Hey friends! It’s that time of year again as summer comes to a close in our part of the world. And as fall routines settle back in, we’re here to bring you bite-sized pillows of joy to help ease the transition. Sound good?
These tender, wholesome cookies are made in 1 bowl and require just 30 minutes to prepare. Let’s bake!
These cookies begin with a flax egg, made by adding flaxseed meal and water to a mixing bowl and letting it sit to achieve an “eggy” texture. Banana acts as another binder while lending natural sweetness and mild banana flavor to the cookies.
P.S. If you’re new to plant-based or egg-free baking, check out our Beginner’s Guide to Plant-Based Baked Goods for tons of tips, methods, and recipes for getting perfect baked goods every time.
Almond butter takes the place of some of the oil in this recipe, providing protein, fiber, magnesium, and all sorts of other good nutrients. A small amount of coconut oil or non-dairy butter gives these cookies a touch of crispiness on the edges.
Next come the cookie classics: brown sugar and vanilla for deliciousness, baking soda and baking powder for fluffiness, and sea salt to enhance all the flavors. Swoon!
These cookies are made without any refined flours.
We used wholesome oat flour and almond meal to keep these cookies on the healthier side. But don’t you worry — the health factor is undetectable.
Lastly, these cookies are studded with mini chocolate chips to give each bite a satisfying chocolate flavor. Banana + almond butter + chocolate = dreamy.
We hope you ENJOY these cookies! They’re:
Light
Fluffy
Wholesome
Mildly sweet
Packed with oats & almonds
Studded with dark chocolate
& SO delicious
These cookies are perfect for grab-and-go snacks, adding to lunch boxes, or just having on hand throughout the week for a healthier treat.
If you’re into chocolate + cookies, be sure to check out our Perfect Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies, Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, Fudgy Vegan Brownie Cookies, and Soft & Chewy Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies.
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
Fluffy 1-Bowl Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
Tender, wholesome cookies with a light, fluffy texture. Not too sweet, rich with almond butter flavor, and studded with chunks of dark chocolate.
Ingredients
- 1 batch flax egg (1 Tbsp (7 g) flaxseed meal + 2 ½ Tbsp (37 ml) water as recipe is written)
- 1 medium ripe banana (1 medium banana equals ~118 g unpeeled)
- 1/3 cup roasted almond butter (if salted, forgo additional pinch of sea salt)
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil or non-dairy butter, melted
- 3 Tbsp organic brown sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1/3 cup almond meal (ground from raw almonds)
- 3/4 cup oat flour (ground from gluten-free oats)
- 1/3 cup roughly chopped vegan dark chocolate or chocolate chips*
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
-
In a large bowl, combine flaxseed and water and let sit for a few minutes to achieve “eggy” texture.
-
Add the banana and mash. Then add almond butter, melted coconut oil, brown sugar, vanilla, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and whisk to combine.
-
Add almond meal and oat flour and mix again with a wooden spoon. Add chocolate chips and stir again. If batter appears very wet, add 1 Tbsp additional almond flour. Refrigerate for 5-10 minutes to harden.
-
Drop cookies in uniform 1 ½ Tbsp spoonfuls (I like using this scoop) onto prepared baking sheet. They won’t expand much so spacing isn’t a concern.
-
Bake for 15-17 minutes or until the cookies are slightly golden brown.
-
Let rest on baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. After completely cooled, store in an air-tight container at room temperature (or in the refrigerator) up to 3-4 days, or in the freezer up to 1 month.
Notes
*Sub dried fruit or nuts for the chocolate if desired.
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated with coconut oil and dairy-free dark chocolate chips.
Nutrition Per Serving (1 of 13 cookies)
- Calories: 140
- Fat: 9.1g
- Saturated fat: 2.8g
- Sodium: 75mg
- Potassium: 129mg
- Carbohydrates: 14.1g
- Fiber: 2.9g
- Sugar: 5.7g
- Protein: 3.5g
Absolutely incredible! Easy to make and maybe the most wholesome, low-sugar cookie we’ve tried. My daughter wanted to make cookies today and of course I had to pull up your site because it’s our go-to for finding lots of options and flawless recipes every time.
Thank you, Dana!
Yay! We’re so glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for sharing! xo
I made these exactly as stated, so delicious! Although I can and do eat eggs, I love the texture of the flax egg. Thank you Dana!
