Vegan Gluten-Free Banana Bread Cookies (Almond Flour Recipe)

These vegan gluten-free banana bread cookies are made with almond flour, oat flour, and peanut butter — soft, chewy, and tasting exactly like banana bread in cookie form. Naturally egg-free and dairy-free, ready in 20 minutes.

If you’ve got brown bananas sitting on your counter and don’t feel like making a whole loaf of banana bread, this is the recipe.

These vegan gluten-free banana bread cookies are made with mashed ripe banana, peanut butter, almond flour, and oat flour. They’re soft and chewy with crisp edges, taste exactly like the top of a banana bread loaf (the best part), and come together in one bowl in 20 minutes. No eggs, no dairy, no flour you can’t pronounce — just real ingredients that work.

I’ve been making these for years (originally published in 2020). They’re my go-to when I have overripe bananas and want something more interesting than another banana bread loaf. I bake a batch, freeze most of them, and pull them out one at a time for a quick breakfast or afternoon snack.

If you love cookies you can feel good about, you may also like my Healthy Protein Oatmeal Cookies, my Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies, or my Gluten-Free Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies.

Why You’ll Love These Banana Bread Cookies

• Tastes exactly like banana bread — but in cookie form, faster, and more snackable
• Vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free — bound with flax + banana, no flax egg required
• One bowl, 20 minutes — quick enough for a weeknight bake
• No refined sugar option — the brown sugar is optional, the cookies still work without it
• Freezer-friendly — bake a batch and store for up to 3 months
• Uses up brown bananas — the riper, the better

Ingredients for Vegan Gluten-Free Banana Bread Cookies

You’ll need these ingredients to make these cookies (exact measurements are in the recipe card at the bottom):

• Overripe banana — the browner and spottier, the better. Frozen and thawed banana works too and makes the cookies even sweeter.
• Creamy peanut butter — natural, drippy. Almond butter, cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter all work as 1:1 swaps.
• Coconut oil — melted. Melted vegan butter works as a 1:1 swap.
• Pure maple syrup — natural sweetener. Honey works if you’re not strict vegan, agave or brown rice syrup work for vegan.
• Vanilla extract — pure, not imitation.
• Almond flour — this is the secret to soft, moist cookies. Don’t swap for coconut flour (too absorbent) or all oat flour (too dry).
• Oat flour — make your own by blending certified gluten-free rolled oats in a blender for 30–60 seconds. Measure oats BEFORE blending.
• Brown sugar — optional. Adds chew and sweetness. Skip for a less sweet, refined-sugar-free version, or swap for coconut sugar.
• Baking soda — gives the cookies a slight rise.
• Ground flaxseed — acts as a binder along with the banana. Don’t skip this; it holds the cookies together.
• Ground cinnamon — for warmth and banana bread flavour.
• Sea salt — balances sweetness.
• Dark chocolate chips — Enjoy Life for vegan/dairy-free. Use as much or as little as you like.

How to Make Vegan Gluten-Free Banana Bread Cookies

1. Mash the banana. On a plate or in a bowl, mash one overripe banana with a fork until mostly smooth.
2. Mix the wet ingredients. In a large bowl, combine the mashed banana, melted peanut butter, melted coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Stir until smooth.
3. Mix the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the almond flour, oat flour, brown sugar (if using), baking soda, ground flaxseed, cinnamon, and salt.
4. Combine wet and dry. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until a thick dough forms. Fold in the chocolate chips.
5. Chill the dough. Cover and refrigerate for 10–15 minutes while you preheat the oven to 350°F. This step is important — it firms up the dough so the cookies hold their shape.
6. Scoop and shape. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a cookie scoop, portion 12 cookies onto the sheet. Press down slightly with your palm — these cookies don’t spread much.
7. Bake. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and, if desired, press a banana slice into the top of each cookie. Return to the oven for 3–5 more minutes, until golden brown around the edges.
8. Cool. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5–10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. They firm up as they cool.

Tips for the Best Banana Bread Cookies

• Use the brownest banana you have. Overripe = sweeter, moister cookies. If your bananas aren’t ripe enough, roast them in the oven at 300°F for 15–20 minutes to speed up the ripening.
• Don’t skip the chill step. 10–15 minutes in the fridge makes a huge difference in whether your cookies hold their shape or spread into one giant blob.
• Blend the oats fully into a fine flour. Coarse oat flour = gritty cookies. Blend for 30–60 seconds in a high-powered blender until powder-fine.
• Don’t substitute coconut flour for almond flour. Coconut flour absorbs 4x as much liquid and your cookies will be dry and crumbly.
• If you skip the banana slice topping, don’t freeze. Banana on top gets mushy when thawed. Either freeze without the topping, or eat fresh.
• Use room-temperature peanut butter that pours easily. Cold or stiff peanut butter won’t mix evenly into the dough.

