Easy Rhubarb Bars
Make the most of rhubarb season with these vibrant and easy-to-make rhubarb bars! With their layer of sharp rhubarb sandwich between two layers of soft oat and honey mixture, they're perfect both warm as dessert with ice cream, or cold as a guilt-free snack.
Servings: 8 large or 16 smaller slices
Ingredients
For the rhubarb
- 4 rhubarb stalks with leaves and any tough parts cut off, then chopped into 1-cm pieces
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
For the oaty mixture
- 3 tablespoons butter (3 tbsp butter is about 1.5 ounces)
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 3½ tablespoons honey any kind since you'll be melting it with the butter and sugar
- 2½ cups rolled oats NOT quick-cooking or instant oats
- 1 cup almond flour (sometimes called almond meal)
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger (add more if you like, and/or a little chopped candied/crystallized ginger for a more intense ginger flavor)
To serve (optional)
- ice cream, cream, yogurt or custard
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 190C/375F (this is for a fan oven - increase to 200C/390F if using a conventional oven). Also line an 8 X 8 inch (20 X 20 cm) cake pan with baking paper.
- Put the chopped rhubarb, brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of water into a large saucepan. Heat on a medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes until cooked down but with some pieces of rhubarb still whole. Set aside.4 rhubarb stalks, 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- For the oat mixture, melt the butter, sugar and honey together in another large saucepan, stirring with a wooden spoon. Take off the heat and stir in the oats, ground almonds and ginger until all the oats are well coated.3 tablespoons butter, ¼ cup brown sugar, 3½ tablespoons honey, 2½ cups rolled oats, 1 cup almond flour, 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- Spoon two thirds of the oat mixture into the lined baking pan and press down well with a spatula or spoon. Spread the cooked rhubarb over the oats, then sprinkle the rest of the oat mixture over the top.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the oats are golden brown on top. If you find they are browning too quickly on top, loosely tent the pan with foil for the last 5–10 minutes. Leave to cool before cutting into slices. Alternatively, serve while still slightly warm with ice cream, cream, custard or yogurt on top. Keep in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to a few days.ice cream, cream, yogurt or custard
Notes
This recipe was originally published in May 2014. I updated the text in April 2025.
To make the bars gluten free: Check that the oats you use are labelled gluten free.
If you prefer not to use almond flour: Substitute with regular all-purpose flour, or whole wheat flour.
When rhubarb is out of season: Try making the bars with another fruit such as berries, nectarines, peaches or plums (note that you don't need to cook the fruit down first).
Ginger: Add half a teaspoon more if you want a deeper gingery flavor. You can also add a little chopped crystallized or preserved ginger. Consider also adding half a teaspoon of cinnamon and/or a pinch of all-spice.
Nutrition
Calories: 284kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 39mg | Potassium: 188mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 157IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 75mg | Iron: 2mg