We’re so glad you enjoy these, Karina! Thanks so much for the lovely review!
Made these delicious cookies as the recipe is written, and they were a big hit! Easy, wholesome and super yummy- Thanks, Dana!
Whoop! So glad to hear it, Leta! Thanks for sharing!
I made these today and they were absolutely delicious! I followed the recipe and the only change I made was adding walnut pieces which I found to be a great addition . A new favourite cookie! Thanks Dana!
Yay! We’re so glad you enjoyed them, Diane! xo
Loved these!! Would want to double the recipe next time.
Thanks for sharing, Janet!
Can’t wait to try these! If you’re going the vegetarian route, how many eggs would replace the flax egg?
1 flax egg = 1 small chicken egg!
Oh, look… I have a new favorite treat.
So good.
I made these and they are amazing!! I made mine into bigger cookies (yielded 8) and literally ate 6.5 between the night I made them and the morning follow that haha.
Thanks so much for the lovely review, Elizabeth. We are so glad you enjoyed them! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! Xo
Thank you thank you! Made these last night because I’m back on a dairy free/ gluten free diet (gut issues) and was craving something sweet. These are soooo good. I just added a bit more chocolate (Evolved cashew milk chocolate) to use up a whole block, and they honestly taste like Chips Ahoy. I always preferred the chewy kind, so these are perfect!
Whoop! We’re so glad you enjoy them, Aleks! Thanks so much for the lovely review!
Love these! Have made them a few times and my kids ate them all up! Just shared the recipe with my mother in law as she raved about them when she came to visit. Decided this time to switch it up and sub pumpkin for the banana. I added pumpkin pie spice and maple syrup and they were so yummy! Remind me of muffin tops in texture, the best cookie recipe I’ve made from you so far!! Thanks!!!
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing! So happy to know it works with pumpkin, too!
I made these last night, as written except I didn’t have brown sugar so I used white. They were excellent – though a bit sweet for my taste, so I might reduce the sugar a tad next time. When I was cleaning up, I discovered my flax egg still in a dish on the counter! So I can say for sure that these cookies are good even without the flax.
Thanks so much for the lovely review and for sharing that it works without the flax egg, Kate. We are so glad you enjoyed them! Next time, would you mind leaving a rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! Xo
Looks so delicious! Quick question — Could I substitute whole wheat pastry flour for the almond meal? Have a lot of it left over from another recipe of yours and don’t want to waste it. Thanks for another great recipe, Dana!
Hi Rashina, that might work but we haven’t tried it. Maybe start with slightly less and work your way up until you get the right consistency. Let us know how it goes!
So yummy!! Made these on a whim because I needed to bring something to a friend. I’ll be making them again. Everyone loved them, thank you Dana!
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing, Peggy!
I went ahead and made a double batch right off the bat, and I have not been able to stop eating them! The flax eggs did a great job, and I used roughly 4 Tbsp of date paste instead of sugar (keep in mind this was for a double batch; I would have used more date paste if I had had more, but I didn’t and am glad because they were perfect). Also did an extra Tbsp of almond butter in place of the oil. The cookies came out fluffy, somewhat moist, and totally delicious. Like little banana bread cookies. ?
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing, Dee!
Hi, i was wondering if I can use more bananas, say 3, for the sweetness to substitute the sugar? Will coconut flour work in this? Thanks!
Hi Chenchen, we wouldn’t recommend that as banana adds a lot more moisture. If you added more banana, you would need to compensate with a lot more flour and that might dilute the other flavors. Coconut flour is more absorbent than most other gluten-free blends so we aren’t sure it would work. It almost always benefits from having an egg in the mix since it’s so dense. Instead, we would recommend another nut or seed meal or GF flour blend.
Thank you for this recipe and I mean THANK YOU! I needed a healthier desert idea and my cookies never come out right but these are just amazing. I used 1 small egg as advised, peanut butter in place of almond, porridge oats blended into flour and ground almond which is what we can buy in the shops in the UK. Cookies turned out amazing! The recipe is simple enough to make them again, again and again!! Thank you!!!!
Lovely! Thanks for sharing, Lola!
We love this recipe!!!! We made a double batch with chocolate chips and raisins and they were gone before they had a chance to cool down. Thank you!!
