A recipe for Green Tea Muffins! These lightly sweetened matcha muffins come together with only one bowl and less than 30 minutes.

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Green Tea Muffins on brown paper liners with a bamboo whisk and matcha powder in the background.

These Green Tea Muffins are such a great breakfast or brunch option for those who love the earthy flavor of matcha.

Simply whisk together all the ingredients to form a thick batter, transfer to prepared muffin tins, and bake in a 425˚F (220˚C) oven for 5 minutes.

Reduce the heat to 350˚F (180˚C) and continue to bake until just set and a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 10-12 minutes.

The Green Tea Muffins are best the day they are made, especially warm from the oven. Leftover muffins will keep a couple of days at room temperature in an airtight container. Allow to cool completely to room temperature before storing.

Matcha

Matcha is a powder created by grinding whole green tea leaves. There are various grades. The higher quality grades are made from the fine, new leaves from the very top of the Camellia sinensis tea plant. The lower culinary grades are fine for cooking and baking.

Be careful when storing matcha. It can become stale and brownish when exposed to oxygen. I have been able to find matcha in markets with Japanese ingredients and more recently in the tea section of larger supermarkets. It is also available on Amazon: Maeda-En Culinary Matcha.

Aerial view of Green Tea Muffins on a wooden board and in a brown muffin tin next to a whisk and spoon with matcha.

A Few Green Tea Muffin Tips

Do not pack in the flour when measuring or you may end up with too much. To measure flour, gently spoon it into the measuring up and level with a knife without pressing down. The most accurate way to measure is by weight.

Take care to not overmix the batter. Blend together the wet and dry ingredients just until combined. Overmixing will create a tougher muffin and it won’t rise as well.

If the batter is too loose, add a little more flour (be careful not to add too much). If it is too dry, mix in a little more milk. It should be a thick batter, not pourable, but enough to easily scoop and drop into the tin.

I kept the muffins simple with just the matcha, but there is plenty of room to build on this recipe with additional flavors.

Mix in some chocolate chips or blueberries for a fun twist. They would also be delicious with a sprinkling of sliced almonds or turbinado sugar over the top.

Fill each muffin tin about 3/4 full. I like to use a standard ice cream scoop to transfer the batter to each of the prepared muffin tins. I have found this to be the easiest way to get a consistent size.

If you don’t use liners in the muffin tins, grease them with oil to keep the muffins from sticking and falling apart.

I found the Tulip Baking Paper Cups in the photos on Amazon.

Bake the muffins just until cooked through. Test by inserting a toothpick in the center. It is done once the toothpick comes out clean.

Looking for more matcha recipes?

Try my:

Green Tea Muffins in dark and light brown paper liners on a wooden platter.

This recipe was originally posted in November 2012 and updated in February 2024.