Simple Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

Nothing says ‘Spring’ more than a warm dish of Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler topped with a scoop of slowly melting vanilla ice cream. This impressive vintage dessert is simple to make yet bursting with the sweet and tart flavours of ripe red strawberries and rhubarb.

Type ‘rhubarb’ in the search bar and you’ll find my very favourite Strawberry Rhubarb Jam recipe. Scroll a bit further down and you’ll see a gorgeous Strawberry Rhubarb Pie, or Strawberry ‘Fluff’ as my grandma calls it. I grew up making both of those two strawberry rhubarb recipes in her kitchen!

Sensational Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

It’s FINALLY strawberry rhubarb season, or as I like to call it ‘STRUBARB SEASON’! Sorry for the yelling, but strawberries with rhubarb happens to be my most favourite flavour combination EVER! That’s why there are so many recipes on this blog featuring these sensational spring fruits.

If you like strawberry rhubarb crisp, you’re going to love this cobbler recipe for the simple flavours and sweet southern-style biscuits. It’s pure comfort in a bowl, especially when served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Spoon up the gooey strawberry rhubarb filling to eat on its own or use a piece of the fluffy cinnamon-scented biscuits as a scoop. Either way, you’ll be saving this easy recipe to make on repeat during rhubarb season… and beyond!

What is a Fruit Cobbler?

Fruit cobbler is a vintage baked dessert. It’s similar to a fruit crisp or crumble but instead of a buttery oat topping, it features a golden-brown biscuit topping that resembles cobblestones.

The raw biscuit dough is dropped (or formed) onto a layer of bubbling hot fruit compote, forming the signature pattern as it bakes in the oven.

Peach cobbler is popular in Southern US states where it is commonly made with both a top and bottom biscuit layers. Single fruit cobblers feature berries or other stone fruit including the very popular cherry cobbler. There are also savoury cobbler versions featuring tomatoes and onions or meaty stew casseroles baked with a biscuit topping.

The biscuit topping bakes up light and fluffy on top of the hot filling, creating a wonderful contrast both visually and texturally. Serve this rhubarb strawberry delight with a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.

By the way, Grunts, Pandowdies, and Slumps are all varieties of cobbler (depending on where you live) which are cooked in a Dutch oven on top of the stove instead of in an oven.

What is Rhubarb?

Rhubarb is a very common herbaceous perennial in many European countries (particularly the UK), Asia, South America, and North America. The large edible stalks grow out of underground rhizomes, ending in large triangular leaves. The leaves are inedible as they contain significant amounts of oxalic acid.

The stalks range in colour from deep red to bright green, depending on the number of anthocyanins present. All are edible raw or cooked, however they do contain a much smaller amount of oxalic acid.

Although rhubarb is officially classified as a vegetable, the tart stalks are most often found in sweet preparations on its own or paired with other fruits like strawberry, rhubarb, pear, and apple. It is delicious stewed with sugar and often thickened with cornstarch to make fillings for pies, crisps, crumbles, and cobblers.

Ingredients for Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

This Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler recipe consists of two ingredient lists, one for the fruit filling and another for the biscuit dough. There are no hard-to-find ingredients, especially during rhubarb season.

• Strawberries
• Rhubarb
• Sugar
• Cornstarch
• Flour
• Baking Powder
• Cinnamon
• Butter
• Egg
• Milk

A Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler is something special to make in the Spring when fresh strawberries and rhubarb are at the peak of their flavour. However, freeze the fruit and you make it year-round using frozen strawberries and frozen rhubarb.

Cornstarch absorbs the fruit juices during cooking, expanding, and ‘thickening’ the filling. Flour works similarly; however it has half of the thickening power that cornstarch has.

Granulated sugar works best in this recipe but feel free to replace it with an equivalent amount of brown sugar. It would be especially delicious in the biscuits.

The rest of the ingredients; flour, sugar, baking powder, egg, and milk, are all basic fridge and pantry ingredients used in a typical baking powder biscuit recipe. I like to add a bit of ground cinnamon as it tastes delicious and turns the topping a deep golden brown.

How to Make Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

Make the Strawberry Rhubarb Filling

To make the filling, place chopped strawberries and sliced rhubarb in a medium saucepan. Add 1/4 cup water.

Mix the cornstarch and cup of sugar together then pour the mixture over the fruit. Mix well and let sit for ten minutes. Heat fruit mixture over medium high heat, stirring constantly until it boils then thickens (about 5 mins cook time). Keep hot.

Preheat oven to 400 F.

For the Sweet Biscuit Dough

To make the sweet biscuit dough, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and cinnamon (if using) together in a medium mixing bowl. Next, use a pastry cutter to cut in 3 Tablespoons cold butter into the flour mixture, stopping when the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Combine beaten egg and milk then add to the flour mixture. Stirring just to moisten… do not over stir!

Putting it All Together

Pour hot strawberry rhubarb filling into an 8 x 8 ovenproof baking dish then use a spoon to drop 6 or 9 mounds of biscuit topping onto the hot filling.

Bake in a 400 F oven for 20 – 25 mins total time or until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is golden brown.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, if desired.

Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler leftovers will keep for 2-3 days in the refrigerator. Eat them cold or reheat in a microwave on high power for 1-2 minutes.

Hi! I’m Bernice Hill and I’ve been the sole recipe developer, photographer, and writer at Dish ‘n’ the Kitchen for the past eleven years. It is my pleasure to share easy to follow recipes that are delicious, nutritious, and approachable for the whole family.

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