Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

These easy Banana Oatmeal Cookies made with rolled oats, almond flour, mashed bananas, dark chocolate chips, and shredded coconut are a healthy treat to satisfy your sweet tooth any time of day. Keep a batch in the freezer for easy breakfasts on the go, school snacks, and dessert.

Lately,  I have been waking up craving something sweet. Normally I would reach for some Strawberry Baked Oatmeal, Chocolate Peanut Butter Chia Seed Pudding, or Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins, but sometimes a cookie and coffee is calling my name. Enter this healthy oat breakfast cookie. It's made with a combination of old-fashioned oatmeal and almond flour, making it both filling and good for you. The oats provide whole grains and fiber and the almond flour has protein and healthy fats to keep you full.

Instead of the traditional combination of butter and sugar, these cookies use mashed bananas. They provide tons of natural sweetness plus bananas are packed with vitamins and nutrients. Then since I've got to have some chocolate in my cookies, I also add dark chocolate chips. To keep the added sugar low, I used Lily's Dark Chocolate Chips but you can use any chocolate chips you like.

The last thing I love about these cookies - they freeze great. That means you can keep a stash in the freezer to throw in school lunches or pop out at night when you are craving dessert.  

What You'll Need for Banana Oat Cookies

These cookies are made with ingredients that most of us have on hand making them the perfect cookies for almost any occasion. 

• Rolled Oats: The main ingredient for these cookies is old-fashioned oatmeal. Make sure not to use instant or quick oats since they will have a different texture when cooked. Also if you need the cookies to be gluten-free, make sure to choose gluten-free oats.
• Almond Flour: To bind the cookies, this recipe uses almond flour. If you don't have almond flour on hand, you can make your own by pulsing almonds in a food processor until they have a sand-like texture.
• Bananas: For a natural and nutrient-packed sweetener, this recipe uses mashed bananas. The riper the bananas are, the sweeter they will be. If your bananas aren't quite ripe yet, try baking them right in the peels in a 400-degree oven for 15-20 minutes until they turn dark brown, almost black. Then mash the bananas and include any of the juices on the baking sheet. If you want to use less banana, swap in 1/4 cup of applesauce for one of the bananas.
• Chocolate chips: Any chocolate chips work in this recipe - milk chocolate, semi-sweet, or dark chocolate. If you don't want chocolate, you could swap in a cinnamon chip or some chopped dried fruit. dried blueberries, apricots, cherries, or apples would all be delicious.
• Shredded Coconut: To add an additional layer of flavor, I included some shredded coconut in the recipe. This is optional and both unsweetened and sweetened coconut work.
• Spices: To keep things simple, cinnamon was the only spice used in these cookies. Ground ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, or pumpkin pie spices would also be delicious. 

Recipe Ideas and Variations

There are so many ways to personalize these breakfast cookies and make them your own. One way we love to customize is these Blueberry Breakfast Cookies.

• Change up the mix-ins: Instead of chocolate chips and coconut, consider adding different combinations of dried fruit, nuts, and seeds. These would be delicious with chopped walnuts, raisins, dried blueberries, pumpkin seeds, and more. 
• Use applesauce or pumpkin: This recipe calls for a lot of bananas. If you want a little less banana flavor, then swap in 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce or canned pumpkin for one of the bananas, 
• Add extra nutrients: If you want to boost the nutrition in these cookies, add in a tablespoon of chia seeds or flax meal. Don't add too much though because it will change the texture of the recipe. 

Storage and Freezing

These cookies are great to make ahead and have for easy breakfasts, snacks, and desserts. 

• To store: Store cookies at room temperature or in the fridge for up to 4 days.
• To freeze: Place the cookies in a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 2 months. 

Frequently Asked Questions 

Here are some of the questions we hear most often about these breakfast banana oatmeal chocolate cookies.

Can these cookies be made with whole wheat flour?

These cookies come out best when made with almond flour. If you use whole wheat flour or all-purpose will likely be different. With that said, some readers have reported success using other types of flour in place of almond flour. 

Can you make bite-size cookies with this recipe?

Sure! This recipe makes rather large cookies since it uses between 3-4 tablespoons for each cookie. I used a muffin scoop when making these, which is about 3.5 tablespoons. If you use a rounded tablespoon instead, you will get about 40 cookies per batch and they will be smaller and more bite-size. 

Can these be made using a muffin tin or as bars?

These can be baked in a muffin tin if you like or even pressed into a glass baking dish and baked as bars. Just adjust the cooking time as needed so that the muffins/bars come out fully cooked and golden brown. 

More Healthy Baked Goods

• No Bake Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
• Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread
• Nutella Banana Bread
• Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins
• Banana Chocolate Coconut Oatmeal Muffins