Mom, can we have cookies for breakfast? ….. Yes!
I am sure as a parent you have heard this question before. Cookies for breakfast? No WAY! Well, with these Healthy Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies, you can eat cookies for breakfast, lunch or dinner!
I keep a batch of these cookies on hand during the week for snacks, quick grab-n-go breakfasts, or for a pre-workout snack.
The best part? There are only 5 ingredients!
Healthy Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
- 2 cups oatmeal, uncooked quick
- 2 ripe bananas
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- (optional add-ins: 1/3 cup of raisins, chocolate chips or cranberries. For a sweeter cookie, you can also add 1 TBSP of honey)
- Preheat heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix together, oatmeal, bananas, vanilla extract, applesauce and cinnamon.
- Prepare a cookie sheets with parchment paper. Drop cookie dough in spoonfuls onto the the cookie sheet, and then flatten cookies into round shapes. ( I made about 17 medium cookies)
- Bake approx. 25 – 30 minutes, or until golden. Remove from oven & let rest on cookie sheet for 5 minutes and then move to cooling rack. Be careful, cookies will be very soft until they cool entirely.
- Store in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
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Healthy Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups oatmeal uncooked quick
- 2 ripe bananas
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- optional add-ins: 1/3 cup of raisins, chocolate chips or cranberries. For a sweeter cookie, you can also add 1 TBSP of honey
Instructions
- Preheat heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix together, oatmeal, bananas, vanilla extract, applesauce and cinnamon.
- Prepare a cookie sheets with parchment paper. Drop cookie dough in spoonfuls onto the the cookie sheet, and then flatten cookies into round shapes. ( I made about 17 medium cookies)
- Bake approx. 25 - 30 minutes, or until golden. Remove from oven & let rest on cookie sheet for 5 minutes and then move to cooling rack. Be careful, cookies will be very soft until they cool entirely.
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Nutrition Information:
Nutrition Disclaimer
Family Fresh Meals is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
Post Updated September 2020
Jenn says
These look fantastic! I am bookmarking them to make later 😀
Corey says
Thanks Jenn!
Jessica says
These look delicious! Need more healthy options for my little guy. Thank you!
Marie says
Delicious, healthy cookie! I don’t feel guilty about eating one of these cookies- they’re great when I’m craving something sweet. Easy to make, delicious and healthy- can’t go wrong with this recipe!
renee says
they look great but I am allergic to bananas
Daphne Close says
Are you able to use regular oats as opposed to the quick cooking kind?
Corey says
I think regular oats should be fine. Steel cut oats will not work for these those….so steer clear of those kinds.
Chrissy says
I just made these and they’re delicious! I only had 1 banana, so I halved the recipe (made 11). I added a little extra vanilla b/c I do that with everything. I also used half quick cooking oats + half regular whole oats. My daughter has been loving these. I over baked mine by a few extra minutes, so we ate them dunked in milk 🙂 I think I will add raisins next time or chopped dried apricots… Maybe shredded coconut… Or pumpkin seeds… I do make baked oatmeal, which is similar, but it uses milk, no banana, and sugar. A lot of recipes use egg too, which I avoid due to egg allergies. I like your oatmeal breakfast cookies so much more! They bake up quicker and are portable. Plus I love the addition of mashed banana for natural sweetness. My usual baked oatmeal already uses applesauce, but still needs a little sugar added. The ripe banana is genius! I’m thinking pumpkin instead for fall… No nuts though as we are a nut free home. Hmmm, sunflower seed butter spread on top with a drizzle of maple syrup or honey would be yummy 🙂
Erica says
Would love to try but my kids are allergic to bananas. Any ideas if the cookies would hold together if I omitted this ingredient?
Corey says
Oh dear.. I don’t! I’m sorry Erica. Can anyone else help out this this?
MeMyself says
What about pumpkin?
Emily says
What about substituting coconut oil?
Dave says
Mine came out a little rubbery. Do you think they needed to bake a little longer? My wife said it might be that I pressed down too much on them making them round. I do think a little more cinnamon and some honey would be good. We added Craisins and walnuts.
