This Rhubarb Custard Pie recipe is a special dessert from my grandma’s recipe box. Featuring a flaky crust filled with a rich egg custard and juicy rhubarb, it’s an old-fashioned pie I’ve made every summer for years. The creamy custard is easy to make without separating or tempering the eggs. Just whisk the filling, pour it into the crust with fresh or frozen rhubarb, and bake!
I never tire of rhubarb recipes like my almond rhubarb cake, rhubarb muffins, and strawberry rhubarb crisp. And I especially love the ones with happy memories attached. This Rhubarb Custard Pie recipe comes from my Grandma Renelt, and is my dad’s favorite rhubarb pie.
Because of the rich custard filling, this rhubarb pie is not as intensely tart as most rhubarb dessert recipes. The custard mixture is super easy to make and sets up so nicely for cutting and serving, similar to my rhubarb custard bars recipe.
This rhubarb custard pie is a delicious way to enjoy summer rhubarb in a beautiful, old-fashioned kind of way. I do hope you enjoy my grandma’s pie!
About Grandma’s Rhubarb Custard Pie
I first shared this recipe here way back in 2010, just two months after I started this blog. And since my beloved Grandma Renelt passed away, I wanted to update this post in her honor.
While Dad and Mom were staying with us after my surgery, I asked Mom if she would bake the pie so I could photograph it. I just didn’t have the energy to do it all myself in one day! Of course, Mom was happy to oblige. And we had such a beautiful time together, making and photographing her mom’s recipe.
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT:
- Tamed tartness. Rhubarb tends to put people off because of its signature tartness, but my family’s pie recipe perfectly balances that “sour cherry” flavor with the richness of the sweet custard. It’s less rhubarb-forward for those who prefer a milder pie.
- No-cook filling. This custard pie is thick and sliceable, but there’s no need to separate or temper the eggs for the filling before you bake it. Just whisk the whole eggs with the dry ingredients, and go.
- Only 5 ingredients. That’s the true beauty of my grandmother’s pie: You only need a handful of pantry ingredients plus your favorite pie crust to make it.
- Any season. Fresh or frozen rhubarb both work wonderfully in the recipe, so you can enjoy a slice of this classic pie even out of season. It makes an excellent summer dessert for picnics and barbecues, but I even love it at Thanksgiving.
Ingredients For Custard Pie With Rhubarb
With just a few ingredients, this rhubarb custard pie filling is AMAZING! Here’s what you’ll need. Scroll to the recipe card for the exact measurements.
- Rhubarb – I use fresh rhubarb from our garden, but most grocery stores carry it in spring and summer. Trim the edible stalks and chop them into bite-sized pieces. Discard the poisonous leaves. You can also make this pie with frozen rhubarb, see below.
- Granulated sugar – Used to sweeten up that tart rhubarb and to help the custard thicken up.
- All-purpose flour – Add a little bit to help the custard set up.
- Large eggs – An essential ingredient in custard. You can leave the eggs whole for this recipe.
- Nutmeg – Just a bit adds a lovely warm flavor and fragrance. If you can freshly grate it, even better.
- Unsalted butter – For adding richness to the pie filling. Please don’t substitute butter with oil in this pie, as the flavor and texture won’t be the same.
Can I Use Frozen Rhubarb?
Yes! I get this question a lot with rhubarb recipes. And while I absolutely prefer fresh rhubarb, this pie does well with frozen rhubarb, too.
I aim to make most of my rhubarb recipes by mid-summer, to take advantage of the most tender stalks. I then preserve the rest as freezer jam, or I’ll freeze fresh rhubarb by chopping it and placing it in freezer-safe containers or baggies (you’ll find freezing tips and more in my Rhubarb 101 guide). To use frozen rhubarb for this pie, here’s what I suggest:
- Thaw the frozen rhubarb.
- Drain the rhubarb and pat it dry.
- Then toss the rhubarb with a tablespoon of flour. This helps to absorb extra moisture.
The Perfect Pie Crust
And of course, let’s talk about pie crust. Like Grandma Renelt before her, Mom is a great pie maker, and she’s always relied on Betty Crocker’s pie crust recipe for desserts like her famous peach pie and this one.
It’s easy to make, easy to work with, and beautifully flaky. I’ve since adapted it into a homemade version for my cherry pie. I won’t go into depth about the pie crust here, but you can use that recipe or your own favorite homemade or frozen pie crust.
