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    Home » Round-ups

    Published: May 20, 2022 · Modified: May 29, 2022 by Zen

    17 Easy Sweet & Savoury Matcha Recipes

    Matcha, a type of green tea, is not only good for you but delicious too- it has an earthy flavor and is a popular ingredient used in Japanese desserts, giving them a vibrant green color. Here are 16 easy sweet & savoury matcha recipes that save you from having to go to the coffee shop!

    A stack of matcha flavoured pancakes

    Jump to:
    • What is matcha?
    • Health benefits
    • Tips
    • FAQ
    • Other tea recipes
    • Drinks
    • Bread
    • Cookies
    • Sweet treats
    • Savoury recipes

    What is matcha?

    Matcha is a type of Japanese green tea powder. It has been gaining popularity in the West over the last few years although it's been part of the Japanese diet for much longer. (If you're a fan of Japanese food, try this Japanese konnyaku jelly fruit salad dessert which has no sugar added!) You might have seen it at your local Starbucks in the form of an iced latte (I have a good matcha latte Starbucks copycat easy recipe here.)

    There are a few differences in how you consume traditional matcha tea vs green tea though, which I'll elaborate on below.

    Note: there are 2 grades of matcha, the more expensive, higher quality ceremonial grade and the more affordable culinary grade matcha.

    vs green tea

    Matcha is basically young green tea leaves that are grown under shade to increase the chlorophyll content, then ground into a powder. With regular green tea, you steep the whole green tea leaves (or tea bags) in hot water, drink the resulting tea then toss the tea leaves away. When you drink matcha, you ingest the leaves themselves- the powder doesn't actually dissolve in water but is actually suspended in it.

    To be honest, I drink traditional Japanese green tea at home, not matcha, as green tea is easier to make! (You have to sift the matcha powder to get rid of clumping, then whisk the matcha and hot water together in a circular motion to form a foamy tea that you drink.) Instead, I prefer to drink green tea & add matcha powder to my bakes for convenience.

    Health benefits

    Everyone who's read a magazine or newspaper in the last decade must have heard about the health benefits of green tea, thanks to its anti-oxidant (specifically a type of catechin called EGCG or epigallocatechin gallate) content. Drinking green tea (sans the added sugar and milk!) can improve your health in a whole range of ways, ranging from:

    • better cardiovascular health
    • lower inflammation levels
    • reduced risk of developing chronic diseases
    • lower risk of dying from early deaths, for people with diabetes

    By the way, the above is not from a dodgy source, but taken directly from the Harvard Medical School Health Publishing's website!

    Note: green tea is a magnet for lead, so there have been concerns about the amount of lead in green tea and matcha. However, ConsumerLab has tasted the premium matcha brands in the US and found that the lead content in them is not an issue. Whenever possible, I try to buy organic matcha powder.

    Other Asian teas that are good for you include turmeric ginger cinnamon tea, osmanthus tea, ginger red dates longan tea and barley tea (boricha/ mugicha)

    Tips

    1. You can use a regular whisk instead of splurging on the bamboo whisk when you make matcha drinks- we're not conducting a traditional Japanese tea ceremony after all!
    2. Adding cold water to the matcha powder makes it harder to dissolve but reduces the bitterness. (Don't use boiling water!)

    FAQ

    Matcha vs coffee?

    Matcha has about half the amount of caffeine that coffee has, so is a good way to get an energy boost without the coffee jitters.

    Other tea recipes

    • Chinese jujube tea with ginger (Red date tea)
    • How to make goji berry tea drink (wolfberry tea)
    • Dried Chinese Sour Plum Tea Drink with ice (SuanMeiTang)
    • Korean plum tea (green maesil cha) (ume) (suanmei)

    Drinks

    You can add some club soda to the matcha syrup to make a super quick & easy matcha soda.

    Easy matcha simple syrup recipe (green tea syrup)
    An easy green tea simple syrup made from 3 ingredients. perfect for drizzling on pancakes, shaved ice, cocktails and matcha lattes.
    Click here for the green tea syrup recipe
    Matcha green tea simple syrup with matcha powder around it.


