Rhubarb, with its distinctive tart flavor, is a versatile ingredient often used in desserts, jams, and sauces. For those following a ketogenic diet, the question of whether rhubarb fits into their low-carb lifestyle is an important one. This article explores the carb content of rhubarb, its potential benefits, and delicious ways to incorporate it into keto-friendly meals.
Rhubarb's Nutritional Profile
Rhubarb is indeed a low-carb option. Fresh rhubarb contains very few carbs per serving, making it an excellent addition to a keto diet. Diced rhubarb stalks have only 6g of carbs and 2g of fiber per cup. This results in a net carb count of just 4g per cup, which is quite favorable for those watching their carbohydrate intake.
Forced vs. Field-Grown Rhubarb
When selecting rhubarb, you might encounter two main types: forced and field-grown. Although we're using forced rhubarb, you can use field-grown rhubarb too. The pretty pink color is the result of growing the rhubarb in warm sheds with no natural light. Apart from the color, forced rhubarb is not that different from field-grown rhubarb although it tends to be sweeter, more delicate and more tender.
Health Benefits of Rhubarb
Beyond its low carb count, rhubarb offers several other potential health benefits:
- Rich in Antioxidants: Rhubarb contains antioxidants, which help protect the body against damage from free radicals.
- Source of Fiber: The fiber content in rhubarb can aid in digestion and promote gut health.
- Vitamins and Minerals: Rhubarb provides essential vitamins and minerals, including vitamin K, vitamin C, and manganese.
Incorporating Rhubarb into a Keto Diet
The tangy fruit is ultra low in carbs. In fact, rhubarb contains less carbs than berries! Enjoying delicious food is a great part of enjoying life. Food is not only a necessity we need to survive. That's why keto sweets are very important. Here are some ideas to enjoy rhubarb while staying in ketosis:
Read also: Delicious Rhubarb Recipes
Keto Rhubarb Desserts
Rhubarb can be transformed into a variety of keto-friendly desserts. The key is to use low-carb sweeteners and flours to maintain a ketogenic macronutrient ratio.
- Keto Rhubarb Cheesecake: After keto pie crust is just partially baked, add rhubarb with some low carb sweetener on top of the crust and continue with baking for 15 minutes or until rhubarb becomes softer. After pie crust and rhubarb are done, cream cheese layer goes on top, and that's it!
- Keto Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars: Make the most of rhubarb season with these Keto Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars. A tender, crumbly low carb crust with a sweet fruit filling, they make the perfect spring dessert!
- Keto Rhubarb Muffins: These tender keto rhubarb muffins are a wonderful breakfast treat. Simple to make and studded with fresh rhubarb, they are also completely nut-free and have less than 3g net carbs per serving.
- Keto Rhubarb Cake: A wonderful keto rhubarb cake for spring and summer! Topped with sugar free cinnamon streusel and a layer of rhubarb, this low carb cake looks impressive yet is really easy to make.
- Keto Rhubarb Berry Crumble: Berries are the perfect replacement for apples in this keto rhubarb berry crumble. They add a little bit of sweetness and the flavors go wonderfully with rhubarb.
Roasted Rhubarb Recipe
Just bake it until tender, with some ginger, vanilla and low-carb sweetener. Here’s a simple recipe for roasted rhubarb:
Ingredients:
- 700 g rhubarb, forced for pink or field-grown (1.5 lbs)
- 1/3 cup granulated Allulose (67 g/ 2.4 oz)
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 1 whole vanilla pod or 1/2 tsp vanilla bean powder
- Optional to serve: whipped cream, sour cream, creme fraiche, yogurt or coconut yogurt
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 180 °C/ 355 °F (fan assisted), or 200 °C/ 400 °F (conventional).
- Cut the rhubarb into finger-sized pieces.
- Using a sharp knife, cut the vanilla pod lengthwise and scrape the tiny seeds out.
- Place in a baking tray and add the grated ginger, vanilla seeds and vanilla pod. Note: You can use other sweeteners such as Erythritol or Swerve.
- Cover with a foil, place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, shake to combine and cover in the syrup.
- Remove the foil and return into the oven to bake for another 5 to 8 minutes.
- Place the rhubarb on a plate with a tablespoon of syrup drizzled on top. Serve hot or cold with whipped cream, sour cream, creme fraiche, yogurt, coconut yogurt or some keto ice cream.
Keto Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars Recipe
Make the most of rhubarb season with these Keto Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars. A tender, crumbly low carb crust with a sweet fruit filling, they make the perfect spring dessert!
Ingredients:
- Crust:
- Almond flour
- Sweetener (erythritol-based)
- Coconut flour
- Salt
- Melted butter
- Vanilla
- Filling:
- Rhubarb
- Strawberries (fresh or frozen, thawed and drained)
- Allulose (or powdered sweetener)
- Water
- Glucomannan
Instructions:
- Crust:
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease a 8×8 inch baking pan well.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, coconut flour, and salt. Stir in the melted butter and vanilla until the dough begins to clump together.
- Press about two thirds of the dough into the prepared baking pan and bake 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool 10 minutes to firm up.
- Filling:
- While the crust is baking, prepare the filling. Add the rhubarb, strawberries, sweetener, and water to a pan over medium low heat and bring to a simmer. Allow to cook until the fruit softens and begins to release liquid, about 5 to 8 minutes.
- Remove from heat and add the glucomannan, whisking briskly to combine. Allow to cool and thicken 10 minutes.
- Spread the filling evenly over the cooled crust and sprinkle the remaining crust mixture overtop.
