24 Refreshing Green Tea Recipes

Photo: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Karen Shinto

Green tea is far more than a beverage—as an ingredient, green tea powder and leaves add a distinctly delicate earthiness that can't be replicated, yielding a taste that's softly bitter in all the right ways. Whether you're trying to add depth to your desserts or nutritionally boost your beverages, these recipes bring out the best that green tea has to offer.

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Matcha-Glazed Donuts

Photo: Hector Manuel Sanchez

Matcha-Glazed Donuts Recipe

These easy baked donuts benefit from matcha in the batter and in the glaze, where it lends beautiful color. If you’re unfamiliar with matcha, it’s high-quality green tea that’s ground into a fine powder. Matcha has a powerfully earthy, bitter flavor, so a little goes a long way. For the most vibrant color, seek out a reputable brand (some lower-quality brands have a dull, olive-green color). We recommend Maeda-en Matcha Green Tea Powder, culinary quality; Aiya Matcha, ceremonial grade; or Eden Matcha. We love the color and flavor of the coconut and goji berry garnishes; if you can’t find goji berries, you can use dried cranberries instead.

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Tropics on Ice With Matcha Syrup

Photo Courtesy of Embers Ski Lodge

Tropics on Ice With Matcha Syrup Recipe
All served at Embers Ski Lodge in Nashville, Tennessee

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Green Tea Soup

Annabelle Breakey; Randy Mon

Green Tea Soup Recipe
A simple broth of green tea poured over brown rice and fish makes an easy and healthful weeknight meal. Try shredded leftover chicken or diced tofu instead of black cod. We're partial to the extra-chewy texture of short-grain rice for this soup, but it's also a great way to use leftover rice of any sort. Garnishes and flavorings are equally flexible—cilantro, hot sauce, or nut oils would be fun to experiment with. Prep and Cook Time: about 1 1/4 hours. Notes: Black cod is also known as sablefish or butterfish. You can use leftover fish in this soup if you like. Nori (dried sheets of seaweed) is available at Asian markets and some supermarkets; genmaicha (green tea with roasted brown rice) is also available at Asian markets and specialty-food stores.

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Avocado Matcha Banana Bread

Photo by Daniel Agee

Avocado Matcha Banana Bread Recipe
It's tasty being this green

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Minty Iced Green Tea

Quentin Bacon

Minty Iced Green Tea Recipe
Fresh mint leaves and green tea make this iced tea a summer standout. Sweeten with honey or agave if you desire.

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Cran-Berry Green-Tea Smoothie

Iain Bagwell; Dan Becker

Cran-Berry Green-Tea Smoothie Recipe
The best smoothies combine great nutrition with even better flavor. Cranberries and green tea pack this drink full of healthy antioxidants, while berries and banana add essential vitamins and nutrients.

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Matcha Whoopie Pies

Photo: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Emma Star Jensen

Matcha Whoopie Pies Recipe
"I grew up inhaling whoopie pies, bless my mother's soul," says Bay Area cookbook author Eric Gower, the creator of these fantastic, tender little cakes. "While I would like to offer her recipe, I'm afraid that just reading the quantities of trans fats (Crisco) called for might incite immediate cardiac arrest! This relatively healthier version tastes even better."

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Green Tea Granita

Randy Mayor; Cindy Barr

Green Tea Granita Recipe
Any flavor of tea will work in this recipe. Brew it stronger or weaker according to your preference. Garnish this delicate dessert with wafer-thin slices of lemon.

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Frankenstein Cookie Bars

Thomas J. Story

Frankenstein Cookie Bars Recipe

These bars make a fun Halloween treat, and they're very flavorful: the green tea frosting cloaks a chewy-soft coconut-lime cookie. They're easy enough that the kids can help you make them.

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20-Minute Baked Matcha Doughnuts

All Photos by Alex Tepper

20-Minute Baked Matcha Doughnuts Recipe
No frying required

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Matcha-Steeped Salmon With Ginger-Toasted Panko

Photo: Oxmoor House

Matcha-Steeped Salmon With Ginger-Toasted Panko Recipe
Matcha is a powder-fine green tea, quite intense in flavor, with tannins dominating the mouth-feel (think red wine). It's rendered glorious with a splash of cream, and its boldness is a striking companion to salmon's richness. The trick in this recipe is to cook as gently as possible. If you can get your hands on truly fresh wild salmon, feel free to undercook this dish to your liking.

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Matcha-Macaron Ice Cream Sandwiches

Photo: David Malosh

Matcha-Macaron Ice Cream Sandwiches Recipe
The French macaron is a simple cookie made with almonds, sugar and egg whites. The recipe here includes green tea powder (matcha), which gives it a delightful flavor. Chef Way David Myers's complex dessert parfait combines matcha crème, gelée, mochi and macaron with muscovado and vanilla crème. Easy Way These ice cream sandwiches layer store-bought green-tea and vanilla ice creams on crispy, chewy green tea macarons.

