Strawberry Rhubarb Punch

Rhubarb Punch

If you have a mature rhubarb plant that produces beautiful red stalks like crazy, you might just have an excess of rhubarb that you need to use up. I’ve got the perfect recipe for you with this Strawberry Rhubarb Punch! It uses 10 cups of chopped rhubarb and extracts all the delicious tart flavors then pairs it with sweet pineapple juice, strawberry lemonade concentrate and strawberry Jell-O.

Best Rhubarb Recipes

I myself am not so blessed when it comes to rhubarb patches. I planted mine last spring and it was a hot mess this year with a bunch of bolts, short green stalks and just overall underwhelming. Thank goodness I have an amazing neighbor who lets me steal some rhubarb from her patch.

My children’s father also shares the rhubarb from the farm that my grandparents planted many moons ago. He let me come and take a huge harvest of rhubarb and I was looking for some new rhubarb recipes try.

I had made so many great baked goods already this spring, like rhubarb scones, strawberry rhubarb cheesecake bars and rhubarb honey cupcakes.

• rhubarb recipes
• rhubarb scones
• strawberry rhubarb cheesecake bars
• rhubarb honey cupcakes

Rhubarb Fruit Juice

When one of my former classmates, Dani Karsky, shared this rhubarb juice recipe from her grandmother, I knew I had to give it a try. There’s nothing quite like a good old school recipe from a midwestern grandmother. This Strawberry Rhubarb Punch is no exception. It is absolute perfection!

The rhubarb juice makes a drink that has the perfect balance of sweet fruit and tart rhubarb and is fantastic sipped all on it’s own. In my opinion it is best served as a fruit punch with equal parts lemon lime soda or ginger ale. If you want to lighten things up you can even serve it with club soda.

How to make Strawberry Rhubarb Punch

This Strawberry Rhubarb Punch does take about 45 minutes to make from start to finish, but it makes a LARGE batch that you can freeze for later. The best part is that it only requires six simple ingredients. Here is what you will need to get started.

10 cups chopped rhubarb

8 cups water

1 cup granulated sugar

4 cups pineapple juice

3 ounce box strawberry Jell-O

12 ounce can frozen strawberry lemonade concentrate -OR- orange juice concentrate

The original recipe called for orange juice concentrate but I wanted to highlight the strawberry flavors more so I opted for a can of frozen strawberry lemonade concentrate. Just about any juice concentrate will do here.

How to make juice from rhubarb

When it comes to chopping the rhubarb, you don’t need a nice small and even cut like you would for rhubarb custard pie. You can cut it up in large rough chops to save time. The rhubarb stalks, water and sugar is added to a large kettle or stockpot. Bring it to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Reduce the temperature to medium and cook an additional 10 minutes.

While the rhubarb is on the lower temperature, carefully use a potato masher to break down the rhubarb to extract more of the flavorful juices. If you don’t have a potato masher, a wooden spoon or large fork will do the job. Just be sure not to scratch your pan with a fork if you are using a non-stick pot.

• rhubarb custard pie

Straining Rhubarb Juice

When all of the rhubarb is done, remove the pan from the heat. Place a mesh strainer over a large bowl and slowly pour the mixture through the metal strainer. Once the strainer is full, use a spatula to stir the rhubarb to help release all of the juice from the pulp. Discard the pulp.

Repeat this process until all of the juice has been extracted from the rhubarb. While the rhubarb juice is still hot, stir in the strawberry Jell-O until it is dissolved. Stir in the strawberry lemonade concentrate until dissolved and mix in pineapple juice. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature before storing in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

How to serve rhubarb punch

Now that you have your concentrated rhubarb juice, it’s time to serve it up for a light and refreshing drink. The most popular option is to mix it with equal parts lemon lime soda. Sprite, 7Up, Sierra Mist or any off brand soda will do the trick. You could also opt for ginger ale or club soda if you want a drink with less sugar.

You will need a 2 liter bottle of soda to mix with the juice when serving as punch. If you won’t be serving the strawberry rhubarb punch for a party or gathering, then you will want to serve it individually or the soda will go flat and it won’t keep well if you mix it with all the soda right away.

When serving as punch, add the juice and soda to a punch bowl and top it with some fresh sliced fruit. Add a little flair to your beverage by using small shape cutters to cut shapes into the fruit. I made these fun pineapple stars for our Memorial Day holiday festivities.

Can I make this a cocktail?

Absolutely! Once you have your strawberry rhubarb juice prepared and cooled, you can mix it with just about anything. Add some lemon lime or club soda along with a splash of vodka, gin or rum for an adult beverage.

The best part of this drink recipe is that it is mixed when serving. This means the kids can enjoy their non-alcoholic punch with soda and adults can mix in their favorite alcohol for something more grown up.

How to store strawberry rhubarb punch

If you just had a bunch of rhubarb you wanted to use up so you made this big batch of rhubarb juice, then there are a few great options for storing it.

First, you can store the juice refrigerated for up to a week. I like to use an empty 2 liter bottle to store it on the side of my refrigerator. You can also freeze it in an empty ice cream pail or freezer containers. When you want to enjoy it, just scoop some of the frozen punch from the pail and serve in a glass topped with soda. You don’t even have to let it thaw first. It’s actually fantastic frozen as a slushy.

When I received this old recipe it instructed that you could can it in glass quart jars in a 15 minute water bath. I’m not going to advise that because I’m not sure there is enough acid or sugar in this recipe to truly be food safe. I’m not a canning expert though, but I like to err on the side of caution. Freezing is the best way to preserve this spring drink in my opinion.

More unique rhubarb recipes!

If you love rhubarb as much as we do, then you’ve got to try some of these other unique rhubarb recipes that you are sure to enjoy. Rhubarb isn’t just limited to pies and cakes…although they are amazing!

Rhubarb Honey Goat Cheese Dip – If you are looking for a savory way to enjoy rhubarb, this whipped goat cheese topped with rhubarb sauce is absolutely amazing!

Strawberry Rhubarb Sorbet – Make this light and refreshing sweet for the perfect treat on a summer day.

Rhubarb Streusel Coffee Cake – Highlight your love for rhubarb at breakfast with this supremely moist cake. It is truly one of the best coffee cakes I’ve ever had.

Baked Sticky Rhubarb Pudding – Top this sticky pudding with a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream for an amazing dessert.

• Rhubarb Honey Goat Cheese Dip
• Rhubarb Streusel Coffee Cake

Notes

*Add additional sugar while the juice is still hot if you prefer a sweeter juice. **You can substitute orange juice or lemonade concentrate Store strawberry rhubarb juice refrigerated for up to 7 days or frozen up to one year. Do not mix with soda before storing.

Serving: 1 g | Calories: 123 kcal | Carbohydrates: 31 g | Protein: 1 g | Sodium: 22 mg | Fiber: 1 g | Sugar: 27 g