Healthy Sweet Matcha Smoothie Recipe

Matcha smoothie is lush, sweet and creamy with a hint of earthiness. Our recipe uses only matcha powder, banana, milk, spinach and vanilla extract to create a healthy nutrient packed drink.

You might think matcha or Japanese green tea tastes strange when mixed with fruit. However, it helps to neutralise the sweetness and gives a nice, earthy contrast. It’s an excellent alternative to simply drinking tea or coffee. The green tea powder will give you an energy boost without the anxiety jitters coffee gives. 

We concocted our recipe after trying green tea powder with different fruits, veggies and milk types. So we’ll also show you what sort of customisations you can do with different ingredients. It’s so easy to create and, best of all, won't result in a clumpy mix.

We'll show you how to make it with bananas, but if you prefer not to have bananas in your drink, skip ahead to the sections for alternative fruits. 

For those who don't have time to eat breakfast, try this lovley substitute as a quick meal in the morning. It also makes a handy snack for those always on the go. Try our healthy and sweet matcha smoothie recipe and experience the deliciousness of green tea now. 

Jump to:

• Matcha Smoothie Ingredients
• Sweet Matcha Smoothie Recipe (Optional Banana)
• How To Make Matcha Smoothie 
• How to store
• How To Make Matcha Smoothie With No Banana
• What Fruit Goes Well With Matcha Smoothie?
• Variations
• Matcha Smoothie Bowl Ideas
• Can I Blend Matcha In A Blender?
• Matcha Smoothie Benefits And Calories

Matcha Smoothie Ingredients

To create this delicious Japanese beverage, you need the following ingredients:

• Matcha
• Bananas
• Milk
• Spinach
• Vanilla extract 
• Flax seed (optional)

While vanilla extract is optional, it adds a floral fragrance that elevates the drink. You can add flax seeds or chia seeds to increase volume and make the drink even thicker. They are also superfoods with lots of nutrients.

Matcha

When making your matcha smoothie, you can choose from many different brands and types of green tea. In our opinion, you don't need the ceremonial grade.

When we mix it with many different ingredients, it may be difficult to taste the nuanced flavour of ceremonial-grade matcha. Culinary-grade matcha powder is enough to provide the grassy taste of green tea, and it is more affordable.

However, ceremonial does taste stronger, with more nuanced flavour layers than culinary-grade matcha. The colour is usually a vibrant dark green.

You can also try matcha smoothie powder if this is cheaper. The powder is pre-sweetened so that you can skip the vanilla extract. However, you must still add milk and other ingredients to your drink. 

Banana

Bananas are an excellent addition to your green tea shake. They add natural sweetness and a rich creaminess to your drink. But if you like, you can always experiment with other fruit instead.

Avocado, for instance, is a good substitute. Unlike bananas, it adds a lot of creaminess and has a neutral flavour. So, use avocado instead if you don't want the banana flavour. 

Another alternative that we like is using mango. Ripe mangoes are generally more sweet than bananas, adding a slight creaminess to the drink.

Milk

We recommend using unsweetened oat or almond milk as a base liquid when making this drink. They pair perfectly with green tea or any fruit you want to add. 

For those who like a richer and thicker beverage, try dairy milk. For a plant-based alternative to this, use coconut milk. But be wary of the strong coconut taste.

Spinach

Spinach adds volume and thickness to the drink while complementing the taste of matcha. It's also very nutritious to add to a smoothie. The colour of spinach also makes the drink a deep dark green, which we love.

How To Make Matcha Smoothie 

Here are some tips for you to master making this sweet drink at home.

First, use a matcha whisk to stir your green tea with hot water to dissolve the powder and eliminate lumps quickly. Alternatively, you can skip the whisk and pour the green tea powder directly into a blender.

For the blender, start with your liquids as a base. Add milk and green tea first. After that, place all the other ingredients in a blender, starting with your green vegetables and other toppings like flax or chia seeds, if any.

Then, add your hard fruit, and finally, your soft fruit and any sweeteners. If you prefer a chunkier texture, freeze the fruit first. Otherwise, you can use unfrozen fruit for a smoother drink. 

Blender Tips

Blend for 30 seconds to test your blender at 30% strength. Then blend for 10 minutes at full speed until smooth. Avoid filling your blender more than ¾ of the way up, or your drink won't blend properly.

Another tip to keep your blender functional is to ensure that your fruit-to-liquid ratio stays at 1:1 or 1:2, adding one cup of fruit to two cups of liquid. You want more fluid than solids in the blender so that the blades are lubricated enough to swirl your mix. 

An excellent way to check is to turn it on and see if the blender is struggling to work. If so, add more liquid before you continue blending your matcha smoothie. 

How to store

You can make this drink anytime and store it in the refrigerator to consume later. Store your matcha smoothie in the fridge for up to 2 days before drinking it. We generally recommend drinking it during the day it was made or, at most, within 24 hours. The ingredients will oxidise over time, and the flavours will not taste as fresh.

If you need to prepare your ingredients first, store them in the freezer for up to three weeks. Your drink can stay fresh in the freezer for up to three weeks.

When exposed to air, green tea powder quickly loses its colour and quality. Therefore, store your green tea powder in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you want to use it. Green tea can stay fresh for up to six months in an airtight container in a fridge. 

How To Make Matcha Smoothie With No Banana

If you are allergic to bananas, you will want to make a matcha smoothie with no bananas. You can use frozen chopped avocados or mangoes instead of bananas. 

