Protein Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

These 4-ingredient Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies are packed with protein and fibre. Plus, they can be frozen for meal prep!

How to make breakfast cookies

It's super easy to make this recipe. Here's a basic overview:

1. Mash bananas in a large bowl.
2. Add in sunflower butter and eggs to mashed bananas.
3. Add in oatmeal. Combine all together.
4. Mix in add-ins of choice.
5. Add batter to a parchment-lined baking sheet, then bake for 18-20 minutes.
6. Let cookies cool for 5-10 minutes before enjoying.

Ingredients in this recipe

This breakfast cookie recipe uses the a very minimal amount of ingredients so they are not super time consuming or labor intensive to make. The base contains just four easy ingredients, and from there it's just a matter of whether or not you want to add in toppings.

Here's what you need: 

• 2 cups quick oats
• 1 cup sunflower butter or peanut or almond butter
• 3 bananas, mashed
• 2 eggs

Here are some ideas for add-ins:

• chocolate chips
• hemp hearts, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds or flax seeds
• dried fruit
• shredded coconut

Ingredient substitutions

• Oats: I use quick cooking oats in this recipe, but rolled oats will work as well. Rolled oats will give a bit more structure to the cookies, but they won’t be as soft and might be more chewy as well.
• Nut butter: Feel free to use any type of nut butter. Good options are sunflower butter, cashew, peanut, or almond butter.
• Bananas: See my notes below about good substitutes for bananas (hint, hint, applesauce)
• Eggs: If you have an egg allergy or need a vegan substitute for eggs, you can use a flax egg.

How to make a flax egg

1. In a small bowl, combine one tablespoon of ground flax seeds (or flaxseed meal) with three tablespoons of water.
2. Mix to combine, then refrigerate it for 15 minutes so it sets up and thickens.

Using applesauce instead of bananas

Unsweetened applesauce is a great substitute in baking, especially when it replaces fat (such as butter or bananas) and/or refined sugar.

You can replace 1 banana with 1/2 cup of applesauce, but avoid using more than 1 cup total applesauce in a recipe.
Doing this will make your baked goods very dense and too wet. As a result, they may not set up during baking.

Another way that applesauce is used in baking is to add moisture.

To make this banana oatmeal cookie recipe vegan, you can replace one egg with 1/4 cup of applesauce.

But again, avoid using more than 1 cup of applesauce for the entire recipe, regardless of what you're using it as a replacement for.

TIP: If you do use 1 full cup of applesauce and you want to give the oatmeal cookies a lighter texture, add 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder to the recipe.

How to add more protein

There are several ingredients you can add to the recipe to boost the protein in the cookies.

1. Whey protein powder – unflavored, or vanilla protein powder would be delicious!
2. Pea protein or other plant-based protein powder
3. Collagen powder – There are two types of collagen powder. The one that works well and can be added without substitution for anything else is collagen peptides.
4. Chia seeds – Not only will chia seeds add protein to your cookies, but they’re also a good source of Omega 3 fats, fibre, and antioxidants!

More add-in ideas

As much as I love add-ins, it’s important not to go overboard with them. Using more than 1 cup of them will make the cookies too difficult to bake properly and add more calories.

Delicious options for cookie add-ins include:

• Flavored chips – chocolate chips or any other flavor, such as butterscotch chips
• Hemp hearts
• Wheat germ
• Seeds – chia, flax, pumpkin, sunflower, or even sesame seeds will work here
• Dried fruit – raisins, cranberries, blueberries, cherries, or any other dried fruit of your choice
• Candy – While it will make your cookies less healthy, you may want a little extra sweetness from M&M’s or other candy of your choice.

Storing and freezing

These cookies are best when eaten fresh. However, if you store them in an airtight container or Ziploc bag, they will stay tasty for up to a week.

You can either store them at room temperature or in the refrigerator. Refrigeration is best, especially if you live in a warm climate.

Fortunately, they are also very freezer-friendly! This makes them perfect for easy meal prep. If they are kept in an airtight, freezer-safe container, you can keep them frozen for up to 4 months.

They thaw out pretty quickly at room temperature. You can take them out of the freezer and keep them in the container on your kitchen counter overnight. This way, they’ll be ready to eat in the morning.

Breakfast cookies are perfect to grab on your way out the door!

More healthy breakfast recipes

• Overnight steel cut oats
• Protein pancakes
• Avocado zucchini muffins
• Funfetti Protein Cookies

Meal prep tools for this recipe

• Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on storing leftover cookies
• Order some hemp hearts online
• Order some sunflower butter online