These vegan banana chocolate chip cookies are everything you love about banana bread and chocolate chip cookies combined into one perfect dessert. Crispy on the outside, irresistibly soft & chewy on the inside, easy to make and loaded with delicious banana and chocolate flavor, these cookies are a must try!
If you're a fan of banana bread or flavored chocolate chip cookies (or just classic chocolate chip cookies), you're going to absolutely love these banana bread chocolate chip cookies!
You only need one bowl, 10 minutes for prep, and basic ingredients that you likely already have. Plus, these are completely vegan (egg-free and dairy-free) without sacrificing on flavor.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- Quick & easy to make! You only need one bowl, simple ingredients you likely already have on hand and 10 minutes to prep the cookie dough. Plus, they some together without a stand mixer.
- Fun twist on a classic: this recipe transforms classic banana bread into chewy cookies loaded with banana and chocolate flavor and gives you a different way to use up overripe bananas.
- They're freezer-friendly, making it easy to either prep ahead of time or whip up a few cookies whenever a craving hits!
- Allergen-friendly: these cookies are vegan, dairy-free, eggless and can easily be made gluten-free!
Equipment
The equipment you'll need to make these chewy vegan cookies is very basic:
- Mixing bowl: you only need one large bowl for the batter and one small bowl to mix the egg replacer in.
- Baking sheet / Cookie sheet
- Cookie scoop: for even sized cookies, and ultimately, even baking!
- Parchment paper: to ensure the cookies don't get stuck to the baking sheet and bake more evenly without burning the cookie bottoms.
- Whisk
- Rubber spatula: switch over to this when mixing the dry and wet ingredients together to avoid overmixing.
- Kitchen scale: for the most accurate measurements of all ingredients
- Measuring cups & spoons: if you don't want to use/don't have a scale. Be sure to use the spoon & level method for the flour.
Ingredients
- Mashed Banana: just like for banana bread, make sure you're using overripe bananas here to get the most out of their natural sweetness. The bananas should be soft and have a ton of brown spots on the peel. Mashing them will help add moisture to the bread.
- Flour: all-purpose flour is best here but whole wheat flour or 1:1 gluten-free baking flour works as a substitute, if needed.
- Baking Soda
- Cinnamon: a little bit of cinnamon adds warmth to these cookies.
- Salt: just a pinch!
- Vegan Butter: I recommend using sticks as opposed to the tubs of butter. I like to use either Earth Balance, Melt or Country Crock sticks for all of my dessert recipes.
- Light Brown Sugar: The light brown sugar will help make the cookies soft and chewy.
- Flaxseed Meal: I like flax eggs here best to use as the egg replacer!
- Vanilla Extract
- Chocolate: I used vegan chocolate chips and a chopped chocolate bar but feel free to use one or the other, mini chocolate chips or chocolate chunks. I recommend using semi-sweet and/or dark chocolate chips in order to balance out the sweetness level.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions & Variations
- Make them gluten-free by swapping the all-purpose flour with 1:1 gluten-free baking flour. I haven't tested this recipe with almond flour or oat flour, as it would not be a simple 1:1 swap, but if you try it let me know how they come out!
- Swap the banana with pumpkin puree to create vegan pumpkin chocolate chip cookies!
- Use melted coconut oil instead of vegan butter. Make sure you're using refined coconut oil so you don't get any unwanted coconut flavor. You could also use vegetable oil.
- Change up the add-ins by using chopped walnuts, pecans or different spices. It's also delicious as is without any add ins.
- Applesauce works as a fantastic egg replacer instead of flaxseed meal.
- For a thinner, crispy cookie either add 1 tablespoon of plant-based milk (unsweetened soy milk is best) to the cookie dough or press down the dough ball before baking with the back of a fork. For an ever chewier cookie, underbake by 1-2 minutes.
- Swap the brown sugar for coconut sugar. The cookies won't be as sweet, but it'll work! You could also use regular granulated sugar. I don't recommend using dark brown sugar, as it'll make the cookies spread too much.
This recipe has not been tested with any other substitutions or variations than the ones listed above. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together mashed banana, melted butter and light brown sugar until combined.
- Add the flax egg and vanilla extract. Whisk until combined.
- Add the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Mix until just combined and no streaks of flour remain. Fold in the chocolate chips until distributed throughout. The cookie dough will be very soft. Cover and chill in the freezer for 1 hour or in the fridge overnight.
- Scoop the cookie dough with a cookie scoop and place onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake the cookies spaced 2-3 inches apart (one tray at a time) for 10-12 minutes, until the bottoms and edges are golden brown but the centers are still soft.