    Note: you can make any of these matcha recipes vegan by using a non-dairy milk such as oat milk, soy milk, coconut milk, cashew milk, almond milk etc You'll actually get a healthier mug of green tea latte this way, as research has shown that adding cow's milk to tea reduces its health benefits. (Specifically, it reduces its vascular protection.)

    Matcha latte
    If you've never made a cup of matcha before, this post is a great place to start! Although I did say it's healthier to drink as is (sans milk and sugar), it does taste PHENOMENAL with both!
    Click here for the latte
    A mug of matcha latte held between 2 hands
    Matcha chai latte recipe
    Recreate your Starbucks experience at home with this easy matcha chai latte that only requires 5 ingredients.
    Click here for matcha green tea chai
    Close-up of matcha chai latte with cinnamon sprinkled on top.
    Vegan iced matcha latte
    If you wanna try a matcha latte but are vegan, try this recipe instead (sub out the honey with sugar that doesn't contain bone char)
    Click here for the vegan latte
    Mason Jar of Vegan Iced Matacha Latte

    For more Asian drink recipes, click here. Many matcha recipes are drinks, so I decided to focus more on foods made with matcha- scroll on to find out more!

    Bread

    1 matcha green tea bun before being steamed.
    Easy 1-rise Japanese matcha buns (steamed mantou) recipe
    An easy matcha bun (Chinese mantou bao) recipe which only requires 1 proof (1 rise), along with a mantou FAQ section on how to use a metal steamer (instead of the traditional bamboo steamer) and why your naturally vegan matcha buns aren't smooth.
    Click here for the green mantou buns
    1 matcha green tea bun before being steamed.

    You can also create 2 doughs, 1 with matcha and 1 without, to form a lovely spiral mantou that is perfect for entertaining.

    Cookies

    A plate of white and green swirled cookies, made using green tea.
    Muah chee, or Chinese mochi
    Muah chee is traditionally coated in peanuts or black sesame, but you can also coat it in matcha powder for a Japanese twist. Alternatively, use green tea instead of water to make the chewy dough!
    Click here for the traditional muah chee recipe.
    A plate of homemade steamed muah chee, or Chinese mochi, coated with peanuts
    Matcha swirled cookies
    These pretty cookies remind me of my spiral mantous! You could swap out the matcha powder for cocoa powder to get chocolate swirl cookies
    Click here for the pretty cookie.
    A plate of white and green swirled cookies, made using green tea.
    Korean green tea and omija dasik no-bake cookies
    I've been to Korea 8 times- fell in love with it after visiting for a friend's wedding in 2010 which led me to start an online shop selling Korean beauty products in Singapore!- and had these cookies several times. However, I never knew that they didn't need to be baked. How cool is that!
    Click here for the Korean cookies.
    Green Tea & Omija Dasik Korean cookies
    Matcha and black sesame shortbread
    I spent my 4 University years in Scotland (the picturesque little town of St Andrews to be exact) so shortbread has a firm place in my heart (and stomach).
    Check out the shortbread recipe.
    Rows of homemade black sesame and matcha shortbread cookies

    For more cookie recipes, 2 of which are matcha flavoured, check out these Galentines Day cookies.


    Sweet treats

    Matcha Energy Balls
    Matcha Energy Balls
    If you love to snack, here's an easy matcha recipe for you! Matcha does make a great coating for truffles- I use them for my vegan chocolate truffles (which I sell in Singapore), yum!
    Click here for the energy balls recipe.
    Matcha Energy Balls
    A stack of matcha flavoured pancakes
    Matcha pancakes
    Adding matcha powder to your pancakes (or to your home made cake/ bread) is a great way of incorporating some matcha in your diet!
    Click here for pancakes.
    A stack of matcha flavoured pancakes
    Matcha cupcakes
    Matcha latte, but in the form of a cupcake.
    Click here for the cupcake recipe
    4 matcha cupcakes with green frosting.
    Mini almond and matcha bundt cakes
    Pretty matcha mini bundt cakes that will make you the Hostess (or Host) with the Mostess!
    Click here for the bundt recipe.
    Mini matcha & almond bundt cakes
    Vegan matcha cake with buttercream
    A vegan matcha cake with a 5-star review, so no one misses out!
    Click here for the cake recipe.
    Vegan matcha cake with buttercream

    Note: these recipes call for baking- after baking so much (someone ordered 140 of my pandan cupcakes for Christmas and over 22 jars of traditional peanut cookies!) I've realised how much easier it is for your knees and back if the oven is at the right height (counter-level). For more tips that I picked up after regutting my kitchen, click here.