I weave a lattice crust as the top crust for my pie. If you’d prefer to skip the lattice and use a full crust, that’s perfect, too! Just be sure to cut a few vent holes in the top before baking, so the steam can escape.
How To Make Rhubarb Custard Pie
You will not believe how easy it is to make an unforgettable rhubarb custard pie.
- Preheat the oven. Position your oven rack one level lower than the center of the oven. Then, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Make the pie crust. Follow Betty Crocker’s recipe (what my mom uses) or use your own favorite homemade or frozen pie crust. You’ll need a double crust: One to hold the filling and a second for the lattice top.
- Add rhubarb to the bottom crust. Next, line a 9″ pie plate with the pie crust and spread chopped rhubarb over the bottom.
- Create the custard. Now, stir together the sugar, flour, salt, and nutmeg in a bowl. Mix in the eggs. Pour the custard mixture over the rhubarb.
- Dot with butter. Nothing fancy here. The butter will melt into the pie filling, so divide the butter into cubes and arrange it on top of the filling.
- Top with lattice pie crust. Cut your second pie crust into strips to make a lattice top over the pie filling (follow the step-by-step in my cherry pie recipe). Then, brush the lattice strips with milk for prettier browning. Finally, sprinkle the crust with coarse sugar for a little extra sparkle and texture.
- Bake. Last but not least, bake the pie at 350ºF for 45 to 60 minutes, or until the crust is nicely browned.
The pie bakes up so pretty! (Thanks, Mom!!)
Tips for a Perfect Custard Pie
- Use cold ingredients in the pie crust. Most pie crust recipes call for chilled shortening or butter, plus ice water. Your pastry crust will be flakier and easier to work with if you chill these items.
- Choose the right rhubarb. Use the smaller stalks of rhubarb, and ones that are more red than green. The smaller stalks will be more tender, while the red color is just plain prettier in the pie.
- Bake on a lower rack. I’ve taken after my mom and bake my pies just a bit lower than the center of the oven. This way, the crust bakes up firmer.
- Brush with milk. Brushing the top of the pie pastry with a bit of milk helps to add a pretty browned effect with a little shine. You can also brush the crust with a beaten egg or egg yolk mixed with a teaspoon of water, which lends a more glazed appearance.
- Sprinkle with sugar. After brushing the top crust with milk, add some sugar. This adds a little sparkle, plus a fun texture. While you can use plain granulated sugar, I much prefer sanding sugar or similar.
How To Store Rhubarb Custard Pie
I like to make pie when I know all or most of it will be eaten on the same day it’s made. It’s flakiest and most tender then, at its utmost enjoyable best! When some pie remains, I do refrigerate the leftovers. Cover the pie tightly in plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days.
More Rhubarb Recipes
Rhubarb Custard Pie
Ingredients
- 2 cups diced rhubarb
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 large eggs
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- pastry crust for a double-crust pie
- milk for brushing pie crust
- 2 tablespoons course sugar – I like to use this sparkly large-grain sugar
Instructions
- Place oven rack one position lower than the center of the oven. Then preheat oven to 350° F.
- Line a 9" pie plate (just a regular pie plate, not a deep dish one) with bottom pie crust and spread rhubarb over the bottom.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, salt, and nutmeg. Add eggs and mix slightly. Pour mixture over the rhubarb and then dot with butter over the top.
- Cut second pie crust into strips and make a lattice top. Brush lattice strips with milk and sprinkle with course sugar. Place in oven and bake for 45 to 60 minutes, or until crust is nicely browned.
Notes
Nutrition Information:
Memories of Grandma Renelt
All of this next text is from my original 2010 post, where I showed Grandma’s rhubarb custard pie sitting on Grandma’s old table…
Notice the marbled gray table top in my picture? That was also my Grandma Renelt’s, a chrome table and chair set purchased back in the 50’s. It graced my grandpa and grandma’s South Dakota farm kitchen, where my Uncle Franny & Aunt Karen now live.
After Grandpa died in 2001, Grandma held an auction sale. This dining table and chairs were to be auctioned off, and it caught my eye. I had always liked it. When the set hadn’t been sold before I needed to leave, I asked Dad to bid on it for me if it didn’t go too high. Then, at the last minute, I told him not to bother, explaining that I really didn’t have the room for it anyway. And I left.
