- October 20, 2022
- Modified On: September 22, 2022
- by Amy Gorin, MS, RDN
- 4 Comments
Chocolate Matcha Muffins
Energize your day with this healthy matcha muffin recipe. The matcha muffins are so easy to make!
Here’s a morning wake-up recipe guaranteed to brighten up your a.m. Use matcha to make these deliciously energizing matcha muffins.
Baking with matcha is easy, especially when you whip up this matcha muffins recipe, featuring banana and maple syrup. Now, scroll down for matcha muffin goodness.
Why I created this recipe
When I originally created this recipe a few years ago, I’d just had food sensitivity testing done. This is also when I came up with my Almond Raspberry Banana Baked Rice recipe, which was created from a limited list of foods I could eat at the time.
When I got my food sensitivity results, I found out that coffee, one of my greatest loves, was one of the foods I tested sensitive to.
The test results confirmed what I’d already known in my gut (pun intended!) for awhile. Before the test, I was drinking several cups of coffee a day, and I’d often get horrible stomachaches after. I’d sometimes get acid reflux, too.
I spent the next several months experimenting with what type and amount of coffee I can tolerate. I’ve now found that I can have an espresso, Americano, or latte many days.
For some reason, this type of coffee sits better in my stomach than American coffee.
I created this matcha muffin recipe as an alternative way to get caffeine.
Ingredients
To make this matcha muffin recipe, you’ll need a few ingredients:
All-purpose flour and whole-wheat flour: You can substitute the flour for gluten-free flour in this matcha muffin recipe.
Matcha powder: I used culinary matcha powder to make these muffins.
Eggs: These help all the ingredients stick together––and they provide protein.
Cottage cheese and milk: These ingredients provide protein and moisture. If you’d like, you can swap out the milk for almond milk.
Banana, maple syrup, and vanilla extract: These healthy matcha muffins are great for a start to the morning because they don’t contain a lot of added sugar. The banana and vanilla extract are naturally sweet and reduce the need for added sugar.
Olive oil: I used olive oil instead of butter in this recipe.
Cacao nibs: I love cooking with cacao nibs. They provide chocolatey sweetness, plus additional caffeine.
You can even blend in a little fresh spinach, if you’d like, to add some veggies.
Helpful kitchen tools
These items make it easier to whip up this matcha muffin recipe.
Step-by-step instructions
To make this matcha muffin recipe, first preheat oven to 375° Fahrenheit. Coat non-stick muffin tray with cooking spray. Mix flour, matcha,
baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
Add eggs, cottage cheese, maple syrup, oil, and vanilla extract,
stirring minimally.
Add 6 Tablespoons cacao nibs,
and gently stir.
Spoon batter into muffin tin, filling each cup about two-thirds full.
Top with remaining cacao nibs.
Bake about 12-15 minutes, until cooked through.
If you’d like to make smaller portions, try mini muffins. I’ve done this before, and the batch turned out great. Kids love the smaller portions.
A little bit of matcha green tea powder is typically OK for older kids. After all, they’ve probably tasted matcha ice cream before.
FAQ
Matcha is a fantastic baking ingredient! Its powdery form makes it perfect for mixing with baked goods.
It is considered a dry ingredient, and it adds a green tea flavor to anything that you mix it into.
You can use matcha as an ingredient in cookies, cakes, and muffins (like what I did in this matcha muffin recipe). Keep in mind that matcha will add a green hue to foods.
Many people love starting their day with matcha, as it provides caffeine and can be energizing. It can be a good substitute for coffee!
Note that matcha is also loaded with antioxidants that provide many health benefits. You can consume matcha in beverage form such as in a matcha latte, or mix it into breakfast foods like oatmeal, muffins, or even pancakes.
Matcha has an earthy flavor that mixes well with a variety of foods. One of the most common ways to enjoy it is in a latte. Simply mix some matcha powder with regular or plant-based milk and a sweetener like maple syrup or honey.
Almond milk, coconut milk, and oat milk taste great with matcha. Matcha also mixes well into smoothies and shakes, as well as oatmeal and baked goods.
The most well-known benefit of matcha is its antioxidant content. This gives it anti-inflammatory properties that may help support heart health, boost brain function, protect the liver from damage, and more.
Additionally, matcha is very easy to prepare, making it a simple healthy ingredient that you can include in your diet.
Many people consume matcha for its energizing properties: It provides caffeine and is a good natural way to increase your energy levels when needed.
More plant-based muffin recipes
If you love these matcha muffins, also try:
- Energizing Espresso Muffins
- Sunrise Orange Banana Muffins
- Healthy Coffee Muffins
- Kid-Friendly Cinnamon Spice Muffins
Sources
Chocolate Matcha Muffins
Ingredients
- Cooking spray
- 1 cup all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour, if necessary
- ⅔ cup whole-wheat flour or gluten-free flour, if necessary
- 1½ tsp culinary matcha powder
- 2 tsp baking powder
- Dash of salt
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup 1% fat small-curd cottage cheese
- ¾ cup milk or milk alternative, such as unsweetened rice milk
- ripe banana, mashed
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup cacao nibs divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° Fahrenheit.
- Coat non-stick muffin tray with cooking spray.
- Mix flour, matcha, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add eggs, cottage cheese, mashed banana, maple syrup, oil, and vanilla extract, stirring minimally. Fold in 6 Tablespoons cacao nibs.
- Spoon batter into muffin tin, filling each cup about two-thirds full. Top with remaining cacao nibs.
- Bake about 12-15 minutes, until cooked through.
Nutrition
I’d love to hear from you! Let me know if you make these matcha muffins!
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Could I sub yogurt for the cottage cheese ?
Yes, you definitely could! You could even try making “creamed” cottage cheese by blending it up first in a food processor to make it creamy and smooth.
When do you add the mashed banana?
Great catch, Dana! Thank you – it should be step #3 when you combine all of the wet ingredients. Enjoy!