Start your morning with this delicious and refreshing Matcha Smoothie made with banana, almond milk, and green tea powder.
Need a picker-upper? Made with banana, almond milk, and green tea powder, this vegan Matcha Smoothie (抹茶スムージー) is the perfect refreshing drink for mornings or after your run.
Out of the wide variety of smoothie recipes offered on the internet, this one is the way to go. Matcha is a delicate flavor, and when combined with banana, it makes an unmatchable creamy deliciousness. As a traditional flavor, matcha is used in many Japanese desserts and drinks; however, its integration into smoothie culture has transformed it into a refreshing and energizing treat to be enjoyed.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It provides you a long-lasting energy without the crash. Matcha is well-known for its ability to energize because the caffeine is let out slowly, giving you a longer hit of energy, unlike your average shot of espresso.
- Matcha has many health benefits, which include vitamin C as well as antioxidants.
- Helps curb your midday sugar cravings. My recipe includes banana and no other sweeteners. With the natural sweetness from bananas, you’ll feel full and satiated for a long time. It’s the perfect healthy and tasty refreshment.
As a matcha lover, this drink is the perfect break from your average Matcha Latte or Iced Matcha Latte. With the health benefits and tastiness this drink brings, this easy recipe is perfect for anyone looking for a nutritious supplement.
How to Make Matcha Smoothie Recipe
The Ingredients You’ll Need
- Banana (or Frozen Banana)
- Ice cubes – Leave out the ice cubes if you use a frozen banana.
- Unsweetened almond milk – Alternatively, you can use dairy milk, coconut milk, and oat milk.
- Ceremonial-grade matcha (green tea powder)
The Cooking Steps
- Put ice and a banana at the bottom of your blender. If using frozen banana, you can skip the ice.
- Pour almond milk (or your choice of milk) and add matcha green tea powder on top.
- Blend well until smooth and thoroughly combined.
- Serve as is in glasses or chilled.
Matcha vs. Green Tea
First, let me clarify that there is a common misconception between green tea and matcha. Unlike regular green tea, matcha is made from shade-grown tea leaves that have been stone-ground into fine powder.
While green tea is an infusion of tea leaves, matcha incorporates the entire leaf, resulting in a more concentrated source of nutrients and caffeine. Thus, matcha is not something you can make by grinding green tea leaves that you would normally drink at home or in a restaurant. For this recipe, you must use matcha (green tea powder) and not green tea leaves.
You can read all about matcha in this article.
Matcha Shopping Tips
For great quality matcha, I recommend Ippodo Tea (一保堂). They have a store in NYC and you can also purchase their tea on Amazon!
You can also find a small tin or bag of matcha powder imported from Japan at Japanese grocery stores like Mitsuwa, Marukai, and Nijiya, or local tea shops.
Ceremonial grade matcha is what you need for making matcha beverages.
Recipe Tips and Techniques
- When making a smoothie, make sure to add the most difficult-to-blend ingredient (ice for this instance) at the bottom of your blender first.
- If the consistency isn’t right, try adding more liquid.
- If the taste/lack of sweetness isn’t to your liking, try adding a tiny spoonful of honey or agave syrup to sweeten the smoothie in a healthy manner.
- To achieve an even more creamy texture, try adding yogurt to the mixture.
- To amp up the nutrients of the matcha smoothie, feel free to sneak in some greens. A handful of chopped kale or baby spinach works well with this smoothie. Use less if you don’t wish to overpower the taste of matcha.
How to Store Matcha Smoothie
- To Store: Refrigerate leftover matcha smoothie in an airtight container or mason jar for up to 2 days for maximum freshness.
- To Freeze: Freeze the matcha smoothie in a well-sealed container for up to 3 months. Defrost before enjoying.
More Matcha Drinks & Desserts to Enjoy
Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.
Matcha Smoothie
Video
Ingredients
- 1 banana
- 5 ice cubes
- ¾–1 cup unsweetened almond milk (or cow‘s milk, coconut milk, and so on)
- 1 tsp matcha (green tea powder)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Peel 1 banana. Add the banana and 5 ice cubes to an electric blender/mixer or NutriBullet.
- Pour ¾–1 cup unsweetened almond milk and add 1 tsp matcha (green tea powder) on top.
- Blend until all the ingredients are combined and smooth. Pour into individual glasses and serve.
forgot the rating. here it is!
Hello, judge! Aww.🥰 Thank you very much for your five-star rating!
Nami and everyone at JOC appreciates your love and support! Thank you very much!
thank you, nami. i read this this morning, was having a friend over today, and whipped it up in minutes to sip by the fire pit. i used frozen bananas instead of ice cubes. it was divine!
Hi jude! Thank you so much for reading Nami’s post and trying her recipe!
Nami and all of us at JOC are so happy to hear you enjoyed Matcha Smoothie.
Thank you for your kind feedback. Cheer!🥂
How high in caffeine is matcha? Is it more or less than a cup of green tea in this smoothie?
Hi Sue! Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post and trying her recipe!
One teaspoon of Match powder is 2g, and the average caffeine amount will be 64 mg. So for this recipe, it’s two servings, and the caffeine amount will be 32 mg per serving. One cup of green tea (tea bag) has around 46 mg of caffeine.
We hope this helps!
nice smoothie recipe. My family calls me the king smoothie. a nice substitute for the ice cubes are frozen berries. Now it’s a power packed anti-ox Smoothie!! enjoy
Hi Stan! We are glad to hear you and your family enjoyed Green Tea Smoothie!
Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe and for your kind feedback!
Another delicious recipe Nami, all ingredients blends well and compliments each other.
I’m having a cooking day with the kids at weekend, trying a few of your recipes, wee family dinner buffet/dinner party 😊 Many thanks for sharing your wonderful recipes 👌😊👍
Hi Lesley,
We couldn’t be happier to hear how much joy and excitement Nami’s recipe has brought to you and your family!
Thank you so much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback.😊