Green Tea Matcha Muffins (with Glaze) Gluten-Free
Green Tea Matcha Muffins with glaze is an easy, energizing, vegan, gluten-free breakfast, snack, or dessert recipe loaded with healthy antioxidants—and joy!
No kidding, folks—matcha has a way of bringing on a peaceful, easy feeling! And the dairy-free, Cashew Cream Glaze, or the yogurt topping with coconut, are quite impressive too—so you’d better watch out for these gluten-free matcha muffins!
As many of us know, baking vegan and gluten-free isn’t always exactly a piece of cake, lol—though this recipe makes it a possibility!
Anyhow, if you happen to be a fan of matcha and all things green—you’ve got to get baking. It’s time to give these vegan and gluten-free matcha cupcake-like muffins a go!
4-Things to Love about this Vegan Matcha Muffin Recipe
- This recipe uses 100% plant-based ingredients—there’s nothing overly processed or refined.
- Each muffin provides you with beautiful antioxidants.
- The recipe is ready to enjoy in about 30-quick healthy, homemade muffin-baking minutes!
- These muffins make a fantastic tasting breakfast pastry, snack or healthier dessert.
What’s the Taste and Texture of these Gluten-Free Muffins?
This matcha muffin recipe is a breakfast, snack or dessert keeper whether you’ve vegan and gluten-free or not! They’re tender, moist, and bake up just right every single time!
And they bake up so lite and fluffy— pretty close to a full-blown vegan matcha cupcake except for one thing. There is no diet-busting sugary frosting in this vegan muffin recipe, which genuinely is a beautiful thing. And the best part of that is that these taste so delicious, you don’t even miss the sugary frosting!
Instead of frosting, adorn your homemade vegan and gluten-free muffins with a drizzle of a plant-based, dairy-free glaze. Or try our newest suggested yogurt topping with coconut. Or maybe even see if you might enjoy these vegan cupcake muffins plain—we do!
Either way that you top these gluten-free cupcake muffins or not, they taste both delicious and bright! Seriously, once you taste and see how good these vegan and gluten-free cupcake-like muffins turn out, you’ll be a believer in all things matcha.
Baking with Matcha Green Tea Powder
- For the best taste, use a quality matcha green tea powder like the one we link for you in the ingredients list below.
- For cooking and baking, we use culinary-grade matcha. Culinary matcha is usually a little more bitter than ceremonial grade matcha, so you may opt to use a little less of it.
- You may also use ceremonial grade matcha for baking a healthy matcha dessert, but if you do, you might want to increase the amount a bit to make sure it has that matcha tea you expect from anything called matcha.
Is Baking Vegan and Gluten-Free Muffins or Cupcakes Easy?
Even if you have never baked a vegan and gluten-free muffin in your life, this recipe is for you! It’s an easy recipe to follow, and the ingredients do most of the work for you. The combo of ingredients is everything in gluten-free baking—and this vegan and gluten-free muffin recipe fluff up just right! Fluffing refers to the rise, and it’s not a technical term, it’s just the easiest way to describe rise.
And if you’re already a fan of matcha but have never made a muffin or cookie or anything other than a drink with green tea, you seriously have to give these healthy vegan green tea matcha muffins a try.
They’re generously sized and bake up extra light and fluffy, with a gorgeous hint of green color that makes you anticipate their subtle green tea flavor. Plus, these vegan cupcakes or muffins come together super quick.
These green tea matcha muffins are super easy to make. You only need about 10 minutes of prep time.
Considering you get to have homemade vegan and gluten-free matcha muffins, or cupcakes, depending on how you top them—that’s pretty freaking easy!
Vegan and Gluten-Free Muffin Baking Tips:
- Mixing muffin batter is pretty fun since it’s not usually fussy, but resist the urge to over mix—keep it quick and casual.
- Use the suggested parchment paper cupcake liners to avoid sticking.
- Use a scoop or spoon or even a measuring cup to keep muffins similar in size so that they bake evenly.
- Speaking of baking, try not to over bake. A helpful method for checking doneness is in the recipe instructions below.
What is the Best Way to Store Homemade Vegan and Gluten-Free Baked Goods?
- Most homemade baked items store best sealed in an air-tight container for up to three or so days.
- For these muffins, in particular, we keep leftover muffins in the fridge. We find that chilled, these gluten-free muffins keep incredibly well for at least a few days. Being sure the closed container is indeed closed helps them stay super moist.
- If you want to stash away your unfrosted, unglazed gluten-free, and vegan muffins or cupcakes longer, stick them in the freezer!
What is Matcha? Is Matcha Vegan? Is Matcha Healthy?
You’ve probably noticed that in recent years, matcha has become rather trendy. It all started with matcha lattes and then apparently boomed with matcha flavored everything!
So, is matcha good for you and healthy, or is it just stylish and cool?
First things first, matcha is green tea, so it is 100% vegan.
