Matcha Smoothie

This green matcha smoothie combines energizing matcha with refreshing mango for a fruity and delicious drink. It’s sweet, tropical, and creamy. This green smoothie is vegan (dairy-free, egg-free), grain-free (gluten-free), soy-free, nut-free, and refined sugar-free.

To give you some context on matcha, it’s a Japanese powder made from whole green tea leaves that have undergone a process that increases chlorophyll levels and amino acids. This gives matcha its vibrant green color and energizing nutrients.

Matcha has been the cornerstone of traditional Japanese tea ceremonies for centuries, though it’s only recently gained popularity in the US due to its healthful properties. Regular green tea is already celebrated as an antioxidant powerhouse, but matcha surpasses it by using the entire leaf, delivering a richer dose of antioxidants and nutrients than steeped tea.

The two most common types of matcha are ceremonial matcha and culinary matcha. Ceremonial-grade matcha is the highest quality matcha made from young leaves. It delivers a distinct umami taste and smooth mouthfeel. The culinary-grade is a bit more robust and bitter.

Last but not least, what about caffeine? Yes, matcha does contain more caffeine than regular green tea, but it provides steady energy without the crash often tied to coffee, making this matcha green smoothie the perfect start of the day. For reference, ½ tsp./1 g of matcha powder has about 30-35 mg of caffeine, while the average 8-oz. cup of brewed coffee has about 95 mg of caffeine.

Tips for Making Matcha Smoothie

Ingredients

Matcha has a strong flavor when served as a tea, but it’s quite mild when blended with other ingredients, particularly fruit. This matcha smoothie contains:

• Matcha powder: matcha has a distinct earthy taste and a subtle astringency or bitterness, though this softens in a smoothie with added ingredients. When shopping for matcha powder, opt for organic, ceremonial-grade matcha powder from Japan.
• Mango: matcha pairs well with fruity flavors such as mango, peach, or strawberries. I chose mango for its sweet and refreshing flavor. The mango takes away any bitterness of the matcha, while the matcha mellows out the mango. I highly recommend using fresh, ripe mangoes and freezing them before making the matcha smoothie. Frozen mangoes are often frozen before they’re ripe, so they tend to be sour and pale in color. You could just use fresh mango, but frozen mango makes this smoothie cold and super thick.
• Spinach: you really can’t taste spinach in the matcha smoothie. Yet, it bulks up the smoothie a little and adds an extra green power.
• Coconut milk: mango and coconut is a fantastic flavor combination, but you can use almond milk, cashew milk, or any other plant-based milk you like.
• Vanilla extract: vanilla adds a touch of sweetness and balances out the earthy flavor of the matcha.

How to Make Matcha Smoothie

Making this matcha smoothie is as easy as it gets—add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.

I use my Vitamix A3500, which transforms all the ingredients into an icy yet incredibly smooth matcha shake in seconds. I tried making this smoothie in a Nutribullet—it is my mom’s only blender—and it didn’t even come close to the velvety consistency my Vitamix turns out.

Even if I used my Vitamix only for smoothies, which I don’t, it would be worth every penny!

Matcha Smoothie Variations

If you’re new to making smoothies, you’ll quickly learn that they’re some of the most flexible recipes. Here are a few ideas:

• Fruit: swap the frozen mango for frozen pineapple to get a similar sweet and tangy flavor. Peaches would be another good swap. If you prefer sweet smoothies, use a banana instead of the avocado.
• Vegetables: if you don’t like spinach, some other mild alternatives are Romaine or Boston lettuce. You could also use a cucumber or zucchini instead of the greens.
• Liquids: feel free to substitute coconut milk for your favorite plant-based milk.
• Add-ins: vanilla is great, but ½ inch/1.3 cm of fresh ginger adds a fresh boost.

How to Store Matcha Smoothie

• Refrigerating: transfer the smoothie to an airtight container and refrigerate it for an hour or two. Any longer, and the smoothie will lose its thickness.
• Freezing: transfer the smoothie to an airtight shallow container and freeze it for up to 1 month. Re-blend before serving.

More Green Smoothie Recipes

• Apple spinach smoothie: if you’re looking for a perfectly balanced green smoothie, this is it – slightly sweet, slightly tart, slightly creamy – vibrant, and great for any time of the day.
• Pineapple cucumber smoothie: this smoothie is tart-sweet, creamy, and refreshing. It’s one of my favorite green smoothie combinations – not too sweet, not too thick, and super hydrating.
• Kale kiwi smoothie: kale can sometimes be overpowering in smoothies, but this smoothie is different. While it’s packed with dark leafy greens, it tastes fruity, slightly sweet, and perfectly tart. It’s a great morning pick-me-up.
• Detox Island Green smoothie: this is one of the most popular detox smoothies in the United States. It’s served at the Tropical Smoothie Café and continues to be their best-selling smoothie. This smoothie is a perfect combination of greens and tropical fruit.
• Zucchini smoothie: it seems like almost all creamy smoothies contain a banana, right? Well, not this one! This green zucchini smoothie is creamy without any bananas thanks to avocado and frozen zucchini. 

Did you make this recipe? I would love to know how it turned out! Please let me know by leaving a review and rating below.