This gluten free matcha green tea mochi is a delicious Japanese dessert that is so easy to make. It has a soft, chewy texture with a slightly sweet and earthy flavor from the matcha. If you are looking for a fun new dessert to try, give this easy matcha mochi recipe a try!
Have you ever tried matcha green tea? It has become very popular at many coffee shops, and you can enjoy matcha lattes anywhere. You can find matcha in both culinary and ceremonial blends. You can also bake with it!
Matcha is delicious in baked goods like this matcha green tea mochi recipe. If you have tried Japanese mochi or Hawaiian Butter Mochi in the past, this flavorful match twist will be worth trying.
If you love dessert as much as we do, check out all of my delicious gluten free dessert recipes.
If you love matcha, give this Matcha Green Tea Mini Bundt Cakes recipe a try, too!
Why This Matcha Mochi is Great:
- This matcha mochi recipe is easy to make, with just a few ingredients.
- You can make this mochi regular or vegan.
- You control how sweet the mochi turns out by how much sugar you add.
- It has a fun, chewy texture.
If there are any other curious vegans checking out this recipe, I just wanted to report that I used vegan butter (Miyoko’s in this case) and it worked perfectly. Delicious recipe! Leftovers are great warmed up in the microwave too.”
Kenny
This matcha powder is good for baking. It is ground really fine and there are no clumps. For baking my recipes, I recommend mixing 1-2 tablespoons of sugar into the matcha powder.
Is Matcha Gluten Free?
In most cases, matcha powder should be gluten free. Matcha is a type of green tea that is ground to powder. The problem comes when manufacturers add flavoring and other ingredients to matcha powder.
Some matcha blends are not gluten free. It is important to read the ingredients carefully when buying any matcha green tea powder.
Matcha Mochi Ingredients:
Note that matcha green tea powder does have some caffeine, so if you are making this for kids, you may want to consider lowering the amount of matcha. I wouldn’t serve this to kids at night.
- Matcha – I used culinary-grade matcha. There is no need to buy the more expensive ceremonial matcha for this recipe. Matcha is not considered a really sweet dessert, so if you like a sweeter dessert, you will want to increase the amount of sugar.
- Sweet Rice Flour – You will find the Mochiko brand at most grocery stores. You can find other brands in most Asian markets.
- Baking Powder – Matcha already has a slightly bitter taste, so it is very important to use aluminum-free baking powder.
- Coconut Milk – Use canned coconut milk.
- Butter – I recommend using unsalted butter. If you are dairy-free, you can use plant-based butter.
- Sugar – Use white cane sugar. I do not recommend coconut sugar, or it will turn your mochi brown.
🔑 Sandi says: Do not buy regular white rice flour. It will not work to make mochi!
Recipe Step-By-Step Directions:
Step 1: It is so easy to make matcha mochi. Add the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and whisk to blend. Add the matcha with the dry ingredients.
Step 2: In a smaller bowl, melt the butter with the coconut milk and whisk to blend them. Add the rest of the wet ingredients and whisk.
Step 3: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and use your whisk to blend them. The batter will be thinner than what you will see in most of my other recipes. This is normal.
NOTE: You can also use an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer to make mochi batter.
Step 4: Grease an 8×8 pan and pour the matcha mochi batter into the pan.
Step 5: Bake the green tea mochi at 325º F for 20 minutes. For best results, allow the mochi to cool before you slice it fully.
☘️ Fun Idea: This matcha mochi recipe would be a fun treat for St. Patrick’s Day since green food is so popular on this holiday. It has a great vibrant green color! Try this Gluten Free Matcha Banana Bread for more fun with green food.
Tips and Recipe FAQ:
Matcha has an earthy taste. It tastes a bit like greens but with sweetness, too.
Matcha mochi is a traditional Japanese sweet made from glutinous sweet rice flour and green tea powder (matcha). You will see mochi shaped in small rounds or square pieces.
You can find them plain or filled with sweet red bean paste or other fillings such as strawberries or mochi ice cream. Matcha mochi is often enjoyed as a snack or dessert in Japan and is becoming increasingly popular in the U.S. and other parts of the world due to its unique taste and texture.
This mochi will keep fresh for up to 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator or up to 4 months in the freezer.
Matcha powder should keep fresh for up to a year. It is best to store it in an airtight container in your pantry.
If you love the flavor of matcha, I have several delicious gluten free recipes with matcha to try! This Matcha Chia Pudding makes a great healthy breakfast.
Reader Adaptations:
Everyone at work loves this recipe! Also delicious with powdered purple yam”
Follow Your Bliss, Pinterest user
Check out this fun matcha mochi web story, too!
More Mochi Recipes:
- Black Sesame Mochi Muffins – These muffins are a treat in Japan and they have a chewy texture like mochi.
- Mochi Waffles with Nutella – If you love a sweet breakfast, nothing is better than these fluffy mochi waffles.
Matcha Green Tea Mochi
Ingredients
- 1 cup Glutinous Sweet White Rice Flour Mochiko brand
- 1 cup coconut milk other types of milk also work
- 2 tablespoons matcha powder * see notes
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 teaspoon baking powder aluminum-free
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- Spray baking dish with non-stick spray. (I use coconut oil spray.)
- Mix all dry ingredients including sugar.
- Whisk to blend.
- Add melted butter and coconut milk.
- Stir well. You can also use an electric mixer or stand mixer with a whisk attachment.
- Put into a prepared baking dish. I used an 8×8 pan.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until done in the middle. The baking time may vary depending on the size and depth of your pan.
