling in

Serve this rich bad boy with plenty of vanilla ice cream and basically prepare to drown. Source: Benito Martin

Rhubarb crumble has to be the pinnacle of rhubarbdom. This particular recipe adds chocolate to send the richness completely OTT. Other recipes are slightly more subdued:

Good mornings

Who needs coffee when you've got the tang of rhubarb to jolt you into action? Source: Alan Benson

Here's how you start the day right: add rhubarb and honey labneh to your quinoa porridge.

Good evenings

This warming late winter dessert is a winner. Source: Sharyn Cairns

Rhubarb is equally good stirred through rice pudding. With the rich red of rhub and the green of pistachios against creamy rice, this dish could only be Italian...

Everything good

A little rosemary brings an herby note to earthy rhubarb. Plenty of sugar makes both taste heavenly. Source: Sharyn Cairns

Make this rhubarb sorbet for the colour alone. It's an absolute dazzler.

Pickled pink

Charred, smoky and mustardy flavours all combine here to make this a bold dish. Source: Sharyn Cairns

Another recipe that allows rhubarb's savoury side to shine, this time with added sardines. While it may seem like an unlikely pairing, pickling the rhubarb means it's actually the beginning of a beautiful friendship...

Saucy side

Make plenty of the rhubarb sauce for dunking with abandon. Source: Prue Ruscoe

Cheesy croquettes are happy to be dunked in an extra-sweet rhubarb sauce. This dish makes the perfect party appetiser or finisher. The choice is yours.

Jammin'

Adding rosemary and bay leaves enhances the flavour of the rhubarb, making for a complex jam you'll want to dollop on everything. Source: Benito Martin

If we're not saucing, we're jamming. Rhubarb is ideal for making jam as its sour-tartness is a great match for all the necessary sugar.

Jammin' loud

Berliners are soft doughnuts without a hole filled with a delicious custard, cream or sweet, sweet jam. Source: Petrina Tinslay

Injecting a rhubarb and vanilla jam into a pillowy Berliner is exactly how to treat yourself. Let that rhubarb ooze.

Airy good

The secret to a chewy meringue is to add a little apple cider vinegar... shhh... Source: Gabriel Cabrera

Any sweet dessert goes well with rhubarb, but a sugary vanilla meringue takes it next level. This dish pairs raspberries and rhubarb and adds a little cardamom to cleverly offset the tartness of both.

Cordial manner

Matthew Evans serves his rhubarb cordial with a splash of vodka and that seems like an inspired idea. Source: Alan Benson.

Rhubarb starts appearing in the garden in late winter and just keeps on going right through summer. Making a refreshing cordial a must-have in your new compendium of rhubarb recipes.

Pastry moves

Vanilla-scented crème patissiere teamed with flaky, yeast-leavened pastry and finished with roasted tart rhubarb is a combination not to be missed. Source: Alan Benson

Naturally, there was going to be some kind of Danish pastry on this list. Rhubarb loves custard, after all. And don't get us started on its love of decorating pastries and the like with glorious colour. Step aside, apples!

Pie times

Rhubarb: improving apple's flavour since the beginning of time. Source: Alan Benson

Yep, move away apples, rhubarb is in town. Well, don't move too far away because as neighbours they are very strong indeed. A classic apple pie is lifted by this marvellous match.

Sour notes

Bring on that rhubarb glut, our casserole dish is ready! Source: Hardie Grant Books

We'll end on a sour note... the best kind when it comes to rhubarb. Slow-cook your pork with it and the acidity will produce meltingly-tender meat. Rhubarb's tartness also brings out pork's flavour. Making this dish yet another winner for rhubarb.