Vegan Breakfast Cookies (with Bananas and Oats)

These vegan breakfast cookies are made with a base of bananas and oatmeal. They’re inexpensive, quick to make and loaded with delicious add-ins for the perfect breakfast or snack.

They also freeze well, making them ideal for meal prep and are easy to pack and take on the go. Customize to your taste preferences and you can have endless breakfast cookie variations!

Skill: Easy | Time: 30 min | Servings: 10 cookies

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Are Breakfast Cookies Vegan?

Many breakfast cookie recipes use vegan base ingredients like banana and oats. However, some recipes, store-bought or restaurant options may use eggs or dairy products. Always read labels or ask questions to be sure.

Breakfast cookies are really any cookie recipe that’s made with nutrient-dense ingredients that keep you feeling full and satisfied! Breakfast cookie recipes are often (but not always) lower in sugar and contain minimally processed ingredients.

Ingredients and Substitutions for Oatmeal Banana Breakfast Cookies

The ingredients in this recipe are quite basic; most should be found in an average vegan kitchen.

Apart from the banana and oats, all other ingredients are flexible and you can replace them with pretty much anything you like. See below for some tasty flavor combos to try!

• Bananas: Mashed bananas and rolled oats create the base of this recipe. Aim for over-ripe bananas (ones that are really spotted) for best results. This recipe is a fantastic way to use old bananas. You can also use frozen bananas if you fully thaw them first.
• Vanilla extract: The only other liquid ingredient in this recipe is vanilla extract which adds a delicious flavor. You can use other flavor extracts too (I once accidently bought a vanilla-chocolate extract and this recipe was a great way to use it)!
• Rolled oats: Most of the bulk in these breakfast cookies is rolled oats. You can use quick-cooking oats for a softer cookie, or large flake rolled oats for a chewier, slightly crunchier and denser cookie. I typically only buy large flakes oats and prefer their texture in every recipe.
• Almond flour: This adds a richness and nutty flavor to your cookies. Replace the almond flour with extra rolled oats or oat flour for a more budget-friendly alternative. That’s often what I did when in university. I wouldn’t recommend replacing with any other type of flour.
• Shredded coconut: The main flavors of these cookies are chocolate and coconut, with some sweetness from dates and a great walnut crunch. This recipe is completely customizable, so replace coconut with any type of nut, seed or dried fruit.
• Dried dates: Chopped dates make a delicious, sweet addition to this recipe. Other dried fruits work as well; raisins or cranberries are tasty choices. Chocolate chips are another sweet option for a delicious cookie.
• Walnuts: I highly recommend adding chopped nuts or seeds to the recipe. It adds a great crunch and lots of nutrition. I use walnuts as they’re slightly less expensive compared to other nuts (at least where I live) and they contain omega 3s which is fantastic.
• Cocoa powder: Adding chocolate to breakfast is always a win in my books. You can leave this out if you want a different flavor!
• Baking powder: These are very dense cookies. Baking powder helps keep them slightly softer, but they’re not going to be fluffy! You could leave this out if you like; the cookies with be slightly denser but hard to notice.
• Cinnamon: Some cinnamon nicely rounds out the flavors of these breakfast cookies. As with many ingredients, it’s optional. You could use other spices like nutmeg or a pumpkin pie spice blend!

How to Make This Recipe: Instructions and Tips

This recipe is incredibly easy to make. Simply mash bananas, stir in other ingredients, shape into cookies and bake. If you want more detailed directions, read below or watch the video to see how I make this recipe!

You can easily double the recipe too. This is great if you have a lot of mouths to feed, or if you want to meal prep and freeze leftover cookies.

Step 1: Mash Banana

Peel your bananas and place into a large bowl. If using frozen bananas, thaw them completely before using.

Mash the bananas with a fork or potato masher until well pureed. If a few small banana pieces remain, that’s fine.

At this point I stir in the other liquid ingredient, vanilla extract.

Step 2: Stir in Other Ingredients

Add all the other ingredients to your bowl and stir with a large spoon until well combined.

This cookie “batter” will be quite thick, so make sure all ingredients are evenly mixed (especially the dry spices and cocoa powder).

Step 3: Shape Cookies and Bake

Prepare a baking tray by lining it with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper (for easy clean up).

Shape the cookies by taking a large scoop of “batter” and placing it onto the baking tray. Form into a flattened, circular cookie shape, that’s about 2cm/1 inch thick.

This recipe should make about 10 large cookies.

Bake in an oven preheated to 350 °F for 10 minutes. Your cookies will be soft when first out of the oven. Let them cool on the baking tray for a few minutes, then carefully transfer onto a wire cooling rack.

The cookies firm as they cool, so let them come to room temperature before handling or they may fall apart.

How to Serve this Recipe: Create a Balanced Vegan Meal

I consider a balanced meal one that contains a good source of plant-based protein, carbohydrates, fats and lots of vegetables or fruits.

This recipe has all those components! There’s lots of plant-based protein in almond flour and walnuts, and a smaller amount of protein in oats. Overall, this recipe is slightly lower in protein. To add extra protein, consider tossing in some hemp seeds.

There’s plenty of energizing carbohydrates in the oats, banana and dates. There’s also lots of healthy fats from the almond flour, walnuts and coconut.

Banana is a fruit which adds its own tasty nutrition to the recipe.

This recipe can be a balanced breakfast or snack on its own. However, you could also pair these cookies with a side of fruit.

Breakfast Cookie Variations

The essential “base” ingredients of this recipe are bananas, vanilla extract, rolled oats and almond flour (or extra oats/ oat flour). After that, you just need to add flavor with nuts, seeds, dried fruit and spices.

Here are some tasty flavor combos you might like to try:

• Dark chocolate cherry: use dark chocolate chips, cocoa powder and dried cherries; optional to use coconut.
• Cinnamon raisin: use raisins instead of dates and leave out cocoa powder.
• Trail mix: use a mix of nuts, seeds and dried fruits instead of the dates, coconut and walnuts; optional to use cinnamon and/or cocoa powder.
• Mint chocolate chip: use mint extract, chocolate chips and cocoa powder.
• Peanut butter and jam: use powdered peanut butter instead of almond flour along with peanuts and dried strawberries (or whatever fruit you want the “jam” to taste like).

How to Store Leftovers: Refrigerating and Freezing this Recipe

Let the cookies cool to room temperature before refrigerating in an airtight container for up to a week. You can reheat cookies using a microwave (5-10 seconds is all you should need).

This recipe also freezes extremely well. Use a freezer bag or freezer-safe container and the cookies should last about 4 months. Pop out a few cookies whenever you need a quick breakfast or snack.

Defrost by leaving them in the fridge overnight or using the defrost setting of your microwave. This makes for a truly quick breakfast whenever you’re in a rush! If you grab some frozen cookies in the morning, they should thaw within a few hours at room temperature. Perfect timing for a mid-morning snack or late breakfast!

I hope you enjoy this recipe! If you make it, please rate and comment below so others benefit from your experience.

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