These doughnuts are a fun naturally green treat for St. Paddy's Day! They're both baked and decorated with matcha green tea.
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With St. Paddy’s day coming up this weekend, I got in the mood to make green-colored treats…. and there’s no better way to naturally color things green than with matcha! Last year, I made zucchini cake with matcha frosting, and this year I thought it would be fun to make (and eat) doughnuts!
If you’re new to matcha – it’s a powder made from Japanese green tea leaves. Because the whole leaf is ground (vs. steeping the tea leaves), matcha is packed with antioxidants. Which almost makes these doughnuts count as a health treat 🙂
You can mix matcha with hot water and drink it on its own, or you can make lattes, smoothies, or ice cream with it. You can also use it for baking, which is what we’re doing today. I find the flavor of matcha hard to describe – it’s a little earthy, but it has a subtle sweetness that really shines when it’s made into sweet treats. Of course, all of this has nothing to do with St. Patrick’s Day, I just thought green doughnuts would be fun to make.
I made my doughnuts with 3 decorating options:
1. Glazed
2. Dipped in coconut oil and then in matcha-infused cane sugar
3. Dipped in matcha powdered sugar
Choose just one or make all 3!
These are best enjoyed on the same day they’re made.
What’s the Best Matcha for Baking?
Buying matcha for the first time can be confusing – there are so many brands, and they vary widely in quality. I’ve tested out all of the top matcha powders as tea with water, in lattes, and in baking recipes. I find that Aiya Authentic Japanese Matcha Powder works best in baked goods. It has a strong taste, which allows the earthy matcha flavor to come through after baking. It’s not super expensive either.
Get the Aiya Authentic Japanese Matcha Powder on Amazon for $17.41, or check out some of the other matcha powders I tested to find the best one for you!
Matcha Baked Doughnuts
Ingredients
- ¼ cup melted coconut oil
- ⅓ cup cane sugar
- 1 large egg
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon matcha powder
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- Heaping ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 1⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup almond milk
Decorating option 1: Matcha Glaze
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon matcha powder, depending on desired green color
- 1 tablespoon almond milk
Decorating option 2: Matcha Cane Sugar
- ½ cup cane sugar
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon matcha powder, depending on desired green color
- ⅓ cup melted coconut oil
Decorating option 3: Matcha Powdered Sugar
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon matcha powder, depending on desired green color
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F and lightly grease one standard 6-hole doughnut pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the coconut oil and sugar. Add the egg and whisk to combine. Add the baking powder, baking soda, matcha powder, nutmeg, salt, and vanilla and whisk to combine.
- Alternately add the flour and the milk, beginning with the flour, until thoroughly combined. The batter will be thick, and a spatula drawn through the batter should leave an indentation.
- Spoon the batter into the doughnut pan (it will be thick and sticky). Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes before removing from the pan. Remove from the pan and place on a wire rack to continue cooling.
- Make your desired decorating option:
- Matcha Glaze: In a small doughnut-sized bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and matcha powder, then whisk in the almond milk until smooth. Dip each doughnut in the glaze and let the excess glaze drip off.
- Matcha Cane Sugar: In a small doughnut-sized bowl, mix the cane sugar and matcha powder. Add the melted coconut oil to a separate bowl and dip both sides of each doughnut first into the coconut oil, and then into the sugar mixture. The coconut oil helps the sugar adhere and it also produces the most fried-doughnut-like taste.
- Matcha Powdered Sugar: In a small doughnut-sized bowl, mix together the powdered sugar and matcha powder. Dip both sides of each doughnut into the sugar, tapping off any excess.
Notes
Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour.
Hi! These look so great! Can I use butter instead of coconut oil? That’s just what I have on hand. Thanks!
These were SO easy and really good! They are so perfectly soft and cakey. Definitely will be making again! 10 year old picked this recipe, made by himself and approves as well!
Hi KT, ah I love that your kiddo picked these! So glad they were a hit.
I love making these for St. Patrick’s Day every year! So easy, festive, and delicious! I do the matcha glaze and add gold sprinkles for a little extra fun.
I’m glad you’ve enjoyed them!
Recommendation on how to shape these donuts without a donut pan? Will a piping bag work?
Hi Cara, this batter is too loose for a piping bag, a doughnut pan is really required unless you wanted to make them as mini muffins.
Question about the flour. Will the consistency change if I used wheat flour or almond flour instead? Thank you for the input!
Hi Tippi, I haven’t tried with either of these flours. Wheat flour will make them more dense, almond flour might affect their rise. I might try just a portion of each flour along with the regular flour.
What are your recommendations for matcha brands?
Hi Kate, I list a bunch in this post: https://strong-nights.today/matcha-green-tea/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv class=reply>
How would you make the Matcha Doughnut recipe gluten free?
You could use gluten free flower, or perhaps look for the ratio needed with almond flour, rice flour, oat flour, there are plenty options. 🙂
Would the dough be think to use with out a donut pan and just roll out & cut?
Hi Ang, no, a pan is required, it’s a wet dough. If you had a mini muffin pan, that could work instead of a doughnut pan.
Can I replace the egg with flax egg? ? thank you! Can’t wait to try this!!!
I made these and they came out so soft and yummy! Best matcha doughnuts ever! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe (: I’m baking them again this weekend!
I know this is a stupid question…. but does each of the “topping” good for 6 donuts? If I want them to be all of the same flavor, do I use the same portion as it mentioned above, or do I need to multiply the ingredients by 3?
Hi, yes, each will be enough for 6, no need to multiply.
Can I use brown sugar?
I haven’t tried, but I think it would be fine.
I do like this recipe, but i would recommend adding more nutmeg and vanilla. And they definitely taste a-lot better with a chocolate drizzle.
Hi Mya, I’m glad you enjoyed them with those modifications.
Can I use buttermilk?
you can!
I made these doughnuts step by step. I liked them okay but they needed more flavor. Possibly more nutmeg would have made them better. I added chocolate drizzle and that made them 10x better as well.
they look so beautiful! are these cake doughnuts?
thank you! they are cake doughnuts
Has anyone made these with a gluten-free flour blend?
Just stayed up til 11pm to make these
for a breakfast treat when everyone gets up for school and work…. funny how one is missing from the dozen I made?….. the helper boy said it is delicious and we are trying to think of ways to change into a blueberry option and a lemon poppyseed flavor… the possibilities are endless ?
So delicious! My husband couldn’t get enough. Do you have a chocolate baked donut recipe similar to this? I wondered if just substituting cocoa powder in place of matcha would be sufficient ?
Hi Lindsey, I’m so glad you both loved them! I don’t have a chocolate version… I’m adding it to my list because I do think it would be an easy modification of this recipe. I’d probably add a higher ratio of cocoa powder than matcha to get a chocolatey flavor.
Looks Awesome… Thanks for sharing such a delicious recipe.