Springtime on the homestead means the rhubarb and dandelions are growing like crazy while everything else is just starting to sprout. What better way to use these early season plants than by whipping up a delicious homemade dessert, rhubarb dandelion pie. I’ve been planning to make a rhubarb pie, but a few days ago when Little A and I were out harvesting dandelions for some other recipes she suggested we make a rhubarb dandelion pie. Yes! What a wonderful idea from the mouth of a three year old. We took a favorite rhubarb pie recipe and added in fresh golden dandelions for added nutrition and taste. This pie is so delicious!
Dandelions are viewed by many as annoying weeds, but really they have many health benefits and are an easy wild edible to forage. Dandelion flowers have vitamins A , B12 and are an anti-oxidant. The dandelion leaves and roots have even more health benefits and are also edible which you can read more about here and here.
This rhubarb dandelion pie isn’t like the rhubarb pie I grew up eating. This pie is a bit more custard like, something I encountered on a trip to visit my husband’s family in Germany a few years ago. We visited in the spring when rhubarb was in season and had several rhubarb desserts made with eggs that created a lighter, fluffier, creamier dessert. I was smitten! I especially loved making this pie with rhubarb from our garden, dandelions harvested from our pasture and eggs fresh from our chicken coop!
How to make rhubarb dandelion pie
This recipe makes one 9″ pie.
Ingredients:
-1 unbaked 9″ pie crust (You can find our favorite recipe for an easy yummy pie crust in this post)
Filling:
-3 cups rhubarb chopped into bite sized pieces
-1/2 cup dandelion flowers
-2 eggs
-1 1/2 cups unrefined or cane sugar (we use this kind)
-1 1/2 tsp vanilla (we use our homemade vanilla extract)
-3 TBS flour
Crumb topping:
-3/4 cup flour
-1/2 cup brown sugar (we use this)
-1/3 cup butter softened at room temperature
Directions:
1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Chop the rhubarb stalks into bite size pieces and place them in a mixing bowl.
3. Harvest about 1/2 cup of fresh dandelion flower heads and rinse them off to get rid of any bugs and dirt. Cut the flower petals from the green base and stem. If there is a tiny bit of green with the petals that is fine, you just don’t want too much since it will make it bitter. Mix the dandelion flower petals in with the rhubarb.
4. Beat the two eggs. Stir in the vanilla, sugar and flour. Pour this over the rhubarb/dandelion mixture and stir.
5. Pour the filling into the pie crust.
6. With a fork or pastry blender, mash the butter, flour and brown sugar to create a crumbly mixture. Sprinkle this mixture onto the top of the pie.
7. Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees. Then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 35-40 minutes. When done, the crust will be a golden brown and the rhubarb will be soft when stuck with a fork.
8. Remove from the oven and let it sit for a few minutes to cool. Slice and serve plain or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. So delicious!
The day we made this pie was the same day Little A and I harvested dandelions to make dandelion tea, dandelion syrup and dandelion jelly. If you missed the post with those recipes you can find them here. While you’re at it, you may also want to check out our post on how to make dandelion salve.
What’s your favorite way to use dandelions or rhubarb?
I am intrigued!!! I am working on a recipe with dandelion and don’t even know where to get it! It seems to me from your recipe I can find it outside naturally and cook with it?! If I don’t have any near me, do you know any stores who sell it?!