These vegan breakfast cookies take just 3 ingredients and 15 minutes to make! Plus this recipe is great way to use up overripe bananas.
I love oatmeal for breakfast but in the summer I tend to take a break. A bowl of hot oats is just not as appealing when it’s 97 degrees outside. These peanut butter banana breakfast cookies are the best of both worlds.
They make it easy to enjoy the same bowl of oats only it’s handheld. Plus the cookies can be made ahead. They make a great grab and go breakfast and are good for both kids and adults.
No sugar added breakfast cookies
These 3-ingredient breakfast cookies have no added sugar. Natural peanut butter is just peanuts and salt – so no sugar there. The banana delivers sweetness. Be sure to use a very ripe banana – one with way more brown than yellow – so you get the best flavor.
If you accidentally use a banana that’s not quite sweet enough, add a drizzle of maple syrup or your favorite sweetener to the mix before baking.
I found the original recipe on one of my favorite sites, Cooking Light. I saw them make their Banana Bread Breakfast Cookies and didn’t believe just 2 ingredients would work. But in some magical way – it does! And as I am a huge peanut butter & banana fan, I thought to put the two together in my version of the cookies.
How to store breakfast cookies
I like to make them on a Sunday night and store them in a sealed container in the pantry. I’ll grab one for a snack or as an easy breakfast with tea. I’ve even popped them into the toaster oven for a toasty, warm cookie.
This recipe is a good base. Add cinnamon, dried blueberries or chocolate chips to make them your own. Try it out and let me know what you think!
Tips for the best breakfast cookies
Use the ripest, sweetest bananas you can find. That is often the ones that are almost mushy sitting on your kitchen counter after several days.
Choose traditional or old-fashioned oats. Instant oats won’t have the same chew and make bake up differently.
Space the cookies out well. Leave room for the cookies to brown on the baking sheet. If you place the cookies to close together, they won’t get that nice golden brown edge.
More easy recipes using oats
Healthy Buttermilk Oatmeal Pancakes
Blueberry Oatmeal Breakfast Smoothie
Blackberry Walnut Overnight Oats
Healthy Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Muffins
Peanut Butter Banana Breakfast Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 small very ripe bananas
- 1 cup old fashioned oats
- 1/4 cup natural peanut butter crunchy or creamy
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a half baking sheet with oil.
- Mash the bananas in a bowl.
- Add the oats and peanut butter. Mix.
- Roll, then flatten 10-12 small cookies (5-6 large) and place on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake at 350°F for about 12 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown, as shown.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Laurina Roo @sweetenedbyplants
3 ingredients – it doesn’t get any better than that! Let alone how amazing each one of these ingredients is on their own!
Sonali- The Foodie Physician
Peanut butter and bananas is such an awesome combo but I don’t think I’ve had them together in a cookie! These sound perfect!
Farrah
Gotta love recipes that only take 3 ingredients! 😀 I need to go get some bananas!!
plasterer bristol
wow these sound awesome. Thanks so much for this recipe. can’t wait to make these.
Simon
Gabriella Vetere
Just made some breakfast cookies! Love them. http://www.macrobalanced.com/new-blog-1/chewy-fruity-breakfast-cookies
Karolina
Thanks for that, I love it:) I’ve played a bit with the recipe, and added maple syrup, shredded coconut, berries, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and it came out delicious!
Marisa
Thanks, Karolina! That all sounds sooo good. I love them with blueberries added!
Anna
These are delicious! I added some cocoa powder and vanilla, and it really gave them an amazing flavor. Great recipe!
Marisa
Thanks so much for the note! I love the idea to add cocoa to the mix. I think I will try them that way next!
Nancy
Tried it like this and they are superb in taste!
John
These were a decent quick and easy healthy snack. . I added vanilla the the mix and after cooked, I spread a no sugar strawberry preserve on top, then dipped em in almond milk. Not too shabby.
