The All Blacks were in danger of repeating their famous loss to the Irish province of 30 years ago until wing Joe Rokocoko scored a try in the 77th minute to give his side the lead.
Munster dominated for much of the match, tackling themselves to a standstill and taking their chances to lead 16-10 at halftime.
The New Zealanders were far from composed, a high error rate helping the Munster side who forced many of the mistakes committed by the tourists.
New Zealand's next match is a test against Wales in Cardiff on Sunday morning (NZT).
Earlier, the haka war was a draw.
Munster's New Zealand rugby contingent famously pre-empted the All Blacks pre-match ritual with a stirring rendition today, adding more emotion to a match held 30 years after Munster beat New Zealand 12-0.
Rua Tipoki, Doug Howlett, Lifeimi Mafi and Jeremy Manning took centre stage before a capacity crowd of 26,000 at Thomond Park Stadium, performing a haka as the All Blacks stood respectfully over halfway.
Once the quartet had completed their challenge -- to rapturous applause -- a hush descended over the ground as the All Blacks, led by captain Piri Weepu, replied with a flawless performance of Ka Mate.
There had been suggestion last week that Munster's ex-pats would respond to the haka.
Instead, they got in first when Tipoki, a former New Zealand Maori captain, motioned the New Zealanders forward from their teammates.
Howlett, who played 62 tests for the All Blacks before joining Munster last season, and Mafi, a former Taranaki midfielder, joined Tipoki while the least known New Zealander, Manning, who played in Wellington before relocating to Cork, was at the right end of the chain.
The New Zealand quartet's challenge represented the most stirring pre-match interlude involving the haka since Willie Anderson famously shuffled his side towards the All Blacks in Dublin in 1989, with the Irish captain ending up eyeballing his counterpart Wayne Shelford.
