Banana Oatmeal Cookies
Updated Oct 01, 2026
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These banana oatmeal cookies are easy to make in 20 minutes with a few simple ingredients like oats, honey, ripe bananas and no flour! Banana oat cookies are a delicious breakfast, snack or healthy dessert – add chocolate chip or your favorite mix-ins to make them extra-special!
These banana oatmeal cookies are healthy enough to eat for breakfast! Made with a handful of nutritious ingredients in a mere 20 minutes – enjoy these banana oat cookies as a delicious breakfast, snack or healthy dessert (also, try these breakfast cookies and homemade granola bars)! Add chocolate chip or your favorite mix-ins to make them extra-special!
My kids love it when I make these banana oatmeal chocolate chip cookies – because they think they’re eating dessert when really they’re enjoying a healthy and nutritious treat! I like making a batch and tossing them in the freezer to always have on hand for busy mornings or as a quick snack. They’re gluten-free, dairy-free and easy to make vegan too.
Why You’ll Love These Banana Oatmeal Cookies
- SO Easy. One bowl & 20 minutes.
- No flour. Only oats – so they’re gluten-free!
- Naturally sweetened. Bananas & honey or maple syrup make them sweet but not too sweet.
- Healthy enough for breakfast. They’re made with wholesome ingredients like bananas and oats, but my kids still feel like they’re eating cookies for breakfast!
- Allergy-friendly. They’re naturally dairy-free and gluten-free when made with certified gluten-free oats, and they’re easy to make vegan.
- Freezer-friendly. Make a batch and freeze them for quick breakfasts, lunchboxes and snacks.
I had all ingredients on hand so I gave it a try, very easy, I added dark chocolate chips. I will be making these again and again. Thank you. Is it still healthy if you eat a dozen at a time? 😆🤣
– Louis
Banana Oatmeal Cookies Ingredients & Substitutions
Let’s chat about the ingredients in these banana oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, as well as possible substitutions!
- Overripe bananas. Make sure your bananas are ripe and sweet. If using bananas that have been previously frozen, thaw them in the microwave or at room temperature before using in this recipe.
- Honey/Maple Syrup. Both liquid sweeteners work well in these banana oatmeal cookies. Agave or brown rice syrup can also be used.
- Egg. you can use a flax egg or egg replacer to make these vegan/egg-free.
- Cinnamon. Don’t leave it out! The cinnamon makes these the absolute best banana oatmeal cookies ever.
- Sea salt. If using iodized salt, reduce the amount by half.
- Chocolate chips. Regular-sized or mini chips work great in this recipe. We’ll chat later about a variety of possible mix-ins other than chocolate chips.
Can I Use Old-Fashioned Oats?
Yes! I prefer quick-cooking oats for banana oatmeal cookies because they give the cookies a softer texture.
Old-fashioned rolled oats also work, but they create a heartier, chewier cookie with more noticeable pieces of oatmeal. If you want to use them, I suggest pulsing them in a food processor or blender 1 or 2 times to achieve the texture of quick-cooking oats.
I would not recommend steel-cut oats in this recipe.
How to Make Banana Oatmeal Cookies
These banana oatmeal cookies are incredibly easy to make in one bowl – no mixer or chilling required. Follow the step-by-step photos to learn how to make these healthy banana oat cookies, and don’t forget to watch the video!
To begin, mash the bananas together in a large mixing bowl. Then, add honey, egg and vanilla and stir to combine. Next, add oats, cinnamon and sea salt and stir until combined.
Add Chocolate Chip Or Mix-ins
Once the batter is homogenous (uniform throughout), gently stir in mix-ins, if desired. I prefer to make these banana oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and add some semi-sweet chocolate chips (regular or mini). However, there are some other add-in ideas:
- Cinnamon Chips (yum)!
- White chocolate chips
- Coconut
- Dried fruit (raisins, cherries, cranberries, blueberries, etc).
- Peanut butter chips
- Chopped nuts
Bake & Cool
Use a 1 tablespoon measuring spoon or a 1 ½ tablespoon cookie scoop to measure portions of the banana oatmeal cookie dough, and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper spaced about 2” apart.
Bake the banana oat cookies in a preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, or until the tops are just set and the bottoms are very lightly browned. Then, let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
How to Serve Banana Oatmeal Cookies
Serve these healthy banana oatmeal cookies slightly warm or at room temperature.
How to Store Banana Oat cookies
Once completely cooled, store these banana and oat cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Freeze
These banana oatmeal cookies freeze beautifully. Let them cool completely, then transfer them to an airtight container or freezer-friendly bag and freeze for up to 2 months.
Reaheat
Reheat in the microwave or oven set to warm.
Banana Oatmeal Cookies FAQs
This recipe lasts for up to 1 week in the refrigerator, and 2 months in the freezer.
