These vegan banana chocolate chip cookies have the perfect combination of chewy edges and a soft center. They’re packed with flavor, thanks to the mashed ripe banana and warm cinnamon, and the chocolate chips add just the right amount of gooey, rich sweetness!
Best of all, they taste just like banana bread in cookie form, making them the ultimate treat for any banana bread fan.
Why You’ll Love These Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
These vegan banana chocolate chip cookies are so delicious and incredibly easy to make. If you’re a fan of vegan chocolate chip cookies or banana bread, you’ll love these banana bread cookies. Here are a few reasons we love them and you will too!
- Soft Cookies with the Perfect Chewy Texture: these vegan cookies are the best combination of vegan chocolate chip cookies and banana bread.
- The Best Banana Bread Flavor (in cookie form): the combination of mashed ripe bananas and vegan butter gives them a subtle banana flavor and a rich, buttery texture.
- Your New Go-To Way to Use Up Bananas: this cookie recipe uses 1 whole ripe banana. Double or triple the recipe and freeze the cookies to use up all your excess, ripe bananas!
- Sweet & Rich: the chocolate chips add a touch of sweetness and a gooey, melty texture when warm. These cookies are perfect for an afternoon snack, a dessert, or even as a sweet breakfast or morning treat.
- 1 Bowl Recipe: mix everything up in 1 bowl because we all want fewer dishes.
Ingredients
To make these vegan banana chocolate chip cookies, you’ll need the following simple ingredients:
- Vegan Butter: You can learn more about which vegan butter brands are the best for baking here!
- Light Brown Sugar, not dark brown sugar
- Pure Vanilla Extract
- Ripe Banana
- All Purpose Flour
- Baking Soda
- Ground Cinnamon
- Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips or Chopped Chocolate
Substitutions & Add Ins
- Vegan Butter: If you don’t have vegan butter, you can substitute it with coconut oil or vegetable shortening. However, keep in mind that the flavor and texture of these vegan banana cookies may be slightly different. You’ll want to add about 1/4 tsp of salt if you’re not using salted vegan butter.
- Brown Sugar: while I don’t recommend subbing the light brown sugar for dark brown sugar (this will make the cookies spread too much), you could try substituting white sugar or coconut sugar. However, the cookies may have a thicker or cakier texture.
- Cinnamon: If you’re not a fan of cinnamon, you can leave it out or substitute it with a different spice, like nutmeg or cardamom.
- Chopped Nuts: You can also add in some chopped nuts, like pecans or walnuts, for some extra crunch.
- Old Fashioned or Quick Oats: add 1/4 cup of oats for banana oatmeal chocolate chip cookies!
Ripe Bananas!
For this recipe you’ll want to use ripe bananas with just a few brown spots on them. You can use bananas with a more spots on them than the ones pictured below!
You can definitely use very overripe bananas, however, the cookies will be much sweeter.
Helpful Equipment
To make these vegan banana chocolate chip cookies, you’ll need a few pieces of equipment:
- large mixing bowl
- baking tray lined with parchment paper
- cookie scoop or a spoon
Step-by-step Instructions
🎥 *Video Tutorial is Above the Recipe Card Below!*
Making the Banana Cookie Dough
STEP 1: Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
STEP 2: In a large bowl, whisk together the melted vegan butter and the brown sugar until well combined.
STEP 3: Add the vanilla extract and mashed ripe banana and whisk again until well combined.
STEP 4: Add the all-purpose flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt on top of the wet ingredients. Then, mix the dry ingredients into the wet until just combined.
STEP 5: Fold in the dark chocolate chips with a spatula or wooden spoon.
📌 TIP: the dough should be VERY thick and sticky. This is the way it’s supposed to be. Don’t add more flour or the cookies will have a cakey texture. If the dough is too sticky to hold it’s shape when scooped, chill it in the fridge for 5-10 minutes.
Baking the Cookies
STEP 6: Using a cookie scoop or a spoon, form the dough into balls and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Make sure to leave some space between the cookie dough balls.
📌 TIP: add some chopped chocolate or more vegan chocolate chips on top of the scooped dough for the best gooey, puddles of melted chocolate!
STEP 7: Bake for 12-13 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden brown.
STEP 8: When you remove the baking sheet from the oven, smack the tray on the counter or stovetop 2-4 times. This helps deflate the cookies and makes them less puffy with perfect chewy edges!
Serving
Let the cookies cool for 3 minutes on the baking sheet. Then, transfer them to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
These vegan banana chocolate chip cookies are best served warm and fresh out of the oven. They’re perfect with a glass of almond milk or a cup of coffee. You can also serve them with some vegan ice cream for an extra treat.
Storage
If you have any leftovers, you can store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can also freeze the cookies for up to 3 months.
Cookie Pro Tips
Follow these simple tips for the best results!
- Make sure to use lightly spotted, ripe bananas: These will give the cookies a stronger banana flavor and a perfect soft texture. Avoid using super ripe or very brown bananas, as the cookies will be too sweet.
- Weigh out the ingredients: I highly recommend using a digital kitchen scale for this recipe. Weighing the ingredients, especially the mashed banana, will make sure you have cookies with the best texture.
