These moist and tender vegan green tea muffins are infused with matcha powder and topped off with a sprinkling of crunchy pistachios!
It’s interesting that I had a hard time coming up with something green to make for Saint Patrick’s Day. I usually try to consume as much green food as possible, and as I scroll through the photos from past posts it certainly doesn’t look like I have any trouble in the green food department.
It was as I was strolling through the supermarket admiring an array of festive green baked goods that I realized the key to Saint Patty’s Day food: it’s all stuff that’s inappropriately green! Green spinach = not festive. Green cookies = perfect holiday feast. Got it.
These muffins are inappropriately green, sort of. I actually came up with the idea on that particular trip to the supermarket that I just mentioned. They had a box of blindingly green pistachio muffins on display. Yes, pistachios are green, but there was no way these muffins achieved that level of greeneness from nuts. They were glowing like kryptonite, presumably as a result of being loaded up with buckets of green food coloring. I went home on a mission to create a healthier, natural, yet inappropriately green pistachio muffin. I had to brainstorm a bit as to what I’d use for a natural colorant, when I saw the answer tucked away within my countertop tea stash: matcha. This was perfect. Not only was I not adding unhealthy chemicals to my muffins, but I was actually adding some healthy green tea antioxidants.
I couldn’t taste the matcha in these muffins at all. Not that the taste would be bad. I love the taste of green tea. For these muffins though I wanted the pistachio flavor to shine through, complimented by some lemonyness. I suggest using salted pistachios. The crunchy, salty flavor goes amazingly with the sweet, delicate flavor of the muffins. Know how chocolate covered pretzels sound weird but are actually amazing? It’s like that.
Pistachio Green Tea Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp. ground flaxseeds
- 3/4 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk of choice
- 1 1/3 cups whole wheat pastry flour could sub all purpose
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tbsp. matcha powder
- 1 tsp. lemon zest
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- 1/2 cup vegan margarine at room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup chopped pistachios
Instructions
- Whisk milk and flax seeds together in a small bowl and allow to sit for at least ten minutes. You can get your other ingredients together in the meantime.
- Preheat oven to 425. Line 12 muffin cups with papers.
- Combine flour, baking powder, matcha, lemon zest, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in medium bowl. Set aside.
- Cream margarine, sugar and vanilla with mixer in medium bowl. Add milk/flax mixture, a little bit at a time, to avoid taking a shower in it. Next add dry ingredient mixture, 1/3 at a time, mixing well between additions and scraping bowl as needed.
- Spoon mixture into muffin cups and top with chopped pistachios. Place in oven and immediately lower temperature to 375. Bake 15 minutes.
These are such pretty muffins! I love the green color! But if I can’t find matcha powder, can I just leave it out completely? I know the taste will be different, but how about the texture?
Thank you! You should be fine to leave the matcha out completely – the amount is so small that it shouldn’t affect the texture. Hope you enjoy!!
Could you replace the margarine with coconut oil?
Probably…most of the time coconut oil works out just fine as a substitute for margarine, but every now and then the texture isn’t quite right. In this case I think it will work, but can’t say 100% for sure since I haven’t tried it. I actually wanted to use coconut oil in my original batch, but realized after getting started that I didn’t have any on hand. Please let me know how it works out if you try it. Thanks!!
Hello! I was wondering if I could sub the flax seeds for applesauce? If so, would I need to use less milk? Thank you!
Hi Marie! I haven’t tried that myself, so I can’t say for sure. If you were to give that a try, I’d say use about 1/4 cup and cut down on the milk by 1/4 cup. If you do give it a try I’d love to hear how it works out!
Love the combo and the color of the pistachios and green tea. Great pics! Pinned!
Wow!! I genuinely don’t think I have ever seen lighter, fluffier looking vegan muffins, and the colour is absolutely divine; it’s totally appropriate! :P I must say, I absolutely love you dinosaur logo, I think it has to be my most favourite logo of all time!
Just made these today in honor of St. Patrick’s Day and they turned out so delicious. Thank you for this awesome recipe. I ended up needing to bake them for about 5 minutes longer than the recipe. I also think I detect a little jolt of caffeine from the matcha. Bonus!
Nice! Glad you enjoyed them! :)
These look great!! Can you suggest a gluten free substitute though for the flour?
Thank you! I haven’t tried these with gluten-free flour, but I’ve had luck with Bob’s Red Mill and King Arthur Flour in some other muffin recipes, so both of those would be worth a try. I’d love to hear how it works out if you try either. :)
Thanks for the recipe! Do you think I could sub chia seeds for the flax? Or could the recipe do without the flax? I have all the other ingredients on hand. :)
I actually just made one of my favorite muffin recipes and totally forgot the flax seeds – no difference! That recipe called for the same amount as this one, so I’m thinking you can leave them out. If anything, they’ll be a bit more crumbly, but no less delicious. :)
These are so delicious! I made just half the recipe (I cook for one!) today with white whole wheat flour, coconut sugar, and light smart balance spread. In 15 mins I had amazing muffins. I have to try not to eat them all in one day! The lemon zest and nutmeg really add some great flavor and complement the matcha. This will be a new staple recipe for me! Thanks :)
Awesome! Glad you like them!
I made these tonight and I didn’t get the nice green color that you did. Wondering if I should add more matcha?
You might want to try a different matcha. Some are more intensely green than others. Look for a variety labeled ceremonial grade – it’s the greenest. :)
hi,
I was wondering if i can use oatmeal flour or only flaxseed flour, to do the paleo version?
I think oat flour will work. I haven’t tried it in this particular recipe, but it’s worked as a sub for me in similar ones, although I sometimes need to use a bit more – usually just a tablespoon or two. I’d love to hear how they turn out if you try it.
These muffins look amazing! Perfect healthier treat for St. Patrick’s day. 🙂
Thanks Ashley!!
Hi
Please let me know if there is a WFPB substitute for vegan margarine in this recipe!
I’m not sure, but applesauce would be my best guess if you’re looking for something that’s totally oil-free. Otherwise, I’d go with coconut oil if that works with your diet.
I made these muffins yesterday and I’m so happy with them! They’re even better than I expected. And being a big fan of both matcha and pistachios, I expected great things! Thank you for sharing this!
Yay! I’m so glad you like them! Thanks Jennifer!!