These gluten-free banana bread chocolate chip cookies are soft and sweet with chocolate chips in every bite! Made with a combination of gluten-free flour and almond flour, they're lightly spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg. They taste like a slice of banana bread!
❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- These cookies taste like your favourite homemade banana bread! They're soft on the inside, just like a loaf of freshly baked banana bread.
- They have a delicious, soft cake-like texture.
- Cookies need to have a bit of a satisfying crunch as well! These cookies deliver in not one, but two ways, from the crispy edges and chopped walnuts.
- A cup of whole-grain oats adds both fiber and nutrition.
- No chill time for this gluten-free recipe!
- Just like these recipes for Almond Flour Banana Cupcakes and Grain-Free Banana Coffee Cake with Maple Walnut Streusel, it's a great way to use overripe bananas to give natural sweetness. No wasted black bananas!
Like a chewy chocolate chip cookie as well? These Gluten-free Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies are easily made with a gluten-free flour blend. You'd never know they're gluten-free!
Wondering what other recipes you can make with overripe bananas? Try these ones, too!
- Grain-Free Blueberry Banana Bread (moist, tender and so delicious!)
- Healthy Zucchini Banana Muffins (with hints of cinnamon and lemon.)
- Chocolate Almond Smoothie with Hemp Hearts (personal fave!)
🛒 Ingredients
You'll find a complete list of ingredients with amounts in the recipe card below. But before we get to the full recipe, here are a few notes about some of the key ingredients.
- gluten-free flour blend: use one with xanthan gum. I use Cup4Cup gluten-free flour in this recipe.
- almond flour: blanched, finely ground almond flour.
- butter: make sure it's softened before blending with the sugar. It's best to use slightly cool room temperature butter (about 67°F. or 19°C.) If your butter is too warm, the cookies will spread too much and end up flat.
- sugar: use both granulated sugar AND your choice of coconut sugar or brown sugar. White sugar helps to make a cookie crisp while brown sugar produces a softer cookie with a slight caramel flavour. In this recipe, the brown sugar keeps the inside of the cookie soft like banana bread.
- banana: very ripe, mashed banana adds to the texture and adds natural sweetness.
- rolled oats: use old-fashioned oats, certified gluten-free, if necessary.
- add-ins: chocolate chips and chopped walnuts.
- flavouring: pure vanilla extract, cinnamon and nutmeg, sea salt
🔪 How to make gluten-free banana bread cookies
Here's an overview of what you'll do to make this recipe perfectly. You'll find complete instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
You'll start by creaming the softened butter with two types of sugar, then add an egg.
Next, add the mashed banana, mix, then add the whisked dry ingredients.
Finally, you'll fold in chocolate chips and coarsely chopped walnuts. Use a cookie scoop to drop balls of dough onto silicone or parchment paper-lined baking sheets.
Bake for 11 - 13 minutes or until edges are crispy and cookies are golden brown.
🔁 Possible Variations
Substitute sugar-free chocolate chips if you're trying to reduce sugar in your diet. You could also replace the walnuts with pecans or coarsely chopped almonds.
👍🏼 Helpful Tips
Plan ahead and make sure your butter and egg are at room temperature. Cold butter won't cream properly with sugar. Butter that is too warm won't aerate well. You'll end up with flat cookies without any fluffy texture 😒.
If you have forgotten and don't want to wait for it to come to room temperature, you have a few options.
Slice it into small cubes and spread them out on a plate and wait.
Using a microwave for this job can result in a quick disaster of melted butter! The microwave method rarely works for me as it tends to soften unevenly.
Use this simple hack instead. Heat two cups of water in the microwave for a few minutes or until it's very hot. Meanwhile, cut your butter into cubes and place it in a glass bowl. Remove the water from the microwave and replace it with the bowl of butter. Immediately close the door, but don't turn on the microwave. The steam and radiant heat will help soften the butter in about 10 minutes so that you can successfully cream it with sugar.
🍽 Serving Suggestions
Tuck a couple of these soft banana cookies in a lunch box, have one with coffee at your morning coffee break, or lay out a plate of cookies for after-school snacks!
These cookies are delicious at any time of the day. They make a perfect snack for the whole family.
If you have cookie monsters in your family, try these gluten-free cookie recipes, too!
⏰ Storage Instructions
To store: Store banana cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 to 4 days.
To freeze: Place the cooled cookies in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
🗒 More recipes for cookies and bars
When you make this recipe for gluten-free banana bread cookies, please leave a comment and a rating below. I love hearing from you! Thanks in advance. Subscribe to my newsletter and receive new recipes delivered straight to your inbox.
This recipe was adapted from Banana Bread Chocolate Chip Cookies in Go Gluten-Free, Winter 2015.
📖 Recipe
Banana Bread Chocolate Chip Cookies - Gluten-free
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup gluten-free flour blend, with xanthan gum
- ½ cup almond flour, blanched, finely ground
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ¾ cup butter, softened to just below room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup coconut sugar, or brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup mashed ripe banana
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup rolled oats, gluten-free
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- ½ cup walnuts, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. and line two baking sheets with silicone liners or parchment paper.
- Whisk the dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or with a hand-held electric mixer) beat the softened butter. Add both types of sugar and beat until fluffy.
- Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat, then add the mashed banana.
- Add the whisked dry ingredients and beat just until combined. Don't overbeat.
- Fold in the rolled oats, chocolate chips and coarsely chopped walnuts.
- Use a small cookie scoop (or drop the dough by spoonfuls) on the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 11 - 13 minutes or until edges are beginning to become brown and crispy and the tops are golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and let stand on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire cooling rack.
- Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
Rebecca
Even easier than banana bread! Yum. Love these.
Elaine
Yes! and all the flavours of banana bread, too!
Marnie
Wow! These are a new favorite! They turned out perfectly. Thanks!
Elaine
Thanks so much--and thanks for the 5 stars!
Laura
Delicious! Nothing beats bananas and chocolate!
Elaine
True! Always a great combo!