Lovely green matcha macarons flavoured with Japanese green tea matcha and filled with a simple vanilla buttercream. The first time I made matcha macarons I used matcha tea I had brought back from my honeymoon in Thailand. I didn't know much about matcha back then, but I was in my macarons era and I figured I'd try.
And you know what? They turned out to be delicious. I don't love eating macarons. But I love looking at them, and I love making them, because they require some work and I like a good challenge sometimes. But matcha macarons are actually very tasty! Matcha powder imparts that herbal bitterness and umami qualities that perfectly counterbalance the sweetness of macarons (which, at times, I find to be just too much).
Macarons have a rather fixed recipe that requires precise following in order to succeed. I learned it from a long-time friend who used to work as a pastry chef, her recipe came from a kitchen in Dublin. According to her recipe, the egg whites need to be aged. That is to say separated from the yolks, and kept airtight in the fridge for 5 days. I used to follow this rule, until one day I realized I did not have 5 days to wait and just went with fresh egg whites. I did not notice any remarkable difference in the outcome, so you choose how traditional you want to keep it.
Ingredients & equipment
- Almond meal (finely ground)
- Powdered sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Egg whites
- Water
- Matcha powder
- Butter
- Vanilla
For detailed quantities, please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Although you can switch to US measurements in the recipe card, I strongly recommend to use a kitchen scale and follow the recipe in grams, as making macarons requires precision.
To make matcha macarons you will need a saucepan and a candy thermometer. Mixing bowls and an electric hand mixer. A mesh sieve. A silicone spatula. A piping bag fitted with a large round tip. Oven trays lined with baking paper.
How to make matcha macarons
1. Divide the egg whites equally into 2 bowls. Set aside one bowl. In the other bowl, sift the almond meal, powdered sugar and matcha powder. Mix with a wooden spoon (or rubber spatula) until you get a thick almond paste.
2. Add the water and granulated sugar to a small saucepan and set on medium heat. When the sugar syrup reaches 110°C (230F) start beating the egg whites from the second bowl. When the syrup reaches 121°C (250F) pour it in one thin stream into the beaten egg whites and keep mixing until the meringue cools to room temperature.
3. When the meringue has cooled, add the almond paste to the meringue bowl in two batches. Work it with a spatula gently and firmly at the same time, pressing the spatula against the sides of the bowl. This helps to get rid of excess air in the batter. Stop as soon as you see that the mixture is smooth and clump free. See tips below.
4. Transfer the batter to a piping bag and pipe small circles onto a tray lined with parchment paper. Let rest for 30 minutes, or until the surface of the macaron shells is dry to the touch. You can optionally dust a little matcha on some of them for an extra decorative touch.
5. Bake the macarons in the preheated oven at 145°C (293F) for 18 minutes. Remove the parchment paper sheet from the hot baking tray as soon as you take the shells out of the oven. Let the macarons cool completely before filling.
6. Add the room temperature butter to a bowl together with the powdered sugar (sifted) and the vanilla. Mix at high speed for 4-5 minutes, until fluffy and light in colour.
Add buttercream to a piping bag and fill the macarons.
Matcha macarons tips
Incorporating the almond paste into the meringue is a technique called macaronage. It requires being firm on purpose in order to get rid of excess air in the meringue. The pressing and folding of the batter can require a couple of minutes, but how to know when to stop? We are aiming for a precise texture: the macaron batter needs to pour in a ribbon, a flat stream. So every now and then lift the spatula and try and pour the batter in a figure 8. If the ribbon pours through 2 sets of a figure 8 without breaking, you have the right texture. If it breaks, there is still some air to knock out.
When cooking the sugar syrup, have the bowl with the egg whites and mixer at hand. The reason why we start beating the egg whites when the syrup reaches 110C is because by the time it reaches 121 degrees, the eggs will have reached the desired level of fluffiness and will be ready to incorporate the hot syrup to make Italian meringue.
Tea lover? Try my Earl Grey tea tiramisù!
When piping the macaron batter, consider to have the macarons slightly spaced out as they tend to grow larger as the batter sets. But they should not grow any larger as they bake. Instead, they will grow in height, developing the so-called "macaron foot". In order to achieve that, we need to let them dry for at least a half hour before we bake them. A dried top will hold its shape and the macaron will grow tall. A top that has not dried will, instead, will crack and the batter will tend to grow in the middle, losing the typical macaron shape.
More small treats
Loving small biscuits and such treats? Here is a small selection of such goodness for you. Melt-in-your-mouth chocolate biscuits. Nutella thumbprint cookies. A lovely chocolate praline made at Christmastime in Sweden. And another big Swedish feature: ginger thins. Click on the recipes below to discover more recipes. Enjoy!
If you tried this recipe, let me know your thoughts in the comments. If you're planning to try it another time, pin this recipe to Pinterest. Please consider subscribing to my newsletter and following me on Instagram and on Pinterest.
Originally posted February 2019. Updated with new pictures and better wording in October 2026.
Matcha macarons
Equipment
- Small saucepan
- candy thermometer
- Mixing bowls
- Hand mixer
- Mesh sieve
- Silicone spatula
- Piping bag with large round tip
- Oven trays
- Baking paper
Ingredients
For the shells
- 200 g almond meal
- 200 g confectioner's sugar
- 200 g granulated sugar
- 150 g egg whites
- 50 g water
- 1,5 teaspoon matcha powder
For the cream
- 200 g butter
- 100 g powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Divide the egg whites equally into 2 bowls. Set aside one bowl. In the other bowl, sift the almond meal, powdered sugar and matcha powder. Mix with a rubber spatula until you get a thick almond paste.
- Add the water and granulated sugar to a small saucepan and set on medium heat. When the sugar syrup reaches 110°C (230F) start beating the egg whites from the second bowl. When the syrup reaches 121°C (250F) pour it in one thin stream into the beaten egg whites and keep mixing until the meringue cools to room temperature.
- When the meringue has cooled, add the almond paste to the meringue bowl in two batches. Work it with a spatula gently and firmly at the same time, pressing the spatula against the sides of the bowl. This helps to get rid of excess air in the batter. Stop as soon as you see that the mixture is smooth and clump free. See tips below.
- Transfer the batter to a piping bag and pipe small circles onto a tray lined with parchment paper. The macarons need to be quite spaced out as they tend to grow larger as the batter sets. Let rest for 30 minutes, or until the surface of the macaron shells is dry to the touch.
- Bake the macarons in the preheated oven at 145°C (293F) for 18 minutes. Remove the parchment paper sheet from the hot baking tray as soon as you take the shells out of the oven. Let the macarons cool completely before filling.
- Add the room temperature butter to a bowl together with the powdered sugar (sifted) and the vanilla. Mix at high speed for 4-5 minutes, until fluffy and light in colour. Add buttercream to a piping bag and fill the macarons.
Notes
- The yield should be about 50 macarons. If you'd rather only fill half of them, and save half of the shells for later, halve the amounts in the buttercream recipe.
- Make sure you use finely ground almond meal, you should be able to sift it through a regular mesh sieve (not a fine one like for flour).
- Although you can switch to US measurements in the recipe card, I strongly recommend to use a kitchen scale and follow the recipe in grams.
- The eggs I have here in Sweden are medium-small, and in order to get the 150 g of egg whites required by the recipe I generally need to use 5 eggs. The volume of the egg whites is roughly 120 ml (½ cup).
These macarons are gorgeous! Perfect for Valentine's' day ♥
Thank you! ♥
Beautiful creation! I love matcha flavors!!! Perfect for Valentine's Day!
I was a novice at matcha but became quickly addicted!