2 Ingredient Banana Oat Cookies (V, GF, Oil-Free)

2 ingredient banana oat cookies on a cooling rack

4.81 from 26 votes

2 Ingredient Banana Oat Cookies (V, GF, Oil-Free)

Looking for a delicious and healthy treat? These 2 ingredient banana oat cookies are vegan, gluten-free, and oil-free, making them the perfect anytime snack. Add any number of add-in with what you have in your cupboard!

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Total Time25

Course: Cookies

Cuisine: American

Keyword: 2 ingredients, banana, dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, oat, oatmeal cookies, oil-free, refined sugar free, vegan, wfpb, wfpb cookies

Servings: cookies

Author: Camilla

Equipment

Ingredients

1 cup mashed banana (VERY ripe, finely mashed or puréed; see tip below)
1 cup rolled oats (certified GF, as needed; old-fashioned or quick-cooking. Optional: roughly chop)
Optional: pinch of salt
Optional: Ingredient Add-Ins (see notes for ideas)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the finely mashed bananas, oats and optional salt until blended.
Stir in any additional flavorings (e.g., spices, vanilla extract) and/ or mix-ins (such as chocolate chips or dried fruit). Stir until completely blended.
Using a small cookie scoop or rounded tablespoon measure, drop rounds of cookie dough on to the prepare baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches apart. With damp fingertips, flatten each mound of dough to about 1/4 inch thickness.
Bake in the preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes until tops are firm to the touch and the edges are browned.
Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 2 minutes. Remove the cookies from the baking sheet with a spatula and cool completely on a cooling rack.

Notes

Pro Tips for the BEST Cookies:

Puree the bananas (by hand, or with a blender)
- The cookies come out best if the ripe bananas are very well mashed, or better yet, pureed, or blended. I like to use my handheld stick blender to get out all of the lumps and bumps, but you can use extra elbow grease to mash with a fork by hand (really work the bananas until they are almost liquid). Note: Measure the bananas AFTER finely mashing or pureeing.
Chop the Oats
- Give the oats a rough chop in a food processor, with your stick blender, in a regular blender, or by hand (with a large kitchen knife). The combination of very small pieces and some larger pieces allows for the banana to absorb into the smaller pieces more easily, making for better flavor and texture overall.

Storage: Store the cooled cookies in an airtight container at cool room temperature for 3 days, the refrigerator for 1 week, or the freezer for up to 6 months.

Use Very Ripe Bananas: It is very important to use very ripe (lots of black on the peel), super-soft and squishy bananas for this recipe to work. If using ripe bananas that have been frozen, do not drain off any of the liquid post-thaw--use it as part of the total measurement.

Ingredient Add-In Suggestions:

- Thumbprints (Jams & Butters): After flattening the cookie dough portions, make an indentation int the center of each with the round end of a teaspoon measure (or your thumb). Bake. After baking, but while still warm, fill each indentation with 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of jam, preserves, marmalade, smooth nut butter (e.g., peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter) or smooth seed butter (e.g., sunflower seed butter, pumpkin seed butter).

- Spices: Add 1/4 to 3/4 teaspoon of your favorite spice, such as cinnamon, nutmeg (stick with 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, at most), cardamom, allspice, ginger, pumpkin pie spice, or your own combination of spices (no more than 3/4 teaspoon total).

- Cinnamon Sugar: Sprinkle with cookies with cinnamon sugar before baking.

- Dried Fruit: Add up to 1/2 cup of chopped dried fruit, such as raisins, dried apricots, dried cherries, dried cranberries, dried blueberries, or dried figs.

- Chocolate: Add up to 1/2 cup of your favorite dark chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate chunks, or two to three tablespoons of cacao nibs, tot he cookie dough before baking. Alternatively, drizzle or dip the cooled with melted dark chocolate (set on wax paper or parchment paper; chill in the fridge to harden the chocolate).

- Nuts or Seeds: Add up to 1/2 cup chopped nuts or seeds, such as walnuts, pecans, peanuts, almonds, pepitas, or sunflower seeds. Alternatively, sprinkle a few nuts or seeds on top before baking.

- Extracts or Zests: Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract or 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract. You could also add a teaspoon of finely grated lime, lemon or orange zest to the banana oat cookies.

- Coconut: Add up to 1/4 cup finely chopped shredded coconut or flake unsweetened coconut (toasted or un-toasted).

Nutrition