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    Home » Desserts

    Gluten-Free Banana Bread Cookies {Dairy-Free Option}

    Published: Apr 19, 2017 · by Audrey

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    gluten-free banana bread cookies

    Better than banana bread! These gluten-free banana cookies are super moist, yet light and fluffy that can be made with or without chocolate chips. An easy gluten-free recipe your whole family will love. 

    gluten-free banana bread cookies

    Recipe photos updated July 2018

    Better Than Banana Bread!

    When I was a little girl, my Dad was stationed in Hawaii. One of my fondest food memories about living in Hawaii was when my Mom baked banana cookies. Living in Hawaii we had a banana tree and we ate a lot of bananas, so we found creative ways to use all of our bananas.

    Anyone can bake gluten-free banana bread, but how about combining the flavor of banana bread with the simplicity of a cookie? These gluten-free banana cookies are light and fluffy, moist and dare I say it… are so much better than banana bread.

    Banana Bread Cookies In A Few Easy Steps

    You will be surprised at how easy this recipe for gluten-free banana bread cookies is.

    The key to this recipe is the chemical reactions between the mashed bananas and baking soda. Allowing the mashed bananas and baking soda to sit for at least 2 minutes before adding it to the rest of your ingredients is key to what makes these gluten-free cookies so light and fluffy. (photo 1)

    The cookie batter is super easy to make. You just cream the butter and sugar together until is light and fluffy. Add the egg and pure vanilla extract to the butter mixture and mix until it’s fully combined.

    The final step is to add the dry ingredients and mix it all together until the batter is nice a smooth. (photo 2)

    I also like to mix it up a little by adding mini chocolate chips to make gluten-free chocolate chip banana cookies. You can even do half the batter plain and half the batter with chocolate chips.

    gluten-free banana bread cookie steps

    Make sure to line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Drop the cookie batter about 2 inches apart from each other.

    Another recommendation I have for making these cookies perfectly is using a cookie scoop. If you don’t have a cookie scoop, please buy one. It was a game changer for me in my baking! (photo 3)

    Bake the cookies for 11-13 minutes at 350° F. You will know when they are done when the cookies start to turn golden brown. (photo 4)

    gluten-free banana bread cookies

    I’ve also included a dairy-free option to the recipe. Myself, my husband and my youngest son are also dairy-free. So if you are both gluten-free and dairy-free you to can enjoy these banana bread cookies,

    These gluten-free banana bread cookies are a regular treat around our house. When you make these super moist cookies, no one will ever know they are gluten-free.

    gluten-free banana bread cookies

    Looking for easy gluten-free recipes to use up your ripe bananas? Try these!

    • Easy Gluten-Free Banana Bread {Dairy-Free Option}
    • Easy Gluten-Free Banana Blueberry Muffins {Dairy-Free & Refined Sugar Free Option}
    • Paleo Banana Blueberry Muffins {Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Dairy-Free, No Refined Sugar}

    gluten-free banana bread cookies

    gluten-free banana bread cookies
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    5 from 23 votes

    Better Than Banana Bread Gluten Free Cookies

    Better than banana bread! These gluten-free banana cookies are super moist, yet light and fluffy that can be made with or without chocolate chips. An easy gluten-free recipe your whole family will love.
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine American
    Keyword gluten-free banana bread cookies, gluten-free banana cookies
    Prep Time 10 minutes
    Total Time 23 minutes
    Servings 40
    Calories 69kcal
    Author Audrey from Mama Knows Gluten Free

    Ingredients

    • ½ cup butter  , dairy-free use Earth Balance or Smart Balance butter
    • 1 cup sugar
    • 1 egg ,room temperature
    • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
    • 3 bananas, mashed (1 cup of mashed bananas)
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • 2 cups gluten-free all purpose flour (I like Pillsbury gluten-free)
    • ½ teaspoon xanthan gum ,leave out if your flour already has it
    • pinch salt
    • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • ¼ teaspoon of ground nutmeg

    Optional

    • ½ cup mini chocolate chips (optional, I like Enjoy Life Foods for dairy-free chocolate chips)

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 350°F.
    • Mash the bananas and mix in the baking soda. Let sit for 2 minutes. (The baking soda will react with the bananas and will give the cookies their fluffiness.)
    • In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar together with a mixer.
    • Add the egg, pure vanilla extract to the butter and sugar and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.
    • Pour the mashed bananas into the butter mixture.
    • Combine the flour, salt, and spices in a small bowl or measuring cup and give it a quick whisk/stir to combine the ingredients.
    • Pour the flour mixture into the butter and banana mixture and mix until filly combined.
    • Drop large spoonfuls of the cookie batter onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. I use a cookie scoop for this recipe. The cookie scoop makes for the perfect amount and size.  If you don't have a cookie scoop, please buy one. My cookie scoop has been a game changer for me!
    • Bake for 11-13 minutes or until nicely golden brown. Please watch your oven because all ovens are different. 
    • Let cool and enjoy!

