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The old fashioned Rhubarb Pie is tangy-sweet with a classic custard-style base, it’s based on a recipe passed down from my great-grandma.
I get asked a lot from you all where or how I get the recipes that I post. A chunk of the recipes on my site I develop on my own from scratch after doing some research (Like classic monkey bread or biscoff cheesecake bars).
Other times, I just start adding things to a bowl and the result is delicious (Hello, Monster Cookie Bars, which are one of my family’s favorites).
Rhubarb Custard Pie
However, a good many of my recipes are adaptations of family recipes that have been made for years, or even decades. This recipe for old-fashioned Rhubarb Custard Pie was my great grandma’s.
Sometimes, I put a spin on old recipes or alter them to work better, but the recipe below basically straight from my grandma’s.
Old Fashioned Rhubarb Pie
Most of her recipes have bare bone instructions because the assumption was everyone knew what to with the ingredients.
Sometimes it takes me some trial and error to figure out the process for the recipe, so hopefully, I’ve included enough detail for you below 🙂
I was discussing this recipe on the phone with my mom the other day and she mentioned that my dad never complained about her not cooking like his mom.
Instead he kept telling her she needed to get his Grandma’s recipes. So it’s a lot of her recipes that have been passed down.
My mom glued all her favorite recipe cards and cuttings onto pages and put them in a three ring binder.
When I got married, one of my sisters copied all the pages of the cookbook for me and made my own binder by putting the sheets into plastic protector pages.
I love having all the family recipes in one place and I have been adding myself to it. It’s a great idea if someone is getting married in your family.
Rhubarb Pie Recipe
Anyway, this old fashioned rhubarb pie is as classic as you’ll get. Just rhubarb and a simple custard filling baked in a pie shell.
If you’re comfortable baking pies, it’s about as easy as you can get and if you’re new to baking pies, it’s a great easy one to start with.
If you love rhubarb as much as we do, check out the rhubarb streusel muffins, strawberry rhubarb cobbler, rhubarb oatmeal bars, and strawberry rhubarb crisp.
These rhubarb bars and rhubarb coffee cakes recipes are older, but just as good too!
Old Fashioned Rhubarb Pie
Ingredients
- 1 9 inch pie crust, unbaked
- 5 cups diced rhubarb cut 1/4 inch thick
- 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar (you can adjusted it up or down 1/4 cup to your preferred sweetness)
- 2 eggs cold
- 5/8 cup cold whole milk or 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F. Mix the rhubarb and sugar together. Spread in the pie crust and set aside.
- Whisk together the eggs, cold milk, flour and salt. Pour over the rhubarb. Bake at 375 F for 50-55 minutes or until filling is set.
- Cool completely before slicing. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
{originally published 5/23/18 – recipe notes and photos updated 5/18/21}
Craving pie, but rhubarb isn’t your favorite? Check out a few more great springtime pie ideas:
Sweet Cherry Crumb Pie from Baker by Nature
Fresh Strawberry Pie by Together as a Family
Blueberry Crumble Pie by Saving Room for Dessert
So I followed instructions and the 5 cups of rhubarb filled the pie crust with very little room for the custard. After cooking the taste was amazing but the filling was very watery and lots of overflow. Do you have any ideas where we went off track?
Hmmm. What size was your pie plate? Were you using fresh or frozen rhubarb?
Hi there. I so want to try this for my husband, who’s grandma’s rhubarb custard pie recipe is long gone. I tried to make one years ago and the rhubarb was still crispy after baking, which was a bit of a turn off. Does the rhubarb actually soften in this?
Try the same recipe minus the milk. Seperate the whites and yolks. Use whites for meringue after baking pie 46-60 min at 375 til bubbles. Then cover with meringue, bakes 350 for 10 min, 4” below element. And add 1/4 t nutmeg to pie…. essential.
Made this pie ….. it was delicious. Everyone loved it. Was the perfect combination of sweet and sour and the custard added a nice creamy texture. Will definitely be making this again. Thanks.
Do you ever prebake your crust or does it not get mushy?
Overall it turned out well, but be advised that a pre-made “9 inch” crust will 100% overflow the second you pour in the egg mix (I found out the hard way, oops). Next time I might try splitting the filling between two pre-made crusts instead.
Can you use 2% milk?
Yes. that should work as well.
Can I use frozen rhubarb?
I would think so.
I used frozen and the pie was too runny. It wouldn’t even stay in the piece of a pie shape.
I’ve never tried it with frozen rhubarb. Some of my rhubarb recipes I have used frozen. This is what I do:
If you choose to use frozen rhubarb thaw the rhubarb first and let any excess liquid drain off. Don’t squeeze any liquid out, just drain what naturally thaws out of the rhubarb.
You can use frozen rhubarb thaw it out and let it drain well. I also use heavy cream in place of milk a creamer custard and better tasting
There’s no way making a rhubarb pie can go wrong, every single recipe I’ve tried so far were delicious! This one seems amazing as well!
I just found this recipe on Pinterest and want to try it, but need to clarify how much milk. It says 5/8 cup, which would be 1/2 cup + 2 T, but in parentheses it says 1/4 cup + 2 T. Which is correct? Thanks.
Your right. It should be 1/2 plus two tablespoons. Thanks for catching it. I will fix
5/8 cup = 5 ozs. 8 ozs times .625 (5/8)= 5 ozs. 1 divided by 8ths = .125 x 5 = .625
1/2 cup = 4 ozs
2 (T) tablespoons = 1oz, so
4 ozs + 1 oz = 5 ozs or 5/8 cup
What a gorgeous pie and so perfect for this time of year. I’ve never had a rhubarb custard pie – this is a must try 🙂
Similar recipe sent down from mother’s
side. Her recipe uses 1/2 top cinnamon and is double crust. The taste of spring !
I’m so glad you like the pie, Maureen!
Hello Maureen, What do you mean by 1/2 top cinnamon? The cinnamon sounds like really good addition!
Thanks☺️
Mariah