Soft Almond Flour Banana Cookies with only 4 Ingredients
These soft banana bread cookies are healthy almond banana cookies made with only 4 ingredients! If you love banana and almonds, you will be in heaven, these soft cookies taste like banana marzipan and I guarantee the best banana flavor!
Bonus, these banana cookies are also gluten-free, paleo, and grain-free.
It is super easy to make these light and fluffy banana cookies with almond flour. You don’t need eggs, milk, butter, or sugar in this recipe!
These paleo vegan banana bread cookies are 100% made with wholesome, unrefined ingredients for a healthy banana cookie recipe.
Almond flour banana cookies ingredients
All you need to make these banana bread cookies vegan and gluten-free are 4 simple, wholesome ingredients:
- Ripe bananas – you don’t have to use overripe bananas for this recipe. You can use yellow bananas as long as they are not green and hard. The recipe will work well.
- Almond flour – this refers to ultra-fine golden almond flour. It is a fine ground of skinned almonds and different from almond meal. In fact, almond meal is made of raw almonds, skin on that make a coarser meal, add a gritty texture to almond flour cookies. It also changes the cookie color to a dark brown, so I don’t recommend this option in this soft banana nut cookies recipe.
- Maple syrup – or any plant-based liquid sweetener you love like agave syrup, brown rice syrup, or date syrup.
- Coconut oil – you can use refined coconut oil to avoid the coconut flavor from the oil. Other oils can be used, like canola oil, but this option makes super soft banana bread cookies. In fact, coconut oil firms up at room temperature and adds a light crust on the sides and on the top of the cookies that other oils would not. So choose the oil carefully based on your taste
Note that you don’t need baking soda or baking powder in this gluten-free banana cookie recipe. In fact, gluten-free baked goods made of almond flour won’t rise, so raising agents are useless.
Mash and weigh bananas
First, peel and mash the bananas with a fork or potato mashed until it forms a smooth puree, with no big lumps.
Then, measure the mashed bananas precisely.
You can weigh the mashed bananas on a kitchen scale, or pack the banana puree into measuring cups to measure the amount required by the recipe.
Combine liquid to dry ingredients
In a large mixing bowl, stir the mashed bananas with coconut oil and maple syrup.
Then, stir in the almond flour to form a thick banana almond cookie dough. If it’s too difficult to combine, use your hands to squeeze and knead the dough.
Otherwise, you can make the dough in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment.
Shape cookies
This is a grain-free paleo banana cookie dough. As a result, the dough is wet, sticky, and soft, and that’s normal!
Lightly oil your hands to roll 1 tablespoon of banana cookie dough between your hands.
Arrange cookies on a cookie sheet
Preheat the oven to 350F (180C) and line a large baking sheet with oiled parchment paper.
Then, place each cookie dough balls onto the baking sheet, leaving 1 thumb space between each gluten-free banana cookie balls.
Finally, press each cookie ball to flatten into a 5-cm/2-inch wide cookie.
Bake cookies
These gluten-free, vegan banana cookies bake in the center rack in 15-18 minutes. You know they are ready when the outside is slightly golden brown. If too soft, keep baking until a light color appears on the sides.
Cooldown
Cool the cookies for 15 minutes onto the baking sheet. Then, slide a spatula under each cookie and transfer them onto a cooling rack.
They will slightly get crispy on the border, but overall they are soft banana bread cookies.
Create a range of flavors!
These easy soft banana cookies are made of 4 ingredients, but you can boost their flavor by adding some optional add-ons.
My favorite add-ons are:
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon maple extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- Finely chopped walnuts or pecan – stir 1/3 cup into the cookie dough
- Dark vegan chocolate chips – stir in 1/3 cup into the batter
How does it taste?
These banana almond flour cookies are soft baked banana cookies with a light and fluffy texture.
They are soft, melt-in-your-mouth cookies with a strong banana almond flavor similar to banana marzipan. It like eating a healthy vegan banana bread into cookie shape!
Cashew caramel frosting
Of course, these healthy banana bread cookies taste even better with caramel frosting and few chopped nuts on top. To make this cashew caramel, you need only 2 simple ingredients:
- Cashew butter – or tahini or peanut butter or almond butter
- Maple syrup
Stir both into a small mixing bowl, microwave for 30 seconds, or warm into a non-stick saucepan over medium heat if too thick. Spread a teaspoon of caramel on top of your cookies and add a pinch of finely chopped walnuts or pecans to add some crunch.
Can I use coconut flour or any other flour?
No, you can’t replace almond flour with coconut flour with the same ratio. In fact, coconut flour is 4 times more liquid-absorbent, and you can’t swap one flour for the other.
