Ruby Rhubarb Syrup
There are so many ways to use this easy and delicious Ruby Rhubarb Syrup! Keep this homemade syrup on hand for topping pancakes and desserts, or for mixing into cocktails and mocktails!
This Rhubarb Syrup Recipe Is A Family Favorite
It’s impossible for me to cut rhubarb from our yard without thinking of Mom. As a kid, I thought she was completely nutso for her love of “that weed” growing alongside the garage on the farm.
But every year for the last half of my life, my fondness for rhubarb has grown. I divided a large plant a number of years ago, and I do believe it’s time to do it again. Because every year, I find new ways to love it more and more!
I have been making this Ruby Rhubarb Syrup for many years now. It’s definitely become a spring and summer tradition around here.
*Here are a few more rhubarb recipes I’m especially loving right now: My family has 100% approved this Rhubarb Sour Cream Coffee Cake. The super crispy topping on this Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp has won many fans…even those who swear they don’t like rhubarb! And the delicious nostalgia of my grandma’s Rhubarb Custard Pie will always hold a special place in my heart.
How To Make Rhubarb Syrup
I love the simplicity of this rhubarb syrup recipe. All it takes is some chopped rhubarb, water, sugar, and fresh lemon juice.
Soften the rhubarb in a pan with some water on the stovetop. Then strain it to remove the pulp. Add the sugar and bring the mixture to a boil to thicken a bit and intensify the flavor.
At this point, the kitchen is smelling softly sweet, so very lovely.
Also, just look at that color. The ruby rhubarb syrup definitely lives up to its name. And it’s all natural. That shiny redness is pure rhubarb, no color added. It’s gorgeous. (And tasty, too…I burned my tongue – more than once! – because I was too impatient for it to cool down.)
How To Use Rhubarb Syrup
The possibilities for how to use this rhubarb simple syrup are nearly endless..
I am always experimenting, but one of the very best ways is to drizzle it over vanilla ice cream and fresh berries.
The rhubarb syrup is also great over waffles, pancakes, and French toast.
And cocktails and mocktails beg for a little bit of rhubarb’s seasonal awesomeness.
A couple of my favorites are the Rhubarb Margarita and the Rhubarb Mojito. These two beverages have been so fun to serve when we entertain during the spring and summer. When our mint is flourishing, the mojito is a wonderful way to enjoy its bounty.
For a non-alcoholic beverage, we like to pour some of the syrup over ice in a glass and then top it off with club soda. Or pour a bit into some lemonade. Super fun!.
Ruby Rhubarb Syrup
With a sweet-tart flavor, Ruby Rhubarb Syrup is just the thing for the best cocktails and mocktails, not to mention as a topping for pancakes and desserts!
Ingredients
- 6 c. chopped fresh or frozen rhubarb
- 1.5 c. water
- 3 c. sugar
- 1/2 c. fresh squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the rhubarb and water to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook the rhubarb until it is tender, about 10 minutes. Stir to break up and release all of its juices.
- Set a fine mesh strainer lined with a double layer of cheesecloth over a large bowl. Pour the rhubarb mixture through the strainer to remove the pulp. To get the most rhubarb juice out, pull up the corners of the cheesecloth and gently press on it with a wooden spoon to squeeze out the remaining juice. Measure the strained juice and add enough water to equal 3 cups.
- Return the liquid to the saucepan over medium-high heat and stir in the sugar. Bring to a boil and cook until the sugar dissolves, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the lemon juice, and let cool. Strain again for the clearest ruby syrup, then pour into a container and refrigerate. Keeps well for up to 1 month.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 20 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 126Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 3mgCarbohydrates: 32gFiber: 1gSugar: 31gProtein: 0g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by Nutritionix. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee accuracy. If your health depends on nutrition information, please calculate again with your own favorite calculator.
(This post was originally published in 2012, and remains a personal and reader favorite. Some of the photos and text were updated in 2018.)
This looks awesome! I too thought my mom was nuts with her rhubarb all the time. But I adore it now! I am pinning this right now to make it later.
