Banana Breakfast Cookies
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Banana Breakfast Cookies are jam-packed with nutrition and flavor. All ages love them, and they make a great grab-and-go breakfast. Double the recipe so you can stock the freezer with them!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Packed with protein, potassium, and fiber, as well as being TASTY.
- Lower in sugar than your average cookie or muffin.
- Freezer-friendly. Perfect for a grab-and-go breakfast.
- Keeps you full! Thanks to the fiber and protein, you won’t be feeling hungry hours later unlike many baked goods.
- Perfect as an after school snack.
- Easy to tweak the recipe to your liking. Add nuts, dried fruit, coconut, etc. if you want!
- This recipe comes together FAST.
- Great snack to take to a new mom. I recently took some up to a friend who was in the hospital for other reasons. She loved that she could have a nutritious snack instead of something from a vending machine.
Ingredients Needed
Let’s talk about the ingredients you need…
- Ripe Bananas – The riper the banana, the sweeter it will be. I almost always have a stash of frozen bananas for recipes like this.
- Peanut Butter – You can use smooth or chunky peanut butter or substitute almond butter instead.
- Honey – Local is always best!
- Brown sugar – Brown sugar brings in a bit more moisture and molasses flavor than white sugar. A little healthier substitute would be to use coconut sugar.
- Vanilla – Here is how to make your own vanilla.
- Rolled oats
- White whole wheat flour – White whole wheat flour yields light, fluffy results while still retaining maximum nutrition. However, you can sub in half all-purpose flour and half whole wheat flour instead. For gluten-free, use 1:1 gluten-free baking flour (like Bob’s Red Mill).
- Ground flaxseed – A great way to sneak in omega-3s and fiber into baked goods.
- Unsweetened protein powder – If you don’t have this, some substitute options are almond flour/meal, dried milk powder, or you can just use more flour. An affordable, dairy-free, gluten-free, and “no sugar added” protein powder option is Orgain Organic Protein Powder. I’ve found this at Walmart.
- Baking soda
- Cinnamon
- Mini chocolate chips – If you want dairy-free chips, we highly recommend Enjoy Life brand.
Tip: Use Frozen Bananas
You can use frozen bananas for this recipe! Just thaw them out, drain off excess liquid, and mash them before adding them to the mix. Here are 10 more ways to use up frozen bananas.
Looking to Cut Sugar?
If you want to cut back on the sugar in these cookies, either leave out the chocolate chips or use carob nibs/chips instead. You can also use a little less honey and a little less brown sugar. Lastly, coconut sugar is slightly lower on glycemic index, using that as a substitute might help as well.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Mash the Banana
If you skip this step, there will be little chunks of banana in your cookies. I personally don’t mind this but my kids do. Give it a good squish before adding it to the batter.
Mix the Wet Ingredients
In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, add the banana, peanut butter, honey, brown sugar, and vanilla. Mix it together until well combined.
Combine the Dry Ingredients
In a medium bowl combine oats, flour, flaxseed, milk powder or protein powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Give it a whisk until well combined.
Add it All Together
Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet. Stir until the dough just starts to come together and then add in the chocolate chips. Stir a little longer until chocolate chips are evenly distributed.
Here’s what the Banana Breakfast Cookie dough will look like. It’s a bit more moist than typical cookie dough.
Scoop the Cookies
Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon, drop heaping tablespoon-sized mounds of dough roughly 2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheets.
Flatten and spread each cookie a bit if you want.
Bake and Enjoy!
Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes or until they start to brown around the edges. Remove them from the oven and let them cool before handling.
10+ Make Ahead Breakfast Ideas
Foolproof make-ahead breakfast recipes that will help you start your morning the right way.
We’ve been using these freezer meal breakfast recipes for years and years.
Are Breakfast Cookies Gluten-Free?
The recipe as written is not. However, you can make these gluten-free by using 1:1 gluten-free baking flour in place of the white whole wheat flour. Also, make sure your protein powder is labeled gluten-free.
“Mix It Up” Ideas
There are lots of ways to customize your breakfast cookies. If you want to play with the recipe, consider replacing the 1/2 cup of mini-chocolate chips with these:
- Pecans
- Dried fruit
- Raisins
- Dark Chocolate Chips
- Shredded coconut
- Almonds
Can You Freeze Breakfast Cookies?
