Most Saturday mornings in October and November while in high school, my alarm rang well before the sun rose and the birds started chirping. As a part-time chaperone, Mom often woke up that early too, and together we headed over to my high school for that week’s band review.
Mom and I arrived earlier than most, and as the other kids arrived, they looked like ants trudging into the band room from the parking lot, emerging shortly after carrying their instruments to the front of the school where five large charter buses sat waiting. After loading the instruments into the luggage space underneath each bus, we climbed aboard and collapsed into the plush seats, ready to head out onto the freeway and drive to that day’s band review host school.
Once on board, one of the chaperones usually popped in an old VHS movie for us to watch on the small TV monitors hanging from the overhead bins. Almost half of the kids fell asleep as we drove, and the rest of us stared glassy-eyed out the window or at the Disney film playing in the background.
Those of us who couldn’t nap usually pulled out some sort of breakfast food to nibble on during the trip. Some students brought freezer waffles or bits of toast, carefully wrapped in paper towels, while others munched on muffins or donuts. I usually packed granola bars, like Quaker or Nutri-Grain or Nature Valley…
But I definitely would’ve preferred these Healthy Chocolate Chip Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies instead! They’re soft and chewy, just like traditional cookies (and my favorite granola bars!), but they contain no butter, eggs, refined flour or sugar… Yet plenty of chocolate and only 78 calories!
Basically a dream come true, for any chocoholic with a sweet tooth as big as mine!
This recipe is the next installment of my healthy oatmeal cookie series. ← Have you tried any of those others yet? Or my other healthy oatmeal breakfast cookie recipes? They’re some of the most popular recipes on my blog because they taste just like traditional cookies, even with no butter, refined flour or sugar! I guess I’m not the only Cookie Monster out there… ?
So for my fellow Cookie Monsters, you’ll need whole wheat flour (or gluten-free!) and instant oats to start! Instant oats are also called “quick cooking” or “one minute” oats, and they’re sold in canisters right next to the regular old-fashioned oats at the grocery store. They’re smaller and thinner than old-fashioned oats, but they have the same flavor and health benefits!
It’s extremely important that you measure the oats and flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. The oats act like little sponges and soak up moisture from your cookie dough, so if you add too many, your cookies will taste cakey or dry. As a chewy cookie lover, that gets a big thumbs down from me!
For this reason, I highly recommend a kitchen scale. ← That’s the one I own, and it has been the best $20 I’ve ever spent! I use it to make every recipe that I share here with you because it ensures my treats turn out with the perfect taste and texture every time. (And by using it, I usually end up with fewer dishes to wash too—YAY!)
The mashed banana replaces the eggs, adds fruity flavor (totally obvious, I know…), and provides natural sweetness. Use the ripest, most speckled bananas you have! I prefer ones with more brown color than yellow. Those contain more natural sweetness, so you’ll only need to add 3 tablespoons of pure maple syrup (like this!) to your cookie dough.
Because these are breakfast cookies, not dessert cookies, they only have half the natural sweetener as compared to my regular oatmeal cookie recipes… Which gives them a similar sweetness level to muffins. To make sure these cookies still turn out soft and chewy, you’ll add milk to the cookie dough as well. And of course, don’t forget the mini chocolate chips—the best part! These are my go-to kind!
How does that look for a healthy breakfast option?? If you said, “Pure bliss!” then you read my mind! ??? And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your cookies and feature them in my Sunday Spotlight series!
| Healthy Chocolate Chip Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies | | Print |
- 1 cup (100g) instant oats (gluten-free if necessary and measured like this)
- ¾ cup (90g) whole wheat or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tbsp (21g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- ¼ cup (63g) mashed banana (about 1 rather small banana)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp (45mL) pure maple syrup, room temperature
- 5 tbsp (75mL) nonfat milk, room temperature
- 2 ½ tbsp (35g) miniature chocolate chips, divided
- Preheat the oven to 325°F, and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- Whisk together the oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, mashed banana, and vanilla. Stir in the maple syrup and milk. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Fold in 2 tablespoons of miniature chocolate chips. Let the cookie dough rest for 10 minutes.
- Drop the cookie dough into 15 rounded scoops onto the prepared sheet, and flatten to the desired thickness and width using a spatula. Gently press the remaining miniature chocolate chips into the tops. Bake at 325°F for 9-11 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. To make your own, add the same amount of old-fashioned oats to a food processor, and pulse 10-12 times.
For a gluten-free version, use gluten-free instant oats and the following gluten-free flour blend: ½ cup (60g) millet flour, 2 tablespoons (15g) tapioca flour, 2 tablespoons (15g) brown rice flour, and ½ teaspoon xanthan gum. Most store-bought gluten-free flour blends will also work, if measured like this.
Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.
