Matcha Desserts: 30 Recipes from Tiramisu to Cakes, and More

If you've ever tasted a matcha dessert and immediately started thinking how to make one at home, you're in the right place. I've been obsessed with matcha for decades, long before it had its moment in Western bakeries. My love for it only deepened during a trip to Japan, where I ate my way through every matcha dessert I could find and came home with bags of ceremonial-grade and everyday culinary-grade matcha powder. (That trip also gave me the time to perfect my Japanese cheesecake.)

This post brings together the best matcha desserts, from a silky matcha tiramisu to layered cakes, cookies, mochi, and more. Whether you're brand-new to baking with matcha or you've already got a tin of ceremonial-grade matcha stashed in your pantry, there's something here for you.

This collection of recipes was first posted on the blog in 2024. Matcha offers endless dessert possibilities, and I’ve been updating this article regularly with new recipes to keep my readers inspired!

Katalin's Key Matcha Tips

After decades of baking with matcha, here's what I've learned the hard way so you don't have to.

Matcha imported from Japan is processed and ground more consistently than most other origins. The color tells you everything: you want vivid, almost neon green. Dull or yellowy powder is a red flag; it'll taste flat and turn your baked goods a sad khaki.

What does good matcha actually taste like? Smooth, mellow, and not bitter. There's a real umami depth to it, a grassy freshness, and a sweetness that lingers. If it tastes bitter, sharp, or chalky, it's not the right matcha.

Ceremonial grade is the premium product, meant for whisking with hot water and drinking straight. I use it when matcha is the star of the show and I want that clean, pure flavor to come through. Culinary grade is what I reach for in most baking. It holds its own against butter, sugar, and dairy. Quality still matters here; a good culinary-grade matcha bakes up green and vibrant, not muddy.

Where to buy matcha? Japanese grocery stores are my first stop. Online works well too, like this ceremonial matcha from Amazon, just make sure it's 100% pure matcha, no fillers or additives. You can also find solid options at Costco, Whole Foods, and Target now that matcha has gone mainstream. Once opened, store matcha in an airtight container away from light and heat, and try to use it within a month. It oxidizes quickly.

Best Matcha Desserts

1. Matcha Brownies

If you appreciate the fudgy texture of chewy brownies, you’ll love this delicious twist on the classic favorite. This is one of the best matcha dessert recipes because these Matcha brownies introduce an earthy flavor with a unique decadence. The white chocolate in this recipe creates the perfect pairing, adding a sweet, creamy element that makes this matcha dessert even more craveable. 

2. White Chocolate Matcha Cookies

​​These soft and chewy white chocolate chip cookies elevate the traditional recipe with a sophisticated twist. Matcha powder adds a distinctive nuttiness and a subtle caffeine kick. At the same time, the creamy white chocolate chips offset any bitterness, ensuring these matcha cookies are a delectable treat from bite to bite.

3. Matcha Tiramisu

This matcha tiramisu (also known as matchamisu) is my twist on the classic Italian tiramisu. This green tea dessert features layers of spongy, delicious matcha-soaked homemade ladyfingers, each layered within a creamy matcha mascarpone filling. With its vibrant green color and unique, mouthwatering flavor, this matcha recipe is one you don’t want to miss.

4. Matcha Panna Cotta

This rich dessert delivers a stunning taste and an impressive presentation. Additionally, this dessert is cleverly served with a perfectly complementary black sesame seed brittle. While simple to make, this vibrant panna cotta offers a touch of elegance in every creamy and delicious bite.

5. Matcha Shortbread Cookies

These shortbread cookies have more subtle sweetness than the traditional variety, thanks to matcha powder in the dough. With only six simple ingredients, these buttery, earthy cookies make the perfect simple, delicate, and refined treat. Enjoy them with a side of tea for an even richer dessert experience.

6. Matcha Ice Cream

This isn’t your average green tea ice cream. With only five ingredients and 15 minutes of prep time, the hardest part of this simple recipe is waiting for it to chill in the freezer. With no ice cream machine required, this sweet and creamy treat will be one you'll want to keep making over and over again.

7. Matcha Cheesecake with Oreo Crust

The combination of matcha and dark chocolate isn’t one you see very often, but when they come together in the right ratios, the pair unlocks a new level of dessert magic. The Oreo crust adds sweetness and balances the grassy notes of the matcha powder in the creamy cheesecake filling. 

Additionally, the final layer of homemade whipped cream adds the perfect light finish to top off the more indulgent flavors below.

