One summer, my family and I flew to Wisconsin to visit my dad’s old college roommate and his wife. As very gracious hosts, they played tour guides for our entire vacation and drove us to all of the little gems in the area, including Laura Ingalls Wilder’s house (I grew up reading those books!), the historic Trempealeau Hotel with their infamous walnut burgers, and boating on the Mississippi River like Huck Finn.
All of that driving meant that my parents filled up the gas tank on our rental minivan fairly often. Nearly every morning before the rest of us woke up, they navigated through the sleep streets to the nearest gas station to fuel up and purchase the daily newspaper.
On one of those trips, my dad impulsively brought a loaf of banana bread to the cash register along with the paper. Back at the house, he and his college roommate carved off thick slices to share around the breakfast table. I politely declined, somewhat skeptical of gas station banana bread, and stuck with my yogurt and cereal, but the two of them insisted on offering me a pieces multiple times throughout the meal.
By the end of our trip, it almost became a game: Buy gas station banana bread and see how many times we can offer it to Amy before she gives in. I good-naturedly went along with it, but with willpower like nobody in my family had ever seen, I held out for the entire vacation. To this day, nobody in our family can look at banana bread without thinking about that gas station!
However, if they had offered me these Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Oatmeal Cookies, it would’ve been a completely different ballgame—and not just because they’re homemade! Soft and chewy with oodles of gooey melted chocolate, they’re much healthier and absolutely irresistible!
These little beauties are the next installment in my clean-eating oatmeal cookie series. We’ve done blueberry, raspberry, apple pie, and carrot cake (plus lots more!), but these… They’re the first ones that involve chocolate and no other mix-ins. Surprising, seeing how much of a chocoholic I am!
The main difference between this recipe and the rest of the oatmeal cookies (besides the chocolate, of course!) is that these do NOT require chilling. In fact, I insist that you don’t!
I used mashed banana to provide the iconic banana bread flavor and replace the egg. Because mashed banana contains a lot less liquid than eggs, the dough is firmer as soon as you mix everything together compared to my previous oatmeal cookie recipes, so you don’t need to chill it to make the dough stiffer. And that means you get to eat cookies half an hour sooner!
To maximize the chocolaty goodness, I added both mini and regular chocolate chips. The mini chips ensure that every bite contains chocolate, and when you hit a big, melty regular chip… Well, I basically thought I’d died and gone to heaven. I highly recommend that you try microwaving a cookie for 7 seconds, just enough to warm it up and start the chocolate melting again. Pure bliss.
And definitely much better than gas station banana bread!
| Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Oatmeal Cookies | | Print |
- 1 c (100g) instant oats (measured correctly)
- ¾ c (90g) whole wheat or gluten-free* flour (measured correctly)
- 1 ½ tsp (4g) baking powder
- 1 tsp (3g) ground cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp (1g) salt
- 2 tbsp (28g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ c (63g) mashed banana
- 1 tsp (5mL) vanilla extract
- ½ c (120mL) agave
- 2 ½ tbsp (35g) regular semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 ½ tbsp (21g) miniature semisweet chocolate chips
- Preheat the oven to 325°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Whisk together the oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil or butter, mashed banana, and vanilla. Stir in the agave. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Fold in all of the regular chocolate chips and 1 tablespoon of miniature chocolate chips.
- Drop the cookie dough into 15 rounded scoops onto the prepared sheet, and flatten slightly. Press the remaining miniature chocolate chips into the tops. Bake at 325°F for 13-15 minutes. Cool on the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
Instant oats are also known as quick-cooking or minute oats. They come in large canisters, just like old-fashioned oats. They are not the ones in the small flavored packets of oatmeal.
If you don’t have instant oats, measure the same amount of old-fashioned oats, and pulse them in a food processor 7-10 times.
Chopped dark chocolate may be substituted in place of the chocolate chips.
Honey or maple syrup may be substituted for the agave. Alternatively, ½ cup (105g) brown sugar + 5 tablespoons (75mL) milk may be substituted as well. The baking time stays the same.
For a gluten-free version, use gluten-free instant oats and a gluten-free flour blend. I recommend the following blend: ½ cup (60g) millet flour, 2 tablespoons (15g) tapioca flour, 2 tablespoons (17g) brown rice flour, and ½ teaspoon (2g) xanthan gum.
For all other questions regarding the recipe, including ingredient substitutions, please see my Oatmeal Cookie FAQ + Video page.
