
Thanks going out to my bestie Shawnee Sax and her sister Tanis Moore for sharing this Overnight Rhubarb Sauce. This is an old New Brunswicker’s trick from extracting the maximal flavour from rhubarb by letting it marinate in sugar overnight which pulls the juices from the rhubarb and eliminates the need to add water. The result is an intensely rhubarby-y rhubarb sauce and maintenance of the bright colours.
Sprinkle the sugar In the morning, you’ll find this
Overnight rhubarb Sauce

Intense rhubarb flavour, decreased simmering time – one delightfully easy sauce.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes plus overnight marination
- Cook Time: 20 -30 minutes
- Total Time: 38 minute
- Yield: 3 cups 1x
- Category: Sauces
- Method: preserves
- Cuisine: Canadian
Ingredients
- 8 cups chopped rhubarb
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Place the chopped rhubarb in the saucepan you intend to cook it in.
- Stir in the sugar and leave overnight.
- Bring the rhubarb and liquid to a simmer and cook for about 20 – 30 minutes. Once the juices are a thick syrup, turn off the heat, add the vanilla, let cook and then transfer to storage containers.
Notes
You can store the sauce in the refrigerator for up to a week or freezer it in serving portions for up to 6 months.
Keywords: rhubarb sauce
This looks lovely. What would you do with this sauce? Would it work in both sweet and savoury applications?
Hi Aga – It is great on vanilla ice cream or on plain or vanilla Greek yogurt. You can use 1 cup of the rhubarb sauce and add 4 cups of sliced strawberries and a crisp topping to make it into strawberry rhubarb crisp. Tomorrow, I’ll post a savoury roast pork tenderloin dish with this sauce on the side. Thanks so much for asking! cheers, Karen