Embrace fresh rhubarb season with these delicious plant-based rhubarb breakfast tarts! Slightly rustic and with just the right level of sweetness, these delicious rhubarb tarts make a healthy brunch or breakfast, tasty snack, or dessert! Completely oil-free and naturally sweetened with dates and maple syrup, these breakfast rhubarb tartlets are plant-based, vegan, gluten-free, and healthy.
Use a food processor to whip together the tarts themselves, and bake them in the oven while the rhubarb and apples simmer on the stovetop. Then top each individual breakfast tart with a plant-based yogurt and the sweetened rhubarb apple topping; voila – rhubarb tarts for breakfast!
I love playing with seasonal produce, and since Cory absolutely loves rhubarb, I felt inspired to create something comforting and delicious that he’d enjoy while still keeping with our healthy eating habits. Ever since we started dating, I’d heard stories of Cory and his cousin eating his aunt’s famous rhubarb crisp, devouring slices for dessert and then deftly finishing whatever may have (somehow) survived for breakfast the next morning.
His aunt’s rhubarb crisp is indeed quite delicious, and I wanted to make these rhubarb tarts a breakfast dish (because breakfast is my favorite). So, with her beloved dish as inspiration, coupled with the knowledge of the plant based and oil-free diet of these cousins we love so dearly, I wanted to make sure I created something we could all enjoy.
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Tart Ingredients:
You’ll only need 4 ingredients (plus a pinch of salt) for the actual tarts themselves:
Walnuts
The food processor will grind these to a coarse flour pretty quickly, and they lend a heartiness to the tarts and a rustic, earthy element and flavor that I very much enjoy. Since the tarts will be baked, make sure to use raw (not roasted/toasted) walnuts (halves, pieces, whole – it doesn’t matter since they’ll be ground). The walnuts also lend extra some staying-power and density to these rhubarb tarts.
Of course, I also love that walnuts are so good for us, with their high antioxidant levels, healthy fats, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and more. Just make sure you don’t grind too far, or the nuts will become nut butter as the oils begin to release. Grind them alone until they’re a coarse flour, but don’t worry about going further to start; the walnut flour will become finer as the grinding continues with the additional ingredients.
Oats
While I often do make tarts from nuts alone, especially if I’m going for a raw dessert or breakfast, I chose to lighten things up a bit with rolled oats here, another favorite ingredient of mine for breakfast dishes. The oats will also turn to flour in the food processor along with the walnuts. I love the combination of oats and walnuts for flavor here.
Though naturally gluten free, make sure your oats are marking ‘certified gluten free’ oats if you need to ensure they have not been processed on the same equipment as something else that contains gluten to avoid any trace contamination.
Known for their robust caramel flavor and commonly used a natural sweetener in everything from desserts to sweet snacks to smoothies , medjool dates add sweetness with a depth of flavor to these rhubarb tarts as well as providing moisture to help the ingredients all stick together.
While many varieties of dates exist, we prefer sweet medjools for our recipes and almost always have some on hand. (If you ever need a quick sugar fix, they’re like nature’s caramels, I swear!).
Cinnamon
Who doesn’t love this warm, fragrant spice?? I suppose there are probably cinnamon haters out there, but whatever – I love it. To each their own, I suppose. Remember the One-Pot Stovetop Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal, or the even more decadent Apple Pie Oatmeal?? Yep, cinnamon all over the place. I cannot get enough.
For this breakfast, the cinnamon, both in the tart crusts and in the rhubarb apple topping, really make these rhubarb tarts sing. To me, cinnamon also adds a hint of sweetness without actually adding sugar of any kind — sort of like vanilla. We’re pretty addicted to Penzey’s Cinnamon blend; it’s on a whole other level. If you’re a cinnamon fanatic too, check it out.
That’s it! With 4 simple ingredients and a food processor, you’ll have a nice, slightly crumbly mixture that sticks together when pressed into your individual tart pans.
I adore our cute little mini tart pans, and they’re perfect for these breakfast rhubarb tarts! Also called mini quiche pans or tartlette pans, these little 4-inch miniature tart pans are perfect for individual serving sizes. They’re also great for dishes, like these breakfast rhubarb tarts, where the ingredients wouldn’t hold up trying to slice a larger tart.
Make sure your mini tart pans have removable bottoms and are non-stick, making it a breeze to remove the oil-free tarts from the pans after baking.
Topping the Rhubarb Tarts:
Vanilla Yogurt
I thought filling these rhubarb tartlets with some vanilla yogurt (non-dairy and plant based if that’s your jam!) would balance out the sweetness of the apple rhubarb topping and would be in keeping with the idea of breakfast. There’s only about 2.5 Tbsp of yogurt per tart, so not a ton; just enough to add a pleasant tang.
Even with vanilla yogurts, I always recommend using an unsweetened variety. Granted, I still add some maple syrup to the yogurt to sweeten it up a bit, but then I’m at least in complete control of the sweetness level (and thus the added sugar content).
