These delicious plant based banana oatmeal cookies are a healthy option when you are searching for a sweet treat to eat that won’t sabotage your healthy eating goals. They can even be made into a festive Valentine’s Day treat.
Around this time every year, New Year’s resolutions are becoming habit or have been forgotten.
If you are trying to stick to your plan to eat healthier foods, but still want to enjoy something sweet with a cup of tea or coffee or don’t want to miss out on celebrating Valentine’s Day in sweet style, I have an answer…
… a cookie without butter or oil that is delicious. How about with no sugar or flour either?
Yes… it is possible to enjoy a sweet cookie that doesn’t have any of these things in it.
Vegan plant based banana oatmeal cookies are nothing new and are all over the internet, Pinterest and plant based cookbooks. They’re dairy, oil, flour, sugar and egg free, made completely with whole food plant-based ingredients.
The recipe card is at the end of the post, but I thought I would give you a quick overview of my version of the basic banana oatmeal cookie.
I initially made them exactly how all the recipes I have seen are written, by dropping the batter by the spoonful into a mound on a cookie sheet and baking.
When making them this way, they are dense, moist and tasted OK, but they didn’t win me over.
I like crispier cookies, but like the concept of eating a 100% plant based cookie, so I started experimenting. I eventually came up with my own version of the popular 2 -3 ingredient cookie recipe.
My Recipe for Plant Based Banana Oatmeal Cookies
I make my banana oatmeal cookies a little bit differently. I flatten them quite a bit before baking so that they get crispier.
When they are flat and not mounded, they taste so much better. A chewy and crispy texture that hits the sweet spot when I want something with my afternoon cup of tea or for dessert after dinner. They have become a staple in what I eat on a regular basis.
I make big batches of them using over-ripe bananas and then freeze the cookies so I always have them on hand when I crave something sweet. I even like the cookies frozen.
Optional Ingredient Additions to the Basic Cookie Recipe
The basic 2 ingredient recipe leaves room for many additions depending on your tastes.
After mixing the rolled oats and bananas together you can add flavorings like vanilla, spices, cocoa, nuts, raisins, chocolate chips, pumpkin seeds, or whatever you like to the mix.
For Valentine’s Day I made a batch of heart shaped cookies.
I used a heart shaped cookie cutter and freeze-dried strawberries along with fresh raspberries so the cookies looked all dressed and ready to celebrate the day in style, but in a healthy way.
Ed likes white chocolate chips in his as he is not a 100% plant based eater like I am. He heats his up for a few seconds in the microwave.
How to Make Plant Based Oatmeal Banana Cookies
The other nice thing about these banana oatmeal cookies is they are so easy to make.
- Everything gets mashed and mixed in one bowl.
I add vanilla, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg and pumpkin pie spice to the mix of mashed bananas and rolled oats.
2. Then drop them by the spoonful on a baking sheet and then flatten. Of course, you can leave them mounded too. It is all about your taste preference.
3. If I want the batch of cookies to have clean round edges, I use fork to flatten, then shape the batter into a circle. I usually don’t do this, though as they taste the same with uneven ragged edges. 🙂
How to Make the Cookies into Valentine Heart Shapes
- After flattening a spoonful of batter on a cookie sheet, use a heart cookie cutter over the cookie. Wiggle it a little to make sure the cookie cutter goes all the way through. If needed, press a fork inside the cutter to make sure batter fills it.
2. Use a fork to remove the excess batter around the outside of the cookie cutter and then remove it.
For Valentine Heart Cookies – sprinkle with ground-up freeze dried berries or cut up fresh berries. These will melt and get dark red, but do add to the taste.
Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned in a 400 degree oven. Let cool, then enjoy.
Plant Based Banana Oatmeal Cookies With a Twist
Most banana oatmeal cookies are made into mounds. This recipe makes them a bit differently so they taste even better. Fast and easy to make. Double the batch as they will disappear quickly.
Servings: 24 2″ – 3″ round size
Calories: 28kcal
Cost: $ 3
Ingredients
- 4 ripe bananas
- 2 cups Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats uncooked
- 2 tsp vanilla
Optional Additions
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 2 tsp allspice
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips, white chocolate or chopped nuts, fresh or ground freeze-dried berries
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place oven racks in middle.
Use parchment or silicone sheets to line baking sheets.
Place peeled bananas in a mixing bowl and mash them with a fork or potato masher until smooth.
Mix vanilla and spices into mashed bananas and mix well.
Drop a spoonful of batter onto baking sheet and repeat until sheet is filled. You should get about 12 cookies on a sheet.
Flatten each spoonful of batter with a fork and shape into a flat circle.
Optional: Sprinkle tops with ground-up freeze-fried berries or cut up fresh berries.
Bake for 20 mins or until lightly golden brown.
Place on cooling rack to cool.
To freeze: Once cookies are cooled, place cookies in layers into a gallon size freezer bag. Use a sheet of wax paper in-between each layer.
Nutrition
Calories: 28kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1mg | Potassium: 29mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Calcium: 7mg
