Vegan Matcha Pancakes

It’s easy being green when you have matcha at your disposal! Even if you don’t fancy yourself a tea drinker, the bold, crisp, and invigorating flavor of matcha is easy to love. In fact, you don’t need to drink it at all to enjoy this vivid green tea powder, since it’s a great ingredient to use in a wide range of sweet and savory treats. These stunning Vegan Matcha Pancakes are your new best friends for breakfast, brunch, or brinner (that’s breakfast for dinner, of course!) There’s no bad time to enjoy, so let’s start stacking them up!

Why You’ll Flip for These Pancakes

Light, fluffy, and deeply comforting, pancakes are a real treat anytime of day. A true breakfast of champions, they can also be a smart choice for several reasons:

• Quick and Easy – No advanced planning needed! You can get these beauties on the table in 30 minutes or less, from start to finish.
• Simple Ingredients – Made from everyday pantry staples, there’s a good chance you already have everything you need on hand right now.
• Crowd-Pleasing – Honestly, who doesn’t love pancakes? You can easily scale up the recipe to feed a crowd.

How to Serve Up Your Vegan Matcha Pancakes

They’re so delicious that you could very happily eat a whole stack of these pancakes plain, but consider a few easy ways to further enhance your flapjacks:

• Add vegan chocolate chips right into the batter because a little extra chocolate never hurt anything.
• Top with your favorite fruit compote, such as apple, blueberry, or raspberry.
• Maple syrup is a classic finishing touch, but you can take that one step further with a luscious creamy maple sauce.
• Ladle the batter into a pre-heated and lightly greased waffle maker for a crispier texture.
• Turn your pancakes into a sundae by scooping vegan ice cream on top and lavishing with hot fudge, whipped coconut cream, and a cherry on top!
• Make it savory by omitting the sugar and adding sliced scallions, vegan kimchi, and/or fresh corn kernels into the mix.

Health Benefits of Matcha

Aside from the irresistibly bright, vegetal, and slightly bitter taste that also bears notes of sweetness and umami, matcha has a lot to offer in terms of health benefits.

• High in Antioxidants – Antioxidants help neutralize harmful free radicals, which are compounds that can damage cells and cause chronic disease such as cancer, cardiovascular and inflammatory disease, and more. Because you’re consuming the whole tea leaf when you have matcha, you get over one hundred times more antioxidants than you would from a cup of steeped green tea.
• Promotes Heart Health – Green tea has been shown to decrease levels of total and “bad” LDL cholesterol, as well as triglycerides, the reducing risk of heart disease and stroke.
• Increases Metabolism – Green tea is known for its ability to enhance weight loss, to the point that you’ll often find green tea extract listed as a key ingredient in weight loss supplements. This is because it helps speed up the metabolism to increase energy and boost fat burning.
• Boosts Brain Function – Studies have shown that matcha can improve attention, reaction time, and memory with regular consumption. There are also positive indications that it may protect against Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, and other signs of age-related mental decline.

Simple Ingredient Substitutions

Versatility is one of the key assets of a good pancake formula. Whether you’re short on certain ingredients or have dietary restrictions to bear in mind, there’s plenty of room for creative variations and ingredient substitutions here.

• All-Purpose Flour – Need a gluten-free solution? Feel free to use your favorite gluten-free flour blend for baking.
• Granulated Sugar – Try using brown sugar or coconut sugar for a warm, molasses-like depth of flavor. If you need to reduce your sugar intake, feel free to omit it altogether, or substitute a few drops of liquid stevia extract.
• Ripe Banana – In case you don’t have any on hand or don’t particular like the flavor of banana, any mild fruit puree will work. Unsweetened applesauce is your best alternative option, but pumpkin puree can fit the bill too.
• Soymilk – If soy is off the menu, any non-dairy milk is just fine! Whether it’s almond, cashew, hemp, oat, rice, or something else entirely, they’re all welcome to join this pancake party.
• Vanilla Extract – Level-up your flavors with different baking extracts. It might be overwhelming to swap out all of the vanilla, but try replacing up to 1 teaspoon with almond extract, maple extract, lemon extract, or even peppermint extract.
• Canola Oil – Any heart-healthy liquid oil will do! Some of my favorite choices include rice bran oil, avocado oil, or grapeseed oil.