Could I substitute oat flour with buckwheat flour?
So glad you enjoy them! We haven’t tried that, but it might work! Let us know if you give it a try!
Made these cookies exactly as written, with Earth Balance vegan butter. The texture and flavor are just phenomenal! Thanks, Dana.
Yay! Thanks for sharing, Kerry!
These sound yum. I have ripe bananas I need to use. I don’t have almond meal or oat flour. Can I use the equivalent amount of porridge oats to sub? Perhaps blended to fine consistency in a blender? (I don’t have a processor)
We think that will work! Let us know how it goes!
My son has a tree nut allergy. Would you substitute more oat flour for the almond meal or use coconut flour or wheat flour instead?
We think oat flour would be best! Or sub another meal such as sunflower seed meal. Let us know how it goes!
I made this recipe exactly as written and it was SO good! These are definitely going to become a staple dessert in my house. They are delish straight out of the oven but also cold in the fridge. I was thinking of maybe trying PB instead of AB next time. Thanks!
Lovely! Thanks for sharing, Megan!
I’ve been eating these for breakfast! Subbed natural peanut butter for almond butter but otherwise as written. You would never know they’re gluten free! This recipe totally sold me on baking with almond flour.
Yay! Thanks for sharing, Olivia!
Ooh, yum yum! Almond butter, bananas, and chocolate, AH what the perfect recipe!
Made the recipe several times already, it is absolutely perfect! & you can easily play with the recipe.
I once replaced the flax seed with an egg and brown sugar with coconut sugar, the other time I pretty much followed the recipe but added cacao powder as well as chocolate protein – both times it worked out fine, even though I would recommend to stick to the brown sugar: the edges become a lot more crispy.
Thanks for the recipe!!
So great! Thanks for sharing, Kristina!
I subbed peanut butter for the almond butter but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. AMAZING!!! Worth the trip out to get almond meal!
Yay! Thanks for sharing, Chelsea!
These were so delicious and easy to make! Since I didn’t have oat flour OR almond meal on hand, and I didn’t want to get out my food processor, I used the coffee grinder! It worked great to make the oat flour and almond meal, since the amounts are pretty small. I also used it to grind flax seeds. Who knew it could be such a useful kitchen tool!?! My almond butter ended up being rancid so I subbed peanut butter and it worked and tasted fine. Yum! Will definitely make again! Also it made exactly 13 cookies :)
Yay! Thanks for sharing, Katherine!
These are so good! Super fluffy and almost banana muffin-like, but in a really good way. :)
Thanks for sharing!!
Made these last night. My husband and I both loved them. One of our new favorites! Quick and easy to make with a fluffy, soft texture. I’ve made several of your recipes, and have never been disappointed. Thank you!
Lovely! Thanks for sharing, Brenda!
Dana…omg these are fantastic. I’m not even usually a soft, fluffy cookie kind of girl. The flavor is just great…I love the slight of the sweetness. I actually used an egg instead of the flax egg because I didn’t want to wait an extra few minutes..hahaha. I just ate two as they are cooling down….trying really hard not to try and eat a third….ah, but the day is young
Haha, that’s so great! Thanks for sharing, Michelle!
New favourite. I used 2 tablespoons of maple syrup instead of brown sugar and coconut instead of almond meal.
Great! Thanks for sharing your experience, Carla!
These are easy to make and delicious. Thanks for the great recipe!
I made it as written this time, but am already plotting some modifications! First on othe list will be adding chopped walnuts.
Thanks for sharing, Anne!
These look delicious! I only have whole wheat flour on hand, would I be able to use that instead for a not GF option? Would I add 1/3 and 3/4 cup of flour or change the amounts to get the correct consistency? Thanks!
I would think that may work but haven’t tried it. Maybe start with slightly less and work your way up until you get the right consistency. Let us know how it goes!
Made these today using
2 tbsp maple syrup instead of sugar
chia instead of flax egg
raisins instead of chocolate
… and they turned out great! New staple, thanks :).
xoxo! Thanks for sharing!
I used coconut sugar because it’s what I had at home. They are yummy and addictive! It needs all the stars!
Lovely! Thanks for sharing, Diana!
We made this recipe twice already! We are addicted! Used coconut sugar instead and worked well. Just needed another 5 minutes in the oven.