For answers to all other questions regarding substitutions and tips, see my Oatmeal Cookies FAQ Page.
{gluten-free, vegan, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
View Nutrition Information
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♥ Healthy Oatmeal Raisin Breakfast Cookies
♥ Healthy Blueberry Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
♥ Healthy Carrot Cake Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
♥ Healthy Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Oatmeal Cookies
♥ Healthy Blueberry Banana Oatmeal Cookies
♥ Healthy Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
♥ Healthy Strawberry Banana Oatmeal Cookies
♥ The Ultimate Healthy Soft & Chewy Egg-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
♥ …and the rest of Amy’s healthy oatmeal cookie recipes!
I would rather eat more fattening cookies than waste my baking supplies trying to make this recipe again, Followed all of the directions to a T, didn’t add/delete any ingredients andddddd…..they were awful 🙁
The batter looked okay but the cookies had this weird horrible not-cookie texture (not chewy, not crispy—like…stale bread)
They didn’t taste like a breakfast bar OR a cookie. They were incredibly tasteless and bland, which is shocking considering the ingredients all sound great on their own. I can’t believe this recipe got remotely this many likes, the only thing i can think of is people saw how good it LOOKS (like me) and didn’t actually make them yet.
Save yourself the time. Go healthy somewhere else (run an extra mile, skip the fries, ditch the soda) but don’t make the same mistake I did, you’ll regret it.
Sorry Amy, I really did want to like it 🙁
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe! However, if your cookies had that odd texture and a bland flavor, then there were too many oats in your cookies. Did you measure them with measuring cups or a kitchen scale? If you don’t own a kitchen scale, here’s what I recommend doing for measuring pats (and cocoa powder, flour, etc!): use a fork to “scoop” up oats from the container, and lightly shake the fork back and forth over the top of your measuring cup to transfer the oats into it. Once there’s a small mound of oats extending past the rim of the measuring cup, then place the flat back of a knife against the top of the measuring cup, and gently scrape it across the top to get rid of the excess oats. Never “pat” the oats down with the knife or fork. This fork method acts like a sifter (without dirtying another dish!) and guarantees you’ll add less oats to the batter, so you’ll end up with chewy, tender, and flavorful cookies. Does that make sense? 🙂
I’ve been playing with this reciepe and I’ve made a better version. I put Hershey dark chocolate chips, 1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut and 1/2 teaspoon cacao powder with I can’t believe it’s not butter instead of coconut oil.
Then I made it also with coconut oil, the shredded coconut and some vanilla sugar.
But following this reciepe the original is a bit boring. It’s good as a base receipt.
I played with it a bit also! I added 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1/2 cup dark unsweetened cocoa, an extra 2 tablespoons of both milk and syrup. I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk and dark chocolate chips.
Thanks for including your modifications, Heather! I always love to hear what recipe tweaks work. 🙂
I also use dan-d Museli oatmeal with fruits and nuts in it not regular oatmeal. It also had flax seeds. And when I bring these cookies to work with the changes I mentioned. They don’t last 5 minutes. I have to make 2 batches. It takes like coconut chocolate oatmeal macaroons of there’s such a thing… my way. Thank you.
So glad you were able to tweak my recipe to better suit your tastes Jasmine! 🙂
Is fridge or cupboard the best place to store these? Are they free able?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Jaimie! I’ve actually covered the best storage method in the text directly beneath the recipe title in the recipe box. It can be easy to miss! 😉 These cookies also freeze really well. I can’t wait to hear what you think of them!
I just made these and put 1 less tablespoon of maple syrup in…they taste great. I didnt push my first lot down enough so they are a bit thick but second lot were perfect! ?
I’m so glad you enjoyed these cookies Bev! 🙂
HI, Amy! I just made these cookies and I am so excited. They turned out perfectly! I have to tell you however, that I subbed an equal amount of additional mashed banana for the maple syrup because I didn’t have enough on hand. 🙁 They came out great anyway and plenty sweet for my taste. I got 16 nice sized cookies out of the recipe. Thank you so much! I appreciate your giving us good tasting healthy ,lower sugar, fat and calories treats. Up next, your Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread! It’s for a gift. 🙂 And after that? Healthy Pumpkin Waffles on the weekend. Can’t wait!
I’m so glad you enjoyed these breakfast cookies Susan! That’s so great that the mashed banana substitution worked. I’m right there with you — I don’t always need extra sweet treats for breakfast! 😉 I hope you enjoyed the pumpkin bread, and I see I have a comment from you waiting on the pumpkin waffles… Can’t wait to see what you thought of those! 🙂
Can you substitute coconut oil for applesauce?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Sarah! If you substitute applesauce for the coconut oil, then your cookies will have a much different texture — more bready, like muffins, and a little gummy. I’d love to hear what you think if you try them! 🙂