But matcha is much more than regular green tea. Matcha is a green tea that’s been grown differently and is then prepared differently for use. Those are the reasons matcha has a different, more extensive nutritional profile than regular green tea.
And unlike traditional or regular green tea, matcha contains the nutrients from the entire tea leaf. Since the whole leaf becomes the matcha powder, matcha understandably has more caffeine and antioxidants.
5-Health and Wellness Benefits of Matcha
- Matcha is high in antioxidants, much higher than those in regular green tea.
- Additionally, matcha provides vitamin C, selenium, chromium, zinc, and magnesium.
- Matcha is rich in fiber since it uses the whole leaf, which gives it plenty of chlorophyll and vitamins.
- Green tea powder boosts brain power, too.
- And thanks to the high caffeine content, matcha boosts metabolism!
So the answer to the question is, yes, yes, one thousand times yes—matcha is healthy!
But we must disclose that as healthy as matcha may be, vegan and gluten-free matcha muffins and cupcakes are still cupcakes and muffins!
So while matcha is a very healthy, delicious, nutritious, and superb form of green tea, it does not have magic powers that take away the sugar in a treat like muffins or cupcakes! But that’d be super cool if it could!
To read more about the health benefits of matcha we suggest reading this article.
Are Green Tea Matcha Muffins Good for You?
While vegan matcha muffins are more nutritious and lower in calories than most typically commercially prepared and packaged muffins, they’re still a baked treat. Enjoy this recipe as you do all sweets, which is in moderation.
These muffins do make a perfect go-to for when you’re craving something sweet for breakfast or occasionally as a better than store-bought snack or dessert.
Thanks for Exploring Matcha Green Tea with Us!
We love that you’re here with us, reading about our cooking ideas. We look forward to hearing from you, always, and we’re eager to help you find success in your plant-based lifestyle however we can.
Have you tried matcha? Have you ever baked a healthy breakfast pastry, snack or dessert using match green tea powder? If so, tell us about those healthy matcha desserts and breakfast pastries—and were they gluten-free and vegan?
Happy Eating!
Green Tea Matcha Muffins (with Glaze) Gluten-Free
- 10Prep:
- 20Cook Time:
- Yield: 6 Servings
These wonderfully tender, lite, and fluffy matcha cupcakes taste divine! And there are delicious options for topping these vegan and gluten-free muffins such as a super quick and easy-to-make, dairy-free Cashew Cream Cheese Glaze that you’ll adore! Or how about topping your muffins with a bit of matcha spiked plant-based yogurt and flakes of coconut? And a final dusting of gorgeous green matcha makes your cupcakes look amazing without being fussy.
Ingredients
- a generous 2/3 cup of oats ground into oat flour, certified gluten-free oats as needed - That's equal to 3-oz of dry oats.
- 1/2 cup of organic rice flour - We used this brown rice flour but any rice flour works in this recipe.
- 1/2 cup of organic unrefined coconut sugar or other sugar of choice
- 1 1/2 tbsp of chia seeds, ground - You can purchase pre-ground chia seeds or use a grinder like this one, to grind your own.
- about 1 tbsp of matcha powder
- 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder
- 1/4 tsp of sea salt
- 2/3 cup of unsweetened plant-based dairy-free milk, plus possibly a tablespoon more if your batter seems too dry to mix
- 3 tbsp of coconut butter
- 1 tbsp of tahini or another nut or seed butter
- 3 tsp of apple cider vinegar or freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tsp of pure vanilla extract
- Toppings: an optional drizzle of Cashew Cream Glaze is nice here or, just before serving, top with plant-based vanilla yogurt mixed with matcha for a little bit of green color, coconut flakes, and a very lite sprinkle of matcha—it's marvelous!
Instructions
- First, if you plan to use our cashew cream glaze to top your cooled muffins, get that started to allow time for soaking the cashews. Then, go ahead and add 6-regular full-size parchment paper cupcake liners to a muffin baking pan—preheat your oven to 350º F.
- If you're making your oat flour from oats, add the oats to a food processor and pulse until it is roughly ground—it doesn't need to be super-fine. And since the food processor is already in use, add the remaining dry ingredients to the ground oats and blend for a couple of seconds to distribute everything evenly. (The dry ingredients include the first seven items in the ingredients list.) Alternatively, if you use store-bought oat flour, add all of the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and stir well with a whisk to combine.
- Next, in another mixing bowl, add the remaining wet ingredients and stir until blended. Do not over-mix the batter. And if your batter seems too dry to combine, add that extra tablespoon of plant-based milk.
- Once the batter comes together, divide and portion it into the six prepared slots in your muffin pan. We used about 1/3 cup of batter for each muffin. Bake your muffins for about 20 minutes, or up to as much as 23 to 25 minutes, depending on your oven. Enjoy your green tea matcha muffins plain, or once the muffins cool completely, drizzle with our Cashew Cream Glaze. Another topping alternative is to mix a little plant-based vanilla yogurt with a bit of matcha for a tangy topping. If you like coconut, we highly recommend a few flakes of that, too!
