Banana Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Looking for a delicious and dairy-free oatmeal cookies recipe without butter? Look no further! Try this simple and tasty recipe made with oats, ripe banana, toasty hazelnuts, and bittersweet chocolate chips.
Remember those sad, crumbly oatmeal cookies labeled “healthy”? Yeah, we’re ditching that whole scene. Because guess what? A delicious, chewy oatmeal cookies recipe without butter can exist – and these might even tempt the butter lovers in your house.
Forget skimping on flavor! My favorite thing about this recipe is that it’s NOT about sacrifice. It’s about celebrating how incredible simple ingredients like oats, a soft ripe banana, and melty chocolate…well, let’s just say they can work some serious magic!
I get it, years as a pastry chef (yes, fancy desserts were my jam at San Francisco’s Firefly), plus a lactose-intolerant husband, mean I’m always finding ways to make treats work for everyone.
Think of this less as a “special diet” recipe and more as a straight-up awesome oatmeal cookie. But hey, if your tummy is happy too, that’s a serious win, right?
Why You’ll Love These Dairy-Free Oatmeal Cookies
- Texture is EVERYTHING: We’re going for chewy cookies, not dry and crumbly.
- Flavor surprises: Sweet ripe banana, chopped hazelnuts…this is way more than just oats and sugar.
- Easy to adapt: Mix in raisins if you want, different nuts, or even a couple tablespoons of peanut butter. The base recipe is your playground.
Helping You Become a Fearless Kitchen Rock Star
Baking with dietary restrictions can be frustrating.
My goal? Give you reliable recipes like these healthy cookies that taste amazing AND empower you to experiment with confidence.
Kate’s Best Recipes is about exploring ingredients, learning those “why does this work?” moments, and having fun with it – because food brings us together!
Ready to bake up some cookie happiness? Let’s dive into one of my favorite cookie recipes!
Ingredients
- All purpose flour. To hold everything together
- Baking soda. To give a sturdy rise.
- Baking powder. This adds a bit of cake-like fluffiness.
- Nutmeg. I recommend using freshly ground nutmeg in this oatmeal cookie recipe or your favorite warm spice like cinnamon.
- Kosher salt. Brings out the flavor of everything else in the cookies.
- Granulated sugar or coconut sugar. I like to use a little bit of white sugar for that pop of sweetness and to add structure.
- Brown sugar. Liquid sweeteners like maple syrup won’t work. The dough will be too wet.
- Vegan butter, vegetable shortening, or coconut oil. Liquid oils like avocado oil, canola oil, vegetable oil or olive oil aren’t recommended. They cookies will spread too much.
- Large eggs. To help bind everything together. Let them come to room temperature first.
- Vanilla extract. For flavor.
- Ripe banana gives these classic cookies a new twist! Delicious flavor, plus extra moisture to make them super soft and chewy.
- Old-fashioned oats. Use rolled oats here, quick oats won’t work for this recipe.
- Bittersweet chocolate chips make heavenly oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.
- Hazelnuts. If you can’t find these at your grocery store, substitute walnuts or pecans.
✨ Looking for another dairy-free dessert recipe? Try my very best Apple Pie Recipe! ✨
How To Make This Recipe (Step-by-Step Instructions)
step one
Combine dry ingredients. Heat oven to 350°F. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, ground nutmeg and salt in a medium bowl. Make sure to break up any lumps.
step two
Cream vegan butter and sugar. Combine the vegan butter and sugars in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer and beat until fluffy. You can stir in a large bowl with a handheld electric mixer or even stir together with a wooden spoon, just make sure your butter is really soft if you are going to go that route.
step three
Add wet ingredients. Add in the eggs one at a time, making sure the first one is fully mixed in before adding the next. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then add the vanilla, and banana. Mix until combined.
step four
Mix in the dry ingredients. Pour in the flour mixture and mix on low until combined.
step five
Finish the dough. Finally, add in the oats, chocolate chips, and hazelnuts. Mix until well distributed throughout the dough. It will be thick and sticky.
step six
Chill dough. For perfect cookies, cover dough and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. This will give the dry ingredients time to soak up the moisture from the wet ingredients.
step seven
Roll. Scoop the cookies into tablespoon-sized balls using a medium cookie scoop. Place the cookie dough balls an inch apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Press down lightly on each ball to encourage a little spreading.
step eight
Bake. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown and still slightly soft in the middle. The whole house will start to smell amazing like nutmeg, sweet vanilla, and chocolate! The cookies will continue to set as they cool on the cookie sheet. Let cool 10 minutes on the baking sheet before removing to a wire rack.
How To Store and Freeze Dairy-Free Oatmeal Cookies
Cookies stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Baked cookies keep well in the freezer too—up to three months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well—up to three months. Bake frozen cookie dough balls for an extra minute, no need to thaw.
✨ Browse all my dairy-free recipes! ✨
Can I Customize This Oatmeal Cookie Recipe?
Absolutely! Use this recipe as a guide and make it your own. Keep the banana, flour, butter, sugars, oats, eggs, baking soda, baking powder, and salt the same but feel free to change the add-ins to your favorites.
Swap the nutmeg for a different warm spice like cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, or pumpkin pie spice. Substitute the hazelnuts for pecans, walnuts, or almonds or leave them out all together. As for the chocolate chips, use milk chocolate, semi-sweet, or peanut butter chips.
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Did You Make These Healthy Oatmeal Cookies?
If you think these are the best oatmeal cookies, I want to know! Leave a comment below and share a photo tagging me on Instagram using @katesbestrecipes so that I can see (don’t forget to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating)! Also, sign up for my weekly recipe newsletter so you never miss a thing.
BANANA OATMEAL COOKIES RECIPE
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup vegan butter or vegetable shortening, room temperature
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 medium very ripe banana, mashed
- 2 cups old-fashioned oats
- 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup hazelnuts, chopped
Instructions
- Combine the 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Whisk to break up any lumps.
- Place 1 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1 cup vegan butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add the 2 eggs, one at a time, letting the first one beat in completely before adding the next. Add the 2 teaspoons vanilla, and 1 medium banana and mix on low until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- Add the flour mixture into dough then beat on low to incorporate. Finally, add the 2 cups oats, 1 cup chocolate chips, and 1 cup nuts and mix on low until evenly combined.
- Cover mixing bowl and refrigerate dough for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oven to 350°F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Scoop cookie dough into balls with a medium cookie scoop and place on the prepared baking sheets about 1-inch apart. Press down lightly to encourage spreading. Bake until golden on the bottom, about 10 to 12 minutes. Cookies will not be completely set in the middle. They will continue to set up as they cool.
- Let cool for 10 minutes on the baking sheet then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Banana: Whenever I have an overly-ripe banana, I pop it in the freezer so I can make this recipe whenever the urge hits. Take it out and let it thaw before using in the recipe.
- Baking: Rotate the pans halfway through to encourage even baking.
- Storage: Cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to a week at room temperature or freeze for up to 3 months.
- Variations: Use a different warm spice, your favorite nuts, or a different kind of chocolate chips. You could also add 1 cup raisins to the dough.
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