These Chewy Banana Oatmeal Cookies are the perfect sweet treat. Bananas, brown sugar, and oats – you’re going to love this soft, yummy dessert.
Cookie crazy? You have to try these oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (VIDEO) and walnut chocolate chip cookies.
Table Of Contents
- Banana Oatmeal Cookies Details
- Here is what you will need
- How to make banana oatmeal cookies
- How ripe should bananas be for baking?
- How to ripen bananas
- What type of oatmeal can I use?
- Delicious add-in options
- Tips for the best taste and texture
- Can I freeze the dough?
- How long will they keep?
- Recipe Video
- Full Recipe Instructions
Banana Oatmeal Cookies Details
- Taste– These banana oatmeal cookies have a rich sweet flavor from the ripe bananas and brown sugar. The melted semisweet chocolate chips add a yummy chocolate finish that is simply divine.
- Texture– These cookies have an incredibly soft and chewy texture from the butter and oatmeal. And swirls of melted chocolate are also a nice creamy addition just like my oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter oatmeal cookies.
- Ease– Everything in this cookie recipe comes together in one bowl so it doesn’t require any baking skills at all!
- Time- Not only are these cookies super easy to make, but they also come together really fast. Oh and they only bake for 8-9 minutes!
Here is what you will need
- Butter- Unsalted butter,
- Sugar– granulated sugar and golden brown sugar,
- Bananas– need to be very ripe. look for lots of dark spots on the bananas.
- Vanilla extract– for flavor
- Eggs– to bind the cookies during baking
- Dry ingredients- All-purpose flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, baking soda,
- Oats– old-fashioned oats work best, but quick-cooking will work too!
- Chocolate chips– I use semisweet, but you can use dark or milk chocolate.
How to make banana oatmeal cookies
This is a quick run-down of the recipe with step-by-step photos. For the full detailed recipe, scroll down to the printable recipe card.
- Combine the wet ingredients (except the eggs & bananas). In another bowl, add the unsalted butter, sugars, and vanilla together and beat with an electric hand mixer. Then set aside.
- Mash the bananas. In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a potato masher and then add them to the butter mixture. Add the eggs as well and beat on medium speed until thoroughly mixed.
- Add in the dry ingredients. Hold a fine-mesh sieve right over the cookie dough and add in combine the flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
- Sift it in and mix. Mix at low speed so the flour doesn’t fly everywhere.
- Add the oats and chocolate chips. At this point, you want to mix the oatmeal and chocolate with a spatula.
- Scoop cookies. Using a medium-sized cookie scoop, scoop out the cookies and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. You can roll them into balls or top them with any add-ins that you like at this point.
- Bake. Bake the cookies at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 8-9 minutes. Let them cool for a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
How ripe should bananas be for baking?
Bananas should be very ripe for these oatmeal cookies. When you see brown spots developing on the banana peels, you will know that they are at their sweetest. Ripe bananas are also soft enough to mash easily and mix well with the other ingredients in the cookies.
How to ripen bananas
So if you don’t have ripe bananas at home, you can ripen them in the oven! Place the unpeeled bananas on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for about 15-20 minutes.
What type of oatmeal can I use?
You can use old-fashioned or quick oats, but the old-fashioned kind is best. It provides more chew and texture to your banana oatmeal cookies and also holds its shape better during baking.
Delicious add-in options
These chewy oatmeal cookies go great with so many different add-ins. You can try variations that include walnuts, pecans, dark or milk chocolate chips, raisins, cranberries, and many more.
Tips for the best taste and texture
- Ripe bananas- By using ripe bananas, you give your oatmeal cookies a soft, chewiness, as well as plenty of sweetness. Make sure your bananas are ripe for the best flavor and texture.
- Softened butter- If your butter is too hard, it will not mix as well into your cookie batter, changing the texture. Let the butter sit out at room temperature to soften. Don’t microwave it though, because that will just liquefy it.
