Rhubarb pie has been my favorite since I was a little girl. My grandmother used to make it with homegrown rhubarb from my dad’s garden. Nothing takes me back quite like this pie.

I’ve told you many times that I was a weird kid. I loved fruits and vegetables, hated candy and soda, and absolutely loved rhubarb. Wait a minute, a kid eating rhubarb? This one did!

If you’ve never had rhubarb, it’s basically a very tart vegetable that looks similar to celery. It’s very commonly paired with sweet things to counteract the tartness. The only way I’ve ever enjoyed my rhubarb is in pie form. Sure, there are lots of recipes out there – rhubarb sauce, muffins, etc. I’ve never tried anything else because I love the pie so much!

During my childhood, my dad grew rhubarb in his garden and ever year we would get a few pies. Once he stopped with the garden, the pies stopped too. Mostly because rhubarb isn’t easily found at your local grocery store (at least the ones I go to) – you either have to grow it, know someone who grows it, or hit up your local farmers market.

A few years ago, I bugged my dad to bring the garden back and teach me everything he knows. We started out small and ended up with a huge garden and a little rhubarb patch. So, last year we had our own rhubarb and I got my Grammy Al’s recipe and made a pie. One bite and it took me right back to my childhood!

Rhubarb pie is very easy to make and you only need a few ingredients. Rhubarb, sugar, flour, butter, a little cinnamon and of course – pie dough. To make the filling you just combine the rhubarb, flour and sugar in a pot and cook it until the sugar and flour dissolve.

This recipe calls for a beaten egg white that you brush all over the pie shell. This is absolutely genius! It helps keep the crust crisp by creating a barrier between the filling – no more soggy pie crust. 

If you find rhubarb to be too tart for your tastes, you can cut it by substituting strawberries for 2 cups of the rhubarb. Strawberries and rhubarb are a classic pairing and I love that version of the pie too!

My grandmother always put a crumb topping on her rhubarb pie, which happens to be my favorite. It’s super easy and yummy, but if you prefer a double-crust pie you can do that instead.

This pie would be great with some whipped cream and strawberry ice cream on top, but I have to admit that I usually just eat it as is with no toppers! This is one pie I look forward too and can definitely say that it’s my favorite pie. Ever.

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Rhubarb Pie

My grandmother’s recipe for my all-time favorite pie! Tart rhubarb combines with simple everyday ingredients and gets baked up in a delicious pie crust and topped with a yummy crumb topping. 

| Serves: 6-8 | Prep Time: 15 Minutes | Cook Time: 1 Hr | Total Time: 1 Hr 15 Min |

INGREDIENTS

For the Pie:

5 Cups Rhubarb, cut into small cubes
1 Cup Sugar
¼ Cup Flour, plus more for sprinkling 
1 Egg White, lightly beaten
Cinnamon
1 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter, cut into small cubes
1 Disk of Pie Dough

For the Crumb Topping:

½ Cup Flour
¼ Cup Sugar
¼ Teaspoon Salt
4 Tablespoons Cold Unsalted Butter, cut into small cubes

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 375º.

Combine the rhubarb, sugar, and flour in a large saucepot. Heat over medium heat until the sugar and flour are dissolved about 3-5 minutes. Set aside.

On a floured board, roll out your pie dough to about 12 inches (bigger than your pie dish). Place the dough in the pie dish and crimp the edges in a decorative manner, trimming any excess. This doesn’t have to be perfect – you can see from my photos that mine is most definitely not!

Brush the pie shell with beaten egg white and sprinkle with a little flour. Pour rhubarb mixture into pie shell. Sprinkle with cinnamon and dot with butter.

For the Crumb Topping:

Combine the flour, sugar, salt in a medium bowl. Cut in the butter until you have coarse crumbs. Sprinkle crumb mixture over top of the pie.

Bake the pie at 375° for 50-60 minutes, or until the top is lightly golden brown. If the outer edge is browning to fast, cover it with a pie shield, or make one with aluminum foil. Let the pie cool completely before slicing. Keep leftover pie refrigerated.

Note: Rhubarb leaves are poisonous so be sure you are just using the stalks and discarding the leafy tops.