Banana Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

These are easy and delicious 3-ingredient peanut butter banana oatmeal cookies. No refined sugar. No flour. No baking soda. I even included many variations like dark chocolate chips, raisins, and cocoa powder. Perfect for a quick snack or for an on-the-go breakfast.

This is the easiest cookie recipe in the whole world. Seriously, you only need a fork and a bowl to mix the ingredients. The best sweet treats with minimal ingredients. If you are looking for more cookie recipes, try our snowball cookies, lemon cookies with blueberry jam, or the best gluten-free shortbread cookies.

What to expect from this recipe?

Don’t think of them as crispy chocolate chip cookies rather than soft chewy cookies. Since mashed bananas will keep them moist, even if you bake them longer, they will just get dry and not crispy. However, this lovely soft texture and its sweet taste will make you love them as much as we do.

It is also as healthy as a cookie can get. Since there are only 3 whole foods plant-based ingredients there is no need to add any additional sweetener, refined flour, or any processed ingredients. This recipe is not only sugar-free, but oil-free, gluten-free, and vegan as well.

Ingredients

What can be easier than grabbing 3 simple ingredients from your pantry, mixing them in a bowl, and baking them into yummy sweet treats? So what do you need to make these peanut butter banana oatmeal cookies?

• overripe mashed banana – You know the ones with brown spots that you may not want to eat but are perfect for baking. They are the sweetest and softest possible.
• peanut butter – We used our own homemade peanut butter
• oatmeal – We recommend using fine oats or quick-cooking oats since they soften easily. That being said, several readers commented that these cookies were perfect with rolled oats as well.
• optional add-ins – You can add nuts, seeds, chocolate chips, raisins, and so on. See more ideas below.
• optional flavors – You can add cocoa powder, vanilla extract, or a pinch of salt to enhance the different flavors.

🛒 You can find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Instructions

If you have 5 minutes and a couple of overripe bananas, a handful of oats, and some creamy 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 banana oatmeal peanut butter cookies.

1. Take a medium-sized bowl and mash the bananas with a fork as much as you can (photo #1). No need to go completely bananas! 🙂 You can leave some yummy banana chunks.
2. Now add peanut butter (crunchy or smooth – both versions came out divine) and mix thoroughly (photo #2).
3. Add the oats and mix well (photo #3).
4. Finally, stir any (optional) add-ins well.
5. Preheat the oven to 390 Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius).
6. To have cookies of the same size, use an ice cream scooper with trigger release.
7. Place each cookie on a baking sheet or parchment paper leaving a bit of space in between them (photo #4)
8. Bake them for 15 minutes tops. While you are waiting, you can totally lick the bowl as the mixture is just so tasty. I definitely don’t waste any of it. 🙂

Tops tips to make them perfectly

• Why overripe bananas? – Not to get too scientifical, but the unripe bananas have 70-80% starch content. As the fruit ripens the starch turns to sugar. This means overripe bananas are the sweetest and softest. If it is not ripe enough, the starch content is much higher, so they are harder to mash and not as sweet. If you use the sweetest overripe ones, no additional sugar is needed for any banana oatmeal cookie recipes.
• How to make them the same size? We recommend using an ice cream scooper with trigger release to make identical cookies. It is important as the same size means they will be ready at the same time. Fill the scoop with dough, scrape the excess off by using the edge of the bowl, and just press and release. If you don’t have one, use two tablespoons.
• Leave space between them – Due to the fat/oil content of peanuts, they will flatten a bit. I mean nothing really happens if they stick a bit together, right? It is all about aesthetics.
• Wait before moving them – Okay, here comes the hardest part. You need to wait until the cookies chill at room temperature. 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

While this 3-ingredient oatmeal cookies recipe is delicious, it can also be a base for many variations. If you want to add some extra flavors, mix and match ⅓ cup of the below ingredients:

• Chocolate chips or chocolate chunks (dark or white) – We love the combination of white chocolate chips and dried cranberries.
• Carob chips for an even healthier WFPB-friendly (whole foods plant-based) option.
• Raisins or dried cranberries – Basically, any dried fruit can work here. Although, you need to cut larger fruits like dried apricot into chunks.
• Hot chocolate powder (3 teaspoons at most per batch) – My daughter says “These are the best cookies!”
• Cocoa powder (3 teaspoons at most per batch)
• Chopped nuts (cashews, almonds, walnuts, pecans)
• Seeds (sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds)
• Shredded coconut (or even better toasted coconuts) – They also go great with chocolate chips or cocoa powder like in our coconut cookies recipe.
• Vanilla extract (1 teaspoon at most per batch)
• Spices like cinnamon (cause everything is better with cinnamon) or ginger or orange zest. (1 teaspoon at most per batch)

FAQs and substitutions

Can I use other nut butter?

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

How to make it nut-free?

Use sunflower seed butter or tahini instead in the same amount. Tahini is toasted sesame seeds paste. And peanut butter is actually one of the most common tahini substitutes. While peanut butter is slightly salty and nutty, tahini has a stronger flavor. Different brands have different flavors so if you end up with a slightly bitter cookie then you should use another brand.

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 these peanut butter banana cookies may not be sweet enough since there is no added maple syrup or other sweeter.

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 at 350 Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius) instead of 390 Fahrenheit (200 degrees Celsius).

How to store them?

They are pretty easy to store. We recommend using an airtight container to keep them longer. They are good at room temperature for 1-2 days, but after that place them in the refrigerator.

Can you freeze them?

Yes, you can. Just thaw them at room temperature and enjoy. You can pop them in the microwave for a bit if you prefer them warm.

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

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.

More cookie recipes

You can browse through our vegan gluten-free dessert recipes or check out

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UPDATED: This recipe was originally posted in September 2019. More tips, add-in ideas, and variations were added and it was republished in June 2022.