Homemade Green Tea Mochi is soft, chewy, and sweet with delicious matcha flavor and beautiful green color. This classic Japanese treat is really easy to make at home and better than that of your favorite restaurant! Plus you can customize the filling with red bean paste, strawberry, or ice cream. 

It takes less than 15 minutes to make these vegan matcha-flavored mochi balls, and you can serve them at the end of a meal as a dessert or snack with a cup of hot green tea. 

Like Japanese Daifuku, these mochi balls have sticky and chewy mochi layer on the outside. It’s a Japanese rice cake made with special glutinous rice flour. On the inside, mochi (抹茶大福) has different types of fillings such as sweet bean paste, strawberries, or ice cream. In this recipe, I made the mochi with green tea (matcha) flavor, and use anko red bean paste as the filling. But you can easily customize with your favorite fillings. 

This matcha flavored mochi recipe uses a shortcut to make the mochi dough by using mochiko sweet rice flour instead of traditional glutinous rice. It’s very easy to prepare and takes just a few minutes. They’re melt-in-your-mouth delicious, so absolutely worth the effort to learn!

What’s in Green Tea Mochi

• Mochiko or Shiratamako (sweet glutinous rice flour)
• Granulated sugar
• Green tea matcha powder
• Water
• Cornstarch
• Your favorite fillings (such as Anko red bean paste)

Pro Tip: The key to the best mochi is using Mochiko or Shiratamako (sweet rice flour). Note that they are different than the regular glutinous rice flour. You can find them in most Japanese grocery stores, or order them online from Amazon. 

How to Make Green Tea Matcha Mochi

We use the microwave method to make the green tea mochi dough, it’s the easiest way and takes just a few minutes!

First whisk together mochiko, sugar, and green tea powder. Then add water and mix well. It’s important to whisk until everything is dissolved completely. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or kitchen towel loosely. Microwave at full power for 2 minutes. Take it out and mix with a wet spatula. Cover and microwave for 30 more seconds until the dough becomes slightly translucent.

Then transfer the mochi dough onto the cornstarch-dusted parchment paper. Sprinkle more cornstarch onto the dough. Divide the dough into 4 equal parts and flatten each one into a circular shape. You can easily stretch the dough using your hands (watch the video to see how to do this).

Scoop out red bean paste and place it in the centre of each mochi wrapper. Pinch the four corners of the mochi wrapper, and then pinch the remaining corners together. Tap the bottom of mochi with cornstarch. Brush the assembled green tea mochi with a brush gently to remove excess cornstarch (See the step-by-step photos below).

Pro Tip: The dough is very sticky, so you’ll need to use cornstarch frequently during the wrapping process. The trickiest part of this recipe is to wrap the red bean paste in the mochi wrapper. It may take a few tries to get it into a great round shape, but after a few, you’ll get a hang of it.

Homemade Anko Red Bean Paste

Homemade red bean paste tastes the best and it only uses 3 ingredients: azuki red beans, sugar, and water. 

Just add red beans and water to a pot, boil for 5 minutes, and drain the water. Add the bean back to the pot and add more water. Bring to boil again, cover with a lid, and simmer for 1 hour. Drain the water.

Add sugar to red beans and stir until the mixture thickens. Let it chill before using it in the matcha mochi.

How to Store Matcha Mochi and How Long Do They Last?

Store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator and they can last for 2 days. These green tea mochi taste the best on the day they’re made. 

What Does Green Tea Mochi Taste Like?

The mochi layer is sticky and chewy with a great earthy flavor. An anko red bean paste filling is sweet and creamy. 

Green Tea Mochi Ice Cream

You can use ice cream instead of red bean paste for delicious matcha mochi ice cream. You can scoop out the ice cream ahead of time and set them aside in the freezer when you prepare the dough. Make sure to move quickly so the ice cream won’t melt during wrapping.

Green Tea Mochi with Strawberry Filling

Another popular option is to stuff the red bean paste with a fresh strawberry, and then cover it with the green tea mochi wrapper for a fruity matcha mochi.

Important Tips

• The color of your green tea mochi depends on the amount of matcha powder you use. I used 1/2 teaspoon in this recipe. You can adjust the amount to make it lighter or darker.
• Make sure to use Mochiko or Shiratamako for this recipe. The regular glutinous rice flour won’t work properly for this recipe.
• Mix the ingredients thoroughly and make sure everything is completely dissolved before cooking them in the microwave.
• Microwave in short intervals to avoid overcooking the dough. The dough will start to look opaque when it’s ready.
• As the dough is very sticky, you’ll need to use cornstarch to prevent it from sticking. It’s important to coat it evenly in a thin layer of cornstarch so it’s not overwhelmed by the white cornstarch powder.
• Make sure the filling is firm enough before adding it to the mochi wrapper. The filling can be soft when it’s still warm. So plan ahead and let it cool down before you make the dough, otherwise, it won’t hold the shape properly.