Craving something sweet and healthy that’s also quick to make? These 4-ingredient banana oatmeal cookies are perfect—they’re soft, naturally sweet, and need just a few simple pantry staples to come together in minutes. They are so ridiculously easy to whip up that even beginners can make them!
In this blog post, I will share all the ingredients required and possible substitutes that you can use, a detailed step-by-step method, some flavor variations, and all the expert tips that will guarantee success.
I've always been a big fan of all types of cookies, but if I have to pick favorites, these would be at the top. That’s because they are indulgent, super simple to make, and healthy at the same time.
If you want more easy banana snacks you should check out this 4-Ingredient Banana Bread.
Jump to:
🌟 Recipe Overview
- Accessible ingredients, that most likely you already have in your pantry.
- Great for meal prep.
- Simple and easy to make.
- They taste like banana bread!
- Healthy. These oatmeal cookies are naturally sweetened and don’t contain any animal fats like butter.
- Naturally Gluten-Free.
📔 Ingredients & Substitutes
Oats. You can use old-fashioned rolled oats or steel cuts. Oats are naturally gluten-free, but sometimes they can be cross-contaminated in production. Therefore if you are celiac or have gluten allergies make sure to buy certified gluten-free oats.
Nut Butter. You can use any nut butter. I like almond butter, hazelnut butter, or peanut butter. If you want to make them nut-free you can use sunflower seed butter or tahini.
Chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate.
Ripe bananas. It is very important to use very ripe bananas for this recipe as they serve as a natural sweetener. If your bananas are not very ripe you might need to add a tablespoon of maple syrup or any sweetener of choice.
🥣 How to make these banana oatmeal cookies
STEP 1 - MAKE THE COOKIE DOUGH
Add the bananas into a medium bowl and mash them with a fork, then add the rest of the ingredients. Using a spatula mix everything together.
STEP 2 - FORM THE COOKIES.
Using a cookie scoop, scoop the dough until there is nothing left. Depending on the size of the cookie scoop you can get between 8 to 12 cookies.
Place each of the cookie dough balls on the prepared cookie sheet, making sure to leave about 2 inches between the cookies. Wet your fingers with water and pat the cookies to flatten them.
STEP 3 - BAKE THE COOKIES
Bake the cookies at 350 degrees F or 180 degrees C. Let them cool down for 5 minutes before serving.
📖 Storage instructions
Store these cookies in an airtight container on the counter for 3 days. in the fridge for up to 6 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
🍫 Flavour ideas
- Raisin Banana Oatmeal Cookies. Replace the chocolate chips with raisins and add a dash of cinnamon.
- Dark Chocolate and Cranberries. This is a match made in heaven and if you have any cranberries at hand I highly recommend adding them.
- Walnuts. For more nutty flavor and a bit of crunch, replace the chocolate chips with some chopped walnuts.
👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips
- It is very important to use ripe bananas, if your bananas are not ripe you will need to add additional sweetener to the cookie dough.
- These cookies will not spread so make sure to flatten them.
- Make sure to mash the bananas very well because if you have large chunks of banana the cookie dough will be very dry.
- The dough might be more wet as there is no flour, so you might need to refrigerate it for 10 to 15 minutes. If you are using steel-cut oats you will get less wet dough and the texture of the cookies will be chewier.
- Use a cookie scoop to make sure that you get evenly sized-cookies.
💬 FAQ
Banana oatmeal cookies can stay good on the counter for up to 3 days but if you want to keep them longer then you will need to refrigerate them. In the refrigerator, they can stay good for up to 6 days.
Yes! They are a great lunchbox snack for kids. These cookies are refined sugar-free, and high in protein and healthy fats, making them perfect for kids.
🍪 More healthy oat snacks
Did you make this? Tell me about it! Leave a ⭐ REVIEW and COMMENT below!
Recipe
4-Ingredient Banana Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups oats (rolled or steel cut)
- ⅓ cup nut butter
- 2 ripe bananas
- ⅓ cup chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Mash the bananas in a bowl.
- Add in the rest of the ingredients (nut butter, oats and chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips).
- Stir all the ingredients together until it forms a sticky dough.
- Using a cookie scoop, scoop the dough until there is nothing left. Depending on the size of the cookie scoop you can get between 8 to 12 cookies.
- Place each of the cookie dough balls on the prepared cookie sheet, make sure to leave about 2 inches between the cookies.
- Wet your fingers in water and flatten each of the cookie dough balls.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown on the edges.
- Let them cool for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- It is very important to use ripe bananas, if your bananas are not ripe you will need to add additional sweetener to the cookie dough.
- These cookies will not spread so make sure to flatten them.
- Make sure to mash the bananas very well because if you have large chunks of banana the cookie dough will be very dry.
- The dough might be more wet as there is no flour, so you might need to refrigerate it for 10 to 15 minutes. If you are using steel cut oats you will get a less wet dough and the texture of the cookies will be chewier.
- Use cookie scoop to make sure that you get evenly sized cookies.
Leave a Comment