Sweet and chewy Banana Oatmeal Cookies are loaded with rich chocolate chips, banana, and oatmeal, baked until soft with a chewy center. It's the perfect cookie to enjoy with your morning coffee or as a sweet snack any time of the day!
Oatmeal is a great nutritious ingredient that we love to make porridge with, add to pancakes, berry crisps, muffins, and make cookies such as healthy oatmeal cookies, no bake cookies to name a few.
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Ingredients
My few comments on the ingredients + don't forget to read the Tips section!
The full recipe and ingredients can be found in the recipe card below this post.
You'll need simple ingredients for these healthy cookies.
- Overripe Bananas - For the sweetest flavor you’ll need about 2 medium-sized bananas that are ripe, full of brown spots, and mashed. Well, any banana will work here but overripe bananas will give the best sweetest flavor.
- Flour - these cookies are made with gluten-free flour blend with xanthan gum but regular all-purpose will produce very similar results. Check out my own recipe for homemade gluten free flour. We also like Bobs Red Mill and Schar Mix C.
- Oats - Quick oats can be used or old-fashioned oats when you want a more chunky cookie. Oats are naturally gluten-free, but most of them are processed together with gluten products. If that is important to you, look for certified GF oats.
- Butter and egg - these types of ingredients should be at room temperature as it will help to incorporate them into the cookie dough mixture better. Unsalted butter is preferable otherwise omit the salt called for in the recipe.
- Sugar - I’ve used equal parts white and brown sugar. While the granulated sugar helps to caramelize the cookies and make them crisper, the brown sugar keeps them moist and chewy on the inside!
- Chocolate chips - I’ve used semi-sweet chocolate chips but you could also use milk chocolate chips, and white or dark chocolate chips instead. To intensify the banana-chocolate flavor in these cookies, increase the quantity of chocolate chips to ¾ cup.
- Baking powder - be careful as some have gluten in them. If you are gluten free sensitive, look for certified gluten free baking powder.
- Salt - Sea salt or kosher salt for the best natural flavor.
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Mash bananas until puree-like consistency. Set aside.
In a large bowl cream together butter and sugars. Beat on low with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer until smooth and creamy.
Add egg, vanilla, and mashed bananas. Mix the dry ingredients separately and add to wet ingredients.
Add ½ or 1 cup at a time, beat on low until combined, and then continue with the next batch.
Mix until ingredients are almost combined.
Fold in chocolate chips.
Scoop 2 tablespoonfuls of dough and roll into balls. I like these cookies to be thick and rich but you can make smaller ones by using just 1 ½ tablespoons of dough per cookie ball.
Arrange the cookie balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat cookie sheet. You can slightly press these down as these cookies won't spread like our Oreo cream cheese cookies.
Bake for 11-13 minutes (the time varies due to different ovens) until the golden brown top.
By the end of baking, the cookies should be soft in the middle and have risen up slightly.
The cookies will have a soft center inside. Once they cool down they will set well and the texture inside remains soft, lots of banana flavor and with a creamy buttery flavor.
- Related: Healthy oatmeal cookies
For the chocolate chips, I like to decorate the cookies after they have baked by pressing in some extra chocolate chips on top of the cookies.
Let cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.
Tips
- Make sure that the egg and butter are both at room temperature as this helps them to mix much better into the cookie batter.
- Unlike classic chocolate chip cookies, no need to chill the cookie dough as these cookies will not spread out as much.
- Allow the butter and egg to reach room temperature for easy mixing.
- Cookie scoops are a great tool to use for creating uniform-sized cookie shapes. Or a kitchen scale to measure out each cookie.
- Flattening the cookie dough balls slightly before baking the cookies will help them spread evenly.
- Don’t overbake - bake these cookies until they are slightly golden brown on the edges but still soft in the center.
- Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. This will help prevent the freshly baked cookies from falling apart.
- You can easily double the ingredients to make an extra batch of cookies and store them away in the freezer to enjoy whenever you like.
- Always check the expiration date on the label of your baking powder and baking soda as old or expired ingredients can affect how these cookies rise while baking.
- Use a cookie scoop for ease of measuring and to ensure uniform-sized cookies that will bake evenly.
- Don’t be tempted to substitute the sugars in this recipe. They are both needed to ensure the best buttery and soft cookie. While you could technically make these cookies only with white sugar, there definitely will be a difference even though they will still taste good.
📋 JULIA'S TIP Use unsalted butter. Why? The salt content in various butter brands varies. Depending on the brand, different amount of salt is added according to their recipes. I like to use unsalted butter in baking, so I can control the salt content myself.