Notes
- Matcha: We used one tablespoon of culinary matcha in our muffins. If you are using ceremonial matcha, you might want to use a little more, like maybe one and one-half tablespoons, since ceremonial matcha is noticeably less bitter.
- Chia Seeds: White or black chia seeds work equally well in this recipe, but white chia is possibly just a little less noticeable in the batter.
- Plant-Based Milk: For this recipe, using whichever milk you prefer will get the muffins on their way. Here is a shelf-stable plant-based milk that we like to keep on hand.
- Doneness: Ovens do vary. So, to be sure that the muffins are ready, insert a toothpick into one muffin center. It should come out nearly clean. It's okay if a couple of crumbs are attached to the toothpick—but it shouldn't come out full of wet batter.
- Nutrition: The nutritional information provided below is for a serving of one plain matcha muffin.
Nutrition
% DV
- Total Fat 9.9 g 15 %
- Saturated Fat 5.2 g 26 %
- Cholesterol 0 mg 0 %
- Sodium 185.1 mg 8 %
- Carbohydrates 50.7 g 17 %
- Fiber 5.2 g 21 %
- Sugar 16.9 g ---
- Protein 5.5. g 11 %
- Vitamin A 1 %
- Vitamin C 0 %
- Iron 11 %
- Calcium 13 %
Green Tea Matcha Muffins (with Glaze) Gluten-Free
BY VEEG.CO
Ingredients
- a generous 2/3 cup of oats ground into oat flour, certified gluten-free oats as needed - That's equal to 3-oz of dry oats.
- 1/2 cup of organic rice flour - We used this brown rice flour but any rice flour works in this recipe.
- 1/2 cup of organic unrefined coconut sugar or other sugar of choice
- 1 1/2 tbsp of chia seeds, ground - You can purchase pre-ground chia seeds or use a grinder like this one, to grind your own.
- about 1 tbsp of matcha powder
- 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder
- 1/4 tsp of sea salt
- 2/3 cup of unsweetened plant-based dairy-free milk, plus possibly a tablespoon more if your batter seems too dry to mix
- 3 tbsp of coconut butter
- 1 tbsp of tahini or another nut or seed butter
- 3 tsp of apple cider vinegar or freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tsp of pure vanilla extract
- Toppings: an optional drizzle of Cashew Cream Glaze is nice here or, just before serving, top with plant-based vanilla yogurt mixed with matcha for a little bit of green color, coconut flakes, and a very lite sprinkle of matcha—it's marvelous!
Instructions
- First, if you plan to use our cashew cream glaze to top your cooled muffins, get that started to allow time for soaking the cashews. Then, go ahead and add 6-regular full-size parchment paper cupcake liners to a muffin baking pan—preheat your oven to 350º F.
- If you're making your oat flour from oats, add the oats to a food processor and pulse until it is roughly ground—it doesn't need to be super-fine. And since the food processor is already in use, add the remaining dry ingredients to the ground oats and blend for a couple of seconds to distribute everything evenly. (The dry ingredients include the first seven items in the ingredients list.) Alternatively, if you use store-bought oat flour, add all of the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and stir well with a whisk to combine.
- Next, in another mixing bowl, add the remaining wet ingredients and stir until blended. Do not over-mix the batter. And if your batter seems too dry to combine, add that extra tablespoon of plant-based milk.
- Once the batter comes together, divide and portion it into the six prepared slots in your muffin pan. We used about 1/3 cup of batter for each muffin. Bake your muffins for about 20 minutes, or up to as much as 23 to 25 minutes, depending on your oven. Enjoy your green tea matcha muffins plain, or once the muffins cool completely, drizzle with our Cashew Cream Glaze. Another topping alternative is to mix a little plant-based vanilla yogurt with a bit of matcha for a tangy topping. If you like coconut, we highly recommend a few flakes of that, too!
Notes
- Matcha: We used one tablespoon of culinary matcha in our muffins. If you are using ceremonial matcha, you might want to use a little more, like maybe one and one-half tablespoons, since ceremonial matcha is noticeably less bitter.
- Chia Seeds: White or black chia seeds work equally well in this recipe, but white chia is possibly just a little less noticeable in the batter.
- Plant-Based Milk: For this recipe, using whichever milk you prefer will get the muffins on their way. Here is a shelf-stable plant-based milk that we like to keep on hand.
- Doneness: Ovens do vary. So, to be sure that the muffins are ready, insert a toothpick into one muffin center. It should come out nearly clean. It's okay if a couple of crumbs are attached to the toothpick—but it shouldn't come out full of wet batter.
- Nutrition: The nutritional information provided below is for a serving of one plain matcha muffin.
Leave a Comment