×
  • Home
  • Daily
    • Buyers Guides
    • Composting
    • Container Gardening
    • Easy Healthy Recipes
    • Food Preservation
    • Garden Design
    • Garden Tools
    • Gardening LIfe
      • Animals in the Garden
      • Funny Business
      • Gardening History
      • Gardening Humor
      • Gardening Mishaps
      • Gardening Poems
      • Gardening Romance
      • Gardening Science
      • Gardening with Kids
      • Healing Gardens
      • Joy of Gardening
      • Mystical Gardens
      • Ornamental Gardening
    • Growing Fruits & Berries
    • Indoor Gardening
    • Pests & Diseases
    • Seeds & Seedlings
    • Soil & Fertilizer
    • Spice & Herb Gardening
    • Vegetable Gardening
    • Watering & Irrigation
  • Freebies
  • Videos
  • Magazines
    • Food Gardening Magazine
    • GreenPrints Magazine
    • RecipeLion Magazine
  • Books
    • GuideBooks
    • Cookbooks
      • Beverages
      • Bakery
      • Breakfast
      • Appetizers
      • Salads & Dressings
      • Soups
      • Entrées
      • Side Dishes & Sauces
      • Desserts
    • Story Collections
    • StoryBooks
    • Recipe Collections
  • Kits
    • Garden Calendars
    • Garden Plans
    • Recipe Cards
    • Greeting Cards
    • ArtPrints
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Affiliate Program
  • Sponsor Program
  • Give a Gift
  • Privacy Policy & Terms of Use
  • Authors
  • GreenPrints Writer’s Guidelines
  • Keyword Index
  • Join
Celebrating 5 Years of Food Gardening

Food Gardening Network

Growing food, fun & more

Give a GiftJoin
Mequoda Publishing Network
  • Daily
    • Buyers Guides
    • Composting
    • Container Gardening
    • Easy Healthy Recipes
    • Food Preservation
    • Garden Design
    • Garden Tools
    • Gardening Life
      • Animals in the Garden
      • Funny Business
      • Gardening History
      • Gardening Humor
      • Gardening Mishaps
      • Gardening Poems
      • Gardening Romance
      • Gardening Science
      • Gardening with Kids
      • Healing Gardens
      • Joy of Gardening
      • Mystical Gardens
      • Ornamental Gardening
    • Growing Fruits & Berries
    • Indoor Gardening
    • Pests & Diseases
    • Seeds & Seedlings
    • Soil & Fertilizer
    • Spice & Herb Gardening
    • Vegetable Gardening
    • Watering & Irrigation
  • Freebies
  • Videos
  • Magazines
    • Food Gardening Magazine
    • GreenPrints Magazine
    • RecipeLion Magazine
  • Books
    • GuideBooks
    • Cookbooks
      • Beverages
      • Bakery
      • Breakfast
      • Appetizers
      • Salads & Dressings
      • Soups
      • Entrées
      • Side Dishes & Sauces
      • Desserts
    • Story Collections
    • StoryBooks
    • Recipe Collections
  • Kits
    • Garden Calendars
    • Garden Plans
    • Recipe Cards
    • Greeting Cards
    • ArtPrints
  • Sign In
  • Search

Rustic Rhubarb Salsa

Gardening Guide: Remarkable Rhubarb

arrow-left Previous
Next arrow-right

Rustic Rhubarb Salsa

We tend to treat rhubarb like a fruit; sometimes we forget that it’s actually a vegetable. And since it can be a little on the tart side (to say the least!), rhubarb can be the perfect surprise ingredient in your next salsa. Spice things up a bit with this

By Norann Oleson

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

rhubarb salsa“When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” Fair enough. But when life gives you rhubarb… and more rhubarb… and still more rhubarb… then what?

One year I was seeing rhubarb in my dreams. The garden had been particularly prolific that year, and the rhubarb was going, as they say, gangbusters. I could barely keep up with all the fresh red stalks.

I learned several things that year. You can only make so much rhubarb pie. Your freezer does not have infinite capacity. Sometimes you actually run out of Mason jars.

I was in a real jam.

Now, home food gardening is all about enjoying the fruits of your gardening labor, sharing it with friends and family, and being a responsible steward of whatever small plot of land you’re working on. And while gardening is certainly fun, it’s also work. And no one likes to see their work wasted.

But I’d baked pies, made jam, and set aside a hefty number of freezer bags full of rhubarb ready for the next recipe. And still I had more stalks than I knew what to do with.

Then I got invited to a friend’s surprise birthday party. It was going to be at their brother’s house, so people had plenty of time to sneak over, set up, and hide the cars. There were going to be a lot of people there, and chips and salsa was always big with this crowd.

I had found the perfect solution to my rhubarb dilemma, and I had a chance to try out a new recipe. But I wasn’t going to tell anyone what the secret ingredient was in my salsa—at least, not until I got some positive feedback. If people hated it, I’d just consider it a failed experiment and quietly remove my salsa bowls and replace them with something… plainer.