Marisa
Thanks, John! It’s a good base for lots of mix-ins. Love the jam addition!
Cora
Do they last longer if you keep them in the fridge?
Marisa
Yes. They do. You can keep them in the fridge and pop them in the toaster oven to freshen them up.
Sandra
I was sceptical, but these are amazing. I was looking for no added sugar cookie options and bingo. They really taste nice.
Marisa
Haha! Thanks for taking a chance and trying the recipe. So glad you like them!
Danielle
Thank you for the recipe. These were quick and easy! I used almond butter instead of peanut butter and added some coconut flakes and cinnamon to experiment a bit. They were delicious!
Marisa
Thanks so much, Danielle! I make these with almond butter from time to time as well! Your version sounds yummy!
Susan
I have made the 2 ingredient cookies with 1 mashed smooth banana and 1C oats. I always add a 3rd ingredient. Like 1/2 peanut butter ( your recipe!), 1/2C chocolate chips, 1/2C raisins or 1/2C sunflower kernels. Any way you make them these cookies are so yummy good!
Marisa
Oooh. I like the idea to add the sunflower kernels! Definitely doing that next time. Thanks for your message, Susan!
Stephanie Auletta
It didn’t work for me. The bottoms were almost black. They were moist. Tasted more banana than peanut butter. Maybe l did something wrong?
Erin
I found these cookies to be very gummy and way too chewy. Will need to tweak the recipe to make it more appealing to my family.
Marisa
Hi Erin, These are intended to be chewy in a good way but I’m not sure what would have caused them to turn out gummy. Sorry to hear they didn’t work for you. Let us know if you tweak the recipe.
Loretta
Can you add eggs to this recipe
Marisa
Hi Loretta, I have not tried this recipe with eggs. It would probably be OK but I can’t say for sure.
Kelley
Does it have to be old fashioned oats or can we use quick oats?
Marisa
Hi Kelley. I haven’t tested the recipe with quick oats and think the cookies will not be the same. I recommend using traditional but if you venture off – note that the measure will be off. You may need to use less of the quick ones for them to stick together and the cook time may need to be adjusted as well.
Bethany
I absolutely love these! Taste great, super healthy and easy to make – you can’t beat that!
Suzanne
This looks delicious, thank you for sharing!
Carole Carroll
Will try as soon as those bananas get riper!!
Erin
We made these last night and added chocolate chunks…YUM! They will be breakfast for next week. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Janet
can use Jif instead of natural peanut butter?
Marisa
You might need to heat/microwave the Jif to loosen it a bit. See how the peanut butter pours in the video? That’s the consistency you’ll want.
janet
see where it says video on recipe but not how to play it
Marisa
Hmmm. I”ll need to check on that! To give you a better description without the visual, the peanut butter should still be thick (kind of like honey) but you should be able to stir up easily. Let me know how it goes!
Amber
I made these recently on a last minute-whim for breakfast when I saw them on Instagram in the morning. Great decision!! These are really delicious, came together in seconds, and so customizable. Plus they are definitely satisfying! Can’t go wrong with these. I’ll be making these again and again in my future, playing with add-ins.
Ellie Altan
Any idea how much volume of banana to use? I almost never see small bananas at the store.
Melissa
I used 2 medium and they came out great! I also added chocolate chips (1/4 cup). So good.
Marisa
So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Melissa
You made me enjoy making cookies! I usually don’t like making cookies but these were so easy! 🙂
Marisa
They are magical
Cathy
I like to add about 1/4 – 1/2 tsp of salt.
Patricia
I made these today and added raisins. The recipe seems to be a good starting point but for me is lacking in flavor. I will try again, adding some salt and maybe vanilla extract.
Sonia
Made these for my toddler. I tried them myself and they are yummy!! He had a tiny taste and definitely wanted more! Thank you 🙂
Teresa
These cookies are great!!! I have a big sweet tooth and love oatmeal cookies so when I saw this recipe, I had to try it! I added walnuts to the mix and found the perfect cookie!
