These 4-ingredient banana oatmeal cookies are the best quick, easy and healthy snack. They’re chewy, decadent and taste like chocolate chip banana bread! They’re made with nourishing ingredients, no oil or added sugar and are vegan and gluten-free.
These chewy oatmeal cookies are perfect for when you have some overripe bananas and want to make something other than your regular old banana bread.
They’re extremely easy to make and are ready in just fifteen minutes! They’re a great snack to meal-prep and pop into lunchboxes and they’re a perfect companion for your morning or afternoon cup of tea. The cookie itself is not overly sweet, but the pop of dark chocolate makes them incredibly moreish.
They’re packed with nutrients, fibre and healthy fats making them an all-around perfect treat that everyone will adore!
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Ingredients
Oh, did I mention you only need four ingredients!? Four ingredients that you most likely already have in your kitchen just begging to be turned into some peanut butter banana cookies!
You can find the exact measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
Banana: Full of antioxidants and nutrients, bananas add sweetness to the cookies making it unnecessary to add any extra sugar – just make sure they are very ripe! The riper your bananas, the sweeter your cookies will be.
Peanut Butter: A good source of healthy fats make these cookies very satiating! You can use any nut butter or use sunflower seed butter to make these cookies nut-free! Try to use peanut butter that is made from 100% peanuts, with no sugar or oil.
Oatmeal: By using oats instead of flour you get some extra nutrients and fibre and it makes these cookies gluten-free! Please make sure your oats are gluten-free certified if you have an allergy. We will be using a combination of blended oats (or oat flour) and rolled oats. This makes the texture of the cookies so much better! You can use quick oats instead without needing to blend them
Dark Chocolate: Don’t get it twisted, dark chocolate is good for you! It’s filled with antioxidants and is honestly just very good for the soul. Most dark chocolate is naturally vegan (make sure to check the ingredients list). The best type of chocolate to use is one with a higher cocoa percentage of 70-100%, which means there is less sugar in it.
Baking with bananas
Every time I go shopping, bananas always seem to find their way into my shopping basket. That always leads me to have overripe bananas in my fridge. I must admit – I kind of do this on purpose because I love baking with bananas and there are so many banana recipes up my sleeve like these Healthy Banana Brownies or Blueberry Banana Oatmeal Muffins.
Bananas are an incredible baking ingredient for many reasons:
- Firstly, they add a natural sweetness, meaning you don’t have to use too much added sugar.
- Secondly, they react similarly to eggs in baking by binding ingredients together which is great in vegan baking!
- Next – they add moisture to baked goods so you don’t have to use oil!
- AND it’s a great way to sneak some fruit into your diet!
The trick to baking with bananas is using ripe bananas – they should be either very spotty or borderline brown. Unripe bananas are less sweet and somewhat bitter.
I leave my bananas at room temperature until they get very spotty and then pop them in the fridge to slow down the ripening. The peel will go brown and eventually black in the fridge, but that’s okay. Unless your banana is mouldy, brown bananas are safe to eat and actually more nutritious!
You can also freeze your brown bananas and then leave them to thaw when you are ready to use them.
Step-by-step instructions
These cookies are truly very quick and easy to make – they come together in just fifteen minutes and you can make them in just one bowl!
You can watch the step-by-step video in the recipe card at the bottom of this page.
Step 1: Mash your bananas. You can do this by using a fork, or blending them into a smooth puree.
Step 2: Add your nut butter and mix into a smooth batter (image 1).
Step 3: Blend 3/4 of your oats into oat flour.
Step 4: Fold in the oat flour, leftover oats and chocolate chips with the peanut butter and banana mixture (images 2 and 3 above).
Step 5: Spoon your cookie dough onto a baking tray and slightly flatten with a fork or spoon.
Step 6: Bake!
Top Tips
- You don’t have to blend your oats, but it does help with the texture. The blended oats make the cookies more solid and the added whole oats add a lovely chunky mouth-feel. You can, however, just use the whole oats without blending.