Yes, you can use an egg replacer, chia egg or flax egg (1 TBS chia/flax mixed with 2.5 TBS warm water).
Yes! This recipe is made with fruit, oats, and naturally sweetened. They’re a great, healthy, low-calorie snack or treat.
Yes. I prefer quick-cooking oats because they result in the best texture. Old-fashioned rolled oats work too, but the cookies will have a heartier, chewier texture. Do not use steel-cut oats.
This recipe is naturally flourless. Oats themselves don’t contain gluten, but cross-contact can occur during processing, so use certified gluten-free oats if you need the cookies to be gluten-free.
Yes. Use maple syrup instead of honey, replace the egg with a flax egg, chia egg or your favorite egg replacer, and use dairy-free chocolate chips.
Very ripe bananas are best. Choose bananas with lots of brown spots because they’re softer and sweeter.
Absolutely. You can omit the chocolate chips entirely or replace them with raisins, dried cranberries, shredded coconut, chopped nuts or another favorite mix-in.
These cookies are supposed to be soft. They won’t have the same crisp edges as a traditional oatmeal cookie. They’re more like little banana bread cookies! 🙂
If you make and love my recipes, it would mean so much to me if you would leave a comment and rating! And don’t forget to follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, TikTok and Youtube – be sure to tag @joyfoodsunshine and use the hashtag #joyfoodsunshine so I can see your creations!
Banana Oatmeal Cookies
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 bananas overripe (about 1 ¼ cups mashed banana)
- 2 Tablespoons honey (or maple syrup)
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cup quick cooking oats
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- ½ cup chocolate chips or other add ins like shredded coconut, dried cranberries, raisins, etc.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside
- In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas.
- Add honey, egg and vanilla and stir to combine.
- Add oats, cinnamon and sea salt and stir until combined.
- If desired, add mix-ins and stir until evenly distributed.
- Use a 1 tablespoon measuring spoon or a 1 ½ TBS cookie scoop to measure portions of the dough, and place them on the prepared baking sheet spaced about 2” apart.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, or until the tops are just set and the bottoms are very lightly browned.
- Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- Overripe bananas. Make sure your bananas are ripe and sweet. If using bananas that have been previously frozen, thaw them in the microwave or at room temperature before using in this recipe.
- Honey/Maple Syrup. Both liquid sweeteners work well. Agave or brown rice syrup can also be used.
- Egg. you can use a flax egg or egg replacer to make these vegan/egg-free.
- Quick-cooking oats. Rolled/old fashioned oats can be used, however the texture will be different.
- Cinnamon. Don’t leave it out! The cinnamon makes these the absolute best banana oatmeal cookies ever.
- Sea salt. If using iodized salt, reduce the amount by half.
- Chocolate chips. Regular-sized or mini chips work great in this recipe. Other possibilities include: cinnamon chips, white chocolate chips, coconut, dried fruit (raisins, cherries, cranberries, blueberries, etc), peanut butter chips, chopped nuts, etc.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These are the best healthy cookies ever ! And so easy to make. I will be making these from now on with different mix-ins <3 AMAZING !!!
Thank you Madeline!
My favorite!!!!
They are so good- I added protein powder and bone broth powder- I have them for breakfast they are so delicious. Thanks for the recipe xx
I did almond extract instead of vanilla! And they’re delicious
Thank you Victoria!
We had some bananas that needed to be used so I searched on your site and this came up! We loveeeee sweets but was looking for an easy and healthier option and they came out perfect! My husband said “these are just as good as regular cookies!”.
Wow! That is high praise Kristen! I’m so glad your family enjoys them as much as we do!
I tried these for the first time after reading the recipe, like 10x. Made them to the letter of the recipe, but reading some of the comments has me wondering about future attempts with possibly raisins or cranberries. It was super easy for me a guy to make and impress both my wife and others (anything that I bake that impresses the wife automatically gets 5*).
Way to go Joel! I hope you experiment with add ins and come back and report your favorites!
Added 1/2 cup of crunchy peanut butter. Delicious! Kids think they are breakfast cookies! 🙂 I opted for maple syrup and they are pleasantly sweet but not too sweet.
I’m so glad your kids love them!
These are so good! I added coconut and peanut butter along with the chocolate chips. Also, I used old fashioned oats and maple syrup. We can’t stop eating them! Thanks for the yummy recipe!!!
Thank you Beth! I’m so glad you love them!
I tried this recipe and followed the directions initially, but did use old fashioned oats instead of quick-cook oats. Perhaps that was why the mixture was too watery. Also the three bananas I used were large. To help thicken the consistency, I added more oats and chia seeds. I also added raisins, chocolate chips, and walnuts. I baked them for a little longer than 20 minutes and they actually turned out quite well. Very tasty and still nutritious with the added ingredients. Turned out the recipe is a good base for adding additional ingredients of your choice. Thanks!
it’s ok!