Bake

Roasted Rhubarb and Strawberries

Name: Roasted Rhubarb and Strawberries
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Yield: makes About 5 cups
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 3 cups coarsely chopped rhubarb; 2 cups hulled strawberries, cut in half; 1/4 cup maple syrup; 1/4 cup sweet vermouth; 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar; 1 teaspoon sea salt

by: Ladystiles

March 25, 2022

5 Ratings

Photo by James Ransom

Prep time 20 minutes
Cook time 40 minutes
makes About 5 cups

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Author Notes

Inspired by Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Everyday.

The more I shop at the local farmers' market (we have four each week) and find the best sources for local and organic produce, our meals radiate with simple fruits, vegetables, and good-quality meats. Sadly rhubarb is just passing the peak and strawberries are giving way to other summer berries. This is one last hurrah to the first sweet bounty of the season. I'm regretfully used to overly sweetened rhubarb dishes that tend to mask the bite that rhubarb offers. This, thankfully, is not one of those sugar-laden dishes. The rhubarb is delightfully roasted, holds its shape, and is complemented with a delicious syrup. Simplicity at it its finest. —Ladystiles

Test Kitchen Notes

Ladystiles, who developed this delightful roasted rhubarb and strawberries recipe, is a photographer and writer on her food blog, "The Beauty of Life." You won't be able to get enough of this classic combination of strawberries and rhubarb, wrapped up in a sweet-savory syrup, which consists of maple syrup, sweet vermouth, balsamic vinegar, and a touch of sea salt. Keep in mind that you can always season with more salt after it comes out of the oven, so less is more, depending on the type of salt that you use. Some reviewers have recommended cutting the salt in half, or using kosher salt instead of sea salt. Totally up to you!

This recipe also couldn't be easier to make. All you have to do is chop the strawberries and rhubarb, toss with the syrup mixture, and roast in the oven. The salt, vermouth, and balsamic take this dish into savory territory—in a good way. Serve spooned onto ice cream or a slice of sweet bread, a biscuit, oatmeal, or French toast. Or simply eat it out of a bowl with a spoon, it's that good. One commenter also recommended freezing after roasting, then breaking it up into pieces and adding to a smoothie. Fantastic idea, and one you ought to consider if you've got some extra leftover. Definitely have this recipe on hand whenever rhubarb is in season, and feel free to experiment with different types of fruit. Whether for breakfast or dessert, there are so many ways you can use the roasted rhubarb and strawberries. —The Editors

Test Kitchen-Approved

What You'll Need

Ingredients

Directions

Place a rack in the middle of the oven; heat to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet or large baking dish with parchment paper (this is a juicy dish and you don't want the delicious juices all over your oven).
In a large bowl, mix the rhubarb and strawberries. In a small bowl, whisk the maple syrup, vermouth, vinegar, and salt. Pour over the rhubarb and strawberries, gently tossing to coat.
Spread the fruit on the prepared sheet in a single layer, drizzling the juices over the fruit. Roast for about 40 minutes, until the juices are thickened and the rhubarb is tender to the touch.
Transfer to a serving bowl and serve warm.
Do Ahead: The fruit can be roasted 1 week ahead. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

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37 Reviews

Janet C. February 28, 2020

It's so tasty, I can't stop making it. I agree with those who said they prefer it with half the salt, even using a course sea salt

Carolyn V. June 3, 2019

love this recipe. I use it for rhubarb/strawberry smoothies, with powder protein greens, flax seed and topped with crushed walnuts. better then mosrt rhubarb desserts that take so much sugar, this doesn't

Carolyn V. June 3, 2019

after roasting these fruits, I cool and layout on parchment paper to freeze; when frozen; break up into pieces to add to a smoothie

Catrin May 21, 2018

Oh, yes on the salt— I added less than called for and still definitely too salty. And I love salt.

Deborah May 29, 2016

Just to emphasize - as others have written, yes, WAY too much salt. I've made it twice & forgot about the salt problem the second time. Now I've noted it on the copy that I printed. Halve the salt - you can always add more while it's warm.

Bar49 April 26, 2016

I made a baked rhubarb compote, just like this one and wrote about it on my memoir-ish food blog called Cooking the Kitchen. Here is a preview of my post. Check it out and do subscribe, and enjoy!

IF IT IS SPRING, IT MUST BE TIME FOR RHUBARB….

My favorite line in “A Christmas Memory” by Truman Capote is when the young narrator’s Aunt wakes up one morning, speaking aloud, and to her nephew Buddy, “”Oh my,” she exclaims, her breath smoking the windowpane, “It’s fruitcake weather!”” On my last shopping trip to the Food Coop, I purchased some thick, ruby red stalks of rhubarb. Like Buddy’s Aunt Sook, in Capote’s short story, I woke up and exclaimed to myself, “Oh my, it’s rhubarb weather!” Time to take the stalks out from the back of the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. They are so long, that placing them there horizontally, is the only place to store

Adrienne April 7, 2016

Delicious, but as per a previous comment, I will reduce the salt considerably next time - maybe as little as a pinch. You can always add more to taste. I added a couple shakes of cinnamon at the end.

Amandadp July 2, 2015

Loved this! Have made it twice in one week. Goes perfectly on ice cream, yogurt, bread and straight off the spoon!

JoAnn May 24, 2014

Delicious, however it doesn't make 5 cups of ROASTED fruit, more like 2.

Adelucchi May 14, 2014

Thanks for this recipe! I grew up in Texas and rhubarb was not in our life! So when I found rhubarb in my CSA box of course I looked to my favorite source for recipes. I read many recipes and this one spoke to me because of the oven preparation and the sugar content. I used date sugar and thats the only change I made. It turned out beautifully! I am using it with my homemade granola for breakfast and didn't have enough to try on ice cream or sorbet. Well, I guess I will have to hit the farmers market for more strawberries and rhubarb!!

