Matcha Muffins

If you’re a fan of matcha, you have to give these healthier vegan matcha muffins a try! They’re extra light and fluffy, with under 200 calories per muffin and a green hue that rightfully hints at their subtle green tea flavour. Plus, they’re super quick and easy to make, with only 15 minutes of prep time.

Taste and Texture of Vegan Matcha Muffins

Don’t you just hate it when you’re baking muffins, and you see the dome rise beautifully in the oven, only for it to collapse completely as soon as you take them out of the oven? Well, with this matcha muffin recipe, you don’t have to worry about that!

These vegan green tea muffins rise perfectly every time, and then keep their shape. They’re extra light, soft and fluffy, just sweet enough, with a subtle matcha flavour and a hint of almonds. 

Why You’ll Love These Vegan Matcha Muffins

• 100% Plant-Based: Embrace the goodness of plant-based ingredients with these muffins, perfect for vegans and non-vegans alike.
• Under 200 Calories: Indulge guilt-free with muffins that are light on the calories but heavy on flavor.
• Quick and Easy: With just 15 minutes of prep time and 30 minutes of baking time, these muffins are perfect for when you need a delicious treat in a hurry.
• Consistent Results: Say goodbye to baking disasters and hello to perfectly risen muffins that turn out great every single time.

Is Matcha Healthy?

Unlike traditional green tea, matcha is made from whole tea leaves, providing a concentrated source of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. Boost your metabolism, enhance your focus, and support overall well-being with matcha’s unique nutritional profile.

Top Health Benefits of Matcha

• High in Antioxidants: Combat oxidative stress and inflammation with matcha’s potent antioxidant properties.
• Rich in Nutrients: Reap the benefits of essential vitamins and minerals, including vitamin C, selenium, chromium, zinc, and magnesium.
• Boosts Metabolism: Enjoy a natural energy boost thanks to matcha’s high caffeine content, perfect for powering through your day.

Ingredients You’ll Need to Make These Healthy Matcha Muffins

If you like to geek-out on recipes before you make them, here’s a quick breakdown of everything you’ll need to make these matcha muffins, with a brief explanation of why you’ll need it.

Cake Flour

The main difference between cake flour and all-purpose flour is the protein content. The protein content of cake flour is about 8%, while the protein content of all-purpose flour is between 10-12%. When you mix all the ingredients together, the protein forms gluten, which affects the texture of the dough. Lower protein content means the texture will be softer and fluffier, while flours with a high protein content make a harder texture (which is great when you’re baking bread). If possible, use cake flour for these muffins.

However, cake flour can sometimes be a bit tricky to get, especially here in the UK. Here’s a trick for how you can achieve that same low-protein content with all-purpose flour.

Mix all-purpose flour with cornstarch, as cornstarch contains less gluten than flour, so it’s a wonderful tenderising ingredient to help make cake flour. Then, sift the finished flour twice to add more air to it, which gives it the proper fluffy texture of cake flour.

The recipe calls for 1 ¼ cups of cake flour. Here’s how to mix all-purpose flour with cornstarch to get the same result:

1. Measure 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour. Remove 2 ½ tablespoons.
2. Measure 2 ½ tablespoons of cornstarch and add it to the flour.
3. Sift together twice – sift into a mixing bowl, then run it through the sifter one more time. Voila!

Blanched Almond Flour

Almond flour is made by blanching almonds in boiling water to remove the skins, then grinding and sifting them into a fine flour. You can buy almond flour, or prepare it yourself.

Please keep in mind that almond flour is not the same as almond meal. Almond meal is made by grinding almonds with their skins intact, resulting in a coarser flour. This makes a huge difference in recipes where you want the texture to be soft and airy texture.

Baking Powder and Baking Soda

They both act as leavening agents in this recipe. It’s important to measure them precisely, and don’t substitute one for the other. These muffins rise perfectly and a major reason for that is just the right amount of leavening agents.

Matcha Powder

Using high-quality matcha powder is essential for making amazing matcha muffins. If you already have a favourite brand that you use for cooking or homemade matcha lattes, go with that. If you don’t, I recommend trying out this matcha powder.

Salt

Adding salt to sweet recipes helps to bring out the flavours, and it really does make a difference. Use finely ground sea salt, and measure it precisely.

Coconut Oil

For this recipe, it’s best to use refined coconut oil. Non-refined coconut oil has a strong coconut flavour, which can be delicious in some recipes, but for these matcha muffins it’s best to let the matcha flavour fully shine by using flavourless, refined coconut oil.

Flaxmeal

Flax eggs are the ultimate vegan egg replacer that will work in almost any recipe. To substitute one chicken egg, mix one tablespoon of flaxmeal with two and a half tablespoons of lukewarm water, and let the mixture sit for about 10 minutes. If this is your first time making flax eggs, you can read my quick tutorial on how to make flax eggs here. You can also use one tablespoon of ground chia seeds for the same result.

If you’re not keen on making these matcha muffins vegan, you can replace the two flax eggs with chicken eggs. I haven’t tried it for this particular recipe, but it should work.

Sugar

Granulated sugar is the most basic sweetener that works well in virtually any dessert. I wouldn’t recommend omitting it or decreasing the amount of sugar in this recipe, as these muffins are not very sweet as is.

Plant-Based Milk

I used almond milk, but you can use any type of dairy or non-dairy milk you’d prefer.

Almond Extract

Almond extract adds a very special aroma to these muffins that I personally adore. If you don’t have any at hand, however, you can easily replace it with vanilla extract.

How to Make Vegan Matcha Muffins: Step-by-Step Guide

Preheat and Prepare

Preheat your oven, line a muffin pan, and gather your ingredients.

Mix Dry Ingredients

Combine your dry ingredients—cake flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, matcha powder, and salt.

Whisk Wet Ingredients

In a separate bowl, whisk together coconut oil, flax eggs, sugar, plant-based milk, and almond extract.

Combine and Stir

Pour your wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.

Fill Muffin Cups

Evenly distribute the batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each about two-thirds full.

Bake and Enjoy

Bake your muffins until golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let them cool before serving.

Matcha Muffins Q&A

How Long Do These Matcha Muffins Keep?

Store your muffins in the fridge for 4-5 days, with peak freshness in the first 3 days. Allow them to come to room temperature before serving for optimal flavour.

How Many Calories Are in a Matcha Muffin?

One vegan matcha muffin has approximately 190 calories.

Are These Matcha Green Tea Muffins Actually Good for You?

While they’re lower in calories and more nutritious than traditional muffins, they’re still a dessert and should be enjoyed in moderation. Perfect for satisfying your sweet cravings without compromising your health goals.

More Tasty Vegan Muffins

If you’re looking for tasty vegan muffins, but matcha isn’t really your thing, make sure to give these a try:

• Vegan Strawberry Muffins
• Healthy Lemon Blueberry Muffins
• Low-Fat Banana Bread Muffins

Click here for a complete list of vegan muffin recipes.

Are You a Fan of Matcha?

If you’re a fan of matcha, make sure you try out this matcha cheesecake, matcha cookies, matcha pancakes or these matcha doughnuts. Or, click here for a complete listing of vegan matcha recipes.