The day after the sale, I got a call from Dad. He bought the table and chairs and was going to store them for me on the farm until I had space for them. Wow! What a dad!
So, when we moved a few years later to a home with more stretching space, Dad hauled the set from the farm to our new home. It was well used and did need some work. But with some elbow grease and steel wool, the chrome was shining again. While I was replacing the worn seats and backs with new material, I discovered miscellaneous handwritten notes my grandma had made under the seat bottoms. Notes about the crops in the field, a random day’s temperature, and Uncle Ron’s birth.
Grandma also told me about the hundreds of rolls she kneaded at that table, because the countertops were just too tall for her to work at comfortably. And she wondered how she ever squeezed her family of 8, plus 3 hired men, around that table for a meal during harvest. Grandma also reminisced about how each of the table top’s blemishes occurred. The big scratch was from when Grandpa brought home a wooden crate of peaches. Sliding the crate across the table, a nail poking out of the bottom laid its trail. And the burn marks? Oh, that was just one of the kids running through the house with a sparkler!
I just ate up all that nostalgia. And it makes this dining set priceless to me.
October 12, 1965, at 5:30 pm – 300 acres of wet soft mush in the field, due to the corn freezing before it was ripe, plus 150 acres of beans yet to combine.
January 14, 1959 – Temperature was 25° above at 8:00 am.
July 19, 1961, at 5:30 pm – Expecting a little sister to join her 5 other children in about 3-1/2 months. (Note was later added to this, saying the little sister actually turned out to be a boy, Ronald.)
I had my Mother in laws recipe but couldn’t find it today. When I saw your recipe it is identical to my husband’s German Mom. The milk and sugar on the top was the closer she did that to every pie. Her family came to South Dakota ( Germans from Russia ), they moved to Plevna, Montana and that’s where they stayed! I learned a lot of German food from her, she was the hardest working, best cook and baker I have ever known! I look first to trying your grandma’sg receipts.
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing – and enjoy the pie!
Had tears in my eyes reading this. What a wonderful gift to find the writing under the seats, and in her penmanship. PRICELESS! Thanks for sharing your story and the delicious recipe!
Love the table and the sweet story. I’m sure I’ll enjoy your recipes.
As someone else has posted and asked, no cream or milk for filling/custard? Also would like to add a small amount of vanilla, a teaspoon? I hear it gives the custard a bit more flavor. Seems like some ingredients are missing. Also I would like to add some strawberries, would this decrease the amount of rhubarb and same heat and time to bake?
Thank you!
Mo
HELLO,This is me recipe for pie dough. 5cups flour, 3tsp salt, 1 lb tenderflake or crisco shortening, cut into flour/salt mixture. In a measuring cup add 2/3 cup cold water, to that water add 3Tbsp brown sugar,3Tbsp white vinegar, i large egg. mix well and add to flour mixture. I shape into discs and let rest in fridge for when needed. Make 3 complete top and bottom pies. I love the large amount of dough. I tried many when I was younger until I found this one. Works every time. enjoy
Thank you, Sherry!
thanks for posting your memories and recipes. I was just looking for a rhubarb custard like I used to make for my family. This comes closest. I’m almost 80 and don’t cook alot anymore & forgot my recipe. So, once again thanks.
Kay
I’m so glad you found this recipe – I hope it’s close to what you remember!
I just made this today and had my first slice. Minnesotan approved (we eat a lot of rhubarb around here too)! Two Scandinavian thumbs up! This will be my new standard rhubarb pie. Thanks Brenda & Grandma Renelt!
Wonderful! I love to hear this. And so would my grandma! :)
This pie is great! Thank you for the recipe AND I am super happy I didn’t need to buy strawberries or something to go with it. Perfect!
I can’t believe it! This is the very same recipe my grandma and mom used to make their famous rhubarb custard pie…and now I make it every spring for my children and grandchildren. Its definitely an oldie but goodie that any rhubarb lover would thoroughly enjoy. Thanks for sharing!!!
no milk or anything/
WOULD LIKE TO COMMENT ON THE DINNING SET, I HAVE ONE THAT BELONGED TO MY GRANDMOTHER, MY UNCLE BOUGHT IT FOR HER WHEN I WAS ABOUT9 YEARS OLD I AM NOW 75, MY GRAM PASSED WHEN SHE WAS 86, . THE TABLE I HAVE IS THE LARGE SET THAT PULLS APART AND 2 BIG LEAVES FOLD UP UNDERNEATH.. THE CHAIRS WERE YELLOW. I DON’T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM. I STILL USE THIS ALL THE TIME. AMD MY FAVORITE SAYING IS “IF I HAD A NICKLE FOR EACH MEAL THAT WAS EATEDN OFF THIS TABLE I WOULD BE RICH” I AM RICH IN ALL THE MEMORIES , THAT THIS TABLE BRINGS ME. I PRAY THAT ONE OF MINE WILL KEEP THE TRADITION GOING.
