These whole grain banana oatmeal cookies are soft and chewy, sweetened only with bananas and honey and a few chocolate chips. This is one recipe you're going to want to double!
Baking with bananas
If you don't like the taste of bananas, then this recipe definitely isn't for you! Don't despair, though. This recipe for simple oatmeal breakfast cookies is a great option. So are these pumpkin oatmeal breakfast cookies.
If you're like my family and you have a constant rotation of underripe and overripe bananas, both on your kitchen counter and in your freezer, pull up a seat. You're in the right place.
Bananas add a natural sweetness to everything from banana bread (how about one with a cinnamon swirl?) to banana muffins and even banana oatmeal muffins. Once they're almost uncomfortably ripe, you can either bake with them right away or peel, chop and freeze them in a single layer. Then, pile them into a ziptop bag and use them in almost any way you would use fresh bananas.
You can blend your frozen bananas into a smoothie, or thaw them out on the countertop or in the microwave. Then, mash those ripe bananas and bake with them as normal.
One of my favorite ways to bake with them is by pairing them with oats. The creaminess of bananas is a natural complement to the chewiness of oats.
What makes these banana oatmeal cookies into a gf breakfast, not dessert
If you're looking for traditional gluten free oatmeal cookies to satisfy a hankering for everyone's second favorite buttery dessert cookie, this is not that recipe! That oatmeal cookie recipe is made to be eaten at the end of the day, with a tall glass of milk.
This recipe is meant to be enjoyed with a hot cup of morning coffee—or on the run if that's how your day is working out. It's made without any all purpose flour of any kind (gluten free or not). The structure is created by oats in two forms (rolled oats and oat flour).
Banana oatmeal cookies aren't technically flourless
I would never call this recipe flourless, though, since I take that term very literally. If I'm calling a recipe flourless, that means that there's nothing in the recipe that's been ground into a flour. That means no oat flour, no almond flour, and no rice flour at all.
Since this recipe is made without any refined grains, and only honey and mashed bananas for sweetness, it's much healthier than a traditional dessert cookie. It does have a few chocolate chips, but you can leave those out or replace them with chopped raw nuts if you'd prefer.
How to make banana oatmeal cookies
Whenever possible, I write my recipes to be made in one single bowl. These banana oatmeal cookies aren't very fussy at all and can tolerate a few substitutions quite easily. (See the “Ingredients and substitutions” section below for full substitution information.)
But as written the recipe will require a bowl to melt the butter, and one to beat the egg. Here's how the recipe is written.
Combine the dry ingredients (oats, oat flour, baking soda and salt) in a large bowl and whisk them to combine. Then create a well in the center of the dry ingredients with a spoon.
Next, add the wet ingredients (melted butter, banana, egg, and honey) in the center. The well you've created in the dry ingredients allows the wet ingredients to be mixed into the dry in just a few strokes.
How to make these banana oatmeal cookies in one bowl
Since you'll need melted butter and a beaten egg, if you'd rather make the recipe in precisely one single bowl, there's another way. Flip the preparation of the wet ingredients with the preparation of the dry.
First, place the butter in a large bowl, and melt the butter in the microwave. Allow the melted butter to cool until it's no longer hot to the touch. Mash the banana right into the melted butter, then add the egg and honey and beat with a fork to combine well.
Then, you can add the oats, oat flour, baking soda and salt to the wet ingredients and mix them into the soft cookie dough. Just be sure to mix it fully so the baking soda and salt aren't concentrated in one single area of the mixture.
The cookies have so little fat in them that they won't spread much at all during baking. So be sure to flatten the mounds of cookie dough with wet fingers before putting them in the oven.
Banana oatmeal cookies: ingredients and substitutions
I've made these cookies dairy-free, but I haven't made them without the egg or without oats. If you have additional dietary restrictions, here are my best-educated guesses about replacing some ingredients in this recipe.
Dairy-free banana oatmeal cookies
The only dairy in this recipe is unsalted butter, and it can be replaced with virgin coconut oil, gram for gram. Just be sure you're using dairy free chocolate chips.
My favorite brand of dairy-free chocolate chips is Enjoy Life brand, but Nestle also makes a variety of chocolate chips that are top 8 allergen-free called “Simply Delicious.” They're made with only 3 ingredients, and they taste great.
Egg-fee banana oatmeal cookies
Since there's only 1 egg in this recipe, try replacing it with one “chia egg” (mix 1 tablespoon ground chia flour with 1 tablespoon lukewarm water and allow it to sit until it gels).
About the oats in these banana oatmeal cookies
In the U.S., there are certified gluten free oats that are grown on dedicated gluten-free fields and stored in dedicated silos. We use them all the time.
For oat flour, I simply grind them in a blender or food processor as finely as possible. If I'm using oats in a recipe, I want some chew from them, so I never worry about having a superfine oat flour.
If you can’t or would rather not have oats for any reason, though, they can be replaced in gluten free baking. The oat flour should be replaced with quinoa flakes and the old-fashioned oats with beaten rice, but click through the link in the previous sentence for a complete explanation.
How to make banana oatmeal cookies without honey
If you can't have honey, or you'd like to make vegan banana oatmeal cookies by replacing the egg as directed above, you can try replacing the honey with agave syrup or Lyle's golden syrup. You could also replace it with light corn syrup, but it must be a liquid sweetener, not a granulated one.