So great! Thanks for sharing, Lori!
OMG!!! these are delicious. I have already made them twice. The only alteration I have done was using xylitol instead of brown sugar but they turned out fantastic!!!Thank you Dana for another delicious recipe.
Yay! Thanks for sharing, Olga!
Hi Dana and all the other commenters,
Just 10 minutes ago my cookie batch had cooled enough to taste one. Yum! Definitely the flavor was delicious and I love that the cookies are healthy. One question – my batch did not have a crispy outside and I am wondering how to remedy that for next time. My husband just said “they are too gooey.”
I noticed one baker substituted coconut sugar for the brown sugar, and someone else made me think perhaps I used too large a banana, and one of Dana’s comments mentioned the freshness of the almond butter. Any other tips that I am missing?
The rest of the cookies are now in an air tight container in the frig and perhaps that will harden up the exteriors a bit. We’ll find out tomorrow. :-)
Thank you, Laurie
Thanks for sharing, Laurie. Brown sugar makes the edges more crispy. Coconut sugar sometimes lacks that crispy quality in baked goods. Otherwise, possibly use a smaller banana next time. You could also bake at a slightly lower temp for slightly longer time. xo!
Hi Dana,
Thanks for your reply! I waited till now to reply back as – of course- we had to try again. YEA, success. Here’s what I changed and what I kept.
KEPT – the brown sugar
SWITCHED – to a smaller banana & baked on parchment instead of an oiled tray
My husband quite liked the result (and of course, so do I!) Next time I will do this AND also try baking a little longer at a slightly lower temp for even more possible crispiness.
Net result – this is one of the best vegan chocolate chip cookie recipes I have made and that’s after many recipes tried!
Thanks, Laurie
Great! Thanks for sharing, Laurie!! So kind of you to share your experience! xoxo
Made these today and absolutely LOVE them! I made my own almond meal for the first time, which was super easy. I also made my own oat flour, which I’ve done before. Once those were done mixing up this batch was really quick and they taste divine. Way to go! MB scores again!!
Thanks for sharing, Lyn!!
How do you make your own almond meal?
Here’s a tutorial!
Delicious! I replaced the brown sugar with 2 TBSP maple syrup and cookies turns out great! Will be making again soon.
Thanks for sharing, Raley!
Hi, I did this cookies today, they are so fluffy and savoury
Just perfect.
Thanks for sharing, Andrea!!
I was looking for a GF cookie recipe for some ripe bananas I had on hand. These fit the bill. Absolutely delicious! I was out of almond meal so subbed almond flour. They were fluffy, not overly sweet and oh so good! Will make again.
Yay! Thanks for sharing, Lisa!
Thanks for sharing the recipe Dana. Regarding the brown sugar…can I use regular brown sugar (like raw brown) or do you have to use the packed brown sugar. I try to avoid packed since it dries up incredibly fast in high elevation/low humidity areas.
Yes! That will work.
Thank you!
Yum! Just made these with my 4 year old exactly as written and they are so good! Love the easy one bowl recipes with simple ingredients I always have on hand! Thank you!
Great! Thanks for sharing!!
hi there, can this be made without almond flour?
Yeah, I’d say use another nut or seed meal in its place. OR, you could try subbing a GF blend or oats.
Hi Dana,
This recipe sounds delicious.
I was wondering if there is a good substitute for the mashed banana, maybe pumpkin purée? It would certainly fit the season. I have difficulties digesting banana and would love to give it a try.
Hi there! We haven’t tried it but it may work! I think it may need more sweetness (either brown sugar or some maple syrup) to help compensate the lack of sweetness. You may also want to add some cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger for flavor! Let us know if you give it a try!
I made these substituting peanut butter for almond butter and they are delicious. I found they only needed to cook for about 10 minutes in my oven at the temperature on your recipe.
Thanks for sharing, Barbara! So glad you enjoyed them. Next time would you mind adding a rating to your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers! xo
Hi! Can you use peanut butter instead of almond butter? I have peanut butter on hand at home. Thanks!
That should work well!
These were delicious!! Just made them for the family and were a bit!
Thanks for another fantastic recipe!
Yay! Thanks, Tina!
Excited to make these. Remind me (sorry, I think I’ve asked this before for other recipes), if my son can’t have nuts, what would be the best sub for the almond meal? (Will use sunflower butter instead of almond butter :).
