4 Ingredient No Bake Healthy Banana Oatmeal Cookies
These healthy no bake banana oatmeal cookies are soft and chewy. They are just 4 ingredients and don’t contain any flour, eggs, refined sugar, dairy, butter or oil. The cookies don’t require any baking or cooking.
These cookies are easy to make and store well for a healthy snack, dessert or even breakfast.
Ingredients
- Quick Oats
- Bananas
- Cashew butter
- Maple syrup
Quick oats: Quick oats are rolled oats that are smaller and thinner pieces. Make sure to use quick oats and not rolled oats for this recipe because they will soften easier.
Bananas: The recipe uses very ripe mashed bananas. The mashed bananas add natural sweetness and give the cookies their banana flavor.
Cashew butter: This recipe uses natural cashew butter with no added oils. You can substitute with natural peanut butter or natural almond butter but I chose cashew butter because it is naturally a little sweeter and has a lighter nut flavor that doesn’t overpower the banana flavor.
Maple syrup: A little maple syrup is added to help sweeten the cookies. You can leave out the maple syrup if you don’t mind that the cookies won’t taste sweet.
How to Make No Bake Banana Oatmeal Cookies
- The bananas, cashew butter and maple syrup are first mixed together. The oats are then mixed in until your mixture is thick.
- Use a 1.5 tbsp cookie scoop to scoop the dough and release onto your prepared baking sheet. Flatten the dough balls slightly with your hand so they become thick round disks.
- Place the cookies into the fridge to firm up a little more before serving.
Texture
These cookies have a soft and chewy texture. They don’t have the same texture as a baked cookie. Instead, the cookies have a texture more like granola bars but in cookie form. The cookies are only very lightly sweet. You can add more sweetness by adding a little more syrup or adding some sweet mix-ins like dried fruit or chocolate chips.
Expert Tips
- Make sure to use natural cashew butter with no added oils. The dough will not thicken properly if you use cashew butter with added oils.
- The recipe is pretty forgiving. If you find that your cookie mixture is not thick enough, you can add more oats to thicken it. If it’s too dry, you can add a little more banana or syrup.
- I recommend using quick oats instead of rolled oats. Quick oats are thinner and will soften better. If you don’t have quick oats on hand, you can also pulse rolled oats in a food processor until they become the size of quick oats.
More No Bake Cookie Recipes
- 4 Ingredient No Bake Coconut Oatmeal Cookies
- 3 Ingredient No Bake Lemon Oatmeal Cookies
- 2 Ingredient No Bake Peanut Butter Cookies
4 Ingredient No Bake Banana Oatmeal Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (63 g) mashed overripe bananas
- 1/4 cup (64 g) unsweetened natural cashew butter (no added oils)
- 1 tbsp (0.5 fl oz/15 ml) maple syrup
- 1 cup (93 g) quick oats
Instructions
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Add mashed bananas, cashew butter and maple syrup to a large mixing bowl. Mix with a spatula until evenly combined. Add in the quick oats and mix until evenly combined and the mixture is thick. You want the mixture to be thick and dry enough that if you shape it into a thick disk, it will hold its form. Keep in mind that when the cookies are refrigerated they will dry and firm up slightly more but not that much. If your dough is too sticky or soft, add more oats, 1 tbsp at a time, until the dough is thick enough. You can also taste the dough at this point and make adjustments as needed to suit personal preferences. If adding mix-ins, add them in now.
- Using a 1.5 tbsp cookie scoop, scoop cookie dough. Release dough ball onto the prepared cookie sheet. Press down on the dough ball with the palm of your hand until it forms a round disk, about 1/2 inch thick. Repeat with remaining dough. This will be the final shape of your cookie so smooth the edges and reshape as needed. I like to use the back of a metal spoon to round and smooth the edges.
- Place cookies into fridge for about one hour to firm up. The cookies will not change much but they will firm up slightly, making them easier to hold and eat. Store uneaten cookies in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.
Notes
- The bananas are measured after being mashed. You will need less than one whole banana.
- The cookies are only very lightly sweetened. If you prefer sweeter cookies, I recommend adding chocolate chips or dried fruit. You can also add a little more maple syrup to the dough.
- Make sure to use natural cashew butter with no added oils. The cookie dough will not set with cashew butter with added oils. You can substitute with natural peanut butter or natural almond butter, but cashew butter is naturally sweeter and has a lighter nut flavor so it doesn't overpower the banana. I used Octonuts pure cashew butter*
- I used Happy Belly quick oats*
- *These product links are affiliate links. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
- You can leave out the maple syrup if you want to cut down on the sugar in the cookies but they will not be very sweet. You will need less quick oats if you don't add the maple syrup.
Very nice and guilt free!!!!
We’re so glad you loved this recipe!
Can rhe bananas be frozen?
We haven’t tried with frozen bananas. Frozen bananas usually have more moisture which may not work well for this recipe because it will can prevent the dough from thickening up.
Will be making these, though I have a question. I’m allergic to raw bananas, but, I can eat them if baked. Can I bake these for say 10 minutes so I’m not allergic? I love bananas.
We haven’t tried baking these cookies! We do have a similar recipe that is baked but they are a more crispy cookie: https://kirbiecravings.com/4-ingredient-crispy-banana-oatmeal-cookies/
Instead of castew butter, can i use almond butter?
You can substitute with natural peanut butter or natural almond butter!
Healthy and easy
We’re so glad you enjoy this recipe!