8. Matcha Pudding

This light and silky, not-too-sweet dessert uses coconut milk as its base rather than the classic heavy cream and egg yolks. The result is an airy yet indulgent vegan treat with a bold matcha flavor and elegant flair throughout. 

9. Matcha Creme Brulee

This silky matcha creme brulee features everything from the classic recipe, including velvety custard and caramelized sugar on top, with the umami addition of matcha powder. Though crème brûlée is typically flavored with vanilla, this unique twist introduces more refined, sophisticated flavors, adding a hint of decadence to every bite.

10. Matcha Mille Crepe Cake

Matcha crepe cake is a delicious treat for both breakfast and dessert. With a beautiful presentation, this recipe features 18 ultra-thin layers of matcha-infused crepes, alternating with vanilla whipped cream and intermittent strawberries. Every slice of this crepe cake is a highly satisfying, light-tasting, and creamy match of flavors.

11. Matcha Cupcakes

These matcha cupcakes are rich with matcha flavor in every bite. The flavor journey begins with a lightly sweetened cupcake base, complemented by the earthy matcha powder. Next, decadent white chocolate-matcha whipped ganache adds a layer of creamy indulgence. Finally, these moist and fluffy cupcakes are topped with a slice of fresh strawberry to tie all the flavors together with a touch of fruitiness.

12. Matcha Green Tea Molten Lava Cakes

This recipe is a unique twist on the classic chocolate lava cakes. However, instead of cocoa powder and chocolate chips, this small-batch recipe uses matcha powder and white chocolate chips to boost a complementary flavor profile that you’re sure to love. Cutting into this delicious green tea cake releases a river of oozing matcha goodness that you won’t be able to get enough of!

13. Matcha Baked Donuts

These easy, baked donuts, celebrated for their scrumptious flavor and beautiful design, come together in just 30 minutes. This makes for an easy matcha dessert that you can also serve as a quick breakfast. The recipe also includes three variations of toppings: matcha glaze, matcha cane sugar, and matcha powdered sugar, to offer options based on your decoration preference.

14. Matcha Crinkle Cookies

These crinkle cookies offer a perfect chewy texture and bold matcha flavor, with an easy-to-make dough that doesn't require chilling before baking. This makes baking these bright green treats much quicker, allowing you to whip up a batch of matcha cookies at a moment's notice.

If you like the look of these pretty crinkle cookies, try my lemon crinkle cookies next!

15. Matcha Strawberry Cream Bars

Strawberries make the perfect fruity companion for matcha. Not only because the flavors are delicious and complement each other so well, but also because the natural colors of each ingredient are so good-looking together.

16. Matcha Madeleines

Although madeleines look like crispy little cookies, they're actually spongy mini-cakes that are among the easiest and best French pastries you can make. This specific kind introduces a delicious matcha flavor to the cake batter, letting that subtle earthy goodness shine.

These matcha madeleines also come with a beautiful presentation, thanks to their easy-to-make matcha chocolate shell.

17. Matcha Macarons

This fancy treat is one of the matcha desserts baking enthusiasts absolutely have to try. Not only are the chewy almond flour-based cookies kissed with a hint of flavor, but there’s a more prominent matcha taste in each of the two filling options: matcha buttercream and matcha ganache. 

Macarons may seem intimidating to make, so if you're a beginner, be sure to check out our online macaron class.

18. Easy Matcha Cruffins

Cruffins are a unique and trendy combination of croissants and muffins, reminiscent of when cronuts took the world by storm. However, instead of using croissant dough, this matcha pastry recipe uses puff pastry to deliver a delicious treat with minimal hassle.

Finally, they’re not only topped with a matcha-sugar coating but each cruffin is also filled with a matcha milk jam for extra richness in every bite.

19. Matcha Cookie Dough Cups

Similar to peanut butter cups but with a number of elevated twists, these matcha sweets feature a white chocolate and matcha coating and a delicious, almond flour-based peanut butter cookie dough filling. This no-bake treat is dairy-free, gluten-free, and paleo-friendly, making it a great example of healthy matcha desserts that taste delicious.

20. Matcha Snickerdoodle Cookies

In Snickerdoodle cookies, cinnamon usually shines as the ingredient that differentiates them explicitly from classic sugar cookies. After a batch of these tasty treats, matcha and cinnamon might just become your new favorite flavor pairing.

21. Strawberry Matcha Roll Cake

This is one of those delicate spring desserts that you'll want to keep making all season long. Moreover, this recipe uses no oil, eggs, or leavening agents to achieve its perfect consistency.  Between its light and fluffy texture and its ease of assembly, this cake is a winner for special occasions and weeknight desserts alike.