- This recipe makes 6 thick medium-sized cookies. You can however make smaller or thinner cookies, simply reduce the cooking time to 8 minutes.
- You will know the cookies are ready when the edges turn golden.
- Make sure to use very ripe bananas!
- As all bananas come in different shapes and sizes, if your banana is smaller, your cookie dough will be too dry. If your banana is too big, your cookie dough will be too wet. This is why I recommend weighing your banana. Otherwise, you can adjust the cookie dough texture by adding a splash of maple syrup if it’s too dry or adding some extra oats if it’s too wet.
- If you want your cookies to be sweeter, add a bit of maple syrup or honey.
Variations
You can mix things up by swapping out the chocolate for one of the following:
- Raisins, sultanas or currants.
- Chopped nuts.
- Sliced bananas.
How to store
Room temperature: You can keep these cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature for a day or two.
Fridge: Keep these cookies in the fridge for up to seven days.
Freezer: They last up to three months in the freezer. Keep them in a freezer-safe container or freezer bag and leave them to thaw for around an hour at room temperature before eating.
I enjoy these most straight from the oven as the chocolate chips are slightly melted. However, you can heat them in the microwave before serving if you want to recreate a freshly baked illusion.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, you can however the texture of rolled oats is much more enjoyable and they are also more nutritious than quick oats.
Ripe, spotty or brown bananas are best for baking as they are naturally sweeter and more nutritious than unripe, green bananas.
More healthy cookie recipes:
BAKING IN GRAMS
All of the recipes I create are tried and tested a few times until it has been perfected. My goal is to develop recipes that are simple to make and easy to follow so that anyone can make them – even if you’ve never baked before!
One very important thing that will ensure that you get the best results is to measure your ingredients by weight! I recommend purchasing a kitchen scale, they are very affordable and it will honestly change your baking game for good! Not all measuring cups are made equally – for example, a cup of flour to me weighs 120g, but for you, it may be anywhere between 100g and 200g – that’s a BIG difference!
I do provide cup measurements, but for best results, I recommend using the weighted ingredients provided.
If you don’t have a kitchen scale yet, you can use this Ingredient Weight Chart as a guideline to convert the ingredients to help you!
Now – dust your apron off and get baking! X
Hey! If you make this recipe, I would love it if you could leave me some feedback and a rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in the comment section at the bottom of the page! Also let me know on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest! I can’t wait to hear your thoughts and see your photos!
4-ingredient Banana Oatmeal Cookies
Equipment
- Fork
- Baking Tray
Ingredients
- 120 g Ripe Banana ½ cup
- 70 g Peanut Butter (¼ cup) or any nut butter or sunflower seed butter
- 100 g Oats (1 cup)
- 30 g Dark Chocolate Chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180°C / 350°F / 160°C fan and prepare your baking tray with a sheet of parchment paper.
- Add 3/4 of your oats to a blender or food processor and blend into a fine powder.
- Mash your banana with a fork in a mixing bowl.
- Add in your peanut butter and mix until smooth.
- Add in your blended oats, remaining whole oats and chocolate chips and fold until combined.
- Spoon six equal portions onto your baking tray and lightly flatten with a fork.
- Bake for 10 minutes until the edges are golden.
Video
Notes
- You don’t have to blend your oats, but it does help with the texture. The blended oats make the cookies more solid and the added whole oats add a lovely chunky mouth-feel. You can, however, just use the whole oats without blending.
- This recipe makes 6 thick medium-sized cookies. You can however make smaller or thinner cookies, simply reduce the cooking time to 8 minutes.
- You will know the cookies are ready when the edges turn golden.
- Make sure to use very ripe bananas!
- As all bananas come in different shapes and sizes, if your banana is smaller, your cookie dough will be too dry. If your banana is too big, your cookie dough will be too wet. This is why I recommend weighing your banana. Otherwise, you can adjust the cookie dough texture by adding a splash of maple syrup if it’s too dry or adding some extra oats if it’s too wet.
- If you want your cookies to be sweeter, add a bit of maple syrup or honey.
- You can mix things up by swapping out the chocolate for one of the following:
