Banana Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Healthy, 3-ingredient banana peanut butter oatmeal cookies. No refined sugar. No flour. No baking soda. I even included 3 variations: chocolate chips, raisins, and cocoa powder. Perfect for a quick snack or for an on-the-go breakfast. Vegan, oil-free, egg-free, dairy-free and gluten-free.

This is the easiest cookies to make in the whole world. Seriously, you only need a fork and a bowl to mix the ingredients. We really-really like easy sweet treats with minimal ingredients. Like, this Coconut Milk Chia Pudding recipe, which has also only 3 ingredients and no-bake! Hurray! Or this Vegan Tapioca Pudding recipe. Again, only 3-ingredients. Have you seen our 4-ingredient Vegan Chocolate Pudding and Fried Apple Rings recipes yet? Yum and yum.

For more recipes using oatmeal or any other gluten-free flour, visit our Ultimate Gluten-Free Flour Guide. 

⇒ If you like this recipe, subscribe to get the next recipe right into your inbox. ⇐

How to make healthy banana oatmeal cookies?

If you have 5 minutes and a couple of overripe bananas, oats and peanut butter in your pantry, you are good to go! Kids love to help. Mine sure does. In no time you will have 6-8 soft, chewy flourless cookies.

First, peel the bananas. Take a medium-sized bowl and mash them with a fork as much as you can (photo #1). No need to go completely bananas! 🙂 You can leave some yummy banana chunks. Then, add peanut butter (crunchy or smooth – both versions came out divine) and mix (photo #2). Last, but not least add the oats (photo #3).

To get an equal portion for each cookie, I use an ice cream scooper with trigger release. Pre-heat the oven for 390 Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celcius) and bake them on a baking sheet or on a parchment paper for 15 minutes tops (photo #4). While you are waiting, you can totally lick the bowl as the mixture is just so damn tasty. I definitely don’t waste any of it. 🙂

Okay, here comes the hardest part. You need to wait until the cookies chill. They are very soft when they are hot. I know!!! It is hard not to grab a bite right away! Or two. Or… (Don’t tell anyone but I can eat the whole batch – that is 6-8 cookies – in one go.) 

Variations for Banana Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Chocolate chip banana oatmeal cookies

Add ⅓ cup vegan chocolate chips or chocolate chunks. Mix and bake the same as you would bake the basic banana peanut butter oatmeal cookies. You can use carob chips for an even healthier WFPB-friendly (whole foods plant-based) option.

Raisin banana oatmeal cookies

Add ⅓ cup of raisins or dried cranberries. Basically, any dried fruit can work here. Although, you need to cut larger fruits like dried apricot into chunks. Mix and bake the same as you would bake the basic banana peanut butter oatmeal cookies.

Chocolate banana oatmeal cookies

Add 3 tsp cocoa powder or cacao powder. I even tested it with vegan hot chocolate powder. My daughter says “Those are the best cookies!” Mix and bake the same as you would bake the basic banana peanut butter oatmeal cookies.

How to make peanut butter at home

Easy-peasy. 1 ingredient and 1 step. Cool, hm?

Take you high-power blender or food processor – we love our Vitamix – and add dry unsalted peanuts. Blend it on high speed and scrape the sides for a couple of times until you get smooth, creamy peanut butter. That’s it! No artificial or unnecessary ingredients!

⇒ If you like this recipe, subscribe to get the next recipe right into your inbox. ⇐

Top tips to make Perfect Flourless Banana Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

• If you use overripe bananas, then you definitely don’t need any sweetener. The best is if the banana peel has already lots of brown spots. So-so sweet!!! Naturally sweet.
• If you use rolled oats rather than quick oats, let it sit for 5 minutes (or until you pre-heat the oven)  to get the oats a little softer before baking.
• You can use either crunchy or smooth peanut butter. Both versions came out delicious.
• Don’t move the cookies while they are hot. They can be very-very soft right out of the oven. Wait for a couple of minutes for them to cool down a bit.
• If you don’t have an ice cream scooper, use two spoons.
• This is a basic peanut butter banana oatmeal cookie recipe, you can add your favorite ingredients to it like cinnamon or vanilla extract or chopped nuts. Let us know in the comments, which one is your favorite.

FAQs and Substitutions

Can I use other nut butter?

Well, it is a peanut butter cookie, but the recipe also works for almond butter.

What does overripe banana mean?

I call a banana overripe if there are brown spots on the peel. There may also be some areas where the banana itself turns brownish. The softer, the sweeter. You can also use normal yellow-peeled bananas, but the cookies may not be sweet enough.

Can I use rolled oats?

Yes, you can, although in that case, I would let the mixture sit for 5-10 minutes so the rolled oats soften a bit. I would also bake them for 20 minutes instead of 15 minutes and on 350 Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celcius) instead of 390 Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius).

This Banana Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies recipe is vegan, so dairy-free and egg-free. It is WFPB-friendly (whole foods plant-based).

However, it is only gluten-free if you buy certified gluten-free oats and oat flour. Oats are naturally gluten-free, although they are usually cross-contaminated with other grains. If you are interested to read more about oats, you can always visit Coeliac.org.uk or NCA’s Stance on Gluten-free Oats.

⇒ If you like this recipe, subscribe to get the next recipe right into your inbox. ⇐

More dessert recipes

You can browse through our Vegan and Gluten-free Dessert Recipes or check out

• Simple Plum Crumble with Walnut Oat Topping
• Vegan Snickers Cake
• Chocolate Peach Galette
• Vegan Sweet Potato Brownies
• Easy Strawberry Puree

 

Pin it for later!