How to make the best banana oatmeal cookies
Banana Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups (125 g) certified gluten free old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 ½ cups (180 g) certified gluten free oat flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 2 (200 g) medium ripe bananas peeled and mashed
- 1 (50 g (weighed out of shell)) egg at room temp, beaten
- ¼ cup (84 g) honey
- 3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper and set it aside.
- In a large bowl, place the oats, oat flour, baking soda and salt, and whisk to combine well.
- Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and add the butter, bananas, egg and honey, and mix to combine well. The dough will be very soft.
- Add the chips, and mix until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- Place the bowl in the refrigerator and chill until firm (about 10 minutes). That will help the cookies hold their shape when scooped onto the baking sheet, rather than weeping and sliding.
- Scoop the dough with a medium-size ice cream scoop (about 2 1/2 tablespoons in volume), and drop about 2 inches apart from one another on the prepared baking sheet.
- With wet fingers, press down on top of each piece of dough to spread into a disk about 3/4-inch thick.
- Place the baking sheet in the center of the preheated oven. Bake until golden brown around the edges and set in the center (about 18 minutes).
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven, and allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet until firm before serving.
- Leftovers can be frozen in a single layer on a lined baking sheet, then piled into a zip-top freezer bag until ready to eat. Defrost at room temperature or in the microwave before serving.
Banana Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups (125 g) certified gluten free old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 ½ cups (180 g) certified gluten free oat flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 2 (200 g) medium ripe bananas peeled and mashed
- 1 (50 g (weighed out of shell)) egg at room temp, beaten
- ¼ cup (84 g) honey
- 3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper and set it aside.
- In a large bowl, place the oats, oat flour, baking soda and salt, and whisk to combine well.
- Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and add the butter, bananas, egg and honey, and mix to combine well. The dough will be very soft.
- Add the chips, and mix until evenly distributed throughout the dough.
- Place the bowl in the refrigerator and chill until firm (about 10 minutes). That will help the cookies hold their shape when scooped onto the baking sheet, rather than weeping and sliding.
- Scoop the dough with a medium-size ice cream scoop (about 2 1/2 tablespoons in volume), and drop about 2 inches apart from one another on the prepared baking sheet.
- With wet fingers, press down on top of each piece of dough to spread into a disk about 3/4-inch thick.
- Place the baking sheet in the center of the preheated oven. Bake until golden brown around the edges and set in the center (about 18 minutes).
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven, and allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet until firm before serving.
- Leftovers can be frozen in a single layer on a lined baking sheet, then piled into a zip-top freezer bag until ready to eat. Defrost at room temperature or in the microwave before serving.
Pam says
Made these. They are really good.
Carrie says
The ingredients call for 1 egg (50 g, weighed out of shell) at room temp, beaten. Is that a typo in the weight of the egg? Thanks, Carrie
Nicole Hunn says
There are no typos, no, Carrie. I used to specify the size of an egg, but that made it very difficult for people with backyard chickens to use their eggs. So now I specify the weight, out of the shell. A typical large egg weighs 50 grams. Thanks.
Mary Sue says
My eggs are free range with no hormones. Since mine are obviously smaller (size in shell is definitely a large egg), should I use 2?
Thanks!
Nicole Hunn says
Weight measurements are always more accurate. Please use 25 grams of raw eggs, beaten.
Mary Sue says
I weighed my large egg out of the shell and it’s 13 grams. Did you use an ostrich egg?
Thanks!
Nicole Hunn says
Hi, Mary Sue,
A standard large egg weighs about 50 grams out of the shell. I provide the weight measurement for those who get eggs from their own backyard chickens.
Deanna says
I’d like to make these to take on vacation. Will they keep at room temp or in a cooler for 4 days?
Nicole Hunn says
I think they’d keep great in a cooler, Deanna! Maybe try freezing them for a couple days before you go, then keeping them in a cooler. They should do great!
Geetha says
Great recipe! I’m growing different varieties of bananas in my garden. Can’t wait to try them out. Will surely update you with my experiments.
Thanks.
Geetha@Pondicherry, India
Glenna says
Do you think I could use applesauce instead of banana? My family are not too keen on banana flavor anything. :(
Nicole Hunn says
As I explain in the post, Glenna, if you don’t like bananas, this really isn’t the recipe for you! But please see the link to my oatmeal breakfast cookies in the post. That should suit you and your family’s tastes.
Susan Kaltenbach says
Is it possible to replace the honey with maple syrup? It is what I have on hand when camping. Thanks.
Nicole Hunn says
You can try, Susan, but maple syrup is a lot thinner than honey so it might not work quite as well (and the cookies might spread more). I’m afraid I can’t be sure!
Beth says
Thanks for the delicious recipes! Can these and/or your other breakfast cookies be made as bars? My health limits the amount of time I can cook, and I find bars to be easier.
Nicole Hunn says
I’m afraid that I haven’t tested these as a bar, and I don’t recommend it for this recipe (or the other breakfast cookie recipes). I’d take a look at my master granola bar recipe, Beth. I think that might suit your needs better.
Alicia says
Could you replace the butter with something?
Nicole Hunn says
Please see the ingredients and substitutions section right above the recipe itself, Alicia! I provide all that information. :)