You know what gets me up in the morning? Delicious, easy breakfasts that are quick, nutritious and easy to grab on the cookie. These Roasted Banana Breakfast Cookies are just that.
Inspired by my favourite cookies at an amazing local gluten-free, vegan bakery we have here in town called Kelly’s Bake Shoppe, these breakfast cookies are gluten-free, vegan and refined sugar free – the perfect way to start your day!
Cookies have always been a comfort food for me – not those crummy, store-bought, highly processed, sugar loaded cookies that will leave you feeling heavy and terrible. I’m talking about those delicious home-made cookies that we all enjoyed as children. I don’t know about you, but in addition to being a queen at jam making, my mom is also a pretty stellar cookie baker – thanks mom!
When we were kids, I remember us always having a cookie jar full of fresh, home-made cookies. Peanut Butter, Chocolate Macaroons, Chocolate Chip or Oatmeal Raisin – I was never picky about the flavour, just so long as they were made by mom. As we got older, we were expected to help out with baking all these batches of cookies and I was always more than happy to assist! I guess you can say that her love of cookies rubbed off on me – I have always found something calming and soothing about the whole process of cookie baking.
Now, as an adult, I’m always looking for ways to tweak the recipes of my childhood to include healthy add ins and substitutes. So you can only imagine how intrigued I was when I found out that you could sweeten cookies with roasted bananas! I’ve always loved the delicious flavour that comes along with banana bread or muffins and I honestly expected these roasted banana cookies to be similar in flavour. Boy, was I ever wrong! Roasted Bananas are this girl’s new best friend!
The process of roasting the bananas is actually quite simple – I’m surprised its not more practiced in traditional baking. We have been making a real effort in our home lately to use less and less refined sugar, something that we’ve noticed to have a pretty big impact on our health. We no longer crave the usual, processed sweets of past and actually find a lot of foods too sweet now. On the flip side, fruit has become the most amazing thing ever – once your body starts to wean itself off of processed, refined sugars, you develop a greater appreciation for natural sweeteners, ie. fruit!
So back to the roasted bananas – they’re so simple! All you do is place a few whole bananas on a baking sheet (leave the skins on!) and allow them to bake in their own goodness. After 20 minutes, voila – roasted banana sweetness! When you pull the bananas out of the oven, it’s a pretty funny sight, actually – the bananas will be totally black and honestly won’t look that appetizing, but don’t let this dissuade you! As soon as you take a big whiff of them, you’ll immediately smell their delicious roasted, almost caramelized, scent. Yum!
These Roasted Banana Breakfast Cookies were a huge hit with my husband, and he is not a sweets guy in the least. While they ended up not being exactly as I had intended – a copy cat version of the cookies at Kelly’s – these cookies have a unique flavour that’s all their own. They’re also incredibly soft and moist, making them perfect for breakfast!
The best part about these Roasted Banana Breakfast Cookies? They need only 8 ingredients and one bowl which means they are super awesome on the clean up front. Let’s just say, I love leaving the dishes for my husband to look after so he’s even happier about the one bowl aspect of these cookies 😉
For those of you will small little tots at home, these cookies would be perfect for their breakfast or an on-the-go snack. Plus, since there’s no added sugar, you can rest happy knowing that you’re feeding your kids healthy, nutritious, real food. Gold star in the parent department!
So, I say why not have a cookie for breakfast? Heck, have two, or three! With these Roasted Banana Breakfast Cookies, you won’t feel guilty about eating all the cookies for breakfast – I didn’t! 🙂
Also, I am just loving all the social media love we’ve been receiving lately! Thank you so, so much to all of you for the Facebook likes and shares, the Instagram and Twitter follows and the incredible comments that you all have been leaving here on the blog. Keep it up – I love following along! Remember to tag your photos with #glutenfreeveganpantry so that we can check out what you’ve been up to in your own kitchen.
Lots of Love & Happy Eats,
Savanna
- 4 roasted bananas
- 2 cups large flake oats, gluten-free certified
- ¾ cup coconut milk (we use Silk)
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- ¼ cup pepitas
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- ¼ cup enjoy life mini chips
- Preheat oven to 400F
- Place whole bananas (with the skin on) onto a parchment lined baking tray and roast for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Place peeled, roasted bananas into a large mixing bowl and mash. Add oats, baking powder, pepitas, cranberries, nutmeg and mini chips. Stir until mixed.
- Add coconut milk to dry ingredients and stir until thoroughly combined.
- Using an ice cream scoop, scoop cookies onto a parchment lined cookie tray. Using a fork, flatten the top of each cookie.
- Bake for 20 minutes, removed from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.
Prep time does not include the necessary time to cool the roasted bananas.
Storage: These cookies will keep for up to a week in an air-tight container, stored in the fridge. Don't worry thought, I'm sure they'll be gobbled up before the week's over!
Savanna is the photographer, food stylist, head taste-tester and she-brains behind Gluten Free Vegan Pantry. 
Love these cookies – I’ve made them twice now, with no changes made to the recipe. Thank you!
What on earth are “enjoy life mini chips”?
Hi Ros,
They are chocolate chips that are allergen friendly – they’re dairy, soy, gluten and egg free 🙂
I can’t wait to try these….but you should let people know what “pepitas” are. I never heard of them and had to look it up! lol
Look great and taste great. Very similar in flavor to my go to method if using ripe bananas and boasting the flavor of the bananas. I peel and put in a bowl covered with saran wrap and microwave for 15 to 20 minutes depending on the number. I then allow to drain and cool in a mesh strainer over the bowl. The liquid is then further reduced by a quick turn in a nonstick pan until fluid almost completely gone. Then mixed back in with other ingredients. I use this method to boast the banana flavor in breads and cookies and people seem to really like the difference in flavor.
Hi!
On my screen, all the fields for the recipe just above the comments are blank …:-(….
Hi Janet,
That’s so strange! Maybe try using a different browser?
I loved the idea but while I was making them I wasn’t personally fond of the wettbess of the dough. I added 1 cup of while wheat flour and made about 26 cookies. The results were a chewy, hearty, dense cookie that I personally was very happy with.
I love to hear about my readers’takes on a recipe. I’m glad to see that they turned out to your liking!
I just made these yesterday. They tasted yummy but the texture was abit wet, next time I will use a sloppy nut butter in place of milk
Glad to hear they were yummy and I know what you mean about them being a bit wet – I did enjoy the moistness of them but your idea of adding almond butter next time sounds amazing! I’m going to add that to my own to-do list too 🙂
COOKIES! These sound amazing! I absolutely love roasted bananas especially in baked goods – gives it such an incredible banana flavour. They also make a wonderful banana nice cream hehe. These look dangerously simple to whip up, I think I might need to make them asap!
Hi Leah,
These are so incredibly easy, I think they’re going to be my new go-to cookie. Next time, I’m going to add some peanut butter to them and see what happens 🙂
I’ve never roasted a banana before and after seeing these, I am kicking myself! These look and sound wonderful! You have inherited your mom’s cooking gene for sure!
That’s exactly how I felt after learning that one could roast a banana! Definitely give these a try – you will love them. The roasted banana gives them an almost caramelly flavour. Thanks for the kind words – my mom made a little baker out of me at a young age 😉
Cookies for breakfast?? Where do I have to sign up for that?
These look delicious and I looooove the fact that they’re made with nutritious ingredients and won’t leave me feeling hangry for more cookies 2 minutes after eating them. I need to try them! x
Right?! I’m all about those breakfasts that are secretly trying to be dessert 😉
Let me know if you try them, I’m sure they will satisfy your cookie fix!