Vegan Coconut Flour Banana Cookies (Grain-Free)

Got ripe bananas? Then you need to make a batch of my soft vegan coconut flour banana cookies. Made without additional flours or starches, they are grain-free, gluten-free, and only 49 calories each.

Banana Coconut Flour Cookies, Made without Eggs or Other Flours

One thing we all need more of is cookies. Truly delicious cookies. Cookies that are a cinch to make. Cookies that will satisfy a sweet tooth, but are healthy enough to eat for breakfast.

For example, my Vegan Coconut Flour Banana Cookies.

My Chocolate Coconut Flour Cookies recipe provided the inspiration for these banana cookies. Specifically, I wanted to create another coconut flour cookie that is egg-free and has no added flours or commercial starches.

As I mentioned in my chocolate cookie post, egg-free coconut flour baking is a challenge. Coconut flour is highly unusual compared to other flours (e.g., tremendous absorbency, delicate texture, and more), so making it work in the absence of eggs and other flours takes a lot of experimenting.

Cocoa powder made things possible for the chocolate cookies, adding a natural starchiness to the dough. But what to do with a banana cookie, without adding other flours and starches?

Use Slightly Under-Ripe Bananas

The answer? The starchiness of the bananas, specifically slightly under-ripe bananas.

Most recipes (including my own!) that call for mashed bananas specify the use of very ripe bananas. Why? Because they are much sweeter and less stiff. During the ripening process, the starch in bananas is transformed into sugars.

I think you know where this is going. I hypothesized that the starch in under-ripe bananas could work in combination with the coconut flour to make a cookie recipe work.

I was right! It took some trials and errors to get the proportions right, but the final results are stellar. Hurray for bananas!

Recipe Benefits

• Vegan (egg-free, dairy-free)
• Grain-free
• Gluten-free
• Very easy to make

Step by Step Instructions

Note that the complete directions are also in the recipe card below.

Step One: Preheat Oven and Prepare Baking Sheet

Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Step Two: Mash the Bananas

You can whip these cookies up in no time at all. Begin with the under-ripe bananas. For best results, choose ones that are mostly yellow, with no significant brown spots, and a little bit of green  (see the photo above; you do not want green bananas).

Vigorously mash the banana with a fork until it is very broken down and smooth.

Step Three: Combine All of the Wet Ingredients

The rest of the recipe comes together in one bowl. Combine the mashed banana, flaxseed meal (this also helps to hold the cookies together), coconut sugar, oil,  and vanilla in a medium bowl.

These cookies have half the oil and half the sugar of my chocolate coconut flour cookies, yet are perfectly sweet and tender. Give thanks to the bananas.

Step Four: Add the Dry Ingredients

Add the coconut flour, baking soda and salt, stirring until blended. Let the dough stand for a few minutes, to absorb the liquid. It will soon be quite stiff.

Step Five: Portion the Cookie Dough

Scoop the dough into small mounds and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. I used my small cookie scoop, but a tablespoon works, too. My small scoop produces exactly 14 cookies.

Step Six: Bake the Cookies

After a short bake (12 to 15 minutes at 350F), you’ll have these scrumptious, banana bread-like cookies.

They are hard to resist. I didn’t.

Storage

Store the cookies in an airtight container at (cool) room temperature for 1 day, the refrigerator for 1 week or the freezer for up to 6 months.

Variations

Gussy up these humble cookies in any number of ways. Consider one, or a combination of several, of the following options:

• Extracts or Zests: Add a tsp vanilla extract, almond extract or lemon extract. Or add one to two teaspoons of finely grated lime zest, lemon zest or orange zest.
• Spices: Add 1/4 to 1 teaspoon of your favorite spice, such as cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, allspice, ginger, or pumpkin pie spice. Or add a combination of spices (no more than 1 teaspoon total).
• Dried Fruit: Add up to 1/4 cup of chopped dried fruit, such as raisins, dried cranberries, dried apricots, dried cherries, dried blueberries, or dried figs.
• Chocolate: Add up to 1/4 cup of your favorite chocolate chips or chocolate chunks, or add 2 tbsp cacao nibs.
• Nuts or Seeds: Add up to 1/4 cup chopped nuts or seeds, such as walnuts, pecans, peanuts, pepitas, or sunflower seeds. Alternatively, sprinkle a few nuts or seeds on top before baking.

If you forget to plan ahead, you can always add some frills post-bake. Melted chocolate is always a winner.

Happy baking, everyone!

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