    Notes

    Mama says "Check all of your labels!"

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1g | Calories: 69kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 10mg | Sodium: 50mg | Potassium: 33mg | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 85IU | Vitamin C: 0.7mg | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 0.3mg
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    Did you enjoy this recipe? Please give it a star rating below in the comments. Thank you!
    GET MY NEW COOKBOOK!Check out The Everything Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free Cookbook!
    DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?Share a recipe pic with me and mention @MamaKnowsGlutenFree and use the tag #mamaknowsglutenfree!

     

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    © MAMA KNOWS GLUTEN FREE. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please link back to this post for the recipe.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. MLe says

      August 26, 2022 at 12:17 am

      Best cookies ever! We added choc chips, caramel bites, craisens and pecans. They taste like a moist chocolate fruit cake:-) Delicious! Thank you Audrey for the fabulous recipes that are well thought out and informative!

      Reply
    2. Jen says

      January 22, 2022 at 11:00 am

      These cookies were delicious! When I had searched for gluten free recipes to make with bananas, I kept thinking, “There has to be something better than banana bread..” Then I saw the name of this recipe and had to try it. I used King Arthur Measure for Measure flour by weight (1 cup = 120g), and instead of chocolate chips, I used Hershey’s cinnamon chips that I found a few weeks ago (labeled gluten free). Holy cannoli. The cinnamon chips complemented the subtle cinnamon spice flavor in the cookies beautifully. My non-gluten free friends were raving about these cookies as much as I was!

      Reply
      • Froglady says

        May 12, 2022 at 6:00 pm

        These are amazing!!! I had gf/df and ..my husband and i are so happy with these. We made large ones and used for df/gf ice cream sandwich ❤️

        Reply
    3. Alyssa says

      December 31, 2021 at 5:24 pm

      Insanely delicious, hard to stop myself from devouring most of them! I made this at 5,000 ft above sea level so I halved the leavening, but they were still light and fluffy! This will be a regular bake in my house!

      Reply
    4. Sue says

      September 24, 2021 at 10:00 pm

      These turned out just right to bring to a ladies retreat for a gluten-free dessert. Your instructions were very helpful. Thank you

      Reply
    5. Veronica Otero says

      August 23, 2021 at 5:22 pm

      Loved it! But for my taste will cut the sugar at half and use coconut instead of KETO sugar. It was too sweet!!! Haha

      Reply
    6. teresa says

      June 29, 2021 at 4:26 pm

      Love this recipe. The cookie is flavorful and soft, not gritty. the texture is much like the archway soft drop sugar cookies that I use to love, but are no longer produced. topped mine with peanut butter.

      Reply
    7. Glay says

      March 20, 2021 at 4:55 pm

      Entire family LOVES these and I am addicted. I make sure to have them on hand daily 😅 (I use stevia instead of sugar.) gluten-free and sugar-free 🥳

      Reply
    8. Nina says

      March 09, 2021 at 9:41 pm

      Made this tonight and they are wonderful! I always reduce the amount of sugar, so only used about 1/2 cup sugar and they are perfect. They don’t look picture perfect but they taste good. Thank you!

      Reply
    9. Lily says

      August 22, 2020 at 7:59 am

      Thank you for sharing the recipe. I love banana bread so this is amazing. Thank you again 🙂

      Reply
    10. Francesca says

      August 18, 2020 at 5:19 pm

      SO SO SO delicious and so moist! I didn’t have dairy free butter on hand but used refined coconut oil instead (literally a direct substitution—so instead of 1/2 cup butter I used 1/2 cup of coconut oil). My husband is floored at how amazing they are and definitely prefers these over banana bread!

      Reply
    11. Jane says

      June 11, 2020 at 7:50 am

      Seriously so good I have never left a comment on a recipe until today !

      Reply
    12. Crystals says

      May 01, 2020 at 11:05 am

      Absolutely, a family favorite!!!