LeeLeeBee May 4, 2014

I was inundated with strawberries (oh, darn) and just had to make this recipe, despite having no rhubarb or vermouth on hand. I substituted strawberries for the whole amount of the fruit and substituted orange juice for the vermouth. Delicious - and I'm sure that the recipe as written will be even better!

Sammi M. July 19, 2013

I made this for a dinner party and it was a huge hit! Everyone ate it up. It was very easy too.

The M. June 26, 2013

Made this tonight. Didn't tell anyone else about it because I just about ate the whole dang thang!

Sharyn A. May 30, 2013

Didn't have vermouth and only had a handful of strawberries. Used about 5 cups of rhubarb and 1/2 cup of strawberries, substituted some orange infused grappa for the vermouth - it's incredibly delicious! The strawberry flavor still comes through, the tartness is tempered while not too sweet. Will be making this over and over.

piacere May 25, 2013

Delectable! I had a little exttra, maybe 3/4 cup extra, rhubarb and tossed it all in. It was luscious with plain Greek yogurt for dessert and breakfast.

Jennifer A. April 21, 2013

So good! I didn't have the vermouth, and so used cream sherry. Used grocery store fruits, cannot wait to dry again with berries and rhubarb from the garden.

carswell July 24, 2012

I didn't have any red vermouth so I substituted Martini Bianco. Heavenly.

I drained all the juices into a small pan and concentrated them to a thick syrup. It makes the final product a bit more cohesive.

Coffee P. July 8, 2012

This recipe was K I L L E R. What a wonderful combination of flavors.

Margaret M. June 23, 2012

Genius -- never would have occurred to me to ROAST strawberries and rhubarb. Made it with dry Riesling instead of sweet vermouth. Delicious! Serving with frozen yogurt for dessert. Recommend!

davidpdx June 20, 2012

How easy is this! Just picked up beautiful rhubarb and strawberries from the Portland farmers' market; tossed the ingredients into the oven; and wow, what great flavors. Juice came out nice and syrupy, too. Tough getting it into a storage container, though: one spoonful for the container...one spoonful for me...one for the container...one for me...

tweeter10 June 19, 2012

This recipe is a keeper! Substituted white wine for Vermouth and it came out great!

Ladystiles June 18, 2012

WOW! What an honor! I am so glad y'all like the recipe!

Patty B. June 18, 2012

Whole Foods and Fresh Market carry the "real" cherry juice.

SSChilders June 18, 2012

I made this for Father's Day dinner last night and served it on top of ice cream. It was delicious! I have leftovers and I think they'd be great on waffles for breakfast.

carswell June 18, 2012

My local farmers' market started on Saturday morning and I bought both rhubarb and field strawberries - so I decided to give this a whirl.

After roasting the fruit, I drained the juices into a small pan and reduced them to a thick syrup as I thought this would make a better compote. I did a taste test with some vanilla ice cream. Delicious.

Clm2020 June 17, 2012

This recipe sounds amazing, can't wait to try it!

HannahTGH June 17, 2012

I made these strawberries, minus the rhubarb and vermouth, and then added them to a reduced orange-juice pan sauce and served them over chicken. Unbelievable! I also made a batch with the strawberries and rhubarb together, and then put that into some black-pepper infused coconut milk and froze the mixture into icepops. Yum yum :) Thanks for the great recipe Ladystiles!

mgo19991 June 17, 2012

I am getting ready to start a batch of scones. This looks like the perfect topping along with my Devonshire clotted cream.

JULS June 17, 2012

I love stewed rhubarb with natural yogurt but it takes so much sugar to offset the bitter taste. Anybody know any healthier alternatives to sugar I could try?

cook4fun June 17, 2012

Juls, I begin by tossing the rhubarb with a small amount of honey. I lightly cook some apples and then stir in the rhubarb and any accumulated juices and cook just until the rhubarb is soft. The apples had a lot of natural sweetness so really very little honey is needed to offset the rhubarb. Delish. . .as is the sound of this roasted rhubarb.

Randi June 16, 2012

Just came home w/ strawberries and rhubarb from the food co-op and was thinking about what to make besides pie or cobbler. I must go make this right now!

Randi June 17, 2012

And, what a hit. I served this w/ vanilla ice cream and lightly sweetened whipped cream. Delicious.

lazychef June 15, 2012

Great idea! It seems like this would freeze well...any thoughts?

Terrie R. June 15, 2012

I'm making this tonight for a small dinner party and serving it with grilled peaches.

Terrie R. June 15, 2012

ChefJune, "joints seize"... does rhubarb bother arthritis? My husband is showing the early signs of it and gout.

Jukesgrrl June 17, 2012

Do you know about the cherry juice remedy for gout? I have a friend who's a contractor (self-employed, so he HAS to work at job sites) and he is troubled by gout. He drinks organic cherry juice (real, not one of those sweetened combo beverages) and says it works better than the prescription his specialist wrote for him. Apparently there's some chemical compound in cherries that counteracts uric acid. (I don't know about eating cherries, never asked him.) Some supermarket chains don't carry it (although my local Albertson's does), but it's easily found at places such at whole/health food markets. If rhubarb bothers ChefJune, maybe cherries could have the opposite effect. Good luck. BTW, sounds like this would be great with grilled peaches, excellent idea.

ChefJune June 15, 2012

Oh what a great idea! I wish I could eat rhubarb -- I love it -- but it makes my joints seize and I had to decide that walking was more important than eating rhubarb. :-(