Banana Chocolate Oat Cookies – Using Brown Bananas

These banana chocolate oat cookies are unbelievably good. It’s hard to believe they’re basically just bananas and oats! They are a soft cookie, not a crispy crunchy cookie.

Also Read: Chocolate Banana Avocado Pudding, Banana Apple Kale Smoothie, Apple Pie Overnight Oats

These banana chocolate oat cookies are made of mashed ripe bananas (see alternatives below) that hold together oats and chocolate chips. I’ve also added ground flax for fibre, brown sugar for added sweetness and cinnamon for flavor, but really these are optional. Amazing for a cookie, right?! It’s not that we don’t enjoy regular chocolate chip cookies, it’s just nice to have something different. And it’s nice to have a gluten free, dairy free, vegan snack option for friends and family.

Remember, oats are naturally gluten free, but they may be cross contaminated if made in a factory that also processes other grains, so check your package to ensure they’re gluten free. And check your chocolate chips to ensure your cookies are dairy free and vegan. Luckily there are more and more options available in regular grocery stores.

These cookies have become one of our favorite go to recipe when we have soft brown bananas on the fruit tray or a collection of brown bananas in the freezer. They’re much easier and quicker to make than banana loaf and provide a great snack or even breakfast on the go.

Sometimes, I like to add extra nuts and seeds like sunflower seeds or walnuts. But my kids tell me they prefer the original version with just oats. They said adding “all those other things” makes it more like a granola bar and less like a cookie – and sometimes they just want a cookie.  Fair enough, I’ll keep them as banana chocolate oat cookies – with ground flax seed.

Banana Chocolate Oat Cookies Recipe

Substitutes – Use What You Have

These cookies have room for substitutions – use what you have!

Bananas – If you’re not a fan of bananas or are allergic, here are some substitutions I’ve tried and can recommend.

Sweet Potato, Squash or Pumpkin Puree: Replace mashed bananas with sweet potato, pumpkin or squash puree. The puree should be quite dry (no more liquidy than mashed bananas). Use a sweet, dry squash like pie pumpkins, butternut squash, kabocha or buttercup squash. If the squash puree is not very sweet, add extra brown sugar or sweetener to the recipe.

Apple Sauce AND Nut/Seed Butter: Replace mashed bananas with 1/2 cup apple sauce and 1/2 cup nut/seed butter (peanut butter, almond butter, WOW butter, tahini, etc.). Taste and add 2 Tbsp extra sweetener or as desired. I do not recommend replacing with just apple sauce as the dough will be too wet.

Oats – I have used large flake oats with all their health benefits. When I use large flake oats, I chop half the amount in a food processor to make smaller crumbs so the cookies hold together better. You could use quinoa flakes as well.

Ground Flax – I love the extra fibre, omega3 and other benefits that come from ground flax, and yes, you should use ground flax seed or flax meal instead of whole flax seeds. Whole flax seeds will go right through you without your body being able to extract all the nutritional benefits. If you don’t have flax, you can omit them or try hemp seeds for extra nutrients and protein.

Cinnamon – Add whatever flavor you like – how about vanilla, cardamom, nutmeg, ginger or anise.

Sweetener – This is totally your choice, in fact, you don’t even need any sweetener if you find the banana sweet enough. Maple syrup, white sugar, honey, stevia, xylitol, corn syrup, pancake syrup – totally your call.

Oil – I’ve added some oil because the fat content creates a better texture and mouthfeel. You can omit it or choose a different fat of your choosing. You could even use a nut butter – peanut butter, almond butter, WOW spread, etc.

Chocolate Chips – When the kids see chocolate chips they’re all in! That said, you can add in whatever you’d like – nuts, seeds, shredded coconut, dried fruit or some combination.

Are you ready to try them!?

If you make a batch, I’d love to hear what you think of them. And please tag your photos on Instagram with @getgettys so I can see them and like ’em!

Sign up to get articles by Getty delivered to your inbox. You’ll get recipes, practical tips and great food information like this. Getty is a Professional Home Economist,  speaker and writer putting good food on tables and agendas.  She is the author of Manitoba’s best-selling Prairie Fruit Cookbook, Founder of Fruit Share, a mom and veggie gardener.