Peanut Butter Banana Cookies
Peanut butter banana cookies were the first thing my daughter ever helped me make from start to finish, and I mean that literally — she was just tall enough to reach the counter and she mashed every single banana herself with great seriousness.
These are soft, chewy, and deeply satisfying in a way that feels almost too easy for how good they are. One bowl, no mixer, no chilling the dough — just ripe bananas, peanut butter, and a handful of pantry staples that come together in about twenty minutes.
I will be honest: I was skeptical the first time I made them. Banana and peanut butter felt like a smoothie combination, not a cookie. I was completely wrong. The banana adds natural sweetness and keeps the cookies incredibly moist without making them cakey, and the peanut butter gives them that rich, satisfying depth that makes you reach for a second one before the first is even gone.
Here is everything you need to make them.
Peanut Butter Banana Cookies Worth Making on Repeat
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Comes together in one bowl with no mixer — just a fork, a spoon, and about ten minutes of actual work.
- The riper the banana, the better these taste — a perfect use for the ones sitting on your counter going brown.
- Soft and chewy with real peanut butter flavor in every bite, with none of that dry crumbly texture some peanut butter cookies have.
💚 Looking for more easy banana dessert ideas? Try this High Protein Banana Pudding — creamy, no-bake, and just as simple to pull together.
What You’ll Need
creamy peanut butter — Use a conventional peanut butter like Jif or Skippy here, not natural. Natural peanut butter is too oily and separated, which throws off the texture of the cookies.
very ripe bananas, mashed — The bananas should be deeply speckled or fully brown — the riper they are, the sweeter and more flavorful your cookies will be. About ¾ cup mashed.
light brown sugar, packed — Brown sugar adds moisture and a slight caramel depth that white sugar alone cannot replicate.
semi-sweet chocolate chips — Completely optional but highly recommended — the combination of peanut butter, banana, and chocolate is one of those flavor trios that just makes sense.
Before You Start Cooking
A few things that make this recipe work:
- ► Flatten the dough before baking — These cookies won’t spread on their own — press gently or they stay puffed and doughy in the center.
- ► Pull them out when they look underdone — Edges set but centers soft is exactly right — carryover heat finishes the job on the pan.
- ► Use the ripest bananas you can find — Fully brown bananas are sweeter and more flavorful, which means less added sugar needed.
Easy Ingredient Swaps
| Instead of | Try This | When To Swap |
|---|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | Oat flour (use same amount, blended from rolled oats) | Makes the cookies gluten-free and adds a slightly nutty, hearty texture. |
| Creamy peanut butter | Almond butter or sunflower seed butter | Sunflower seed butter is a great nut-free option for school-safe baking. |
| Light brown sugar | Coconut sugar (same amount) | Use this when you want a slightly less sweet, more caramel-forward flavor. |
| Semi-sweet chocolate chips | Peanut butter chips or chopped dark chocolate | Peanut butter chips double down on the peanut flavor for a more indulgent cookie. |
| Ground cinnamon | Omit entirely or use pumpkin pie spice | Pumpkin pie spice makes these feel particularly cozy in the fall months. |
| One large egg | One flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed + 3 tablespoons water, rested 5 minutes) | Use a flax egg to make these cookies fully vegan without changing the texture much. |
How To Make Peanut Butter Banana Cookies
Preheat and prep
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Mash the bananas
In a large mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas with a fork until smooth. A few small lumps are fine — you just want them mostly broken down. This is the step my daughter still insists on doing herself every single time.
Mix the wet ingredients
Add the peanut butter, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla extract to the mashed banana. Stir everything together with a wooden spoon or spatula until fully combined and smooth.
Add the dry ingredients
Sprinkle the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon directly into the bowl. Stir until just combined — do not overmix. The dough will be soft and slightly sticky, which is exactly right.
Fold in the chocolate chips
If using chocolate chips, fold them in now with a few gentle stirs. Reserve a small handful to press onto the tops of the cookies before baking if you want them to look extra good.
Scoop and bake
Use a medium cookie scoop or heaping tablespoon to drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing cookies about 2 inches apart. Gently flatten each one slightly with the back of a spoon — these cookies do not spread much on their own. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are just set and the tops look barely done. They will firm up as they cool.
Cool and serve
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. They are soft and delicate straight out of the oven, so give them a few minutes before moving them. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Pro Tips For The Best Results
- Flatten the dough before baking — These cookies won’t spread on their own — press gently or they stay puffed and doughy in the center.
- Pull them out when they look underdone — Edges set but centers soft is exactly right — carryover heat finishes the job on the pan.
- Use the ripest bananas you can find — Fully brown bananas are sweeter and more flavorful, which means less added sugar needed.
Have a tip that works for you? Drop it in the comments below — we’d love to hear it! 👇
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Using natural peanut butter — Stick with conventional peanut butter like Jif or Skippy. Natural peanut butter separates and adds too much oil, which makes the cookies greasy and prevents them from holding together.
- Using underripe bananas — Yellow bananas with no spots will not give you enough natural sweetness or moisture. Wait until they are heavily speckled or fully brown — the flavor difference is significant.
- Overbaking and expecting them to look done — These cookies should come out of the oven looking slightly underdone in the center. The residual heat from the pan will finish them. If they look fully set in the oven, they will be dry once cooled.
Make Ahead and Storage Tips
Baked cookies keep well at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Place a piece of bread in the container to help them stay soft.
The cookie dough can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 24 hours. Let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before scooping and baking.
Freeze baked cookies in a single layer on a baking sheet until solid, then transfer to a zip-top bag. They keep frozen for up to 2 months and thaw in about 20 minutes on the counter.
You can also freeze unbaked dough balls on a parchment-lined tray, then bake straight from frozen — just add 2 to 3 minutes to the bake time.