Marisa
Yes! Adding walnuts is perfect! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Linda
Don’t really care for bananas. What can I use as a substitute
Marisa
Hi Linda,
I have not tried these without the banana so I’m not sure there’s a good substitute without totally changing the recipe.
victoria
This is just a guess but I think it would be a good bet to use sweet potato mashed with a little water or milk. You would likely need to add some type of sweetener. I am suggest sweet potato because I have made cakes where the recipe calls for part of the oil to be substituted with either applesauce, banana or sweet potato. I think sweet potato has a texture more similar to banana than applesauce, and that may be important in this recipe. I have definitely used sweet potato successfully as a partial oil substitute in a number of cakes.
Sonia
Made these for a second time today. Lovely for my 18 month old
Starr
Thank you love these cookies,but put a few chocolate chip,and coconut in they are great
Joe
Mine come out soft. What’s the reason ?
Marisa
Hi Joe,
These are definitely chewy, soft cookies not crispy ones. As long as the cookies held together, I’m going to guess yours turned out as intended.
Danielle Jones
So good! Very quick and easy. I added 1 teaspoon of sugar and a pinch of sea salt. The large bars took ~15 minutes. Will definitely make many more times.
Lorna
Just made these Cookies, sooooo good.
I added a few of my favourite ingredients, pumpkin seeds, coconut,
Cran/raisins and walnuts. Super delicious. Thanks for sharing.
Emily
Can you freeze them?
Marisa
Yes. Freeze the cooled cookies solid on a sheet pan in a single layer. Then place in a freezer safe bag/container. Reheat in the oven or toaster oven for best results.
Kate
These are wonderful! Made two batches. The first exactly like the recipe and they are perfect! Made a second batch for my daughter and used almond butter (instead of the peanut butter) and added dried blueberries. Both are delicious! Will definitely be making these again and again! Thanks for sharing!
Mary
I’ve just had my gallbladder removed so I am getting used to the no-fat, low-fat diet. Would using the low-fat peanut butter make a difference? I’m sure I’ll have to warm it up first to make it a “mix-able” solution. Looking forward to filling the missing snack at bed time when taking meds. Also, it is nice to have a recipe by a certified registered dietitian nutritionist. Thank you.
Marisa
Hi Mary,
I have not tried it with low fat peanut butter so I’m not sure it would work. I can tell you that you’ll need a loose/not stiff peanut butter for it to work.
CJ
They’re also great eve without Baking!
Marisa
I agree with you! No baking required but I do like the toasty finish in the oven 🙂
victoria keoleian
I made these and they came out great! I wanted to mention some substitutions I made that seemed to have worked out pretty well. First, my doctor had told me to start eating oat bran to lower my cholesterol. (I grind oat bran into a flour and keep it in my freezer.) The first thing I did is sub out half the oats for oat bran flour (1/2 cup oats weighs 48 g, so I used a kitchen scale to add an equivalent amount of oat bran flour). This really amps up the fiber content, and it came out really good! The only thing is the cookie was a little soft, almost cakey (although definitely more cookie than cake). I am not sure whether this is from the substitution, but it was good with me. The next batch I did the same as the prior one but added cocoa powder, a pinch of salt, vanilla, maple syrup, 1/2 tsp peppermint extract, and about 40 chocolate chips (about 4 per cookie since that didn’t seem too excessively decadent). I actually had forgotten I used peanut butter in these cookies or wouldn’t have added the peppermint because that combination seems really odd! But in the end, I could barely even taste the PB — it was more chocolate mint banana. I will definitely make this recipe again, and it was so easy too! I can also see myself making the dough, freezing and cooking individual cookies in the microwave if I’m feeling really lazy. The recipe itself is super fast to make though!
Monica M
Using just the three ingredients gave me a very bland, soft cookie. Definitely need to add something more like vanilla, cinnamon, grown sugar, chocolate chips, etc.