2-Ingredient Almond Flour Banana Cookies (No Eggs, No Dairy)

These 2-ingredient Almond Flour Banana Cookies are easy, healthy vegan banana bread cookies perfect for using many ripe bananas. Bonus, these banana cookies are also gluten-free, paleo, and grain-free.

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I have been making this almond flour cookie recipe for years! I used to add coconut oil and maple syrup to the recipe until I realized that I could simplify the recipe using just two ingredients. And you know I love 2-ingredient recipes like my 2-Ingredient Donuts, 2-Ingredient Fudge, or 2-Ingredient Banana Donut Holes.

The trick to making these cookies taste amazing without added sweetener is to use ultra-ripe bananas, the ugly ones, with dark black spots all over their skins. The ones I use in my Banana Protein Cookies. They deliver the best sweetness and moisture to the cookies.

I also found the recipe lighter without the coconut oil, that’s why I’ve rewritten it this year. The old recipe option is still available below if you’re a fan.

If you love my almond lemon cookies, you will love this banana version. They are a gluten-free variation of my banana bread cookies, with a heavenly moist texture that reminds me of banana-flavored marzipan.

Ingredients and Expert Tips

All you need to make these banana bread cookies vegan and gluten-free are 2 simple, wholesome ingredients.

• Ripe Bananas – You don’t have to use overripe bananas for this recipe. But, if you want sweet banana cookies without added sweetener, use the ripest bananas you can find. I mean the ugly ones, with many black spots on their skins. My expert tip: If your bananas are yellow, add the optional maple syrup to add sweetness.
• Blanched Almond Flour – This refers to ultra-fine golden almond flour. It is a fine ground of skinned almonds and different from almond meal. Almond meal is made of ground raw almonds. It has a darker color, the meal is coarser, and even if it works in this cookie recipe, it adds a gritty texture to your cookies. It also changes the cookie color to a dark brown, so I don’t recommend this option in this soft banana nut cookies recipe. My tip is to scoop the almond flour from the bag in your measuring cup, then sweep the top to remove excess. This prevents adding too much almond flour, which makes the cookies too dry.

Optional Ingredients

A few years back, I wrote this recipe with some extra ingredients that I think are legit but unnecessary if you want to simplify or lighten the recipe.

• Maple Syrup – Or any plant-based liquid sweetener you love, like agave syrup, brown rice syrup, or date syrup. My tip is to add the sweetener only if your bananas are not sweet enough. Taste the raw cookie dough. It’s totally safe since it’s made from ground almonds, not flour. If you think it’s not sweet enough now, then add the sweetener.
• Coconut Oil – You can use refined coconut oil to avoid the coconut flavor from the oil. Other oils can be used, like canola oil, but this option makes super soft banana bread cookies. The goal of adding coconut oil is to crisp the sides and on the top of the cookies. It makes the cookies a little less soft and tastes more buttery. It’s totally optional, and the cookies hold their shape without.

Note that this gluten-free banana cookie recipe doesn’t need baking soda or baking powder. Gluten-free baked goods made of almond flour won’t rise, so the raising agents are useless.

How To Make Almond Flour Banana Cookies

1. First, peel and mash the bananas with a fork or potato masher in a large mixing bowl. Mash until it forms a smooth puree with small lumps of bananas. Then, measure the mashed bananas precisely by packing the banana puree into measuring cups to measure the amount required by the recipe. Freeze the extra to make a pineapple banana smoothie.

2. If you want to use the extra optional ingredients, stir them now. Fold in melted, cooled coconut oil and maple syrup. Stir to incorporate.
3. Then, stir in the almond flour to form a thick banana almond cookie dough. If it’s too difficult to combine, use your hands to squeeze and knead the dough. Otherwise, you can make the dough in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment.

4. Lightly oil your hands to roll 1 tablespoon of banana cookie dough between your hands. This is a grain-free paleo banana cookie dough. As a result, the dough is wet, sticky, and soft, and that’s normal!

5. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a large baking sheet with oiled parchment paper.
6. Then, place each cookie dough ball onto the baking sheet, leaving 1 thumb space between each gluten-free banana cookie ball.

7. Finally, press each cookie ball to flatten it into a 2-inch wide cookie (5cm).

8. These cookies bake fast. Place the baking sheet in the center rack of the preheated oven and bake for 13 to 16 minutes. You know they are ready when the outside is slightly golden brown.