What To Serve With Peanut Butter Banana Cookies
- Serve warm with a cold glass of milk — the classic pairing that never needs explaining.
- Stack a few on a plate alongside sliced fresh banana and a small dish of extra peanut butter for dipping at a brunch spread.
- Crumble one over a scoop of vanilla ice cream for an easy weeknight dessert that feels more intentional than it is.
- Pack two into a small container with a handful of trail mix for a lunchbox treat that holds up well and travels without crumbling.
Delicious Variations To Try
- Chocolate Swirl — Melt 2 tablespoons of semi-sweet chocolate chips and drizzle over the cooled cookies with a fork. Let set at room temperature for about 15 minutes before serving. It looks impressive and takes about three minutes.
- Chunky Peanut Butter Version — Swap creamy peanut butter for chunky — the extra texture from the peanut pieces adds a nice crunch against the soft, chewy cookie. Nothing else needs to change.
- Banana Oat Cookies — Replace the all-purpose flour with 1 cup of quick oats for a heartier, more breakfast-style cookie. The oats make these feel wholesome enough to eat in the morning, which is either a feature or a problem depending on your perspective.
For a completely different easy cookie to add to your rotation, these Cinnamon Roll Blondies bring the same one-bowl simplicity with a rich brown butter cinnamon swirl that feels like a total treat.
More Cookies Recipes
Love this recipe? Here are a few more of my favorites you will want to try:
Strawberry Shortcake Crunch Cookies | Crispy, crunch-coated cookies packed with strawberry flavor and golden Oreo magic! Easy to make and absolutely stunning on a dessert table!
Soft Lemon Sugar Cookies | Pillowy soft lemon sugar cookies with a bright citrus flavor in every bite! Simple ingredients, no fuss, and they disappear fast!
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are my cookies not spreading? +
Peanut butter banana cookie dough is thick and does not spread on its own in the oven. That is why the recipe asks you to gently flatten each dough ball before baking. If you skip that step, you will end up with thick domed cookies instead of flat chewy ones.
Can I make these cookies without flour? +
Yes. You can omit the flour entirely for a naturally flourless version — just use peanut butter, mashed banana, egg, a little brown sugar, and your mix-ins. The texture will be fudgier and denser, more like a no-bake cookie, but they are still really good.
Do these cookies taste strongly of banana? +
They have a noticeable banana flavor, especially when the cookies are warm. The peanut butter is the dominant note, but the banana adds a gentle sweetness and moisture throughout. If you want less banana flavor, use only one banana instead of two.
Are these cookies very sweet? +
They are moderately sweet — the ripe banana adds natural sugar and the brown sugar rounds it out, but these are not dessert-counter sweet. If you prefer a sweeter cookie, add an extra two tablespoons of brown sugar to the dough.
Can I add oats to this recipe? +
Absolutely. Stir in up to ½ cup of old-fashioned or quick oats along with the dry ingredients for a heartier texture. This is a great option if you want the cookies to feel a little more substantial.
Ready To Make Peanut Butter Banana Cookies?
Peanut butter banana cookies are one of those recipes that sounds almost too simple to be worth writing down, and then you make them and immediately understand why they earn a permanent spot in the rotation.
Pull out those overripe bananas and make a batch this weekend — I have a feeling you will be very glad you did.
Peanut Butter Banana Cookies
By At The Sunday Table
Peanut butter banana cookies were the first thing my daughter ever helped me make from start to finish, and I mean that literally — she was just tall enough to reach the counter and she mashed every single banana herself with great seriousness.These are soft, chewy, and deeply satisfying in a way that feels almost too easy for how good they are. One bowl, no mixer, no chilling the dough — just ripe bananas, peanut butter, and a handful of pantry staples that come together in about twenty minutes.I will be honest: I was skeptical the first time I made them. Banana and peanut butter felt like a smoothie combination, not a cookie. I was completely wrong. The banana adds natural sweetness and keeps the cookies incredibly moist without making them cakey, and the peanut butter gives them that rich, satisfying depth that makes you reach for a second one before the first is even gone.Here is everything you need to make them.
Ingredients
Instructions
-
1Preheat and prep
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
-
2Mash the bananas
In a large mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas with a fork until smooth. A few small lumps are fine — you just want them mostly broken down. This is the step my daughter still insists on doing herself every single time.
-
3Mix the wet ingredients
Add the peanut butter, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla extract to the mashed banana. Stir everything together with a wooden spoon or spatula until fully combined and smooth.
-
4Add the dry ingredients
Sprinkle the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon directly into the bowl. Stir until just combined — do not overmix. The dough will be soft and slightly sticky, which is exactly right.
-
5Fold in the chocolate chips
If using chocolate chips, fold them in now with a few gentle stirs. Reserve a small handful to press onto the tops of the cookies before baking if you want them to look extra good.
-
6Scoop and bake
Use a medium cookie scoop or heaping tablespoon to drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing cookies about 2 inches apart. Gently flatten each one slightly with the back of a spoon — these cookies do not spread much on their own. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are just set and the tops look barely done. They will firm up as they cool.
-
7Cool and serve
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. They are soft and delicate straight out of the oven, so give them a few minutes before moving them. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- ► Flatten the dough before baking — These cookies won’t spread on their own — press gently or they stay puffed and doughy in the center.
- ► Pull them out when they look underdone — Edges set but centers soft is exactly right — carryover heat finishes the job on the pan.
- ► Use the ripest bananas you can find — Fully brown bananas are sweeter and more flavorful, which means less added sugar needed.
Nutrition Per Serving
Hey, I’m Rachel — Orlando mom, home cook, and believer that the best meals are simple, nourishing, and made with love. At The Sunday Table is my little corner of the internet where comfort food meets real life.
