These matcha pistachio muffins are delicious, easy to make, and a stunning shade of natural green!
I first made these muffins years ago after weeks of trying to come up with a fun green recipe for Saint Patrick's day. After pretty much giving up, I spotted some green pistachio muffins at the supermarket. How about veganizing those? Perfect!
They really were perfect, in fact. I thought pistachios in muffins sounded nice, but their salty, nutty crunch is so perfect with the sweetness and fluffy texture of these muffins.
But I didn't stop there. Because once I started working on the recipe it occurred to me that I didn't need to use artificial food coloring to make a batch of green muffins. (Pistachio's alone are not enough to turn a batch of muffins green, despite what my supermarket bakery would like me to think.) Matcha is naturally a beautiful shade of green, and it's great for making all kinds of green foods. So I decided these muffins would be matcha muffins!
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Ingredients You'll Need
- All-purpose flour. The recipe also works with whole wheat pastry flour. I can't promise results with any other flour varieties!
- Organic granulated sugar. We're using organic sugar to keep the recipe vegan.
- Matcha. Matcha is powdered green tea, and you should be able to find it in the tea section of your supermarket. Matcha comes in different grades, with ceremonial grade being the highest. I highly recommend getting ceremonial grade matcha, which will give your muffins the best flavor and the most vibrant green color.
- Baking powder.
- Baking soda.
- Cinnamon.
- Nutmeg.
- Lemon zest.
- Salt.
- Non-dairy milk. You can use just about any variety of milk that's unsweetened and unflavored, such as soy milk, almond milk, oat milk, or cashew milk.
- Canola oil. Feel free to substitute another baking oil, such as coconut or corn oil.
- Lemon juice.
- Vanilla extract.
- Shelled pistachios. Be sure to get pistachios that are roasted and salted.
How They're Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
- Start by whisking your dry ingredients together in a large bowl: flour, sugar, matcha, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon zest and salt.
- Stir the liquid ingredients together in a separate container: milk, oil, lemon juice and vanilla.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
- Stir everything together just until combined. Make sure you don't overmix the batter or your muffins will turn out rubbery.
- Divide the batter among paper-lined muffins tins. You can make anywhere between 9 and 12 muffins with this recipe. Making 9 will give you nice big muffins with domed tops like mine, whereas 12 will give you muffins that are a tad smaller.
- Sprinkle the tops with chopped pistachios, followed by a dusting of sugar.
- Pop the muffins into the oven and bake them until they're done. You can test for this by inserting a toothpick into the center of a muffin — if it comes out clean, they're done!
- Let your pistachio muffins cool for a bit before removing them from their tins and enjoying them!
Shelf-Life & Storage
Your matcha muffins will keep in a sealed bag or container at room temperature for 2 to 3 days, in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for about 3 months.
Variations
- Chocolate chip pistachio muffins. Fold a cup of vegan chocolate chips into the batter before dividing it among the tins.
- White chocolate pistachio muffins. Use vegan white chocolate chips instead of dark!
- Berry matcha muffins. Fold a cup of raspberries or blueberries into the batter. Be careful though, as broken berries could discolor your beautiful green muffins!
- Frosted matcha muffins. Don't sprinkle your muffins with pistachios before baking them. Instead, top your muffins with vegan vanilla buttercream frosting, then sprinkle the frosting with pistachios.
Frequently Asked Questions
I'm not sure! I haven't tested a gluten-free version of this recipe, but it might work with an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend.
Usually if this happens it's because you're using a lower grade of matcha. Make sure to buy ceremonial grade.
Matcha has a mild grassy flavor. It's so subtle that you might not even taste it in these muffins.
More Vegan Muffin Recipes
- Vegan Blueberry Muffins
- Vegan Carrot Muffins
- Vegan Chocolate Muffins
- Vegan Apple Cider Muffins
- Vegan Pumpkin Muffins
- Chocolate Chunk Cherry Muffins
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
Matcha Pistachio Muffins
These matcha pistachio muffins are delicious, easy to make, and a stunning shade of natural green!
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup organic granulated sugar, plus 2 teaspoons for topping
- 1 tablespoon ceremonial grade matcha
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk (room temperature)
- ⅓ cup canola oil
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup shelled roasted and salted pistachios, roughly chopped
Instructions
-
Preheat the oven to 400°F and line 9 to 12 cups of a muffin tin with papers.
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Whisk the flour, ½ cup of sugar, matcha, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon zest, and salt together in a large mixing bowl.
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In a separate bowl or large liquid measuring cup, stir together the milk, oil, lemon juice, and vanilla.
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Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and stir just until combined.
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Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle the pistachios on top, followed by 2 teaspoons of sugar.
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Bake the muffins for 15 to 19 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
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Place the muffin tin on a cooling rack and allow the muffins to cool before removing them from the tin.
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 agree, Apple sauce should work to make it WFPB … you could also use ground nuts or seeds, plant based yogurt, silken tofu or an easily homemade butter using nuts plant milk & berries for example….
So many wonderful options available… :)
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!!
To make the the muffins cut half the sugar and add one half packet of instant pistachio pudding..you get the colors...and add half cup of chopped pistachio .
Exactly so I Will do 👌
I'm sooooo making these for St. Patrick's day! I'm gonna use coconut flour. Will let u know how they turn out!