If you’re looking for a simple homemade treat that requires only a few basic ingredients, these banana oat cookies with coconut are definitely worth trying. Made with just ripe bananas, rolled oats, desiccated coconut, an egg and a pinch of salt, these cookies are naturally sweet, soft and wonderfully easy to make.
I love recipes like this because they don’t require a long list of ingredients or complicated preparation. Everything comes together in one bowl, making these cookies perfect for a quick afternoon snack, a homemade breakfast treat or something sweet to enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee.
The ripe bananas provide most of the sweetness, while the rolled oats give the cookies a hearty texture and the desiccated coconut adds a subtle tropical flavour. The egg helps bind everything together, creating cookies that are soft and chewy rather than crisp.
They are also a lovely way to use up ripe bananas that might otherwise be left sitting in the fruit bowl.
There are so many reasons to keep this easy cookie recipe in your collection.
First, the ingredient list is incredibly simple. You only need five ingredients, including a pinch of salt, and there is no need for refined sugar, butter or oil.
The recipe is also very quick to prepare. Simply mash the bananas, mix everything together, shape the cookies and bake.
These cookies have a naturally sweet banana flavour with a gentle coconut taste and a soft, chewy texture. They are not overly sweet, which makes them especially nice as an everyday snack.
They are also very adaptable. Once you have the basic recipe, you can easily add ingredients such as cinnamon, vanilla, chopped nuts, seeds or a few dark chocolate chips if you want to change things up.
You’ll need 2 ripe bananas for this recipe.
The riper the bananas, the sweeter and more flavourful your cookies will be. Bananas with plenty of brown spots are ideal because they are naturally sweeter and also much easier to mash.
Bananas are particularly useful in simple healthy baking recipes because they add sweetness and moisture at the same time.
Use 1 cup of rolled oats.
Rolled oats give the cookies their hearty texture and help create a soft, chewy centre. They also make the cookies much more substantial than a traditional flour-based cookie.
For this recipe, I prefer rolled oats because they retain some texture after baking. If you use quick oats, the cookies may have a softer and less textured consistency.
You’ll need ¼ cup of desiccated coconut.
Coconut adds a lovely subtle sweetness and a delicate nutty flavour. It also works beautifully with banana.
If you love coconut, you can slightly increase the amount, although I find ¼ cup gives a nice balance without overpowering the banana.
One egg helps bind the ingredients together.
Because these cookies contain no flour, the egg is particularly useful for helping the mixture hold together while baking.
Just a small pinch of salt is enough.
Salt might seem unnecessary in a sweet recipe, but even a small amount helps enhance the natural sweetness of the banana and brings the flavours together.
These cookies have a lovely soft, chewy texture with naturally sweet banana flavour and a subtle coconut aroma.
The oats give them a hearty, slightly nutty flavour, while the coconut adds another layer of sweetness and texture.
Because the recipe doesn't contain added sugar, these aren't traditional crunchy, bakery-style cookies. Instead, they are more like a soft-baked breakfast cookie or healthy homemade oat cookie.
The banana is the main source of sweetness, so using ripe bananas makes a noticeable difference to the final flavour.
Use very ripe bananas.
This is probably the most important tip. Brown-spotted bananas are naturally sweeter and give the cookies a much stronger banana flavour.
Don't make the cookies too thick.
Because the mixture doesn't spread much during baking, flattening the cookies slightly helps them bake evenly.
Keep the cookies similar in size.
This makes sure that smaller cookies don't become dry while larger ones are still cooking in the centre.
Don't overbake them.
These cookies are meant to be soft and chewy. Baking them for too long can make them dry.
Allow them to cool before moving them.
They are delicate when they first come out of the oven. Give them a few minutes to firm up before transferring them.
One of the best things about these banana oat cookies is how easy they are to customise.
Add ½–1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the mixture for a warm, comforting flavour.
Banana, oats and cinnamon make a particularly delicious combination.
For a more indulgent version, add a small handful of dark chocolate chips.
The chocolate melts into the soft banana and oat mixture, creating little pockets of chocolate throughout the cookies.
Add some chopped walnuts, almonds or pecans for extra crunch.
Walnuts work especially well with banana and coconut.
Add a tablespoon of chia seeds for extra texture.
You could also use ground flaxseed or a mixture of different seeds.
Add a little vanilla extract to enhance the sweetness and coconut flavour.
For a richer cookie, add a spoonful of natural peanut butter to the mixture.
Banana, oats and peanut butter are a classic combination and work beautifully together.
These cookies are delicious on their own, but there are plenty of ways to enjoy them.
Serve them:
For breakfast, I particularly like serving one or two cookies with Greek yoghurt and fresh berries. The creamy yoghurt and fresh fruit complement the soft banana and coconut cookies beautifully.
Bananas provide natural sweetness along with carbohydrates and fibre. They also contain potassium and several other micronutrients.
Using ripe bananas means you can create a naturally sweet cookie without needing to add a large amount of sugar.
Oats are a great staple ingredient for homemade snacks and breakfasts.
They provide carbohydrates, fibre and a small amount of plant-based protein. Their fibre content can also help make a snack feel more satisfying.
Desiccated coconut provides fibre and fat and gives these cookies their distinctive flavour.
Even a small amount can make a simple banana oat cookie taste much more interesting.
The egg provides protein and helps bind the cookies together.
It also contributes nutrients including choline, vitamin B12 and selenium.
What I particularly like about these cookies is that they sit somewhere between a traditional cookie and a simple homemade breakfast snack.
They are sweet enough to feel like a treat, but the ingredient list is simple enough that you can comfortably make them as part of your normal weekly cooking.
If you regularly have bananas that become overripe before you get around to eating them, this is a great recipe to save.
Instead of throwing away very ripe bananas, you can turn them into a batch of soft, naturally sweet cookies.
Once completely cooled, store the cookies in an airtight container.
Because these cookies contain fresh banana and egg, they have more moisture than traditional dry cookies. For this reason, I recommend keeping them in the refrigerator if you aren't going to eat them within a day or two.
They can be enjoyed chilled or brought back to room temperature before serving.
Preheat the oven to 180 C.
Add all the ingredients for the cookies into the bowl and mix it well.
Divide the mixture into 8, form the balls and make them flat, about 0.3-0.5 cm thick.
Place them onto the baking tray and cook for 15-17 minutes, until cooked through.
Let them cool down slightly and enjoy!
Servings 8
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
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