Healthy Breakfast Cookies with Banana and Oats

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A cookie for breakfast?! Isn’t that what we all dreamed of when we were kids? It doesn’t get much better than that.

These healthy oatmeal breakfast cookies are made with ripe bananas, unsweetened applesauce, a little honey and quick oats. There’s no flour, no butter and no eggs, and one bowl makes about a dozen soft, chewy cookies in 20 minutes.

The Best Healthy Breakfast Cookies (Banana and Oats)

There are several versions of this cookie on the internet, but I think I’ve perfected the recipe with a couple of tweaks and changes. These continue to be some of my favorites, and my daughter was a big fan from the time she was 3.

I originally made them with coarsely chopped fresh cranberries. They’re really tasty that way, but fresh cranberries are only in season for a short time, so I tried blueberries. Oh. My. Goodness. The flavor burst in my mouth! Now I use organic blueberries most of the time.

When I make them plain, without any berries, I love scooping a large spoonful of peanut butter or almond butter on top. The nutty butter with the chewy oatmeal and that hint of banana would make anyone’s morning better. Just read the label, because the only thing peanut butter needs is peanuts! My family has become a big fan of Adam’s All Natural Peanut Butter.

Why You’ll Love These Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

• Healthy ingredients. Bananas, applesauce, honey and oats, with no flour, butter or refined sugar.
• One bowl, 20 minutes. Mash, stir, scoop and bake.
• Great for meal prep. One batch makes about a dozen grab and go breakfasts.
• Kid approved. Readers tell me their toddlers ask for these for on the go breakfasts.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Exact amounts are in the recipe card below. This is a short list of simple, wholesome ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. The bananas and applesauce do the work that flour, butter and eggs do in a regular cookie, so the dough comes together in one bowl.

• Ripe bananas: Two, mashed. They are the base of the dough and bring most of the sweetness and moisture, so make sure they’re ripe and a good size. Bananas with plenty of brown spots are sweeter and mash more easily. A few small lumps are fine. Small or underripe bananas won’t add enough moisture, and the cookies can turn out dense.
• Unsweetened applesauce: 1/2 cup. It adds moisture and binds the dough without eggs or butter. Unsweetened keeps the sugar in check, since the bananas and honey already bring plenty of sweetness.
• Pure honey: 1/4 cup. I feel natural sweeteners like honey are a better choice than anything processed or artificial, but you can leave it out if you prefer. Honey also adds a little moisture and helps the cookies turn golden.
• Pure vanilla extract and cinnamon: These make your kitchen smell amazing while the cookies bake. Cinnamon is a natural match for banana and oats, and vanilla rounds out the flavor.
• Salt: Just 1/4 teaspoon to balance the sweetness. A small pinch makes the banana and cinnamon taste brighter.
• Quick oats: 2 1/2 cups of whole quick oats give these their soft, chewy bite. Quick oats are rolled thinner and cut smaller than old fashioned oats, so they soak up the wet ingredients faster and bake into a softer, more cookie like texture.
• Blueberries or cranberries (optional): 1/2 cup of fresh blueberries or coarsely chopped fresh cranberries. I recommend fresh cranberries over dried. Fresh berries burst while baking and leave little pockets of juicy, tart flavor.

How to Make Healthy Breakfast Cookies

1. Heat the oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking liner, or lightly spray it with olive oil. With no butter in the dough, the liner or oil keeps the cookies from sticking.
2. Mix the wet ingredients. In a medium bowl, mash the bananas. Add the applesauce, honey, vanilla, cinnamon and salt and mix well. A fork works great for mashing. Keep stirring until the honey is fully blended in and the mixture looks even.
3. Add the oats. Stir in the oats, then fold in the blueberries or cranberries. Stir until every oat is coated. Fold the berries in gently so the blueberries don’t burst and streak the dough purple.
4. Let the dough rest for 5 to 10 minutes so the oats soak up the extra liquid. The dough will thicken and become easier to scoop. Skipping this step can leave the cookies wet and flat.
5. Scoop. Drop large spoonfuls of dough, about 1/4 cup each, an inch apart on the baking sheet. Without flour or butter, these cookies don’t spread much, so gently flatten each mound with the back of a spoon for even baking.
6. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until slightly golden brown. The tops should look set and the edges lightly golden. Let them cool on the pan for a few minutes so they firm up before you move them.

Ways to Customize Your Breakfast Cookies

• Blueberry: My favorite. Use fresh organic blueberries.
• Cranberry: Coarsely chopped fresh cranberries when they’re in season.
• Plain with nut butter: Skip the berries and top each warm cookie with peanut or almond butter.
• Reader favorites: Readers have added chopped frozen cherries with mini dark chocolate chips, or dried cranberries and raisins with apple pie spice.

Oatmeal Breakfast Cookie FAQs

• Are oatmeal breakfast cookies healthy? These are made with bananas, unsweetened applesauce, a little honey and oats, with no flour, butter or refined sugar. They’re a wholesome way to have a cookie for breakfast.
• Do these breakfast cookies need eggs or butter? No. Mashed banana and applesauce hold the dough together, and resting the dough lets the oats soak up the liquid so the cookies keep their shape.
• Can I use old fashioned oats? This recipe calls for quick oats because they soften fast and give a soft, chewy cookie. Old fashioned oats are thicker, so the cookies would be chewier and may not hold together as well.
• Can I leave out the honey? Yes. The cookies will be a little less sweet, but ripe bananas still bring plenty of natural sweetness.
• Why are my cookies dense or rubbery? Usually the bananas weren’t ripe or large enough to add enough moisture. You can also increase the oats to 3 cups to improve the texture. Letting the dough rest before scooping helps too, since it gives the oats time to absorb the extra liquid.
• How should I store breakfast cookies? You can keep them on the counter or in the fridge, but they keep much better refrigerated. They taste best fresh out of the oven. Keep them in an airtight container so they stay soft and don’t dry out.
• Are these breakfast cookies gluten free? Oats are naturally gluten free but are often processed alongside wheat, so use oats labeled gluten free if you need them to be. The rest of the dough is naturally gluten free.

Easy Banana Breakfast Cookies

Healthy oatmeal breakfast cookies made with ripe bananas, applesauce, honey and quick oats. No flour, no butter and no eggs, with blueberries or cranberries folded in. Makes about a dozen.

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Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine American

Ingredients

  

• 2 ripe bananas mashed
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup pure honey
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 and 1/2 cups whole quick oats
• 1/2 cup fresh blueberries or coarsely chopped fresh cranberries optional

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 375.
• In medium-sized bowl, mash bananas. Add applesauce, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well.
• Add oats and stir well. Fold in blueberries or cranberries. Allow cookie dough to sit for 5 to 10 minutes so the oats can soak up the excess liquid.
• On a baking sheet, lightly spray with olive oil cooking oil or line with silicon baking liners and drop large spoonfuls of cookie dough (about 1/4 cup size) an inch apart.
• Bake for 18 to 20 minutes until slightly golden brown.

Notes

Yields 1 dozen

Keyword Healthy Breakfast Cookies

Made these breakfast cookies? Leave a star rating in the recipe card and tell me your favorite mix ins in the comments. If a cookie doesn’t feel like enough for breakfast, pair it with a Banana Apple Oatmeal Smoothie or a Strawberry Banana Morning Smoothie.

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