Make sure your fruit and liquids are in a 1:2 ratio—that's 1 cup of fruit to 2 cups of liquid. We recommend freezing the avocados and mangoes overnight because blending will result in a thicker texture.

You can carry out the other steps as usual. Similarly to bananas, frozen avocados and mangoes will add the sweetness and creaminess you desire to your green tea beverage.

What Fruit Goes Well With Matcha Smoothie?

Different kinds of berries and tropical fruits go well in this thick blended beverage. Here are a few options to consider: 

Berries

Adding strawberries to make a strawberry matcha smoothie gives the drink a slightly more acidic, sharp taste. If you like sour more than sweet, strawberries are the perfect fruit to add. You can also try blueberries, which will yield a much sweeter drink. The texture will not be affected. 

Tropical Fruits

Adding tropical fruits like pineapples or mangos will give you a sharper, fruitier flavour than within a banana-flavoured matcha smoothie. Additionally, the texture will not be affected.

Avocados would be our top pick. They add creaminess and a mild sweetness, but their neutral taste makes them great for mixing with matcha, as you can then taste more of the matcha.

Variations

You can always add different ingredients to your smoothie for more variety. Let's look at some substitutions: 

Greens

Spinach will give your matcha smoothie a mild taste. You can also use kale, chard, and collard greens, but they taste bitter and must be paired with sweet fruits (e.g., blueberries or strawberries).

Adding greens (about 2 cups) will add more body to the drink, so you may need to increase your liquid level to get your blender to work. 

Sweetness 

We recommend adding more fruits to increase sweetness. Otherwise, you can also add sugar to the drink if you prefer. You can also go for honey and maple syrup if you like, but it will add their particular fragrance to the drink. Vanilla extract is mainly for fragrance, but it adds a subtle sweetness to the drink.

Thicker Consistency

Add flax seeds, chia seeds, protein powder, or ripe avocado to your green tea shake if you want a thicker consistency. It will add richness to the texture without masking the taste of green tea. Avocados, in particular, will be good if you want to make your matcha smoothie keto-friendly. It's a low-carb, high-fat food perfect for those on a keto diet. 

Matcha Smoothie Bowl Ideas

If you are wondering how to turn a matcha smoothie into a meal, here's how. You can use the same recipe from our article, but add less milk (at least 180ml) to your blender.

Aim for a milky texture between drinkable and scoopable, then pour it into a bowl after blending everything. Add toppings such as fresh berries, coconut flakes, banana slices, chia seeds, or almonds for a fun twist.

Can I Blend Matcha In A Blender?

You can put your green tea powder in a blender when you make a matcha smoothie. 

However, you might not be able to thoroughly blend the green tea powder evenly because the blades may not lift and suspend the powder sufficiently. Therefore, we still prefer to use a bamboo whisk as it helps break up all matcha powder clumps.

Traditional Method (Recommended)

However, we recommend using the traditional way to blend green tea powder, which is by using a wooden matcha whisk, also known as a chasen. Using a wooden whisk is preferred by the Japanese because it helps to separate and suspend the powder quickly in the water. If you use it correctly, you can coax the green tea powder into a uniform consistency.

This method is needed because the powder clumps quickly once it touches water. It also gives a more full-bodied and aromatic taste to green tea. Better still, it helps to froth your green tea without scratching the bottom of your mixing bowl.

If you want to use a chasen, the whisk comes in various thicknesses and string counts. The thicker whisks can make your green tea mixture more bubbly, but it's mostly a matter of preference which one you choose. 

While using the bamboo whisk might take longer, traditional tea drinkers recommend using it. That's because it's supposed to bring out the green tea flavour more than merely blending the powder with fruit. Using a chasen also elevates the tea-drinking experience, making the process more authentic.

Other Methods

You can also try an electric milk frother if you do not have a chasen. However, you might not get an even layer of foam. The electric milk frother will also heat the milk, turning this into a lukewarm drink when it's meant to be enjoyed cold. 

Still, using the blender for a drinkable matcha smoothie is perfectly alright. Additionally, experts recommend using culinary-grade green tea if you want to use a blender since culinary-grade green tea does not clump as easily.

Matcha Smoothie Benefits And Calories

According to Healthline, matcha smoothies have numerous benefits, including high amounts of antioxidants that help with heart and brain health. 

If you consider substituting coffee with a matcha smoothie for weight loss, that's also a good idea. Green tea has more caffeine than coffee. In addition, the low-calorie, high-fibre mix of tea and fruit will keep you full, which you need for weight loss. Our recipe in this article has 203 calories per serving.

If you liked our sweet yet healthy matcha smoothie recipe, you could make a blueberry green tea latte. These green tea-flavoured drinks work as standalone beverages or as post-meal desserts. Both low-calorie drinks are perfect for a pre-workout boost or a post-gym reward, and you can easily adjust their ingredients to fit any diet. 

For more drink inspiration, follow us on Instagram @honestfoodstalks.

If you liked this sweet matcha smoothie recipe, you could also make a blueberry green tea latte. These green tea-flavoured drinks work as a standalone beverage, or you can enjoy them as a post-meal dessert. Both low-calorie drinks are perfect for a pre-workout boost or a post-gym reward, and you can easily adjust their ingredients to fit any diet. 

For more drink inspiration, follow us on Instagram @honestfoodstalks!