    This matcha ice cream would make a great dessert after a sushi party- for more side dishes to serve with sushi, click here.

    Matcha ice cream
    When people think of matcha, they usually think of Japan. This recipe is by a born and raised Japanese (now living Down Under) so it can't get more authentic than this!
    Click here for the ice cream recipe
    Matcha ice cream
    Glutinous rice balls soup (Plain tang yuan in soup)
    One of the easiest Chinese desserts to make, the most basic version requires only 3 ingredients!
    Click here for the tang yuan recipe.
    2 green pandan plain tang yuan and 1 filled with sesame in a bowl of ginger longan soup.

    Savoury recipes

    In case you're wondering, it's not just sweet foods that go well with matcha- here are some salty match recipes for you to experiment with.

    Matcha pesto
    Jacqueline is married to an Italian and lives in Italy, so this should be a great recipe! 🙂
    Click here for the pesto.
    A bowl of matcha pesto topped with nuts

    Matcha Seasoned salt being poured
    Matcha seasoned salt
    I've eaten Japanese food my whole life but never heard of Matcha seasoned salt so this recipe was fascinating for me! To be fair, I could have eaten it and not known what it was!
    Click here for the seasoned salt.
    Matcha Seasoned salt being poured

    What are some of your favorite matcha recipes? I'd love to hear about any not included on this list!

    « Starbucks hot matcha green tea latte recipe
    Chinese five-spice powder uses (11 ideas) »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Natalie says

      November 11, 2021 at 5:30 pm

      Matcha is wonderful! I use it a lot. I will give some of your recipes a try. That pancakes looks amazing!

      Reply
      • Zen says

        November 20, 2021 at 1:49 pm

        Thanks Natalie, glad you like them! If you try any of the recipes and post photos on IG or social media, please do tag me (@greedygirlgourmet) as I'd love to see the photos! 🙂

        Reply
    2. Gina Abernathy says

      November 11, 2021 at 2:09 am

      Such a great collection of recipes.

      Reply
    3. Cindy Mom the Lunch Lady says

      November 11, 2021 at 1:14 am

      I am so excited to try some of these recipes. The pancakes will be making an appearance for breakfast this weekend!

      Reply
    4. Julie says

      November 10, 2021 at 5:39 pm

      Gah! This is so inspiring!! I ADORE MATCHA! It's so fun to play with and you really nailed in with all of these recipes!!!

      Reply
      • Zen says

        November 20, 2021 at 1:52 pm

        Hey Julie, thanks for stopping by, I love matcha too! Made a vegan matcha cake for a friend the other day 🙂 What's your fave way to cook with matcha?

        Reply
    5. Jacqueline Debono says

      November 09, 2021 at 7:39 am

      Such a great collection of matcha recipes. I want to try them all! Thanks for including my matcha pesto!

      Reply
      • Zen says

        November 10, 2021 at 1:40 pm

        Awww thanks so much for stopping by Jacqueline, and for sharing your lovely recipe, I will tag you when I post a photo of my attempt on IG! 🙂

        Reply

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    Greedygirlgourmet eating 2 sandwiches in Scotland

    Hi I'm Zhen! I couldn't boil water till I was 18 but after living abroad (in St. Andrews then London) for 11 years and having to cook for myself, I now love having friends and families over, and cooking for them. I tend to be slightly obsessive-compulsive, so I like to try many different versions of a recipe before coming up with my own "ultimate" version. Check out www.greedygirlgourmet.com every week for new tried-and-tested (on my guinea pigs aka guests!) Asian recipes which are full of flavour!

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