Healthy vegan cookies are made with just 4 ingredients - banana, oats, peanut butter, and chocolate chips for a quick and healthy snack you can feel great about giving the kids. Vegan and gluten-free!
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.
This post was sponsored by Bob's Red Mill. All thoughts and opinions are mine.
You're going to love these healthy vegan cookies! They are chewy, sweet, and filled with flavor in every bite. They are so good, you're not going to believe that they are made with just 4 easy ingredients!
Yep, these cookies are made from a combination of peanut butter, oats, bananas, and chocolate chips for a delicious and healthy treat that you can feel great about eating.
And best of all? This vegan cookie recipe is highly versatile! Feel free to swap out the chocolate chips for peanuts, raisins, pumpkin seeds, or cranberries. Whatever you do you are going to love these easy vegan cookies.
Step-by-Step Recipe Video
Recommended Ingredients & Equipment
Nothing fancy to see here! This vegan cookie recipe requires only 4 easy-to-find ingredients; most of which you probably already have on hand! And this recipe offers a ton of variation!
Here is everything you'll need:
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Old Fashioned Oats - Bob’s Red Mill is my go-to brand of rolled oats and the only one I recommend. They offer a great selection of non-GMO whole grains to support healthy lifestyles for all. Read all about why I love Bob’s Red Mill below. Note: If you are gluten-free, make sure to look for Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Oats.
- Bananas - Use overly ripe bananas. This gives the recipe more sweetness and flavor while also being easier to mash and incorporate with the other ingredients.
- Natural Peanut Butter - Allergic to peanuts? No problem! This can be replaced with any nut or seed butter.
- Vegan Chocolate Chip - Feel free to swap these out for raisins, cranberries, or a variety of nuts and seeds.
My Go-To Oats
Bob’s Red Mill is a 100% employee-owned company, one of only 8,000 companies in the US to achieve this spectacular feat. If that weren’t enough to celebrate, they also have one of the largest lines of organic whole grain foods in the country.
For over three decades, the company has been committed to providing people everywhere with the best quality, whole grain foods available. All of their products are certified Kosher and made with ingredients grown from non-GMO seeds. Their minimally processed foods are about as close to nature as you can get, and they package everything in clear bags so you can see the quality of their products for yourself!
And you can taste the difference! These oats are thick, rich in flavor, perfectly textured, and simply the best on the market.
Find Bob’s Red Mill at your local grocery store to see why I’m such a huge fan of their fabulous product line.
Recommended Equipment
For this cookie recipe, you will need a mixing bowl, basic kitchen equipment, a baking sheet, silicone baking mats, and a wire cooling rack. (<<affiliate links)
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step One – Mash the Banana
First, place the bananas in a bowl and mash them with a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon until mostly smooth. A few lumps are okay!
Pro Tip: Use overly ripe bananas. This gives the recipe more sweetness and flavor while also being easier to mash and incorporate into the remaining ingredients.
Step Two - Combine Ingredients
Next, add the oats and peanut butter. Stir to combine. Fold in the chocolate chips or your preferred mix-ins.
Taste and adjust. If the dough is too dry, add a little more peanut butter. If the dough feels too wet, add ¼ cup more oats.
Step Three - Bake the Cookies
Finally, drop spoonfuls of batter onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes until they are golden brown on the outside with a thin crust.
Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Serving and Storing
Serving - Serve immediately as an afternoon snack or evening dessert. These cookies are healthy, delicious, and kid-approved!
Storing - Store uneaten cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can also freeze leftover cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Let thaw for 30 minutes before enjoying.
Tips and Tricks
- Make sure to use very ripe bananas. This adds sweetness to the recipe. Ripe bananas are also easier to incorporate into the batter.
- I use natural peanut butter which tends to be looser than conventional peanut butter. If you are using conventional peanut butter, consider adding ¼--½ more banana.
- These cookies are delicious on their own but also make a great base for so many add-in options. A few of my favorite add-ins are raisins, chia seeds, nuts, and vanilla extract.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! For a gluten-free cookie, use Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Oats which are certified gluten free!
For sure! If you have a peanut allergy, or simply don't like peanut butter, you can swap it out for any other kind of nut or seed butter.
Because all nut butters have slightly different consistencies and bananas are different sizes, you may just need to make minor adjustments to get the right texture of the dough. If the dough is too sticky, add extra oats. If it's falling apart, you will need to add a little more nut butter. In the end, the dough should hold together easily without sticking to your fingers.
For sure! This recipe is highly versatile! Feel free to swap out the chocolate chips for raisins, peanuts, sunflower seeds, or pumpkin seeds.
More Vegan Cookie Recipes
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Vegan Snickerdoodles
- Ginger Molasses Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cookies
- Double Chocolate Cookies
Healthy Vegan Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups Bob's Red Mill Old Fashioned Oats
- 2 very ripe bananas, mashed
- ⅓ cup peanut butter
- ¼ cup chocolate chips, or mix-ins of choice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Place the bananas in a bowl and mash them with a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon. Mash them until the bananas are mostly smooth. A few lumps are okay.
