Banana Breakfast Cookies
Banana Breakfast Cookies make a wholesome, yummy breakfast on-the-go. This banana recipe is naturally sweetened, gluten-free, and perfect for using up ripe bananas!
Craving even more healthy-ish cookies? You might enjoy Wholesome Breakfast Cookies, One-Bowl Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Oatmeal Lunchbox Cookies!
Are you always on the hunt for new, different banana recipes? Well, if so...may I interest you in a COOKIE FOR BREAKFAST?!?!
Ingredients
Oh. Do I have your attention now?
Good.
Because that's exactly what I'm sharing today...Banana Breakfast Cookies that are loaded with banana and oatmeal, studded with chopped nuts, kissed with peanut butter (or your favorite nut/non-nut butter), and sweetened with a touch of honey.
What Makes Them Great
Aside from satisfying your search for banana recipes to use up an ongoing abundance of ripe bananas, these Banana Breakfast Cookies have a few other things going for them:
- They're easy to make.
- They're healthy.
- They're downright delicious!
- They're also gluten-free (as long as you make them with certified GF oats).
- And you can even make them vegan (using agave syrup or kosher maple syrup in place of the honey), in case you happen to care about those kinds of things.
My kids actually don't care about the pedigree of their breakfast. Their primary concern is that breakfast tastes good...better yet if it's served under the guise of dessert. So yup...anytime "breakfast" and "cookie" are used in the same breath, my offspring are pretty much guaranteed to be immediate fans.
And have I mentioned that this is a great recipe for your how-am-I-going-to-use-up-all-of-these-ripe-bananas file???
I don't know about you, but I buy extra bananas every time I go the grocery store just so I'll have ripe bananas to bake with...and then I scramble to use them up before they go bad. What can I say...it's an illness.
Optional Add-Ins
In addition to all of the good-for-you ingredients stuffed into these, feel free to add a handful of chocolate chips or raisins if you wish to balance out all of that goodness with a bit of sweet decadence. 😉
How to Make Them
Finally, these Banana Breakfast Cookies are an absolute cinch to make. No mixer is even required! Simply...
- Mash the 'nanners.
- Dump all of the ingredients into a bowl.
- Mix with a wooden spoon.
- Plop the resulting (stiff) dough onto a cookie sheet.
- Then pop the pan in the oven and wait patiently for your breakfast of champions to emerge!
These treats are not only perfect as a quick breakfast on a busy morning or even for eating on the run, but they're also excellent tucked into a lunchbox or enjoyed as a snack.
That's all folks! This is guaranteed to become one of your favorite banana recipes...easy, tasty, healthy Banana Breakfast Cookies!
Now you can have your banana oatmeal cookies (for breakfast)...and eat them, too. 😉
More Overripe Banana Recipes
- Chocolate Banana Smoothie
- Zucchini Banana Bread
- The BEST Banana Pancakes
- Soft Baked Banana Oatmeal Bars
Banana Breakfast Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups quick oats
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup mashed banana, from approximately 2 large or 3 medium overripe bananas
- ½ cup peanut butter, or your favorite nut or non-nut butter, like almond butter or sunflower seed butter
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup chopped pecans, or your favorite nut
- ¼ cup chocolate chips or raisins, optional
Instructions
- Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Measure oats, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl; whisk to combine. Stir in mashed banana, peanut butter, honey, vanilla, pecans, and chocolate chips. Scoop dough using a scant ¼-cup measuring cup to form 12 cookies. Flatten the top of each cookie on the baking sheet and bake for 14 to 16 minutes. Allow cookies to cool completely on baking sheet before storing in an airtight container.
Video
Notes
- For slightly sweeter cookies, you may increase honey to ¼ cup.
- Cookies will not spread, so its shape on the baking sheet is how it will look once it's baked.
- For gluten-free cookies, just be sure to use GF certified oats. For vegan cookies, you may substitute agave nectar or kosher maple syrup for the honey.
Nutrition
Adapted from Food Network
Post originally published on September 17, 2015.