- Bake another 20 to 25 minutes, or until the crust is light golden brown. Remove and let cool completely, then refrigerated one hour to firm up before cutting into bars.
Tips for Keto Baking with Rhubarb
- Sweeteners: Use keto-friendly sweeteners like Allulose, Erythritol, or Swerve to maintain low carb counts.
- Flours: Almond flour is a great low-carb alternative to traditional flour. If you need a nut-free option, try sunflower seed flour or another seed meal for the crust. Do be forewarned that it will have a different color and slightly different flavor.
- Thickeners: Because strawberries and rhubarb both contain a fair amount of liquid, it’s important to thicken the filing before spreading it on the bars. That way, the bottom crust stays more crisp. You can use glucomannan or xanthan gum.
- Fruit Selection: If you can, use fruit that has a deep red color, as it makes the filling more pink and looks more attractive. It can be hit or miss with rhubarb, though! Even a deep red exterior can have a light green center. It doesn’t affect the flavor, it’s just about aesthetics.
Keto Rhubarb Cake Recipe
This keto rhubarb cake offers three layers of gorgeousness: a moist yet light and fluffy vanilla crumb, a sugar free rhubarb filling and a delicious cinnamon streusel topping. It's a cake recipe the entire family will enjoy, whether they are on a low carb diet or not! Only 10 minutes prep.
Ingredients:
- Rhubarb
- Granulated sweetener - I used a golden erythritol monk fruit blend, but a granulated white sweetener will work just as well.
- Almond flour - I'm using what we over here in the UK call ground almonds. This is equivalent to regular almond flour in the US. If you're using super-fine almond flour, I would reduce the amount by 2 tbsp.
- Baking powder
- Vanilla extract
- Cinnamon for the streusel
- Optional almond extract for the cake batter
Instructions:
- Prepare the rhubarb: If the stalks are thick and woody, peel and cut them into thinner slices, about a finger thick. Then chop into 3-5 cm long pieces and mix with the sweetener. Let the mix sit for 30 minutes to macerate. This process draws out excess liquid and prevents the cake from becoming soggy.
- Sugar free cake batter: Now, beat the eggs until pale, fluffy and double in size. Add the sweetener, melted and cooled butter, cream cheese, almond milk vanilla extract and almond extract (if using). Mix the almond flour, coconut flour and baking powder in a separate bowl.
- Cinnamon streusel: Next, mix the streusel.
- Assembly: Fill the cake batter into the prepared springform. Arrange the rhubarb pieces in a single layer over it. Top off with the sugar free streusel mix.
- Bake: I baked my cake on the middle shelf for 63 minutes in total. I've given you a range of 60-65 minutes. Check with a skewer or knife that the middle is baked and not wet, keeping in mind that the rhubarb will be soft and sticky. Most importantly, check the cake after 35-40 minutes. If you use a different sized baking pan be aware that the baking time will differ. The first time around I baked this cake in a small 18 cm / 7 inch springform, which increased the oven time by 10 minutes. A larger round or rectangular pan will need less time - probably only about 40-45 minutes. Basically, the flatter the cake is, the less oven time it needs.
- Whichever pan you use, let the keto rhubarb cake cool completely before releasing it from the springform. To ensure it does not break or split, run a knife around the edges before you open the form.
Keto Rhubarb Berry Crumble Recipe
Crumble recipes traditionally use brown sugar and flour in the crumble mix. To keep this recipe low carb I have replaced these foods with low carb friendly almonds, coconut and low carb sweeteners. To achieve slight caramel flavors in the recipe to emulate brown sugar, the butter is melted with the sweetener on the stove top.
Read also: Easy Low-Carb Cheese Crackers
Ingredients:
- Rhubarb
- Berries (fresh or frozen)
- Lemon zest
- Lemon juice
- Sweetener
- Butter
- Almond meal
- Coconut
- Slivered/flaked almonds
- Salt
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 165°C / 330 F fan forced.
- Simmer rhubarb, berries, lemon zest, lemon juice and sweetener in a saucepan over medium heat and cook for 8-10 minutes until the rhubarb starts to breakdown. Stir mixture to combine and set aside to cool slightly. Taste the mixture and add additional sweetener if desired. It should still retain a little tartness and not be overly sweet because the topping is also sweet.
- To make the crumble, melt the butter until it goes a light golden color. Add the sweetener and simmer gently for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes.
- Add the almond meal, coconut, slivered/flaked almonds and salt to the butter mixture. Using a fork, roughly combine to form a chunky crumble mix. Use fingers to squeeze mix if desired to create larger chunks of crumble.
- Place the rhubarb berry mixture into a baking dish and top with the crumble mixture. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden and fruit mixture is hot. If topping isn't crisp enough up the temperature towards the end for a few minutes.
Common Problems and Solutions
Most keto fruit crisp recipes suffer from the same common problem: they aren’t actually crisp at all. Almond flour and other low carb ingredients have quite a bit of moisture. They also tend to absorb a lot of moisture when subjected to other ingredients with a high water content. Here are some tips to ensure a crisp and delicious result:
- Crisp Topping: Erythritol based sweeteners are a must. No other sweetener will crisp up properly, especially BochaSweet and allulose. Really press down that topping firmly before baking. Also know that it won’t seem crisp right out of the oven. But it will continue to crisp up as it cools.
- Thickening the Filling: Rhubarb is quite juicy when cooked, so use glucomannan to thicken the filling. I prefer this over xanthan gum as it mixes in more easily and doesn’t clump up.
Important Considerations
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them.
Read also: Keto Calorie Counting: A Detailed Guide