Heck ya! These make a great breakfast freezer meal. In fact, I always double the recipe so I can have lots to put in the freezer.
Freeze For Later: Store in airtight container or freezer bag and freeze.
Prepare From Frozen: Thaw in the fridge, on the counter, or using the defrost setting on the microwave.
More Make Ahead Breakfast Recipes
Check out our recipe index for more healthy breakfast ideas!
Did you make this? Snap a photo and tag us on Instagram at @thrivinghome so we can see your creations and cheer you on!
Banana Breakfast Cookies
Banana Breakfast Cookies are jam-packed with nutrition and flavor. All ages love them, and they make a great grab-and-go breakfast. Double the recipe so you can stock the freezer with them!
Ingredients
- 2 large ripe bananas
- 1/2 cup peanut butter, chunky or regular (sub: almond butter)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar (sub: coconut sugar for a little healthier version)
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour (sub: half all-purpose and half whole wheat flour)
- 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
- 1/4 cup unsweetened protein powder (sub: almond flour, milk powder, or more white wheat flour)
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips (sub: carob nibs)
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Instructions
Make It Now:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, use a fork (or two forks) to mash the bananas. Then, stir together the banana, peanut butter, brown sugar, honey, and vanilla.
- In a small bowl, combine oats, flour, flaxseed, protein powder, baking soda, and cinnamon.
- Add the oat mixture into the banana mixture and stir until mostly combined. Add the chocolate chips and stir just until combined (do not overmix).
- Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon, drop heaping tablespoon-sized mounds of dough roughly 2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheets. Flatten and spread the cookie dough out a bit, if you want.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes or until browned. To store, cool completely and place in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days or follow freezing directions below.
Freeze For Later: Cool completely and freeze in an airtight container/freezer bag for up to 2 months. Squeeze out as much air as possible.
Prepare From Frozen: Thaw in the fridge, on the counter, or using the defrost setting on the microwave.
Notes/Tips
Where to Find Unsweetened Protein Powder: I use Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides (unflavored). I like the clean ingredients.
Looking to Cut Sugar? If you want to cut back on the sugar in these cookies, either leave out the chocolate chips or use carob chips instead. You can also use a little less honey and a little less brown sugar. Lastly, coconut sugar is slightly lower on glycemic index, using that as a substitute might help as well.
Substitutes for Protein Powder: If you don’t have this ingredient, some substitute options are almond flour/meal, dried milk powder, or you can just use more flour.
Gluten-Free Version: Use 1:1 gluten-free baking flour in place of the white whole wheat flour. Also, make sure your protein powder is labeled gluten-free.
Dairy-Free Version: Make sure your protein powder is dairy-free (see recommendation above.) Use dairy-free chocolate chips like Enjoy Life brand.
Brandee says
Oh my heavens! Absolutely doesn’t taste like health food. Too yummy!
Carla from Thriving Home says
Love this! Thanks for the review Brandee.
Alicia says
Delicious! Great flavor and texture. Quick and easy to make. My girls are loving them as a snack. I’m not sure any will be left for breakfast tomorrow.
Carla from Thriving Home says
Well, even if there aren’t any for breakfast tomorrow, they had a nutritious snack today! 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to leave a review.
Nicole says
Made these today for my toddlers. Added almond butter instead and a pinch of salt. They are delish. Next time I’ll add some crushed nuts!!
Rachel Tiemeyer says
Yum! Great additions.
helen says
HELLO going to try these. I’m unclear, should I freeze the dough or the actual cookiekis?
Polly Conner says
The great thing about this recipe is that it can be done either way! You could freeze the dough in small portions or you can freeze the cookies after you’ve made them. Sorry that wasn’t clear!
lois east says
I love that you posted your husband’s review, even though he wasn’t sold on the cookies. That simply adds to your authenticity, credibility and transparency! Thanks for keeping it ‘real’!!
Rachel says
Ha, ha, thanks! My family is never shy about their opinions on food. 🙂
Amy says
Hi just tried these with pumpkin and they were delish! Do you have a facebook share button? I can’t seem to find it to share this awesome recipe 🙂 ps do you think adding egg in for extra protein would change the consistency?
Polly says
Our social share buttons should be on the left side of the post at the top or at the bottom of the post. Adding will probably change the consistency. Never done it though so give it a try!