I hope you like this, too!! Thanks for pinning.
Sharing a new cookbook by a friend of mine, Kim Ode, columnist for the Mpls Star Tribune: Rhubarb Renaissance. I’m not a rhubarb fan, but some of the recipes in her cookbook could make me change that!
http://www.foodsitemagazine.com/2012/03/29/rhubarb-renaissance/
Thank you so much, Sara!
Mmm that really sounds good. I had never done much with Rhubarb but back in 2010 I purchased the book “Eating Local” at SurLaTable and made the recipe Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce and put it over ice cream. I died and went to heaven it was so good. (http://in-homeculinaryclasses.blogspot.com/2010/05/strawberry-rhubarb-sauce.html)
I imagine this tastes sensational as well. I’m going to make it and what we don’t finish I’ll put in a jar for another day. Thanks for sharing this.
Thanks for sharing that strawberry rhubarb sauce – that sounds delicious, too!
Wow! Now this is one way I’m pretty sure I would enjoy rhubarb! Looking forward to posts on your future experiments with this.
This sounds lovely! My grandmother had rhubarb plants all along the side of her garden, about 25 plants. Have you seen the bulb? It looks like a hairy football.
LOVE this recipe….LOVE your sweet little green and white polka dotted bowl. Happy Friday!
Thank you, Avril! :)
Look at that gorgeous red! I need to plant some rhubarb in my garden this year!
This sounds lovely, and I can imagine it on so many things. Awesome idea!
That syrup is such a pretty color! It’s amazing how beautiful natural colors can be without the “aid” of red dye no. 45789435.
looks like heaven!
If I had any outside space at all, the very first thing I would grow would be rhubarb. This is such a wonderful colour!
Unfortunately my rhubarb syrup wouldn’t be red…my rhubarb never turned red last year & doesn’t appear to be turning red this year either. My husband & my daughter have been eating it even while green.
I think there is a green variety and a red variety. Mine is green too – but still delicious!
Yeah, the first year or two it was red & now it’s mainly green. I think I need to divide it though, the thing is huge!
Hi Michele – I know that there are green varieties, too. But I also dug around a little online and found that some claim that if you once had red rhubarb & it’s now green, that the big leaves make the soil acidic. I saw suggested to lay wood ashes around the plant, and that the following year would yield red stalks again. I have no idea if this actually works, but thought I would pass it along.
You are making me wish we had room for a proper garden in the backyard! I would be in heaven to have rhubarb growing there.
Oooooh I can’t wait to slather this on anything and everything!
I could imagine a drizzle of this syrup over your Honey Cornbread Donuts…yum!!! :)
This is just brilliant. I now know what to do with my second rhubarb picking. (The first I sent away to a good home.)
This is such a smart recipe. Can I admit to you that I’ve never had rhubarb? Ever? I think I need to change that this year!
I’m finding this recipe so versatile, and am loving it. I hope you get the chance to try some rhubarb this spring!
This looks like an amazing recipe. We have an abundant rhubarb harvest and I love it – it’s one of those veggies I grew up eating, and like you, that has fond memories! We just had our first taste of the season this week in blueberry rhubarb muffins & over pork tenderloin. Yum. I’ve pinned this one, and will certainly be trying it out. Do you think it would be tasty over Greek Yogurt? Over pancakes?
Over pork tenderloin…that sounds so interesting! Yum! It’s definitely good over Greek yogurt. And I am planning to try it out over waffles this week…
Yum! I need to move my rhubarb to a new spot as well. When I have made this in the past (kind of by accident, was hoping for jam) my kids really liked it on waffles ;)
I have been meaning to make waffles…it’s the first thing that came to mind when it was hot off the stove.
All these rhubarb posts are making me NEED to try rhubarb already! ;)
I’m not quite done yet!! ;)
mmmm, sounds delish! I think I had better go and pick some rhubarb from my garden. I wonder if it would be nice drizzled over a lemon & sourcream cake?mmmm, might have to try that too xx
That sounds excellent, Helen! Anything lemon would be lovely.