9. Cool the cookies for 15 minutes on the baking sheet. Then, slide a spatula under each cookie and transfer them onto a cooling rack. They will slightly get crispy on the border, but overall they are soft banana bread cookies.

Create A Range Of Flavors

These easy soft banana cookies are made of 2 ingredients, but you can boost their flavor by adding some optional add-ons.

My favorite add-ons are:

• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon of maple extract
• 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract
• Finely chopped walnuts or pecans – stir 1/3 cup into the cookie dough.
• Dark vegan chocolate chips  – stir in 1/3 cup into the batter.

Frequently Asked Questions

Storage Tips

Banana cookies must be stored in a cold place. You can refrigerate the cookies in a sealed box for up to 4 days or freeze them for up to 3 months. Thaw cookies 1 hour before eating at room temperature.

More Vegan Banana Cookies

I love to use my ripe bananas in vegan banana cookies. Below I listed my favorite healthy banana cookie recipes for you to try:

3-Ingredient Banana Cookies

Chocolate Banana Cookies

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Cookies

Healthy Pumpkin Banana Oatmeal Cookies (Vegan!)

Spinach Cookies

Almond Flour Banana Cookies

These 2-ingredient Almond Flour Banana Cookies are easy, healthy vegan banana bread cookies perfect for using lots of ripe bananas. Bonus, these banana cookies are also gluten-free, paleo, and grain-free.

4.76 from 102 votes

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Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 18 minutes mins

Total Time: 28 minutes mins

Course: Snack

Cuisine: American

Servings: 16 cookies

Calories: 108.3 kcal

Author: Carine Claudepierre

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Ingredients

US Customary – Metric

• ▢ 2 ½ cups Almond Flour - scoop, lightly packed, sweep (note 1)
• ▢ ¾ cup Mashed Banana - a bit less than 2 large peeled bananas (note 2)

Optional

• ▢ 2 tablespoons Maple Syrup - (note 3)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons Melted Coconut Oil - (note 4)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Slightly grease the paper with coconut oil to avoid the cookies to stick. Set aside.
• Peel, mash the bananas in a mixing bowl until it forms a smooth puree with small lumps of banana.
• Pack the mashed bananas in a measuring cup or weigh the amount required by the recipe, then return to the large mixing bowl.
• If you choose to add the optional ingredients, stir them now (note 5).
• Stir in the almond flour with a spatula at first. When it starts to be difficult to stir, knead the dough with your oiled hands until the dough is consistent. It should be wet, soft, dense, and sticky but easy to form balls.
• Wash and dry your hands, and lightly oil them with coconut oil. Roll 1 tablespoon of dough between your hands to form a ball.
• Place each cookie dough ball onto the baking sheet covered with parchment paper, leaving one thumb of space between the balls.
• Slightly oil your finger again and flatten the cookie.
• Repeat until all cookies are formed. The recipe makes 16 cookies. They won't expand in the oven, but you flatten the ball, and you don't want the cookies to touch each other.
• Bake the cookies for 13-16 minutes at 350°F (180°C) until slightly golden brown on the edges and bottom.
• Let them cool down on the baking sheet for 15 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. The cookies are soft banana cookies and won't firm up much.

Notes

Note 1: You can’t use coconut flour instead of almond flour. If you use almond meal the batter will be darker and a bit dry, you may need to add more mashed banana.

Note 2: Use ripe bananas for the best sweetness and avoid the sweetener.

Note 3: Any liquid sweetener can be added to boost the cookie’s sweetness. It won’t change the flour ratio.

Note 4: The oil adds a buttery taste to the cookies and crisps the edge. It’s optional and it won’t change the flour ratio. You can use melted plant-based butter or canola oil instead of coconut oil Nutrition panel is for one cookie without the optional flavorings or topping.

Note 5: Adding the optional ingredients makes the batter a bit softer. If the batter is too wet, add more almond flour to dry out. It should be like playdoh and easy to roll into balls with grease, oiled hands.

Storage: Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days or freeze and thaw the day before serving.

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Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie (no caramel) | Calories: 108.3kcal | Carbohydrates: 6.1g | Protein: 3.8g | Fat: 8.7g | Saturated Fat: 0.6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.003g | Sodium: 0.1mg | Potassium: 37.8mg | Fiber: 2.1g | Sugar: 1.9g | Vitamin A: 6.8IU | Vitamin C: 0.9mg | Calcium: 37.3mg | Iron: 0.7mg | Magnesium: 2.8mg | Phosphorus: 2.3mg | Zinc: 0.02mg