You will love these healthy and naturally gluten-free, egg-free banana chocolate chip breakfast cookies. They come together in just 1 bowl with only 8 ingredients including oats, mashed bananas, and almond butter. Sweetened with maple syrup with no dough chilling necessary, these are an easy, wholesome, and quick breakfast or anytime treat!
Like my classic breakfast cookies, today’s variation are chewy, dense, and satisfying; and they make a wonderful grab-and-go breakfast or anytime snack you can feel good about. This banana version is even simpler to make, with fewer ingredients.
If you enjoy healthier goodies like these chocolate banana muffins and peanut butter banana chocolate chip oatmeal bars, you’ll love these banana chocolate chip breakfast cookies!
These Banana Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cookies Are:
- An “anytime” healthier cookie
- Made in just 1 bowl
- Naturally vegan if using dairy-free chocolate chips
- Naturally gluten free (if using certified GF oats)
- An egg-free baking recipe
- Sweetened with maple syrup and bananas
- Hearty, wholesome, & satisfying
- Loved by kids and adults alike
- An excuse to have chocolate chip cookies for breakfast 😉
8 Ingredients & Possible Substitutions
- Oats: Use either type of oats—quick or whole. Over the years I’ve found that there’s no difference in the outcome. If you are gluten intolerant, make sure you are using certified gluten-free oats.
- Salt: Flavor enhancer.
- Cinnamon: A key ingredient in most oatmeal cookies, like chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.
- Almond Butter: Use the grainy, drippy, natural kind. A test batch with a more processed almond butter was not tasty. Instead of almond butter, try peanut butter, cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter for a naturally nut-free option. I love using this homemade almond butter.
- Coconut Oil: Just 1/4 cup really improves the texture in these breakfast cookies. Look for one that’s labeled “virgin” or “unrefined.”
- Pure Maple Syrup: Try to use the real stuff, not “breakfast syrup.” You can use honey instead of maple syrup, keeping in mind these cookies would no longer be vegan. Or try date syrup.
- Bananas: Bananas add sweetness, so make sure they’re super ripe. See below about using frozen bananas.
- Chocolate Chips: To keep these cookies vegan, make sure you use dairy-free/vegan chocolate chips. I like semisweet or dark chocolate chips in these, but you could swap the chips for chocolate chunks, raisins, dried cranberries or blueberries, or a mix! If you’d like to get a little nutty, stir in some chopped pecans or walnuts.
Mix Together in 1 Bowl & Bake
There are hardly any instructions to give you—just throw everything together in a bowl and mix. It’s that easy. I use an electric mixer, which is how I typically mash bananas for banana bread, but feel free to use good ol’ fashioned arm muscle instead. Expect a thick and sticky dough.
Scoop 1/4 cup of dough per cookie. Arrange on 2 lined baking sheets. This recipe yields 12 large cookies, so place 6 mounds of dough on each.
Slightly flatten the tops of each cookie. Using the back of a spoon, slightly flatten the tops to make large discs instead of tall mounds. The cookies won’t spread, so this helps give them some shape. I give these flourless peanut butter oatmeal cookies a little encouragement to spread using the same method. Bake the cookies until the edges are lightly browned.
The cooled cookies should be refrigerated, for best taste and texture. I actually love them straight out of the fridge—they almost taste a bit fudgy!
FAQ: Can I Use Frozen Bananas?
Yes, frozen and thawed bananas work in this recipe and you can read more about How to Freeze & Thaw Bananas for Baking if you’d like.
Two important things to remember:
- The riper the banana, the better. When you bake with bananas, you want to use brown, spotty, super-ripe ones.
- Strain off excess liquid. As bananas thaw, they let out a lot of liquid, which can throw off the wet ingredients in any baking recipe. I always recommend draining off most or all of that excess liquid before mashing and measuring them for your recipe.
FAQ: Can I Freeze These Banana Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cookies?
While called breakfast cookies, they’re great all day, every day. I love them as an afternoon snack, for breakfast on the go, or as a healthier dessert. Each batch yields about 12 cookies, and sometimes I make a double batch to keep extras in the freezer for quick homemade snack options. They will be especially appreciated if you are looking for back to school recipe ideas.