Notes
- I recommend using culinary-grade matcha green tea powder. Ceremonial matcha powder is more expensive and it isn’t necessary for this recipe.
- Many matcha powdered have added sweeteners and other ingredients. If you are gluten free, please be sure to read the ingredients label to make sure the matcha is gluten free.
- Matcha can be bitter so I recommend adding additional sugar if you like your mochi sweeter.
- Make this recipe vegan by using plant-based butter.
- Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will keep fresh for up to 4 days.
SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn’t test, you may need to adjust your moisture levels in your baked goods.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
This post was updated from an older August 2017 post with more detailed recipe instructions.
Hi! I wanted to ask, how do what type of coconut milk do you use? here in Germany there is the fattier ‘thai’ style one in a can or the watery one in a carton
Hi Virginia, I did use the canned coconut milk that you describe as Thai style. Thank you for stopping by 🙂
Is the flour you used white rice flour or sweet rice flour? Your recipe says white rice flour but the link goes to a sweet rice flour. Mochi usually is the glutinous/weet rice flour – please clarify. thanks.
Hi Cecilia, I definitely used the sweet rice flour. I will clarify in the recipe. Thank you so much!
Hi Sandi,
I’ve tried your recipe and the taste and texture was pretty good, altough it was not too easy to cut, because the outer part was sticky, while the inside was more solid.
My only problem was the color, the outside was really nice dark green, just as the one you prepared, but it turned brown on the inside. Do you think I overbaked it? Or can it be because the dough was too thick (too much dough for a small pan)?
I’d appreciate your thoughts on this 🙂
Hi Imre, Thank you for writing. How thick are your mochi? I adapted this recipe, given to me by a chef: https://www.fearlessdining.com/butter-mochi/ My mochi were about 1 1/2 inches thick after baking. Mochi are supposed to be a bit sticky, but the brown inside is something I haven’t experienced.
Thank you for your response. My mochi were also about 1 1/2 inches, so I guess the brown color of the inner part was the result of the longer baking time. I’ll try again soon 🙂
You are very welcome. I hope this is the reason. Have a nice day.
I am allergic to coconut and there are so many recipes out in there that has coconut as an ingredient. What can I substitute for the coconut. Also, I read that a reviewer used mochiko rice flour. I’ve used it before and it makes the Michi very dense. What’s the difference using the the flour you suggested?
Hi Bel, If you can’t have coconut, you could use almond milk. I go back and forth between both milks and both are delicious, though I will say I like this recipe with the vanilla almond milk better than plain almond milk. Thank you so much for stopping by and chatting 🙂
These look delicious! I am always looking for new ways to use matcha!
I hope you like these. I love the little caffeine boost as well 🙂
These look so good. I love green tea, but have never used green tea matcha. I need to get some. Thanks for the recipe!
I absolutely LOVE mochi and appreciate the texture & chewiness it gives, as I use it all the time in baking (:
I gave this a try and doubled the recipe because I wanted to bake it in my 9″ by 13″ pan. Unfortunately, it turned out awful and the beautiful green color pictured above was not the same. Instead it was a pale yellowish-green color and the texture was a bit on the hard side. I was so excited to make this and disappointed by the outcome.
Oh no Jane. Can you please tell me which rice flour you used and some more detail? I have made this a few times and I haven’t had the result you mentioned.
I used Mochiko Rice Flour (:
Thanks for a great gluten free nut free recipe. I love mochi and machta, this is a great combination!
Thank you Sharon 🙂
I love matcha! I had no idea some brands contained gluten though – weird! I assumed it was just green tea powder. And I also didn’t know it was so easy to make mochi – definitely trying this!
I hope you enjoy it Alisa 🙂 So far Trader Joe’s is the only matcha powder I have found with flour as an ingredient.
This sounds easy and delicious!
Thank you Jackie 🙂
Much more pleasing color with the white sugar, no doubt. I love the unique color green tea gives to baked goods.
Agreed 🙂 Thank you Jameson.
I love drinking matcha tea and would love to try this recipe! I like the idea of using the healthier coconut sugar even though it’ll keep the mochi from being green. Instead of butter, do you think I can substitute coconut oil? Also, will just regular white rice flour work, or does it need to be the superfine kind? Thanks!
Hi Joanne, I am not sure about your substitutions. The coconut oil may work, you would need to experiment with that. I also don’t know about the regular white rice flour. The superfine is very powdery and makes the matcha have the consistency that it does. If you do experiment, I would love to hear how it turns out 🙂
I just picked up some matcha green tea and can’t wait to give this a try!
Thank you Joelen. Please let me know how they turn out 🙂
I am addicted to green tea ANYTHING. 🙂 Trader Joe’s now has a sweetened green tea powder, and I use it to fake my own green tea frappes.
Hi Ellen. I love matcha as well. If you are gluten free, be careful about Trader Joe’s matcha. It has gluten in it (though I have no idea why matcha needs it!) I love the frappe idea!!
I love the Chai Tea Latte with Matcha Powder added at Starbucks. It is so delicious I have purchased Matcha powder but I have never used it to cook with.
The recipe sounds delicious!
I love those Starbucks chai tea lattes as well! You should have some fun with matcha powder, it can really add a new twist to your baking. I appreciate your comment. Have a great weekend!
Wow! So super easy and delicious looking! I am so making this to impress all my Asian friends! 😉
I am glad you like the recipe Chantelle, thank you. Please let me know how your friends like the mochi 🙂 .