- Keep an eye on the cookies as they bake: To get soft and chewy cookies, avoid over-baking them. I used about 2 tbsp of dough per cookie, and baked them for exactly 12.5 minutes! Keep a close eye on them in the oven and take them out when the edges are lightly golden brown. The tops should look soft and a bit puffy, but they shouldn’t look gooey or wet.
- If you want to make larger or smaller cookies, adjust the baking time accordingly: If only using 1 tbsp of dough per cookie, bake them for closer to 10-11 minutes.
- For thinner cookies with chewy edges: try tapping the pan on the counter after baking. This helps the cookies spread out and creates a thinner, chewier texture on the edges.
FAQ
- Cakey Cookies: if the cookies have a puffy or cakey texture, too much flour may have been added. Use a digital scale or the spoon and level method when measuring the flour and avoid packing it into the measuring cup to avoid adding too much flour.
- The Banana Cookies Spread Too Much: If your cookies spread too much in the oven, the dough may be too wet. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes before baking to help prevent spreading.
📌 TIP: Use a glass or circular cookie cutter to shape the cookies after removing them from the oven. If the cookies spread more than intended, you can use a large glass to shape the cookies back into a circle while still hot!
- The Cookies Are Too Crispy: If your vegan banana cookies are too hard or crispy, they may have been over- baked. Try reducing the baking time or lowering the oven temperature slightly.
While I’ve only tested this recipe with all-purpose flour, you could use another type like very finely ground oat flour or almond flour (or a combination of the two). Keep in mind, the texture will be slightly different.
More Delicious Vegan Desserts:
More Vegan Cookies You’ll Love:
- Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Espresso Cookies with White Chocolate
- Vegan Biscoff Butter Cookies
- Vegan Air Fryer Sugar Cookies
- Oatmeal Raisin Cookies with Steel Cut Oats
- Vegan Strawberry Crunch Cookies
- Vegan Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal Cookies
Did you make this Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe?
I’d love to know! Leave a star rating and comment below!
Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- ¼ cup melted salted vegan butter - 60g, cooled not hot
- ¾ cup light brown sugar - 150g, packed
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup mashed ripe banana - 100g, about 1 medium banana but I highly recommend weighing it out
- 1 ¼ cup all purpose flour - 150g, spooned into the measuring cup & leveled
- ¼ tsp baking soda - 1g
- 1 tbsp cinnamon - 5g
- ⅛ tsp salt
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips - 50g, dairy free
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix the melted vegan butter and brown sugar until it forms a paste-like consistency (about 1-2 minutes). Make sure butter is not too hot, as you don’t want to melt the brown sugar.¼ cup melted salted vegan butter, ¾ cup light brown sugar
- Add the banana and vanilla on top. Mash the banana well so there are no large lumps.1 tsp vanilla extract, ½ cup mashed ripe banana
- Sprinkle the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt on top of the wet ingredients. Sift dry ingredients with a fork then mix them into the wet. Add the chocolate chips and mix to combine.1 ¼ cup all purpose flour, ¼ tsp baking soda, 1 tbsp cinnamon, ⅛ tsp salt, ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- The dough will be VERY thick and sticky, but should still be able to be scooped. If it’s too sticky, chill the dough in the fridge for 5-10 minutes.
- Scoop 1-2 tbsp of dough and space the cookie dough balls about 2” apart on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Top the cookies with more chocolate chips or chopped chocolate.
- Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 11-13 minutes, depending on the size of your cookies. I baked mine (about 2 tbsp of dough per cookie) for 12.5 minutes.
- The edges should look lightly golden brown. The tops should look soft and a bit puffy, but they shouldn’t look gooey or wet.
- When you remove the baking sheet from the oven, smack or tap the tray on the counter or stovetop 2-4 times. This helps deflate the cookies and makes them less puffy with perfect chewy edges! Use a large, circular cookie cutter or large glass to shape the cookies back into a circle if they spread unevenly.
- Let the cookies cool for 3 minutes on the baking sheet. Then, transfer them to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Video
Notes
- Weigh out the ingredients: I highly recommend using a digital kitchen scale for this recipe. Weighing the ingredients, especially the mashed banana, will make sure you have cookies with the best texture.
- Make sure to use lightly spotted, ripe bananas: These will give the cookies a stronger banana flavor and a perfect soft texture. Avoid using super ripe or very brown bananas, as the cookies will be too sweet.
- For thinner cookies with chewy edges: try tapping the pan on the counter after baking. This helps the cookies spread out and creates a thinner, chewier texture on the edges.
Nutrition
Want to Save this Recipe for Later? Pin it to Pinterest!
DISCLAIMER: Links included in this post might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting my blog so I can continue to provide you with free content each week!
The cookies were good but now chewy at all
Hi! If I were to use oat, almond, or a combo of both flours like you mention above, what are the weights needed? Or is it the exact same as the all-purpose flour? Thanks!
Hi Meg, I haven’t tested this recipe with flours other than all-purpose flour. If you’d like to try another flour, I recommend using oat flour (150g) first as it will give a texture more similar to all purpose. Again, I haven’t tested this exact substitution, so if you give it a try please let me know how it goes!