{gluten-free, vegan, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
More banana cookie recipes from other food bloggers…
♥ Banana and Nutella Oatmeal Cookies by French Press
♥ Banana Breakfast Cookies by Crazy for Crust
♥ Chocolate Chip Banana FlufferNutter Sandwich Cookies by Half Baked Harvest
♥ Healthy Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies by Yummy Healthy Easy
Hi, can substitute the agave for honey or maple syrup?.. Thanks!
Yes Cori, you may! I already included that swap in the Notes section beneath the recipe. I hope you enjoy the cookies!
Thanks for the recipe! I didn’t want to add any sugar (beyond what’s in the chocolate chips) so I did 1/2 cup of banana instead of the agave and added the egg back. Since my son is dairy and gluten free I also used quinoa flour. I cooked a few to test and they weren’t quite sweet enough so I added 8 drops of liquid stevia. The end result is great and my kids love them!
I’m so glad you and your kids enjoyed the cookies Kate! I really appreciate that you included your modifications — it’s great to hear what else works!
After just discovering this blog a few hours ago I couldn’t wait to try to make something. It’s all so simple with standard ingredients and simple directions, I’m very impressed. I made these cookies today (I actually used blueberries instead of chocolate chips, I know, I’m crazy for not having a massive stash of chocolate chips at all times) and they were probably the best cookies I ever had. Once I realized the cookie dough was safe to eat I had to try it and let me just say, the bowl did not need much cleaning after how well i scraped it!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the cookies Kristina! I love your blueberry twist — I need to try that! You’d laugh if you saw my baking chocolate stash; it takes up an entire drawer in the kitchen. Oops!
I think my husband would love these cookies!! Do you think they would ship well he is currently deployed. It takes about 7-10 days to arrive.
You’re so sweet to send homemade cookies to your husband Danielle! I haven’t had these last for more than 7 days, so I’m not entirely sure. I’d like to say yes, but because they contain banana, I’d be worried that they may turn moldy if it took more than a week for them to arrive. I also have lots more oatmeal cookie recipes (including this one with chocolate!) that don’t contain fresh fruit and would probably ship much better. For shipping, I recommend placing a piece of wax or parchment paper in between the cookies so they don’t stick together. I really hope you and your husband enjoy the cookies!
I would love to try this recipe but don’t have any agave or maple syrup. Would applesauce be an ok substitute? If so how much?! Thanks!!!
I answer this question on my oatmeal cookies FAQ + video page; there’s also a link to it in the Notes section beneath the recipe. 🙂 I hope you enjoy the cookies Dani!
I made these cookies but wanting to cut down on the amount of sweetener I only used 1/4 cup maple syrup. They tasted wonderful but were a bit dry. I did weigh the oats and flour exactly so I don’t think that was the problem.
Next time should I add some milk to make up for the lack of liquid?
If you omitted half of the maple syrup, that would be the biggest issue because it provides both sweetness and moisture to the cookies. Without that moisture, the cookies will turn out dry. I would suggest adding ¼ cup of milk to compensate. I hope the next batch turns out better Sandra!
Just ate two of these, I couldn’t have just one! I did the brown sugar instead of agave and dark chocolate chips since they’re my favorite and they turned out great. I would definitely make these again. Very easy and delicious. 🙂
I’m so glad you enjoyed the cookies Stacey! I almost exclusively use dark chocolate chips now when I bake. I love them too, and they melt so well! 🙂
Made these tonight w my 2 year old son and they were Delish! Added a touch of cocoa powder to accommodate mamas sweet tooth and pumpkin seeds because we had some on hand. What is the best way to store these (before we gobble them all!)?
I’m so glad you enjoyed the cookies Molly! As it says in the headnote beneath the recipe title, store the cookies in an airtight container to keep them soft and chewy. 🙂
I baked these cookies tonight. I had to substitute the agave with brown rice syrup, another great sweetener, they turned out perfectly! I’m adding these to my recipe book!
I’m glad you enjoyed the cookies Stephanie, and I’m touched that you’re adding them to your recipe book! 🙂
This has become a staple cookie for me, I bake them when I happen to have a free afternoon and have a healthy sweet snack for breakfast or evening chocolate cravings. Thanks for the recipe!
I’m really touched that you’re enjoying these cookies so much Artemi! Thank you for sharing that! 🙂