      Reply
    13. Maria says

      March 29, 2020 at 5:52 pm

      I just made them and they are awesome! Even my husband who doesn’t do gluten-free loves them.? I’ve had to hide them from him. Yum!

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        March 31, 2020 at 10:05 am

        Thank you so much Maria for the awesome 5-star recipe review! I am so happy that you and your husband loved the banana cookies. Thee cookies are one of my personal favorites too. Thank you again!

        Reply
        • Kiwi says

          February 02, 2021 at 6:10 pm

          Wow 😍 I even loved eating the raw batter!! Haha awesome recipe thanks for sharing

          Reply
    14. Kristy says

      November 12, 2019 at 10:06 am

      I’m obsessed with this recipe! The cookies rival any with gluten and they don’t crumble to pieces like some gf cookies.

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        November 12, 2019 at 9:02 pm

        Thank you so much Kristy for the awesome 5-star recipe review, this really made my night! I am so happy that you enjoyed the banana cookies, they are one of my family’s favorites too. Thanks again!

        Reply
    15. Jessica says

      August 10, 2019 at 7:40 pm

      These were delicious! I just found out that I’m very intolerant to gluten and it’s flaring up my autoimmune disease really bad. So lately I’ve been replacing all my favorite recipes with gluten free ones and this one was perfect. I tweaked it slightly and used 1/2 white sugar and 1/2 Brown sugar. I used a big tablespoon amount of batter to make my scoops and got 36 perfectly 1-2 bite cookies from it. My husband says they taste great too. I did 1/2 with chocolate chips.

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        August 19, 2019 at 8:37 am

        Thank you so much Jessica for the awesome 5-star recipe review! I am so happy that you enjoyed the banana cookies. I’ll have to try it with the 1/2 sugar and 1/2 brown sugar sometime. Thanks again!

        Reply
    16. Rob Ellis says

      June 21, 2019 at 2:53 am

      Such fabulous cookies Audrey ! Have made 3 batches so far and each had an enthusiastic reception ! Im making them dairy free and subbing coconut sugar for the sugar. The only thing I’m not seeing in my cookies is the spreading you are getting with yours. Mine stay more or less in their ball shape from my cookie scoop and puff out a bit. Any thoughts as to why? And on last compliment. I’ve been eating banana bread as long as I can remember (gradma’s recipe) but only at 54 did I discover these cookies. They’ve been so wonderful to bring that same feeling in a cookie 🙂

      Great sight you’ve got here!

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        June 21, 2019 at 9:37 am

        Thank you so much Rob for the amazing 5-star recipe review! I am so happy that you enjoy the cookies and they bring back memories of your grandma’s recipe. That makes my heart so happy to hear! I’m not sure as to why the cookies are staying in a ball shape. Mabey the coconut sugar is not reacting the same way as granulated sugar. I’ll have to try the recipe with coconut sugar. It could also be the brand of gluten-free flour you are using. Can you please tell me which brand of flour you are using? Thank you so much for your kind words and for the wonderful review!

        Reply
        • Kristi Cooke says

          January 18, 2020 at 10:52 am

          Just thought I’d say that I used coconut sugar, too, and my cookies did not flatten out, either. Must be the coconut sugar substitution. I will try to flatten them out a little next time. Still delicious, however!

          Reply
          • Audrey says

            April 22, 2020 at 8:49 pm

            Thank you so much Kristi for the wonderful 5-star recipe review! I am so happy that you enjoyed the banana cookies. The coconut sugar may have changed the texture a bit. Thanks again!

            Reply
    17. Lorraine Boyle says

      March 23, 2019 at 3:26 pm

      Whow. Lovely. Mine look more like a dollop of cake than a cookie but taste amazing. Maybe the batter is just a little thick. Will thin it out next time to see the difference. Had no nutmeg or chocolate so added extra cinnamon. Easy recipe. My 14 year old daughter making another batch tomorrow for her school lunches. Many thanks for sharing ????

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        March 25, 2019 at 8:49 am

        Thank you so much Lorraine for the wonderful 5-star recipe review! I am so happy that you and your daughter enjoyed the banana bread cookies. You are so welcome I love sharing what I make for my family. These cookies are always one of their favorites and one of mine from childhood. Thanks again!

        Reply
    18. Marcia says

      February 10, 2019 at 12:52 pm

      Made these yesterday, another amazing recipe that will be a keeper! Love that your recipes are so easy to follow that my teenager can make them. The are soft a and delicious! This treat will be great to have her take to school.

