You will love these hearty peanut butter banana breakfast cookies. They come together in just 1 bowl with only 8 ingredients. These are an easy, wholesome, and quick breakfast or anytime treat!
We're having cookies for breakfast! Not cake batter chocolate chip cookies, but we're eating cookies for breakfast and that's all that matters. Today's variation are chewy, dense, and extremely statisfying—AND they make a wonder grab-and-go breakfast or anytime snack.
Pus, we all know that having cookies for breakfast will get anyone to jump out of bed. That's why these breakfast cookies made it to on the list of back-to-school recipes!
What You’ll Love About These Breakfast Cookies
- Easy 1 bowl recipe
- Hearty, wholesome & satisfying
- Adaptable with different add-ins
- No refined sugar, oil or butter
- Wonderful make ahead recipe—for breakfast or snack
- Freeze beautifully!
- And most importantly...an excuse to have cookies for breakfast 😉
Mix Together in 1 Bowl & Bake
There isn't much instructions to provide—you simply throw everything together in a bowl and mix. It's really that easy. I sometimes use an electric mixer to mash bananas, like I do for homemade banana bread, but you can also use arm muscles instead.
Scoop ¼ cup of dough per cookie. Arrange on 2 lined baking sheets with 6 cookies on each baking sheet.
Slightly flatten the tops of each cookie. Using the back of a spoon, slightly flatten the tops to make large discs instead of tall mounds. The cookies won’t spread much in the oven, so this helps give them shape. Bake the cookies until the edges are lightly browned.
Key Ingredients You Need For Banana Breakfast Cookies
- Bananas: Ripe bananas not only sweeten the cookies, they help bind the ingredients just like in these favorite banana muffins.
- Oats: It's important to use whole rolled oats—they soak up the liquid slow enough without making the cookies dry. If you're gluten intolerant, make sure you use certified gluten free oats.
- Peanut Butter: Instead of peanut butter, try almond butter, cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter.
- Walnuts: You can leave out the nuts or use any that you prefer. I love walnuts but peanuts are wonderful in these cookies as well!
- Maple Syrup: Instead of maple syrup, you can use brown rice syrup or honey.
- Spices: Adding vanilla extract, cinnamon and salt adds and enhances the flavor.
FAQ
Everyone's definition of "healthy" is different—what is healthy to me may not be healthy to you. I've included the nutritional information in the recipe card below.
Absolutely! Allow the bananas to thaw completely and drain any liquid prior to using.
There's only ¼ cup of maple syrup in the cookies so using ripe bananas helps add the additional sweetness that's needed. If using less ripe bananas, you may need to add more maple syrup.
This cookie recipe is easily adaptable to your tastes and preferences. Here are a few substitutions I’ve tested—chocolate chips, raisins, peanuts, flax seeds, or chia seeds.
Easy to Freeze and Make Ahead
While called breakfast cookies, these are great all day! I love to serve them for a mid-morning or afternoon snack, for breakfast, or even crumbled over yogurt. Each batch yields 14 cookies depending on how large you make them—when giving them to my kids I make them a bit smaller and keep them in the freezer.
To freeze, let the cookies cool completely after baking. Place them in an airtight container or zipped-top bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator or microwave for a few seconds.
Peanut Butter Banana Breakfast Cookies
Description
Ingredients
- 2 cups bananas, mashed, about 4 large
- 1 cup peanut butter
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup walnuts, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line two large baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the mashed banana, peanut butter, maple syrup, and vanilla until combined. Then, fold in the oats, cinnamon, salt, and walnuts. The dough will be thick and sticky.
- Not required, but recommended, for easy handling of the dough, spray your hands with nonstick baking spray. Scoop mounds of dough, about ¼ cup each, onto the baking sheets. Place 6 cookies per baking sheet. The cookies don't spread much in the oven, so gently flatten the tops.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes until lightly browned on the sides. These cookies took exactly 19 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Cookies can be eaten as is, broken up over yogurt or smoothie bowl. Cover and store cookies at room temperature for up to 4 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make ahead tip: Cookies freeze well for up to 3 months stored tightly. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature, if desired, before enjoying.
- Gluten Free: These cookies are gluten free if you use certified GF oats.
- Nuts: You can leave out the nuts or use any chopped nut you like best.
- Add-ins: If desired, you can add add-ins like dried fruit, seeds, raisins, or extra nuts.
Amy says
Saving this recipe for later, thanks!
Caitlyn Erhardt says
Yummy! These look tasty and healthy! My son would love these!
Leigh Suznovich says
Oh these look amazing!! Love how healthy they are for a yummy breakfast. Pinned!
Gemma says
Yum, these sound great and I love that they can be frozen.
Christina says
Yup! Perfect for make-ahead - I have a few batches in the freezer now!