Storage & Freezing

Counter: store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Refrigerator: for longer storage, keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Freezer: freeze cookies in a single layer on a baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer bag. They keep for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature for 15 minutes or microwave for 15–20 seconds.

Important: if you added banana slices to the tops of your cookies, do NOT freeze them. The banana turns mushy when thawed. Freeze plain and add fresh banana right before eating if you want that touch.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make these without flaxseed? No — the ground flaxseed acts as a binder along with the banana. Without it, the cookies won’t hold together. You can replace it with chia seeds (ground or whole) as a 1:1 swap if needed.

Can I substitute oat flour for the almond flour? Not recommended. Almond flour is higher in fat, which is what gives these cookies their soft, moist texture. Using all oat flour will result in dry, dense cookies. If you have a nut allergy, sunflower seed flour works as the closest substitute.

Can I use a different nut butter? Yes — almond butter, cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter all work as 1:1 swaps for peanut butter. Make sure it’s a natural, drippy texture for best mixing. Reader Renee made them with almond butter and reported they turned out perfect.

Can I make these refined-sugar-free? Yes — the brown sugar is optional. The cookies will be less sweet but still delicious. The banana and maple syrup provide enough sweetness on their own.

Can I freeze these? Yes, baked cookies freeze beautifully for up to 3 months in an airtight container. Just don’t freeze them with banana slices on top (they get mushy when thawed).

Why didn’t my cookies spread? These cookies are designed to hold their shape and not spread much. Press them down with your palm BEFORE baking to get the shape you want. Skipping the chill step can also cause spreading issues going the other direction.

Can I double the recipe? Yes — simply double all ingredients. Use a large mixing bowl and bake on two baking sheets if needed.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate this Recipe

5 from 6 votes

Vegan Gluten-Free Banana Bread Cookies

These vegan gluten-free banana bread cookies are made with almond flour, oat flour, and peanut butter — soft, chewy, and tasting exactly like banana bread in cookie form. Naturally egg-free and dairy-free, ready in 20 minutes.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Total Time20 minutes mins

Course: Cookies

Cuisine: American

Servings: 12 cookies

Calories: 190kcal

Author: Bailey Campbell

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going to sleep

Ingredients 

1x2x3x4x

• 1 medium overly ripe banana or frozen & thawed
• ½ cup peanut butter melted, or nut butter of choice
• ⅛ cup coconut oil melted, or ghee
• ⅛ cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¾ cup almond flour
• ½ cup gluten free quick oats blended into a fine flour using a high speed blender
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼ cup ground flaxseed
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• chocolate chips amount of your liking

Instructions

• Mash an overly ripe banana with a fork on a plate or straight into a bowl.
• In a medium size bowl combine the mashed banana, melted peanut butter, melted coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla extract.
• In a separate bowl combine the almond flour, gluten free oat flour, brown sugar, baking soda, ground flaxseed, cinnamon and salt.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Then stir in chocolate chips.
• Chill dough for 10-15 minutes while you preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out 12 cookies onto a lined baking sheet. Press down on cookies slightly with the palm of your hand to shape. The cookies will not change shape much while cooking.
• Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and quickly add banana slices to the middle of the cookies if you desire. Put back in oven for 3-5 minutes. I took mine out after 3 minutes as I love the inside of my cookies to be very soft and gooey.
• Let cool on baking sheet and ENJOY!

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 190kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 95mg | Potassium: 150mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 7IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 1mg

The nutrition information provided is calculated based on industry-standard software and should be used as a general guide only. The information may vary depending on ingredient substitutions, cooking techniques, and individual serving sizes. It is the responsibility of the reader to ensure the accuracy and appropriateness of the nutritional information provided. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider for personalized medical or nutritional advice.

Tried this recipe?Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on @basicswithbails

Other Banana & Cookie Recipes You’ll Love

• Banana Cream Pie With Pudding Mix
• Protein Banana Bark
• Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal
• Banana Cream Pie Dip
• Peanut Butter Butterscotch Cookies
• The Best Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you tried these vegan gluten-free banana bread cookies, I’d love to hear how they went! Leave a comment and star rating below — and tag me on Instagram @basicswithbails or save it for later on Pinterest using #basicswithbails.