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        February 10, 2019 at 3:40 pm

        Hi Marcia thank you so much for the wonderful 5-star recipe review! I am so happy that you and your daughter enjoyed the banana cookies. I am glad that you have found my recipes easy to follow, I try and keep it simple in the kitchen. My daughter also likes to bake, it’s great to hear that your daughter likes to bake too. Thank you so much!

        Reply
    19. Robert Edgar says

      February 04, 2019 at 11:56 am

      I have to be honest and say i thought you were bananas when claiming these cookies would stay moist and delicious for days.,
      I have been gluten free for 6 years and very early on in my transition to a GF lifestyle I made the decision to bake for myself. It wasn’t easy and it meant a lot of trial and error. One thing. I have failed to achieve was a truly soft and fluffy cookie that would stay soft and fluffy. Thanks to you i now have one and I have to say it’s been such a delicious discovery that I may never bake anyone cookie other than Banana Chocolate Chip again.

      A few things I did were different, like my flour of choice, Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 and I added the salt to the banana baking soda mixture and whisked rye mixture before setting it aside.
      I also chilled the dough for 30 minutes before scooping it out and baking. I also sprinkled some shaved. coconut into half the mix which was and interesting taste sensation with the banana and chocolate chips ( ofvwhuch I choose to add a full cup). My next batch I will most definitely be adding chopped walnuts.

      I am still trying to find the best was to keep my cookie scoop from becoming caked up with dough and find that chilling the dough and spraying the scoop with cooking spray helps but can have negative effects on the doughs And hot water never seems to work for me. Any suggestions?

      It’s been three days since I baked and they cookies are still moist and as fresh as the minute I took them from the oven. That fact alone has made your Banana Chocolate Chip Cookie the all time winner in my quest for the perfect soft and fluffy gluten free cookie.

      Thank you !

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        February 05, 2019 at 7:27 pm

        Thank you so much for the amazing 5-star recipe review Robert! I am so happy that you enjoyed the banana chocolate chip cookies. They are one of my family’s favorite cookies, and they are a favorite of mine from childhood. I spray my cookie scoop with coconut oil cooking spray and I’ve never chilled the cookie dough. Adding shaved coconut sounds divine. Thank you again and happy baking!

        Reply
        • Robert Edgar says

          February 11, 2019 at 1:17 pm

          Coconut oil did the trick. My cookie scoop is now my friend again. Thank you.

          Reply
          • Audrey says

            February 11, 2019 at 7:58 pm

            I am glad to hear that the coconut oil worked Robert! I use the coconut oil spray every time I use my cookie scoop. You are so welcome I am happy that my tip helped. Happy baking!

            Reply
    20. Alexx Newton says

      October 31, 2018 at 11:42 am

      I really liked this recipe. I used some m&ms instead of chocolate chips being that we had some for halloween. They taste amazing! So fluffy and yummy

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        October 31, 2018 at 6:45 pm

        Thank you so much Alex for your wonderful 5-star recipe review! What a great idea about the M&Ms! My kids would love that. I am so happy that you enjoyed the banana bread. Thank you again!

        Reply
    21. Sonjia says

      August 08, 2018 at 7:07 pm

      OMG!!! I made these just now and used dark chocolate morsels and walnuts. I also used Truvia sugar blend and it turned out amazing. I didn’t have a cookie dough scooper so mine are more of a large fat fluffy cookie but I don’t care. My mom loved it and didn’t know it was gluten free. My question is what is the best way to store them? My batch yielded 18 cookies. Thank you for this recipe!!!

      Reply
      • Audrey says

        August 08, 2018 at 9:05 pm

        Thank you so much, Sonjia for the wonderful 5-star recipe review! I am so happy that you are enjoying the banana cookies. My kids like them with chocolate chips too. I would store them in an air-tight container or zip lock bag. YOu are so welcome! I love sharing what I make for my family.

        Reply

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    Audrey Roberts in a white kitchen for a profile photo

    I'm Audrey Roberts, a busy mama of four and I love sharing the recipes that I make for my family. I make gluten-free family-friendly recipes that are simple and delicious that you can too! I use easy to find ingredients that won't break your budget. You will also find dairy-free options and Paleo recipes. I am also the author of  The Everything Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free Cookbook, which is an Amazon Best Selling Cookbook in the US and Internationally. Living gluten-free since 2010. I hope by me sharing my journey it may help you with yours.  Read More…

     

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