Aimee says
Growing up, my sister was allergic (still is) and we did not eat or had a taste for bananas…still to this day…is there another ingredient that can replace the bananas? Maybe avocado?
Rachel says
I’ve never cooked with avocado, so I can’t speak to that. You could try replacing it with pumpkin puree (add a little more sweetener though).
Karen says
This looks like an amazing recipe and one that I will try in the next day or two. I have a big bag of ground flaxseed that I wish to find more recipes for. This is perfect and my family will love having breakfast cookies as they run out the door.
Polly says
Yep. Kids will love having “cookies” for breakfast. Little do they know…
Candace says
Hi! Do you know if gluten-free all purpose flour can be substituted for the whole wheat flour?
Rachel says
So sorry, I’m not very familiar with GF flour.
Evelyn says
Hi Rachel, Thank you for sharing your recipes. I have a question on this one how many calories do you think each cookie has? Also what type of Peanut butter do you suggest. I know there is a lot of types of peanut butter that also contains over 50% fat; which one did you choose?
Rachel says
Hi Evelyn! I’m sorry that I don’t know the answer to your question, but I believe you can put the recipe in at Spark People and find out. I don’t fret too much over good fats like peanut butter, but instead try to just eat it in moderation. Our healthy “real food” philosophy that is reflected in our Recipe Index is this: “Real food meets reality here. That’s what our healthy, family-friendly recipe collection is all about. We strive to cook with as many unprocessed ingredients as possible and include a variety of vegetables and fruit, whole grains, healthy fats, and local or organic meats.” You can read more about healthy fats here: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2011/01/24/monday-mission-refocus-on-healthy-fats/. I hope that helps!
Brittany says
I am new at freezer meals and would call myself a beginner cook and baker, this recipe sounds great and cant wait to try. A couple questions though; I have whole flaxseed, would that work instead of ground or would I get the same effect if I ground them up myself? Also, after freezing the cookie what is the best way to defrost them and are they ready to eat right after defrosting?
Rachel says
Hi Brittany. To answer your questions, I would definitely suggest grinding your whole flaxseed. It’s not digestible and you won’t get the nutrition from them unless you do. Secondly, these cookies defrost easily in the microwave for maybe 10-20 seconds. They don’t take long. I’m so glad you found our site. Let me know if you have any other questions on any recipes. Happy to help if I can.
Christa says
I have a son with a peanut allergy. Any suggestions for a substitute? I have heard about a soy “peanut” butter. Wonder if that might work? Can’t wait to try these!
Rachel says
Have you looked into sunbutter? It’s delicious and I’ve heard (but haven’t personally researched) it is an alternative since it’s made from sunflower seeds.
Sarah says
I made these with sunbutter last week, and they turned out great. My 18 month old daughter loved them, and I was glad I could give her a healthy breakfast option instead of frozen waffles. I’m planning on making a double batch this weekend to stock up the freezer.
Rachel says
I’m so glad they turned out well for you and your daughter liked them. I need to make these again!
Sarah says
One word of warning if you use Sunflower butter as a substitute for peanut butter – after the cookies cook and cool, the inside may turn green. This didn’t happen with the first batch I made but did with the second batch I tried today. I did some research and it’s a normal reaction based on something in sunflowers and baking soda. It it not harmful, but may surprise you if you are not expecting it.
Sarah Swanson says
Making these right now!! I’m looking for healthy freezer foods for my daughter who is always hungry and thinks food should just magically appear 🙂 Cannot wait to try them….the batter tastes delicious! I didn’t have flaxseed on hand so I just used more whole wheat flour.
Jackie says
My hubby is allergic to bananas. And while his life insurance is paid up, it’s really a hassle I’d rather not go through (lol). Andy ideas for a sub?
Rachel says
I have used pumpkin puree before, but you’ll need to add more sweetener.
Ane says
Is the flaxseed absolutely necessary? I have everything else in my pantry and would like to not have to go buy this specifically. Thank you!
Polly says
Nope. You can use flour if you don’t have flaxseed on hand.
Shonda says
What could I use instead of the dry milk powder or can I leave it out? I have everything else and I like to sub if I can.
Rachel says
I did a google search and didn’t come up with a good answer for you. I would just try making them without it. The recipe should still work for you.
Rachel says
Tonight I just added a splash of milk in lieu of the dry milk and they turned out great.