FAQs About These Matcha Pancakes

Is there caffeine in matcha pancakes?

Yes, there’s approximately 35 mg of caffeine per half teaspoon (about 1 gram) of matcha powder. That means this recipe has around 210 mg of caffeine in all, or 70 – 105 mg per serving. For reference, the average 8-ounce cup of coffee has about 95 mg of caffeine.

What if I don’t have a nonstick pan?

Ceramic, stainless steel, and cast-iron pans will also work, but make sure you grease them well and keep a close eye on the temperature, since they tend to retain more heat.

How can I save leftovers?

Let the pancakes cool completely before layering between sheets of parchment or waxed paper in an airtight container or reusable freezer bag. Seal and freeze for up to 2 months. To reheat, there’s no need to thaw; simply pop them in the toaster and cook until hot all the way through.

Can I double the recipe?

Yes, easily, no adjustments needed! You could even triple it if you wanted to throw a real pancake party.

More Vegan Pancake Recipes

• Vegan Sheet Pan Pancakes
• Basic Easy Vegan Pancakes
• Vegan Blueberry Pancakes
• Gluten-Free Lemon Poppyseed Pancakes
• Bourbon Hazelnut Pancakes with Cardamom Brown Butter
• Vegan Bacon Pancakes
• Easy Zucchini Fritter Cakes
• Vegan Chicken & Waffles

Equipment You’ll Need

No need for fancy equipment here! These tools are essential staples found in most kitchens.

• Measuring Spoons
• Measuring Cups
• Mixing Bowl
• Rubber Spatula
• Nonstick Skillet

Where Can I Get Matcha Powder? 

In this recipe I used matcha from an authentic Japanese matcha brand called Ujido. Ujido has been growing green tea leaves to make matcha powder for nearly two hundred years in Uji, Southern Kyoto, where matcha has historically been harvested for some 800 years.

Ujido is a family company and their matcha comes from small family farms in the Uji River Valley which is an incredibly fertile area that has ideal conditions for growing matcha. The tea leaves are harvested by hand and ground with stones with both care and tradition. Instead of machine harvesting, they are able to hand-pick with an eye for quality, and grinding by hand helps preserve antioxidants.

They have ceremonial matcha in beautiful tins (this is best for gifting and sipping), culinary matcha (perfect for cooked or baked goods like these matcha pancakes), and several other varieties of matcha to choose from. 

Vegan Matcha Pancakes

Author: Michelle Cehn | World of Vegan

5 from 6 votes

These beautifully green vegan matcha pancakes are the perfect way to up-level your go-to weekend breakfast or brunch. Without any extra effort, you can transform your favorite vegan pancakes recipe into a Japanese-inspired, green tea-infused vegan breakfast delicacy.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 2 -3

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon matcha powder, I used Ujido
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ super-ripe banana
• 1 cup soymilk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons canola oil

Toppings:

• Maple syrup
• Powdered sugar, for dusting
• Matcha powder, for dusting

Instructions

• In a large bowl, sift together the flour, matcha powder, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix until evenly combined.
• In a medium bowl, mash the banana completely until no chunks remain. Add the soymilk, vanilla extract, and canola oil, and mix thoroughly.
• Add the wet mixture into the dry mixture and gently whisk just until combined. Do not over-mix—it’s okay if there are some lumps.
• In a large nonstick pan over medium heat, add a small amount of vegetable oil and allow to preheat fully. Once very hot, add 1/2 cup of pancake batter per pancake and allow to cook for about 2.5 minutes on each side, until cooked through. For thinner pancakes, use the measuring cup to spread the batter when you first dollop it on the pan. For fluffier pancakes, don’t spread the batter, just allow it to spread naturally.
• Serve your green matcha pancakes topped a dusting of powdered sugar and matcha powder and a generous drizzle of maple syrup. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 513kcal | Carbohydrates: 72g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 776mg | Potassium: 346mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 859IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 412mg | Iron: 5mg

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Keyword dairy-free pancakes, egg-free pancakes, matcha pancake recipe, vegan pancakes

Plant-based matcha pancakes recipe and photos by Michelle Cehn, copyright of World of Vegan™. Many thanks to Hannah Kaminsky for her help with this dairy free pancake article!