Healthy Baking Recipes
- Morning Glory Muffins
- Baked Oatmeal
- Healthy Apple Muffins
- How to Make Granola Clusters
- Greek Yogurt Lemon Bars
- Whole Wheat Pancakes
- No-Bake Greek Yogurt Fruit Tart
- Easy Frittata Recipe
Banana Chocolate Chip Breakfast Cookies
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 17 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 12 cookies
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These are banana chocolate chip breakfast cookies made with wholesome, healthy ingredients. Use certified gluten-free oats to make them gluten free, and/or use dairy-free chocolate chips to make them vegan.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (230g) mashed bananas (about 3 medium or 2 large ripe bananas)
- 2 and 1/2 cups (213g) quick oats or old-fashioned whole rolled oats
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup (56g) coconut oil, melted
- 3/4 cup (185g) natural-style almond butter*
- 1/4 cup (82g) pure maple syrup (or honey)
- 1/2 cup (80g) dairy-free chocolate chips (or use regular semi-sweet)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.
- Place all of the ingredients in a large bowl. (I usually mash the bananas in a large bowl, and then add the remaining ingredients.) Stir everything together until fully combined, or use a handheld or stand mixer with a paddle attachment to beat. The dough is thick and heavy.
- Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, portion 1/4-cup mounds of cookie dough (about 70g each) onto prepared cookie sheet. Use the back of a spoon to slightly flatten out into a cookie shape. (The cookies will not spread in the oven.)
- Bake for 17–20 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Cool cookies on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Cover leftover cookies and store at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 10 days. Cookies get extra soft in storage, and taste best right out of the refrigerator.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Cooled cookies can be frozen up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter or in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature or warm in the microwave for a few seconds before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links):Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Glass Mixing Bowls | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Sheets | Cooling Rack
- Frozen Bananas: You can use thawed frozen bananas in this recipe. Thawed bananas are extra wet, so drain off as much of the excess liquid as you can before mashing. See How to Freeze & Thaw Bananas for Baking.
- 2023 Update: This recipe used to call for 1 cup (250g) almond butter and no coconut oil. They were very dense, very heavy, and there was almost too much sticky almond butter. Replace 1/4 cup of it with coconut oil, and you’ll have a much better texture. The recipe above reflects this slight change.
- Coconut Oil: If you do not have coconut oil, you can replace it with the same amount of applesauce or melted butter.
- Almond Butter: Use the grainy, drippy, natural kind. A test batch with a more processed almond butter was dense, heavy, and hard to chew. Instead of almond butter, try natural peanut butter, cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter for a naturally nut-free option.
- Double Batch: The recipe can easily be doubled to make a bigger batch.
- Gluten Free & Vegan: Use certified gluten-free oats to make them gluten free, and/or use dairy-free chocolate chips to make them vegan.
Can I omit the peanut butter? I don’t have any on hand right now
Hi Caitlin, we recommend subbing the peanut butter with another nut butter or even sunflower seed butter if you have it!
My family loves this recipe! I form them into a 12 silicone muffin liner. They turn into delicious breakfast pucks. Can you tell me the calorie count per cookie?
Hi Lucy, we don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Perfection!!
These were amazing! I took out 1/4c of oats and instead added 1/4 c flax seed and 1/4 c chia and they were still delicious. Also used natural peanut butter instead of almond butter because I didn’t have the former. Definitely will be making these again.
Can I used unsalted butter?
Hi Dee, if you do not have coconut oil, you can replace it with the same amount of applesauce or melted unsalted butter.
This is such a great recipe for those mornings that you have run out of time and need to grab something to eat in the car on the way to wherever you need to be. They are delicious and I also eat one if I need a little sweet treat. Healthy and not too sweet! I keep these on hand and in the freezer and it saves me so frequently when I have run out of time in the morning! And they’re so yummy, too!
I was going to make banana bread with my speckled bananas, but saw this recipe and thought I’d try it instead. First, the dough is delicious (and no worrying about raw egg), but the cookies are great too! Just the right level of sweetness for a breakfast treat. Will try again and use peanut butter next!