For the rhubarb tarts, I suggest 1-2 Tbsp, depending on how sweet you want it. Despite my insatiable sweet tooth, I generally go lighter on the sweetener here, sticking to the 1 Tbsp mark more often.
Apple Rhubarb Topping
Made on the stovetop, this apple rhubarb topping really is the crowning glory of these tasty little tartlets. Due to the inherently tart nature of rhubarb, I simmer them with sweet apples, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and maple syrup.
Simmered until the rhubarb and apples soften completely and the excess liquid has evaporated, leaving nothing but syrupy rhubarb and apple goodness, this topping reminds me of cinnamon apples (yum!) but with the added complexity and gentle tartness of the rhubarb.
Chop the apples and rhubarb stalks into small pieces to keep the cooking time down, allowing them to soften more quickly. Smaller pieces also mean you’ll get more of the combined flavors in every bite! The topping is definitely sweet but still keeps a slightly tart edge to the rhubarb.
The combination of the slightly sweetened tart base, the slightly tangy yogurt, and the sweet topping with a hint of tartness, these little rhubarb tarts make an easy weekend breakfast or brunch that’s both healthy and feels special! If you’ve got helping hands in the kitchen and can prepare the tarts and the topping at the same time, these come together even quicker, too!
If you’re looking for other healthy breakfasts that still feel special (and don’t take super long to make!), check out these other perfect breakfast and brunch recipes:
Apple Pie Oatmeal – with spiced and sweetened oats topped with toasted pecans, golden raisins, and spiced apples. Another plant-based special breakfast!
Peaches & Cream Chia Pudding – these rich layered parfaits come together with only 5 ingredients and almost no effort! Just a little overnight prep and some chopping of ripe peaches! Keto friendly, vegan, paleo, gluten free
Embrace fresh rhubarb season with these delicious plant-based rhubarb breakfast tarts! Slightly rustic and with just the right level of sweetness, these delicious rhubarb tarts make a healthy brunch or breakfast, tasty snack, or dessert! Completely oil-free and naturally sweetened with dates and maple syrup, these breakfast rhubarb tartlets are plant-based, vegan, gluten-free, and healthy.
Ingredients
Scale
Tarts:
1.5 C raw/unroasted walnuts
1 C rolled oats (certified gluten free if necessary)
2 tsp. Cinnamon
½ tsp. Salt
8–10 medjool dates
Topping:
3 C chopped rhubarb
1.5 C chopped sweet apple (gala, fuji, etc.)
¼ C maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. cinnamon
Yogurt:
1 C unsweetened vanilla non-dairy (or other) yogurt (we like SO Coconut)
1–2 Tbsp maple syrup
Instructions
**I recommend starting with the tarts, allowing them time to cool while you make the apple rhubarb topping. If you have help in the kitchen, even better; one person can make tarts while the other focuses on the stovetop rhubarb topping mixture, and these will be done pretty quickly!
Tarts:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
In a food processor, grind the walnuts to a coarse flour.
Add the oats into the walnut flour, and pulse several times until the walnuts and oats become a finer flour.
Add cinnamon and salt; pulse to combine.
With the processor running, add dates one at a time (pits and and hard stems removed) until the mixture becomes a little more moist and sticks together when pressed. We generally need 8 dates for this, but you may need a couple more if the mixture is too dry.
Divide the mixture into 6 non-stick miniature tart pans with removable bottoms, and press the mixture evenly into the pans, being sure to build up the edges.
Make several holes in the bottom of each tart with a fork; this will help minimize the bottom of the tart puffing up while baking.
Place tartlet pans on a baking sheet, and bake for about 12-13 minutes, until golden brown.
Remove the tart pans from the baking sheet, but let the tarts cool in their pans while you make the rhubarb topping.
Rhubarb Topping:
Chop the apple and rhubarb into somewhat small pieces; the smaller pieces will cook faster and will allow for a combination of rhubarb and apple in each bite.
Combine rhubarb, apple, maple syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon in a pot over medium high heat.
Bring to a gentle boil, stirring regularly; then, reduce heat to medium or medium-low, keeping a simmer (still stirring regularly) until rhubarb and apple have softened and mixture is thicker/syrupy instead of liquidy.
Taste to ensure sweetness levels, adding a bit more maple syrup if desired.
Yogurt:
Mix maple syrup into the yogurt; start with 1 Tbsp and add more if needed. We like the slight tartness of the rhubarb in the topping and the slight tang of the yogurt here to balance the sweet tart base and the apples and maple syrup, but if you want a sweeter breakfast tart, just add more maple syrup to your liking!
Assemble:
Remove the tarts from their pans.
Spoon yogurt into each tart, about 2 2/3 Tbsp per tart.
Divide topping among the 6 tarts, spooning the apple-rhubarb mixture on top of the sweetened yogurt.
Enjoy!
Do you have a favorite weekend breakfast or a favorite dish with rhubarb? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to subscribe and follow us on Pinterest!