Expert Tips
- Press chocolate chips on top of the cookie dough balls prior to baking to get those dreamy pools of chocolate on top.
- Do not add HOT melted butter to the dough. Allow the melted butter to cool to room temperature (but not back to a solid state). If the butter is too hot, it'll melt the sugar, causing the sugar and butter to separate. This will result in a greasy cookie that won't hold it's shape in the oven.
- Chill your dough for best results. I know it's so annoying but trust me, it'll give you the most soft and chewy cookie.
- Weigh your ingredients for the most accurate result. If you don't have a kitchen scale, be sure to use the spoon and level method when measuring the flour especially.
- Do not overmix! Stop mixing once the moment there are no more flour streaks running through the cookie dough. Overmixing will lead to a tough, dense cookie.
- Bake cookies on the middle rack. For the softest, chewiest and evenly baked cookies, only use the middle rack of your oven.
- Don't overbake. They may look slightly underdone when removing from the oven but as long as the edges I promise the cookies will continue baking and the middle will set as they cool.
- Make perfectly round cookies by placing a large, round cookie cutter (or a wide-mouthed glass) over a cookie. While the cookies are still hot, spin the cookie cutter in a circular motion to scoot the cookie edges into a perfect circle.
Storage
Room temperature: These vegan banana cookies will stay soft and keep well for a few days. Stored baked banana chocolate chip cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Do not store the raw cookie dough at room temperature, ever!
Refrigerator: Store unbaked cookie dough in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Then, roll into balls and bake as directed! Baked cookies can be stored in the fridge for up to 5-7 days.
Freezer: These cookies are freezer friendly! Allow the baked cookies to cool completely first then transfer to freezer safe bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months. Allow them to thaw at room temperature before enjoying. You can also freeze unbaked cookie dough for quick and easy cookie baking in the future. Once chilled, form the balls of cookie dough then place each cookie dough ball on a lined baking sheet. Flash freeze for 2-4 hours, or until the cookie dough balls are frozen solid. Transfer the dough balls to a freezer friendly ziploc bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to bake, remove from the freezer and bake for 1-2 minutes longer than directed, or until golden on the edges.
FAQ
If your cookies didn't spread out in the oven, it might be that the dough was too cold from chilling before baking. Try letting the dough sit at room temperature for a few minutes before baking! You can also try tapping the baking tray on the counter a few times right after taking the cookies out of the oven to encourage flattening.
This could be the result of not allowing the melted butter to cool to room temperature before mixing the dough or not chilling the dough long enough. Adding hot butter to sugar will cause the sugar to melt rather than dissolve and make the butter & sugar separate, resulting in greasy cookies. Chill for at least 1 hour but if the dough still seems too wet, chill for longer.
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ teaspoons flaxseed meal
- 1 ½ tablespoons water
- ¼ cup (65 g) mashed banana ~1 small-medium banana
- ½ cup (113 g) vegan butter melted and cooled to nearly room temperature/enough to touch (not back to its solid state) - see notes*
- 1 cup (213 g) light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ⅔ cups (200 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅓ cup (65 g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ⅓ cup (50 g) chocolate bar chopped, or just more chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together flaxseed meal and water. Let it set for at least 5 minutes, until thickened.1 ½ teaspoons flaxseed meal, 1 ½ tablespoons water
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cooled, melted vegan butter, light brown sugar and mashed banana until combined.¼ cup mashed banana, ½ cup vegan butter, 1 cup light brown sugar
- Add flax egg and vanilla extract and mix until combined.1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt and mix until just combined or until there are no more streaks of flour running through the dough. Fold in the chocolate chips and chopped chocolate bar. The dough will be very soft.1 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour, 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ⅓ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, ⅓ cup chocolate bar
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the freezer for 1 hour, or in the fridge overnight. If freezing, let the dough sit on the counter for 5-10 minutes before scooping.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Using a cookie scoop, scoop the cookie dough and place onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, 2-3 inches apart. Bake one tray at a time for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are golden but the centers are still soft.
- Let cool for at least 10 minutes then serve and enjoy!
Paige says
I’m always on the lookout for creative ways to use up overripe bananas, and similar to POP's banana bread, this recipe did not disappoint! These cookies are super easy to whip up and have the perfect balance of moist texture and rich flavor.
Pro tip: Warm them in the microwave for a few seconds and pair with a cup of coffee or a glass of milk - delish!
Lauren Casolaro says
So so glad you love them!!!
Jessica says
Obsessed with these! I made a double batch because I had two bananas and they came out perfect!