- Spices- Using complementary spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, which go really well with the bananas and oats, gives these cookies their amazing flavor.
Can I freeze the dough?
Yes, this cookie dough can be frozen. If you want to make this banana oatmeal cookie dough ahead of time, go ahead and follow the recipe up to when you form the cookie balls. Instead of topping them with add-ins or baking, place them on the parchment-lined baking sheet and put it in the freezer for an hour. Once they are frozen, you can then put the cookie dough balls into a ziplock bag and keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Just take them out and bake them when you’re ready. No need to thaw. Just bake 1-2 minutes more 🙂
How long will they keep?
These chewy banana oatmeal cookies will last for about a week in the fridge if you place them in an airtight container.
Recipe Video
Full Recipe Instructions
Chewy Banana Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
Wet ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) softened
- 3/4 cup golden brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup bananas (about 2 bananas)
- 2 eggs
Dry ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 3 cups old fashioned oatmeal
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix 1 cup softened butter, 3/4 cups brown sugar, and 1/2 cup granulated sugar using an electric hand mixer.
- Now mash up 2 bananas using a potato masher or a fork and add it to the butter mixture along with 2 eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Beat that on medium speed until well combined.
- Hold a fine-mesh sieve over the bowl of the banana and butter and add in 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 3/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg. Then sift the dry ingredients in, and mix together at low speed.
- Now add 3 cups of old-fashioned rolled oats along with 1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips. At this point mix everything together with a spatula.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and scoop out mounds of the banana oatmeal cookie dough using a medium cookie scoop.
- At this point, you can round them balls in your hands or top with chocolate chips (optional). Now bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 8-9 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
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Mary Ellen Diederich says
A great recipe ! Check it out!
simplyhomecooked says
Thank you so much Mary! Happy to hear you loved these banana oatmeal cookies 🙂
Anita Agrawal says
I made the cookies following your recipe and they’re fucking BOMB✨✨✨ like omg I’ve never had anything like it!!! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe! I do have one important question: do I refrigerate the cookies or feel them at room temperature because they’re crisp on the outside and kind of crumbly soft on the inside. And I don’t want them to lose the crispiness!
simplyhomecooked says
Very happy to hear you loved these banana oatmeal cookies so much, Anita! Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback, I really appreciate it 🙂
I wouldn’t put them in the fridge. I recommend keeping them in an airtight container at room temperature. If you ever have any questions let me know 🙂
Ian says
Can you substitute the sweetness of the cookies with apple sauce instead ?
simplyhomecooked says
Hi 🙂 I have never tried that substitution so I am not sure how it would turn out. If you give it a try let me know how it goes 🙂
Debbie says
Excellent chewy banana oatmeal cookies. Have made them a couple of times and gave the recipe to a couple of friends. Will definately recommend them to others.
simplyhomecooked says
Thank you so much, Debbie 🙂 Very happy to hear that you loved these banana oatmeal cookies so much! Thank you for sharing my recipe with your friends 🙂 I hope you find many more delicious recipes on my blog 🙂
Joan says
I softened the butter in the microwave so some of it melted, I used 3 med bananas instead of two large and I added an extra egg..
Maybe this is why they didn’t turn out well. Much too cakey and very soft…not chewy at all. Has an ok flavor but I thought banana flavor would be much stronger
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Joan, the reason the cookies didn’t turn out is because you altered the recipe. I hope you give it another try and follow the recipe and get better results 🙂
Jamie says
Gave 30 cookies to my daughter’s daycare and the kids and their teachers loved it! It was soft and chewy so the kids had an easy time eating it all up. I only used half of the granulated sugar and it was just the perfect sweetness my family loved. Thanks, Dina!
simplyhomecooked says
Thank you for the great recipe review, Jamie! I appreciate your feedback 🙂
Shagun says
They came out really well.Thanks for sharing your recipe 😊
simplyhomecooked says
You are very welcome! Happy to hear you loved these banana oatmeal cookies! Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback and I hope you find many more delicious recipes on my blog 🙂
Shagun says
They csme out really well.Thanks for sharing your recipe 😊
Tammy Skinner says
They are awesome! They are like banana bread but so much better!