Corey says
Yes sweetening them up is yummy! This recipe is just for the basic version and I do suggest add-ins. And your choice of craisins and walnuts sounds delish! If they were rubbery, you might have cooked them a little long?
Dave says
We started out with just 25 minutes, so it does not seem long. The next batch we went to 30 minutes and they seemed a little better. I switched to a mix of Quick Oats and Old-Fashioned Oats and slightly increased the amount of oats.
Maria says
My family hates the taste of apples except as plain old off the tree apples. What can I use to substitute? Would sweet potatoes work? Pumpkin?
Corey says
I would maybe give pumpkin a try 🙂
Farah says
Just made these, they are great! Thanks for the recipe!!! Nice to have a cookie now and again and it not be loaded with sugar.
Corey says
Thanks Farah!
Katie says
Dear Corey,
My family was getting soooooo sick of our almost daily slow cooker overnight oatmeal……and then I discovered your VERY healthy and tasty breakfast oatmeal cookies! My 9 year old daughter and I bake 4-5 batches Sunday afternoon. Now our daily before school breakfasts are celebrated, easy and fast, and still healthy!
My 9 year old has come up with all different flavor combinations…….dried peach and pistachio, peanut butter, citrus (orange zest) cranberries, apple brown sugar, blueberry cobbler, cranberry pumpkin, rocky road, apricot and pecan, raspberry almonds, and carrot cake….all variations from your original recipe.
She has an Invention Convention at school and was hoping to make a children’s cookbook using all the variations for these breakfast cookies. We wanted to know if it would be OK for us to re-print your original recipe, with you given credit and your web page cited. Again this is just for a small 3rd grade project and won’t be distributed. We understand if you would feel uncomfortable with this request…..and either way, we want you to know how much we LOVE this recipe…..easy for young kids to help bake, nutritious, quick for busy mornings, AND yummy! And we’ve had so much fun experimenting with flavors! Thank you for sharing it with us all!!!
Corey says
Wow! I’m in love with all those combos you created! Yum
ANNA says
Awesome!! ❤ your reply inspired me to try various options down the road!
Kimba says
I made these cookies. They came out looking wonderful however they tasted horrible. I followed the recipe exactly I put in a little bit honey to sweeten and nobody in my household would eat them they said they just did not taste very good.
Corey says
Sorry you didn’t like them Kimba. They are a “healthy” cookie, so they aren’t going to taste as great as a regular cookie would. Maybe try some add-ins next time to enhance the flavor?
Donna says
Wondering where on can find the nutrient values on recipes. Interested in the calorie count. TIA
Catherine Davis says
http://www.caloriecount.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php
I use this site all the time.
Tiffany says
Could you do this with aluminum foil cups in a muffin pan?
Corey says
I’ve never tried that before Tiffany, so I can’t say for sure.
Sue says
Try parchment paper cups.
Nicole says
Would like to freeze a bunch. How long would you recommend freezing them for?
Nicole says
How long do you think you can you freeze them for until they go bad?
Emily says
Just made these this morning after a friend’s recommendation. I think they’re great and my kids (2 1/2 and 11 months) gobbled them up. I love that they aren’t as messy as regular oatmeal. My husband thought they needed to be sweeter but he’s a sugar junkie. I’m thinking of trying peanut butter in them but am wondering, if anything, what should I sub out? Any ideas?
Thanks! 🙂
Corey says
To make them more sweet, you can add in some more honey, toasted coconut, chocolate or white chocolate chips 🙂 YUM!
Mollie says
I’m making the original recipe first, but I think cooked mashed carrots might be a good substitute for those who want/need to avoid bananas. I’ll try that next and let you know if it works.
Haeli says
Love these! Make them all the time, I put chocolate chips and chia seeds, hemp hearts and flax seeds in them too ☺️
KL says
I made these for a relative, hoping that they might be able to be incorporated into a BRAT diet (for those who don’t know, BRAT = Bananas, Rice, Applesauce & Toast – a diet recommended to those suffering from severe diarrhea, as he was, at the time) – the vanilla extract worried me a bit, as many brands contain alcohol (which is completely against the BRAT diet). I just used some vanilla seeds (from an actual bean pod), and it worked out OK. Thank you for a simple, not-too-terribly sweet, relatively inexpensive recipe 🙂 And to top it all off, once he got well again, he still wanted me to make this recipe for him – he loves it! (This, from the man, my Dad, who usually only ever wants eggs and bacon for brekky… lol!!)