Hi Annie! I’d say a seed meal, such as sunflower seeds, would be best! You could also try subbing more oat flour or a GF blend!
I made these cookies last night and they are awesome. Also, they are gone, we ate them all in one go. Thank you for another amazing recipe!
Thanks for sharing, Christine!!
Thank you for this recipe! I can’t wait to make it! Is the 1/3 cup almond meal measured before or after grounding? Same with the 3/4 oat flour – measured before or after grounding??
Always measured after grinding!
Is it okay to add a regular egg instead of the flaxseed?
That should work! We usually recommend 1 small chicken egg per 1 flax egg.
Dana:
What about subbing peanut butter for almond butter?
Thanks
That would be delicious!
Hi Diana, I’m in Brazil, and it’s difficult do find almond butter. Can I substitute it? Tks.
Yes! Most any nut butter (or peanut butter) would do!
Saw this recipe posted over the weekend and had an extra ripe banana sitting on the counter so had to make them! They turned out great.
Thanks for sharing! Yay!
These look delish! There are so many times we have an extra banana or two.. last time we made bars.. next time I’m trying these out.
Hi! I can’t wait to try these! I am not vegan however….what is the flax egg to real egg conversion? Does one batch of flax egg equal one egg?
Thanks!
R
Yes, 1 batch = 1 flax egg. And we usually recommend subbing 1 small chicken egg / 1 flax egg!
So good! I didn’t have any almond butter left, so I used pumpkin seed butter instead and they turned out great :)
Yay! Thanks for sharing, Amy!
Genuinely one of the BEST “healthy” cookies I’ve ever made! And I’ve made a lot! I did have to add quite a bit (1/4 c.)of extra flour in…perhaps my banana was too big? But my daughter LOVES these and I put them in her lunch! THANK YOU for creating these little delights!
So great! Thanks for sharing, Annie! As for the extra flour, perhaps it was the banana, the ripeness of it, or the freshness of your almond butter? Either way, sounds like you made an astute adjustment!
Hi Dana, this recipe looks healthy enough to satisfy me, but delicious enough to satisfy my son. Just wondering if the almond butter could be substituted for another nut butter, like peanut butter?
Absolutely! Let us know how it goes, Barbara.
I had bananas and wanted to make something for book club today, so this recipe has perfect timing! I did make some adjustments based on what I had on hand, but they turned out yummy and now I need to make sure I don’t eat them all myself!
Adjustments:
-I used honey roasted peanut butter instead of almond butter
-I only used 1 Tbsp sugar instead of 3 because my peanut butter had added sugar, and I had white sugar instead of brown so I added about a tsp of molasses (my cookies didn’t turn out very sweet because of this, which I like, but I may try 2 Tbsp next time)
-I used Anthony’s organic tiger nut flour instead of almond meal
-I used Anthony’s organic cassava flour instead of oat flour
-my chocolate chips weren’t dairy-free
How great! Thanks for sharing, Stephanie!
Looks so good!! For a nut allergy, could I sub sunflower butter and sub the almond meal for more oat flour of equal quantity? Thank you!
Yes! Or you can sub another meal, such as sunflower seed meal! Or, maybe even try desiccated coconut! Let us know how it goes.
Will I be able to use peanut butter instead? I have all the ingredients except almond butter :(
That’ll work!
Will this work with an actual egg instead of a flax egg?
Yes! We recommend 1 small chicken egg per 1 flax egg.
Hi there! Could I sub regular flour for the almond meal and oat flour? Thanks.
Hi Tarah! We haven’t tried that yet, but if you do, let us know how it goes!
Is it possible to do this without almonds?
The best bet would be subbing peanut or sunflower butter, and sunflower seed meal or more oat flour / GF flour for the almond meal!
Hi Dana! So excited about trying this recipe for the new school year! Is it possible to substitute the brown sugar for coconut sugar? Thanks so much, Diana!
Taste-wise yes. Structurally, I find that coconut sugar doesn’t allow the cookies to crisp up as much on the outside, and they don’t puff up as much. But let us know how it goes!
I am wondering about this as well. Please let us know if you try it with the coconut sugar.
thanks!
I just made these with coconut sugar and they were nice and crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside – perfect!
Great! Thanks for sharing, Anna!