I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW TO PRINT A SINGLE RECEIPE, I TRIED THE RUHBARB PUDDING CAKE AND ENED UP WITH 6 SHEETS. THANKS KP
love your site…
it took me years to figure out the best pie crust as a young Mom
the trick is to use pastry flour and my recipe had a tbsp. of vinegar in it and we used lard years ago then I switched to crisco…
good luck
Thanks, Mary Ann. My mom uses vinegar. But I have not heard people specifically recommend pastry flour.
Sitting in my kitchen in South Dakota right now trying to find a new recipe for some rhubarb sitting in my fridge that needs to be eaten. This recipe looks wonderful and am definitely giving it a try.
But I absolutely loved, loved, loved the story of the table. How you grandmother put notes on the bottom of the chairs about what was going on in her life at the time is priceless. Brought tears to my eyes, because I can imagine her in her farmhouse kitchen in south Dakota just like I can imagine my Grandma in her farmhouse kitchen in Iowa so many many years ago.
Thank you for taking the time to tell the story of the table. Absolutely made my day. Oh the simple things!
And thank you for coming back with your lovely comment. I appreciate it so much. Have a wonderful summer!
Thanks for the great recipe AND story! I love rhubarb AND those vintage cracked ice tables. I have one too, but got mine off Ebay….how lucky you that your Dad snagged Grandma’s for you!
Cheers,
John
Hello, I’m thinking about making this for Mother’s Day and just want to double check… No milk or cream in the custard, just eggs? The rhubarb in my yard is ready to pick-thanks:@)
Just stumbled upon your website looking for some recipes and read about the dining room table. Priceless. Brought a few tears to my eyes. I got my great grandmother’s table the same way you did; and, although I haven’t recovered the chairs yet, that table is used as my main dining table. Your grey table with chrome reminds me of my mom’s, which she still has. Well, better get my rhubarb cut up!
– your neighbor in North Dakota
So lovely to hear from you, Karen! Such great memories go along with these pieces that get passed down, I love it! Enjoy the rhubarb pie!
Hope you’ve found your solution to pie crust, but don’t despair. It only took me 45 or 50 years! Just about 2 years ago I discovered—after trying a new one almost every time I baked—the perfect one. It’s “Grandma Bonnie Longaberger’s Pie Crust.” I bless the day I decided to try it. Now I can whip out a crust in nothing flat, regardless of the weather, the humidity, etc. If you can’t find it or want me to e-mail it, I’ll be glad to.
Well, ok then, I’ll give this one you suggest a shot! I think I found it online, but if you feel like forwarding the one you use, I’d gladly take it. Thanks, Kay!
I would love to try your pie crust recipe on a rhubarb pie!
Ricardo
I’ve been reading your blog for about 2 hours—ever since I discovered a link. I’ve been drooling and copying recipes. And just now, I found one I looked everywhere for last summer: rhubarb custard pie. I can’t wait to try it—too bad I just made a rhubarb pie this weekend! I still have some left, so I’ll wait a couple days. Love your blog. The photos are just mouth-wateringly gorgeous! Glad I found you.
Hi Kay! I’m so glad you found me, too – so nice to hear from you! I hope you like my grandma’s pie – it’s my dad’s absolute favorite rhubarb pie recipe.
What a marvelous history for a dining set! I love the retro look of it and the fact that it is a family piece makes it so special. I agree that a custard filing makes the best type of rhubarb pie. It is a favorite in our house too.
Your entry brought back lots of wonderful memories. If I knew the reasons for the blemishes on the table I had forgotten them, so thanks for adding that info.
Wow! That dining set is priceless! Wonderful! As is her recipe for pie! Love this recipe, too, and think the custard is perfect with the rhubarb adding a smooth, creamy touch to the tangy fruit. Will try it. And if you want THE perfect pie crust recipe you’ll find it on my blog – Sweet Pie Crust. Fab and easy.