Julia Dennis says
I just made these with a few of my own tweaks and they are very good!
-I added some ground flax seed and also a bit of powdered baby formula just so they had even more health benefits(-I’m weaning an 11 month old baby…). I also added about 1/4 cup of honey, and I was out of cinnamon so I used ground earl grey tea for flavour. Also added about 2 tablespoons of oil.
Really good, mine took about 23 minutes. I made them late at night with a bit of a swert craving so I’m currently eating them with a bit of icing, but in the morning will eat them as is. I’m really hoping my little guy will like them!
Brenda says
Hi what if I don’t have applesauce ? Can I add coconut ?
Eme says
Really looking forward to trying these. Do you have an idea of whether plantain would make a good substitute for the banana? (And, if yes, would it be a one-to-one exchange?)
Annette says
Hi and thank you for the recipe. I had 3 bananas and calculated accordingly to match the recipe. I used half quick oats and half regular, I put in 3 TBS of maple syrup and 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. I used a 1/4 cup scoop to measure cookies and it made exactly 2 dozen. They were very tasty, not too sweet and everyone in the family enjoyed them (including my sugar addict 4 year old).
Tiffany says
I made these last night and they came out so yummy! I can’t wait for my kids to try them! My 13 yo son doesn’t like to eat anything till about 1/2 o’clock so I’m always looking for something to entice him to eat breakfast.
Ashley Hancharyk says
Can’t wait to make these. I’ve been looking for another breakfast cookie recipe (lost the old one) although I know that one used crushed pineapple (might be a good- and sweeter- banana substitute if drained a bit).
Anyways, I always eat breakfast cookies crumbled up and with yogurt on the side as a dip. Delish!
Thanks for the recipe.
Joy says
I thought that these would be amazing for my diet, but I threw mine out as soon as I tasted them. The banana just overpowers everything else. I felt like I was eating some bastardization of banana bread that was worse than the original. Thanks, but no thanks.
Corey says
I am so sorry you didn’t love these Joy. Maybe you could go lighter on the banana and use unsweetened apple sauce.
Lucy R. says
These are SOO dietic, perfect for my “get tiny challenge” Facebook group. I love the way they taste— lightly sweetened, chewy, soft, just overall a great wholesome snack for the chronic dieter.
@LittleMomma Kelsey Rigghams says
Awesome! Love these great to go snacks. Perfect for carpool and hangry toddlers 🙂 (I omit the honey for my little ones because of strict health guidances)
Here are some variations I made:
MINT CHOC CHIP — I added chocolate chunks, peppermint extract and a bit of spirurlina for the green color.
CHUNKY MONKEY— chopped walnuts, dark chocolate chunks
VANILLA PEANUT BUTTER— natural peanut butter, vanilla extract, butter extract, PB2
CAROB VANILLA— carob chips, butter extract, vanilla extract
Chasmin says
We tried these for the first time today, and we included the optional additions of chocolate chips and honey, and they were simply delicious! They are so easy, and we will definitely be making them again!
Marlene says
Just made this recipe. Added chocolate mini chips, raisins & cranberries. I puréed the bananas & applesauce before adding the remaining ingredients. Baked them for 25 minutes on non stick foil. They came out very good! Going to try other ingredients next time for variety. Wish I could post a photo. This made 17 cookies as stated in recipe.
Kae D says
Thank you so much I really loved the recipe. I added more cinnamon and I put crushed pistachios and honey . And added raisin to a small half for the kids . And they said its not to bad. We ate it with yogurt.
Corey says
I can’t wait to try the crushed pistachio idea! Yum!
Susan says
I have been making these for quite a few years. I normally double or triple the recipe and freeze them so I always have a batch. I alway use raisins and sometime will put some mini chips in part of the batch. They freeze well and are yummy.
Corey says
So happy you love these breakfast cookies Susan!
Susan says
Wanted to give it a 5 star
Olena says
Very healthy! I added chopped walnuts and dry apricots.
Corey says
That sounds like some yummy additions