This matcha smoothie is a fantastic way to get all the benefits of green tea: while sipping on a delicious fruity smoothie!
Alex and I aren’t those ritual green smoothie-drinking type of people. We want to be, but often we simply get a little lazy and don’t want to get out our blender! (Or wash it. Am I right?) Finally though, we have a few smoothies that we like to make on the regular. This matcha smoothie is one of them! It’s a fantastic way to get all the benefits of green tea: while sipping on a delicious fruity smoothie! Keep reading for the recipe.
What is matcha?
First of all: what is matcha? Matcha is green tea powder. You may have seen matcha recipes making the rounds on Pinterest. Since matcha has a bright green color, it’s perfect as a natural green coloring for pies and cupcake icing. But of course, most people want to consume more matcha for the health benefits! Green tea has lots of nutrition benefits, including (source):
- High in antioxidants
- Calms and relaxes
- Helps burn fat
How to make a matcha smoothie
One of the main complaints about matcha is that can be bitter. So this matcha smoothie was a challenge to get right! As deceptively “easy” as a smoothie should be, our first trials of making a smoothie with matcha were either too bitter, too thin, too thick, too cold. But we finally ended up with a concoction that’s nutritious, refreshingly delicious.
Not only is green tea full of health benefits, it’s pretty darn tasty combined with coconut milk, tropical fruits, and vanilla. What results is a seriously refreshing, lightly sweet smoothie that is the perfect pick me up! (Or calm me down, if you’re looking for green tea benefits.) Here’s what you’ll need for this matcha smoothie
- Cooking-grade matcha
- Light coconut milk
- Vanilla extract
- Maple syrup: You can also use agave syrup or any other liquid sweetener
- Shredded unsweetened coconut
- Frozen pineapple: Brings just the right brightness
- Banana: Helps to add texture
- Ice
Can you make it ahead?
As if that wasn’t enough: this matcha smoothie doesn’t separate in the refrigerator! In fact, we put one in the refrigerator for two days and it was just as tasty as when we made it fresh. This is particularly helpful if you like to make smoothies in advance to have breakfast ready to go.
What else to do with matcha
If you buy a container of matcha and are looking for a few more ways to use it up, here are some of our matcha recipes:
This matcha smoothie recipe is…
Vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, naturally sweet, and refined sugar free.
PrintBest Matcha Smoothie
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 2 1x
Description
This matcha smoothie is a fantastic way to get all the benefits of green tea: while sipping on a delicious fruity smoothie!
Ingredients
- 1 can light coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon cooking-grade matcha
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 ½ tablespoons maple syrup or agave
- ½ cup shredded unsweetened coconut
- 1 cup frozen pineapple
- ½ ripe banana
- ½ cup ice
- 1 small pinch salt
Instructions
- In a blender, blend all ingredients together on high-speed, stopping to scrape down the sides if necessary.
- Category: Drink
- Method: Blended
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Matcha Smoothie, Matcha, Green Tea, Recipes with Matcha
Looking for smoothie recipes?
Outside of this matcha smoothie, here are some of our favorite smoothie and smoothie bowl recipes:
- Homemade Acai Bowl That popular purple smoothie and confetti of toppings taste refreshing and tangy sweet. It’s the ultimate healthy breakfast!
- Perfect Strawberry Smoothie A tasty addition to any breakfast or brunch, with the perfect texture and sweet tart berry flavor.
- Banana Smoothie The perfect banana smoothie recipe: frothy, creamy, and just the right sweet flavor!
- Best Blueberry Smoothie The BEST blueberry smoothie? Yes, this smooth purple puree is full of healthy ingredients and tastes like heaven.
- Honeydew Smoothie Green melon, pineapple, Greek yogurt and vanilla combine to make a delicate hydrating drink.
- Watermelon Smoothie This 3-ingredient smoothie is juicy and lightly sweet, with frozen strawberries and banana. Ultra refreshing!
Last updated: March 2020
14 Comments
Sarah @ Rocket Girl Cooks
March 2, 2015 at 9:15 amI’ve recently gotten into smoothies for breakfast (so delicious, healthy and filling!), and this looks like one I will need to try.
Amy @ Parsley In My Teeth
March 2, 2015 at 10:29 amGreen smoothies are definitely trickier to get right than fruit smoothies, but you hit the nail on the head with this one. Gorgeous color!
Katie @ Whole Nourishment
March 2, 2015 at 10:34 amMatcha tastes really strong to me, so I like that you paired it with coconut to soften and sweeten the flavor. I’ll be keeping this on my list for when the weather warms up around here!
Maikki // Maikin mokomin
March 2, 2015 at 11:34 amMatcha and coconut are always great combination :)
Anna
March 3, 2015 at 4:20 amomg everyone is so crazy about matcha lately!! Where do you get yours ??
https://aspoonfulofnature.wordpress.com/
Kari
March 15, 2015 at 3:39 pmWhat a healthier way to incorporate green for St. Pattys Day!
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweetie.com
Matea
March 15, 2015 at 5:38 pmI’m currently on a smoothie-craze; I have to try this! :)
Nina at FocusedonFit.com
May 4, 2015 at 9:31 pmGreen smoothies can be so declicious and healthy, but they are tricky, right?! We would love for you to check out our app, Simply Smoothies, and give us your feedback. It allows the user to choose their own ingredients and we create a recipe that offers the right ratios to make a well balanced smoothie everytime. We craft the recipe and also provide the nutritional facts for the smoothie. So easy to use. If you guys like it, we would love for you to share it with your followers too! Thanks a bunch!
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/simply-smoothies-smoothie/id975605998?mt=8&uo=6&at=&ct=
Matcha Lover
May 19, 2015 at 9:55 amI can’t find any light coconut milk… just used the regular, it was still good. Thanks!
Samantha
August 6, 2015 at 11:24 amThis is the best matcha smoothie recipe I’ve tried yet! Delicious!
lisa
November 23, 2015 at 10:46 pmi am going to try this smoothie.
lisa
November 23, 2015 at 10:47 pmI have to try this
Alex
March 7, 2016 at 4:15 pmIt is really good, but for anyone making it, I would put in less honey and/or less vanilla. Its a bit too sweet, but overall, its great.
Pamela
March 29, 2016 at 6:01 pmJust tried this. Delicious. Thanks for sharing.