Well, I needn’t have worried. People scooped up that salsa with great satisfaction, and kept coming back for more. At the end of the party, there was none left.

But no worries. I still have some rhubarb…

Print
rhubarb salsa

Rustic Rhubarb Salsa

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

No reviews

We tend to treat rhubarb like a fruit; sometimes we forget that it’s actually a vegetable. And since it can be a little on the tart side (to say the least!), rhubarb can be the perfect surprise ingredient in your next salsa. Spice things up a bit with this new twist on salsa.

  • Author: Norann Oleson
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Additional Time: 3 hours
  • Cook Time: 5 minutes
  • Total Time: 3 hours 35 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 12 1x
  • Category: Sides & Sauces

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 cup rhubarb, diced
  • 1 cup sweet pepper, diced (yellow, red, or green)
  • 1 cup cucumber, seeds removed and diced
  • 1 jalapeno, seeds removed and diced
  • 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
  • 3 plum tomatoes, diced
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons brown sugar
  • 5 tablespoons Key lime juice (regular lime juice will do in a pinch)
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Stir in the rhubarb and cook for just 10 seconds.
  2. Quickly drain the rhubarb and transfer to a bowl of ice water. Drain rhubarb and transfer it to a large mixing bowl.
  3. Add peppers, cucumber, jalapeño, tomatoes, garlic, and cilantro to the bowl with the rhubarb.
  4. Dissolve the brown sugar in a small bowl with the Key lime juice and pour it over the vegetables. Stir gently to thoroughly coat everything.
  5. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and stir again.
  6. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours to allow the flavors to meld.
  7. Serve with chips or on lightly toasted baguette slices.

Have you tried this recipe? It’s a tasty twist on a standard snack. Please tell us how it turned out for you.

arrow-left Previous
Next arrow-right

Tags

food gardening, rhubarb

Comments

Click here to cancel reply.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  • Curator’s Corner
  • Introduction
  • Growing Zones for Rhubarb
  • Types of Rhubarb
  • Growing Rhubarb from Seeds or Crowns/Splits/Sets/Divisions
  • Sun and Soil Requirements for Growing Rhubarb
  • Planting Rhubarb in the Ground or in Raised Beds
  • Growing Rhubarb in Containers
  • Watering, Weeding, and Fertilizing your Rhubarb Plants
  • Harvesting your Rhubarb
  • Storing and Preserving Your Rhubarb
  • Preparing Your Rhubarb for Winter
  • Dividing Rhubarb
  • Forcing Rhubarb
  • Dealing with Rhubarb Diseases
  • Dealing with Rhubarb Pests
  • Essential Tools and Equipment for Growing and Enjoying Rhubarb
  • Dividing Rhubarb: Splitting, Transplanting, and Methods for Moving
  • Plant Profiles

  • Canada Red Rhubarb
  • KangaRhu Rhubarb
  • Crimson Red Rhubarb
  • Sunrise Rhubarb
  • Riverside Giant Rhubarb
  • Victoria Rhubarb
  • Recipes

  • Rustic Rhubarb Salsa
  • Rhubarb Comfort Crumble
  • Rhubarb Tea
  • Rhubarb Sauce Your Way
  • Rhubarb Fool
  • Classic Rhubarb Pie
  • Additional Articles

  • Nutrition Facts about Rhubarb
  • Health Benefits and Home Remedies of Rhubarb
  • Resources about Rhubarb
  • Rhubarb Glossary
  • Related Articles

  • Why Rhubarb Leaves are Toxic and What to Do with Them

Enter Your Log In Credentials

This setting should only be used on your home or work computer.

  • Lost your password? Create New Password
  • No account? Sign up

Need Assistance?

Call Food Gardening Network Customer Service at
(800) 777-2658

Food Gardening Network is an active member of the following industry associations:

  • American Horticultural Society
  • GardenComm Logo
  • GardenComm Laurel Media Award
  • MCMA logo
  • Join Now
  • Learn More
  • About Food Gardening Network
  • Contact Us
  • Affiliate Program
  • Sponsor Program
  • Give a Gift
  • Privacy Policy & Terms of Use

Food Gardening Network
99 Derby Street, Suite 200
Hingham, MA 02043
support@foodgardening.mequoda.com

To learn more about our Email Marketing and Broadcasting Services, Exchange Program, or to become a marketing partner with any of our publications, click here to contact us at Mequoda Publishing Network.

FREE E-Newsletter for You!

Discover how to grow, harvest, and eat good food from your own garden—with our FREE e-newsletter, delivered directly to your email inbox.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Powered by
Mequoda Publishing Network
copyright © 2025 Mequoda Systems, LLC

Food Gardening Network®, Food Gardening Magazine® and GreenPrints® are registered trademarks of Mequoda Systems, LLC.