This recipe only works with almond flour, and I don’t recommend other flours. If you want to make vegan banana cookies with oat flour or all-purpose flour, have a look at the list of other vegan banana cookie recipes I have to suggest below:
You can skip coconut oil, but you will have to balance the oil with another liquid. A great option is simply 2 tablespoons of water or 2 tablespoons of applesauce.
You don’t have to add the sweetener to this recipe. If you are using overripe bananas, you may want to skip maple syrup.
Instead, add another liquid to keep the texture right, add 1-2 tablespoons almond milk or water or peanut butter!
Banana cookies must be stored in a cold place. You can refrigerate the cookies in a sealed box for up to 4 days or freeze them.
Thaw cookies 1 hour before eating at room temperature.
I love to use my ripe bananas into vegan banana cookies. Below I listed my favorite healthy banana cookies recipes for you to try:
Don’t forget to check all my Ripe Banana Recipes ideas for more ways to use those ripe bananas!
Made these vegan, gluten-free banana cookies? Share a comment or feedback below to tell me how they came out! I love to connect with you.
Your friend, Carine
Almond Flour Banana Cookies with Cashew Caramel Frosting
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups Almond Flour - scoop, lightly packed, sweep
- ¾ cup Mashed Bananas - about 2 medium peeled bananas
- 2 tablespoons Melted Coconut Oil
- 2 tablespoons Maple Syrup - or agave syrup
Optional - but recommended!
- ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ⅓ cup Chopped walnuts - or chocolate chips
Cashew caramel - optional
- 2 tablespoons Cashew butter
- 1 tablespoon Maple Syrup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Slightly grease the paper with coconut oil to avoid the cookies to stick. Set aside.
- Peel, mash the bananas on a plate until it forms a puree with no lumps.
- Pack the mashed bananas in a measuring cup or weigh the amount required by the recipe, then add it to a large mixing bowl.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir mashed bananas, melted coconut oil, and maple syrup.
- Stir in almond flour and any optional flavoring like cinnamon or vanilla, or chopped nuts.
- Stir with a spatula first. When it starts to be difficult to stir, knead the dough with your hands until the dough is consistent. It should be wet, soft, dense, and sticky.
- Wash and dry your hands, and lightly oil them with coconut oil. Roll 1 tablespoon of dough between your hand to form a ball.
- Place each cookie dough ball onto the baking sheet covered with parchment paper, leaving 1 thumb space between each ball.
- Slightly oil your finger again and flatten the cookie.
- Repeat until all cookies are formed. The recipe makes 16 cookies. They won't expand in the oven, but you flatten the ball, and you don't want the cookies to touch each other.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top.
- Cool on the baking sheet for 15 minutes before transfer to a cooling rack. The cookies are soft banana cookies and won't form up much.
Cashew caramel - optional
- In a small mixing bowl, combine maple syrup and cashew butter (or tahini or peanut butter). If it's too difficult to stir, microwave for 20 seconds or bring in a non-stick saucepan over low heat until soft and well combined.
- Add 1 teaspoon of caramel on top of each cookie and a sprinkle of toasted chopped walnuts or pecan.
Storage
- Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days or freeze and thaw the day before serving.
Notes
Carbon Footprint
Nutrition
Hi there. These cookies are great. I didn’t put them in the fridge last night. Are they still ok to eat? Cheers
Sure, they will last 1-2 days at room temperature, enjoy!
AWSOME can’t wait to try these banana cookies my husband is a diabetic
Those coockies look so delicious! But what is the cooking temperature? It was not mentioned in a recipe description. I would definitely try it if you would be so kind to send it to me.
Thank you, Lana.
The temperature appears in the recipe cards, scroll down up to the recipe card or click ‘jump to recipe’ button before on top of this post to be redirected to the recipe in a second. Enjoy, Carine
I greatly appreciate that you include a printable one page recipe of each type of cookie!
The easiest, tastiest cookies ever!!
I couldn’t believe how quick and easy they were to make. Best of all the entire family loved them. Had to make another batch the following day. We love cinnamon so that was our addition.
Looks like a Yummy receipt looking for a Gluten free receipts.
Thank you for setting it up to print; will be defiantly making this.
YUM
Please give the amounts of ingredients to make these. Or did I miss that on your site?
Yes, you missed it, scroll up before this comment section and you will get the recipe card. Enjoy!
Sounds great; can’t wait to try these. My children are all grown & on their own, but I have the equivalent of a picky toddler; a picky, elderly husband! If he likes these I’ll be thrilled. Thank you for sharing.
Lore
I know these are a banana cookie, but would applesauce work instead of the banana?
Probably yes. Usually one can be easily swap by the other but for wheat based recipe. Here it’s an almond flour recipe so it contains less carbs and no eggs involved as a binder so applesauce can make the dough fragile
Will definitely try this. Thanks for such a healthy recipe.
Can you use stevia to sweeten?
Sure, but use liquid stevia and only few drops or the cookies will be bitter or too sweet. Enjoy