- Once the bananas are mashed, add the oats and peanut butter, stirring until everything is well combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. Taste and adjust. If the dough is too dry, add a little more peanut butter. If the dough feels too wet, add ¼ cup more oats.
Notes
- Make sure to use very ripe bananas. This adds sweetness to the recipe. Ripe bananas are also easier to incorporate into the batter.
- These cookies are delicious on their own but also make a great base for so many add-in options. A few of my favorite add-ins are raisins, chia seeds, nuts, and vanilla extract.
- If you have a peanut allergy, you can swap it out for any other kind of nut butter
- For gluten-free cookies, make sure to look for gluten-free oats.
Hi, I’m Sarah. I’m a 14-year (and counting) vegan, professionally trained photographer, former pastry chef, founder of My Darling Vegan, and author of the
Eric says
These are so yummy. Easy to make and I don't measure anything...I usually do this with 3 or 4 bananas then add a few huge spoonfuls of pnut butter and oatmeal til it's thick and a whole bag of dark chocolate chips. A small ice cream scoop works great for making consistent size cookies. I send this recipe to all my family and friends and encourage them to try these. So yummy and healthy, too!
Kate says
So yummy and easy! My 2 year old thinks they are awesome!
Cathy says
OK, I'm typing and eating these warm out of the oven right now! Super Ono! (As we say here in Hawaii.) I added 1 tsp. vanilla, some ground flax and dried cranberries just because I had them. I am sure they would be just as good without. One hint for the bananas once you get a bunch, and they are ripe (and you can't use them all right away) peel, put in a ziplock and you have frozen bananas for smoothies, cookies, bread, etc. They lose the texture of fresh bananas, but you mash them up to cook them anyway.
K says
Do you think these would still taste okay if you add some pumpkin puree? How much, would you say?
Thanks!xx
Brad says
Anyone know an approximate calorie count per cookie?
MJ says
thank u for this recipe. I did my batch with bananas, oats, peanut butter, morsels, cranberries and walnuts. THEY WERE AMAZING!!!
Lourdes says
I just made these, but since I could not find dates at my local grocery store I substituted them with pitted prunes. They taste sooooo amazing. Thanks for the awesome recipe.
Rosa says
i just made these, but since I didn't have quick oats I used some whole grain oats with crisp rice cereal that I had in my pantry. They look great! But how long should I wait before eating them? Are they supposed to have a soft texture? I used the exact measurements. They just have not hardened completely. I'm scared. I've never baked anything before. :-/
Sarah says
They are a soft cookie and a very forgiving recipe, so a great recipe to start baking with!
Tim says
These look great! Would these also work if you refrigerate them instead of cooking them?
Sarah says
I've never tried it. It would change the texture, but I'm sure they would still work fine. Let me know how they turn out if you try it.
Carrie says
Oh wow heart eyes. These look simply divine. Making them this afternoon for my family. Thank you.
Sarah says
I hope everyone enjoys them!
Stephanie says
my Mom made these for a party, unsure of how they would be. Not many people liked them for some reason. I on the other hand LOVED them and other than what was eaten at the party, single handedly consumed them all. They are amazing and I love how healthy they are for you. These might be a constant in the house for my overactive sweet tooth to keep me from reaching for the ice cream or other sugary snacks!
Sarah says
I'm so glad it was a hit, at least with you. I know what you mean about the overactive sweet tooth, I'm always looking for healthy alternatives to calm it down.
Sybil says
I am doing the Daniel Fast but I am LONGING for something sweet. I found a crunchy peanut butter with flax seed and chia and I added raisins.......YUM!!!
elizabeth says
I've made this at least 10x and it never fails how delicious these are. I have non-vegan/vegetarian family and friends who eat these and always steal a few of mine when I make them. I have added cranberries and pistachios as well. I tend to not measure my peanut butter cause, ya know, it's peanut butter. GREAT recipe and I enjoy making them. my only frustration is when I am looking for overripe bananas in the grocery store there never seems to be ANY lol so I get a bit frustrated when I have to wait for my perfectly yellow bananas to turn. I did try them ripening the quick way in the microwave but, uh, know the natural sweetness wasn't the same. anywho, thanks for the great cookie. I just have to get parchment paper so the bottoms brown like yours as I have just been using foil.
Sarah says
I'm so glad you're enjoying the recipe so much! Thanks for sharing.
Linda says
Just wondering if u can substitute rolled oats for quick oats? Thanks 🙂
Sarah says
That should be fine.
Mary says
One more note, if you won't be eating a batch within a few days of baking, you should refrigerate. I had some go moldy from my first batch.
Mary says
Because of GERD, I can't have peanuts or chocolate so I substituted almond butter and unsweetened carob chips instead. They were ok but a little bland so the second time I made them, I added 1 tsp pure vanilla and some ginger, which really enhanced the flavour. Thanks so much for this basic recipe - i'll be using it a lot!
Sarah says
Thanks for sharing your variations! Sound great!