22. Matcha Biscotti

If you're used to enjoying your biscotti with a cup of coffee on the side, you absolutely have to try switching up your routine by using matcha. This is a recipe that matcha lovers won’t be able to get enough of. The delicious and straightforward biscotti is coated in a delectable matcha glaze, offering delicate flavors that complement those in your matcha latte or other matcha green tea desserts.

23. Cinnamon Matcha Coffee Cake

This delightful baked treat is the perfect way to add some green tea goodness to your breakfast. Not only does this recipe include a matcha swirl directly in the sour cream coffee cake batter, but it also features a matcha streusel, offering all that crumbly goodness with earthy undertones. 

The cinnamon and sugar act as the perfect complement to the matcha, balancing the sweet and savory tastes of every bite.

24. Matcha Latte Cookies

How pretty are these matcha latte cookies? I highly recommend trying them. Big, soft, and chewy matcha cookies are topped with a silky mascarpone cream that is dusted with matcha powder, making them taste like a delicious cup of matcha latte but a dessert!

25. Matcha Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Sometimes, it’s best to keep things simple! We know that matcha works beautifully with white chocolate and with strawberries. So why not combine the best of both worlds with matcha chocolate-dipped strawberries?

26. Matcha Cake Roll with Adzuki Cream

Here's a super authentic matcha dessert recipe. A fluffy matcha Swiss cake roll filled with semi-sweet adzuki bean cream. You might find this in Japanese bakeries, and now you can make it yourself at home!

27. Matcha Checkerboard Cookies

I can't get over how pretty these cookies are! And while they might look complicated to make, it's actually easier than you think. The green parts have a subtle green tea flavor that pairs beautifully with the buttery, crisp, and light shortbread.

28. Matcha Muffins

Blend Eastern and Western flavors with a batch of tasty matcha muffins. Adding vibrant green matcha powder to your muffin batter results in tall, moist muffins studded with white chocolate chips and the most amazing green tea flavor.

29. Matcha Pancakes

Hosting a brunch or just feel like making the weekend a bit more special? Try making these delicious matcha pancakes for something a little extra. Add a dollop of whipped cream, some fresh berries, and a dusting of powdered sugar, and you have the most colorful and tasty plate ever.

30. Matcha Glazed Sesame Bundt Cakes

Black sesame cake batter made even better! Black cocoa powder gives the mini swirl bundt cakes an intense black color, and then the glossy matcha glaze lifts them to new heights. I love sesame and chocolate with matcha, and this recipe combines all three flavors perfectly.

How to Bake with Matcha

Baking with matcha is easier than most people expect. Think of it the way you'd think of cocoa powder; you can swap a small amount of flour for matcha in cake batters, sift it into frostings, fold it into fillings, ice creams, and mousses, or simply dust it over the top of a finished dessert like powdered sugar. It dissolves beautifully into fat-based mixtures (buttercream, ganache, cream cheese) and blooms into a gorgeous deep green.

One thing to keep in mind: matcha's flavor can be delicate and overwhelming at the same time. Too little and it disappears into the background; too much and the bitterness takes over. Start slow and adjust from there.

What goes well with matcha?

It's a flavor I truly love, especially after traveling in Japan, but you don't have to use it only in Japanese desserts. Matcha is surprisingly versatile once you understand its flavor profile: earthy, umami-rich, gently bitter, with a lingering sweetness.

Here are the pairings that work best in my experience:

• White chocolate — the classic. Its creamy sweetness softens matcha's bitterness perfectly, and the two together taste almost luxurious.
• Mango — the tropical sweetness and slight tartness cut right through matcha's earthiness. A matcha-mango layer cake or mousse is stunning.
• Raspberry — the tartness and acidity create a beautiful contrast, and the colors together are striking.
• Black sesame — deep, nutty, slightly bitter on its own, it echoes matcha's savory edge without competing with it. One of my favorite combinations.
• Tahini — similar to black sesame but creamier. It brings a richness that rounds out matcha really well in brownies or cookies.
• Red bean (azuki) — a traditional Japanese pairing for good reason. The mild, earthy sweetness is a natural match.
• Vanilla — understated but effective. A good vanilla lets matcha take center stage without fighting it.

What doesn't work as well?

In my opinion, matcha and most citrus are a difficult combination. Their sharp, bright bitterness clashes with matcha's earthier bitterness rather than complementing it. Yuzu might be the one exception, since its floral quality softens the clash. Strong spices like cinnamon or cardamom can overpower matcha rather than enhance it. And heavily caramelized flavors (think dark caramel or toffee) tend to muddy the matcha rather than enhance it.