Freezing And Storing Instructions
- To Store. You can store the cookies at room temperature in a tightly sealed airtight container for 2-3 days. For anything longer than that, I'd recommend keeping them refrigerated. These cookies are medium soft and will crumble easily after storing. Make sure to keep them sealed so they don’t dry out too quickly.
- To Freeze. Allow the cookies to cool and transfer them to an airtight container or freezer-friendly bag and freeze for up to 2-3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator and let come to room temperature before eating.
- Make Ahead. You can freeze the unbaked cookie dough for up to a month or freeze the baked cookies for 2-3 months. Thaw the dough in the refrigerator until softened and let come to room temperature before baking.
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Recipe Card
Banana Oatmeal Cookies With Chocolate Chips
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INGREDIENTS
- ½ cup mashed ripe bananas , about 2 medium bananas
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 and ½ cup gluten-free flour blend, or all purpose wheat flour, see notes
- 2 cups quick oats (certified GF, if needed), or old-fashioned rolled oats for a more chunky cookie, see notes
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder, certified gluten free, if needed
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ - ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips , see notes
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Mash bananas until puree-like consistency. Set aside.
- In a large bowl cream together butter and sugars. Beat on low with an electric hand mixer or stand mixer until smooth and creamy. Add egg, vanilla, and bananas. Mix on low until combined. Set aside.
- In a separate medium bowl, combine sifted flour and baking soda, baking powder, salt, and oats. Whisk to combine and add to wet ingredients gradually. Add ½ or 1 cup at a time, beat on low until combined, and then continue with the next batch.
- Mix until ingredients are almost combined.
- Fold in chocolate chips.
- Scoop 2 tablespoonfuls of dough and roll into balls. I like these cookies to be thick and rich but you can make smaller ones by using just 1 ½ tablespoons of dough per cookie ball.
- Arrange the cookie balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat cookie sheet. These cookies need to be at least 2 inches apart. Don’t press them down!
- Bake for 11-13 minutes (the time varies due to different ovens) until the golden brown top. By the end of baking, the cookies should be soft in the middle and have risen up slightly.
- The cookies will have a quite soft center inside. Once they cool down they will set well and the texture inside remains soft, lots of banana flavor and with a creamy buttery flavor. For the chocolate chips, I like to decorate the cookies after they have baked by pressing 4-5 chocolate chips on top of the cookies.
- Let cool in the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack.
VIDEO
NOTES
- Flour - these cookies are made with gluten-free flour blend with xanthan gum but regular all-purpose will produce very similar results. Check out my own recipe for homemade gluten free flour. We also like Bob's Red Mill and Schar Mix C.
- Oats - Use certified GF oats if needed.
- Chocolate chips - ½ is usually enough but if you want to intensify banana chocolate flavor add ¾ cup.
- Overripe Bananas - For the sweetest flavor you’ll need about 2 medium-sized bananas that are ripe, full of brown spots, and mashed. Well, any banana will work here but overripe bananas will give the best sweetest flavor.
- To Store. You can store the cookies at room temperature in a tightly sealed airtight container for 2-3 days. For anything longer than that, I'd recommend keeping them refrigerated. These cookies are medium soft and will crumble easily after storing them. Make sure to keep them sealed so they don’t dry out too quickly.
ADD YOUR OWN PRIVATE NOTES
NUTRITION
Note: Nutrition information is estimated and varies based on the products used.
Full Nutrition Disclaimer can be found here.
FAQs
The mashed banana in these cookies softens the baked cookies quite a bit compared to other cookie recipes that don’t use bananas. It’s for this reason that I suggest you allow the freshly baked cookies some time to set before serving them.
Yes! You’ll need to use gluten-free flour such as Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free flour and check the labels on the baking powder and baking soda to ensure that they were not packaged and stored in warehouses containing gluten products.
Compared to store-bought commercial cookies, these banana oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are definitely the healthier option. Yes, they do contain sugar but none of the ingredients used are artificial and most of the ingredients are actually very wholesome.
For instance, bananas are a great source of potassium which is required by our bodies to function properly. The oats provide a great source of plant-based protein and fiber - great for gut health.
If your oatmeal breakfast cookies are dry once baked, likely, you haven’t measured the old-fashioned oats correctly, or you’ve overbaked the cookies. Using quick oats instead of old-fashioned oats will also produce dry cookies.
Keep your oatmeal cookies stored in an airtight container or Ziploc bag to keep them moist for longer. Adding simple ingredients such as mashed bananas, pumpkin puree, or apple sauce can also be added to these oatmeal raisin cookies for added moisture.
Easy Banana Recipes
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Kelly
These were the best banana cookies I’ve made
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
thank you Kelly, I'm happy to hear that!
Julia | The Yummy Bowl
I hope you love these easy chewy banana oatmeal cookies with chocolate chips!