These were absolutely delicious! I put in sunflower butter/ organic walnuts and stevia sweetened chocolate chips! This is our new go to cookie recipe for my kids
I had six very ripe bananas and I hated to throw them away or make another banana bread. I've looked for recipes before and the results were usually just "ok". Well, these cookies are more than just "ok". Very good, very easy and taste great! Thanks!
These are wonderful I gave them to a neighbor and I gave some to a elderly friend everybody loves them me especially
My husband and I love these. They seemed a bit loose so I added a little extra oatmeal and we are so happy with these. We are retired and sometimes breakfast is dinner!!! Love it! Thanks!
Made these as directed other than using cacao nibs instead of chocolate chips. They are delicious!
Hi this recipe looks delicious but I don't have any nuts. Can I substitute the nuts for shredded coconut?
This recipe is pretty forgiving, so I definitely think you could swap coconut for the nuts. 🙂 Maybe just start out by stirring in a little less coconut than the amount of nuts called for...if you add too much coconut, the cookie dough might become overly thick.
I made these cookies and they were a mushy. I’m not sure what I did wrong.
Sorry to hear that, Leslie. It sounds like they may not have baked long enough.
Can you spread the mix out in the pan and make these more of a bar?
I haven't tried that before, Sarah, but it's certainly a good idea and I bet it would work. You'll just have to experiment a bit with the baking time. Please let us know how it turns out if you decide to give it a try! 🙂
These are SO good. I've never really enjoyed any healthy cookies I've made until these ones. I halved the recipe and cut the honey down to a drizzle. I replaced some of the oats with cocoa powder, and cut out the choc chips. Also replaced the pecans with walnuts because that's all I had.
Is there a difference if I use old fashion oats rather than quick oats?
Hi Krystal! Old-fashioned oats will work in this recipe, but they are going to result in a chewier cookie. Also, you may have to slightly increase the amount of old-fashioned oats you use since they aren't as "broken down" as quick oats (and thus quick oats pack more tightly into the measuring cup). Hope that helps!
These are delicious with a cup of coffee or a glass of milk. I make them smaller.
Now my favourite breakfast!
While checking the web to find a different recipe to use up my ripe banana, this one caught my eye, and my taste buds, so I had to try it. The cookies are so easy to make. While baking them,the kitchen's smell made my husband come up from his office to see what I was making. Then, came the taste test! WOW! These cookies are scrumptious, healthy. Because I'm also sure they'll disappear quickly in this household, I'll have to hide some! Thanks for the great recipe, certainly a keeper!
Soooooo gooooood!!!!!
Delicious breakfast cookies! I’ve brought two double batches into the ED where I’m a nurse and they’re a big hit! I’ve traded the pecans for walnuts for the second batch and they were just as great! Very easy to make and bake perfectly at 15 minutes!
Used the exact ingredients except for old fashioned oats instead of quick. So I instead used a food processor to blend all of the ingredients, adding chocolate chips at the very end. Then made 8 larger cookies. Turned out great.
I am about to make these and they look wonderful however I don’t have any pecans but I do have walnuts do you think those would work? Or is it best just to leave them out?
You can absolutely switch out the type of nut! Or leave out the nuts altogether...either way will work. 🙂
How much dry peanut butter powder did you use
Did anyone else substitute the nut butter with sunflower? For some reason my batch turned green and I was thinking the sun-butter was reacting with simmering or oxidizing strange. Tasty but an interesting color!
Made exactly as the recipe listed and they are delicious. It is easy to prep and make and best of all my family loves them.
I tried this as a way to use up overripe bananas in the freezer because I was tired of trying banana bread recipes. Everyone in my family loved this recipe. Did almond butter, semi sweet choc chips, the optional additional honey and no nuts. So looking forward to trying with the peanut butter and pecans. Nice soft chewy texture. Easy to make.
Will it make a difference or affect the texture of the cookies if I leave the nuts out all together?
You can definitely opt to leave out the nuts. 🙂
These came out SO good! Easy to throw together with some over ripe bananas! Swapped honey for Swerve (granular), used dry PB2 powder instead of peanut butter and used Lilys vegan/keto chocolate chips. Less calories/carbs and all 12 still came out moist and delicious!
Hi! How much PB powder did you use?
How much PB2 powder did you use?