simplyhomecooked says
I couldn’t have said it better myself! Thank you, Tammy 🙂 Very happy to hear you loved these banana oatmeal cookies! I hope you find many more delicious recipes on my blog 🙂
Rox says
There are 2 different temps listed. One for 370 and the second for 350. Which one do we use?
simplyhomecooked says
Thank you so much for pointing that out to me! It is 350 degrees F. I already updated that information for this recipe. I hope you love these banana oatmeal cookies! Let me know how it goes 🙂
Charna scarpati says
Is there a reason for the hand mixer instead of a kitchen aid mixer? I’m just making sure that I’m making this recipe correctly.
Thanks
Charna
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Charna 🙂 You can use either mixer for these banana oatmeal cookies. I use a hand mixer to have a better view of the step by step photos. Since the kitchen aid mixer covers the bowl. I hope that helps and I hope you love this recipe! Let me know how it goes 🙂
April says
My daughter and I made these, and they were really good. However, they were not thin and chewy. They were more cake-like and fluffy. I’ve reviewed the recipe and we used the ingredients called for. Any suggestions?
simplyhomecooked says
Hi April 🙂 Very happy that you and your daughter loved these banana oatmeal cookies! If your bananas were too small that would result in a drier cakey cookie. If they are larger then it would result in a more moist and chewy cookie. I hope that helps 🙂
Elizabeth says
Yummy.
simplyhomecooked says
Thank you, Elizabeth. I hope you love these chewy banana oatmeal cookies!
Kim says
This was a super great recipe!! Definitely worth a try!
simplyhomecooked says
Thank you, Kim. I really appreciate you taking the time to write your feedback! These banana oatmeal cookies are definitely delicious 🙂
Cassandra says
These came out awesome. I did not have baking soda so I used 3tsp of baking powder instead and they came out perfect! I also added peanut butter chips! Definitely will make again.
simplyhomecooked says
I am so glad that your cookies turned out great Cassandra! Thank you for taking the time to write your kind recipe review. It means so much to me! 🙂
Tess says
I made this cookies and the flavor was good but the texture was off for me. When I bit into one, the oats seemed unbaked and I was chewing on and picking oats out of my teeth long after the flavor had left my mouth. Did I do something wrong? Or is this how they’re supposed to be?
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Tess, thats very interesting. I have never had this issue before. Were your oats kept in an airtight bag or container? If they were sitting out, uncovered, that might have caused them to become hard. Which might explain the unbaked texture. I hope that helps answer your question.
Elaine Meeks says
My thoughts are if you don’t care for the texture of the oats, try using the quick oats! They are finer and cook faster! I love oatmeal any way you fix it! Can’t wait to try this recipe!
simplyhomecooked says
Thank you Elaine! I hope you love these banana oatmeal cookies 🙂 Let me know how they turn out!
Sheila says
The cookies were delicious. Another way to use mushy bananas.
simplyhomecooked says
So happy to hear that you loved these banana oatmeal cookies Sheila! Always a win when you can use mushy bananas 🙂 Thank you for your feedback 🙂
Michelle says
I just bought the cookie scooper you recommended!! And these are in the oven as I type! So excited to try
simplyhomecooked says
Yay! I hope you absolutely love these banana oatmeal cookies! 🙂 Let me know how they turn out Michelle 🙂
ZNae says
I don’t have baking soda can I use baking powder instead ?
simplyhomecooked says
Hi, unfortunately, baking soda and baking powder are not the same ingredients so they cannot be swapped.
Cassandra says
Yes you can. I just made them with baking powder because I as well did not have soda. All I did was add 3tsp of baking powder and they turned out amazing!!
simplyhomecooked says
Thank you for the feedback, Cassandra!