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Jasmine Chicken Soup with Green Tea Soba

Photo: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Emma Star Jensen

Jasmine Chicken Soup with Green Tea Soba Recipe
Eating this soup from Eric Gower, author of The Breakaway Cook, makes you feel energized--almost like you've had an immunity boost. Feel free to substitute different vegetables. And if you have extra broth, just simmer more vegetables in it the next day to create a fantastic, and nearly instant, soup.

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Supercharged Kale-Avocado Smoothie

Jennifer Causey

Supercharged Kale-Avocado Smoothie Recipe

This hydrating smoothie is jam-packed with nutrients, delivering one-third your daily goal of vitamin A and 100% of vitamin K—two important nutrients many of us don't get enough of. Matcha green tea powder delivers a jolt of caffeine without the jittery side effects, helping you power through your holiday to-do list with sustained energy and alertness.

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Green Tea-Ginger Ice Cream

Green Tea-Ginger Ice Cream Recipe

Creating the coolest scoops is as easy as 1, 2, 3.

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Green Tea-Honeysuckle Cake

Photo: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Heather Chadduck

Green Tea-Honeysuckle Cake Recipe
Matcha, a Japanese green tea powder, adds vivid green color and a delicate flavor. Look for it in Asian grocery stores and gourmet markets, or order online. Store tightly covered in the fridge. (It oxidizes quickly.) If you can't find matcha, pulverize regular green tea in a spice grinder.

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Sparkling Matcha Mint Cocktail

Photo: Michael Kraus; Styling: Roscoe Betsill

Sparkling Matcha Mint Cocktail Recipe

Floral honey, fresh herbs, and verdant green-tea powder make for an effervescent springtime sipper.

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Green Tea-Kiwi and Mango Smoothie

Photo: Oxmoor House

Green Tea-Kiwi and Mango Smoothie Recipe
Make a colorful and healthy smoothie by pureeing mango, kiwifruit and spinach wtih yogurt and honey and spooning into glasses in two layers.

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Matcha Profiteroles

Photo: Jennifer Causey; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Claire Spollen

Matcha Profiteroles Recipe

Matcha Profiteroles image

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Matcha Baked Doughnuts

Photo: Ryan Moriarty Styling: Hayley Sugg

Matcha Baked Doughnuts Recipe

These bright green baked goods will give you all the delight of a doughnut without any of the regret afterwards. Baking makes these vegan doughnuts delicate and soft without excess oil and the matcha has a range of health benefits.

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Scallops with Green Tea Cream

Photo: Randy Mayor; Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine

Scallops with Green Tea Cream Recipe
This dish makes a uniquely delicious first course. Look for matcha, a Japanese green tea powder with a vibrant color and deep, somewhat bitter, flavor in Asian grocery stores or gourmet markets. If you can't find it, pulverize regular green tea in a spice grinder.

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Green Tea Honey Cake

Randy Mayor; Melanie J. Clarke

Green Tea Honey Cake Recipe
If you can't find green tea powder, available at many Asian markets, use a clean coffee grinder to pulverize green tea leaves. We used gunpowder green tea.

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Iced Green Tea with Ginger and Mint

Photo: Charles Maraia

Iced Green Tea with Ginger and Mint Recipe

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Japonica Ice Cream Sundaes

Photo: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Karen Shinto

Japonica Ice Cream Sundaes Recipe
For this gorgeous combination of green tea ice cream and ripe red plums poached in sweet sake, be sure to use fresh matcha (Japanese powdered green tea) and keep it tightly covered in the fridge--it oxidizes very quickly.

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24 Refreshing Green Tea Recipes

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Matcha-Glazed Donuts

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Tropics on Ice With Matcha Syrup

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Green Tea Soup

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Avocado Matcha Banana Bread

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Minty Iced Green Tea

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Cran-Berry Green-Tea Smoothie

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Matcha Whoopie Pies

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Green Tea Granita

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Frankenstein Cookie Bars

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20-Minute Baked Matcha Doughnuts

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Matcha-Steeped Salmon With Ginger-Toasted Panko

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Matcha-Macaron Ice Cream Sandwiches

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Jasmine Chicken Soup with Green Tea Soba

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Supercharged Kale-Avocado Smoothie

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Green Tea-Ginger Ice Cream

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Green Tea-Honeysuckle Cake

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Sparkling Matcha Mint Cocktail

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Green Tea-Kiwi and Mango Smoothie

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Matcha Profiteroles

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Matcha Baked Doughnuts

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Scallops with Green Tea Cream

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Green Tea Honey Cake

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Iced Green Tea with Ginger and Mint

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Japonica Ice Cream Sundaes

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