I’ve been making these non-stop for the past month. I also tried subbing almond butter for peanut butter and it’s equally as good. Thank you so much for this recipe!
What happened to the original recipe from about 2 years ago? 🙁
Hi Phia, see recipe Notes for details about the changes and the former recipe. Hope this helps!
Just made these to gift to a friend who just had a baby. Super easy/quick to make and freezer friendly! Love the banana/chocolate/almond butter flavor combos
I had bananas I needed to use and tried this for the first time and used peanut butter and real maple syrup. I love them! Will make them again, very hearty/filling!
These are so good! I made them according to the recipe except for adding a few dried cranberries and slivered almonds. I stored them in the refrigerator and actually prefer to eat them cold. Next time I think I’ll try a chocolate hazelnut/almondbutter (Justin’s)for part of the almondbutter. Thanks for such a versatile, easy, and delicious recipe!!
Love this recipe! Makes for a quick and easy breakfast. Definitely keep in the fridge; they taste especially good when cold.
Yet another way to use up over-ripe bananas! I am either gluten-free or vegan. Used honey and “fake sugar”, half peanut butter powder and half crunchy natural peanut butter, and half butter and half applesauce instead of coconut oil, and honey. The dough appeared a bit too loose so added 1/4 cup of ground flax seeds. Instead of chocolate chips, used sugar free butterscotch chips. Came out great! Will definitely make again.
We love these cookies and make them often. Can these be made into bars?
We can’t see why not! Or you may love these banana chocolate chip oatmeal bars too.
Thanks for making note of the recipe change. I make these semi-regularly and would have had a difficult time figuring out the change in consistency. Not sure which I prefer, I definitely appreciate how filling the dense cookies were
I love this recipe and plan to use it in our Lifeskills class. I wanted a less sticky dough, so I added some almond flour…actually about 8 large tablespoons…til it was a bit more firm. As I am not a banana lover, but my husband is, he tested them and said that they were delicious! Thank you!
The whole family loved these! Any thoughts on how to increase the protein in each cookie?
I just made them for the first time. I added a bit extra banana so there would be more liquid factor and added some scoops of neutral protein powder. Worked pretty well!
Where I live almond butter is too cost prohibitive to use 3/4 cup at a time and all peanut butter is rather expensive too, with natural peanut butter being even more so.
But I had powdered peanut butter so I used that, reconstituted with water according to the directions of the peanut butter jar. As a result the batter seemed a bit too loose, so I added a couple of tablespoons of Skippy Chunky peanut butter too, which did the trick nicely. Cookies came out well, nice soft texture and not crumbly or too dense/ heavy.
I think I’d like it with almond butter more though, as the peanut butter is more intense and I think overshadows the banana and cinnamon a bit. But it’s still a really good recipe and relatively healthy which is what I’d wanted.
I added dry cranberries to half the cookies and think they’re equally good both with and without.
Can these be made into lactation cookies? Do you have any other lactation recipes?
Hi Cathy, Check out the recipe for these breakfast cookies. You can turn these into lactation cookies just like those!
These were absolutely delicious and I can’t wait to let my kids eat (healthy – shhh!!) cookies for breakfast!
Delish! Thanks for the recipe. Do you know the nutritional value, approximately?
I can’t believe how delicious these cookies are. Thank you for the recipe.
Hi Sally & Team – I recently made your OG breakfast cookies into lactation cookies for a colleague – and she raved about them. I am ready to bake for her again and was wondering if I could turn these into lactation cookies by adding the nutritional yeast and flax like the other recipe. Thanks for your insight!
Yes, absolutely! You can make those same additions to this recipe.
This recipe is fun and easy to make! How many calories are in the cookies?
Hi Martina, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
I’ve made 2x. Makes for great snack food prep. Also added dried cranberries, substituted apple butter for the coconut oil, and PB for almond. Turn out yummy!!
I added some fresh cranberries. OMG!!! Everyone loved the chocolate and the tartness from the cranberries. I had to make more!!
Can you use peanut butter instead of almond butter?
Hi Amanda! See recipe notes – a natural peanut butter would work great here.
Needed a quick and easy breakfast because I have two toddlers. They both loved these! Definitely going to make them a weekday staple in our house!