If you’re anything like me, you’re always looking for healthier dessert alternatives. I am so excited to share this recipe with you because these Healthy Banana Oat Cookies have become my new favorite sweet tooth fix. I have been making these cookies FIVE times a week because they are just that good, and not to mention they make for a wonderful breakfast option because they are packed with wholesome ingredients. Cookies for breakfast? Count me in!

These Healthy Banana Oat Cookies are:

soft and chewy

gluten free and vegan

quick and easy (less than 20 minutes and no mixer required)

made with SIMPLE and CLEAN ingredients

perfectly balanced with banana, peanut butter, and chocolate chips

Recipe Breakdown

These cookies only call for 100% vegan and clean ingredients that you can feel good about “splurging” on, but they still taste and feel indulgent. Let’s talk about how a handful of magical ingredients work together to make this result possible.

The base of these cookies is made up of whole oats and oat flour (which is easily made by blending whole oats in a blender until flour consistency is reached). Oat flour is one of my favorite flour alternatives because it results in a chewy (gluten-free) texture.

The source of sweetness within these cookies comes from the banana and a few tablespoons of maple syrup. Feel free to substitute honey in for the maple syrup if that is your preferred sweetener. In this recipe, the banana doubles as a sweetener as well as a vegan egg replacement, giving these cookies their soft and addicting texture.

This recipe calls for 1/4 cup of peanut butter and three tablespoons of coconut oil. These two ingredients team up to create a healthy (and delicious) fat source. I love the flavor that peanut butter adds to these cookies when paired with the banana and chocolate, but you can substitute any nut or seed butter that you prefer.

Oh, and last but not least, the perfect amount of chocolate chips bring these cookies to the next level.

In less than 20 minutes you can have these amazing, easy, and completely guilt-free cookies at your fingertips! Be sure to check out some of my other favorite cookie recipes: Double Chocolate Brownie Cookies, Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies, and my Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies. Happy baking!

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Healthy Banana Oat Cookies

Course Dessert

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 8 minutes minutes

Servings 10

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups of old fashioned oats gluten free if desired
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon of oat flour made by blending whole oats in a blender or food processor until flour consistency is reached
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 overripe mashed banana
• 4-5 tablespoons maple syrup depending on desired sweetness
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips I like to use mini and vegan if desired
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
• 1/4 cup of peanut butter can be substituted with preferred nut or seed butter, but the flavor of the cookies may change

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Whisk the first 5 dry ingredients in a medium bowl until combined.
• Add in the rest of the ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until well combined.
• Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto prepared baking sheet and press down slightly to flatten (these cookies do not spread a lot in the oven).
• Bake for 7-8 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Cool on wire rack and enjoy!

Notes

These cookies are so good after they have been frozen! I love putting a few in the freezer overnight and eating them the next day for breakfast.

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Ah, chocolate and peanut butter. This classic flavor combo is one that I will never get tired of. There is something so magical about salty nutty peanut butter when paired with sweet dark chocolate. I am happy to say that these brownies are what every peanut butter and chocolate lover dreams of – rich, moist, chewy, chocolatey, and packed with peanut butter flavor. Did I mention they are dangerously addicting? This dessert is always a crowd pleaser and never lasts more than 24 hours.

Not only are these brownies beautiful, but they are also SO easy to make. No electric mixer required! What’s the secret to obtaining the perfect peanut butter swirl pattern? It’s all in the fork! All you have to do is drop dollops of the peanut butter around the surface of the brownie batter, grab your fork and gently swirl the two mixtures together until you have a pattern you’re satisfied with. Creating the swirls on these brownies is my favorite part of this process!

Why this recipe works

This recipe is 100% vegan, but no one would ever know because these brownies are SO decadent. The richness in these brownies comes from the combination of coconut oil and boiling water. These two ingredients are a power couple for making moist, chewy, and chocolatey desserts.

Why use boiling water? You may have come across boiling water listed as an ingredient in other chocolate cake or brownie recipes before. This is because boiling water helps the cocoa powder to bloom. What does it mean to bloom cocoa powder? Cocoa powder is bloomed when it is mixed and thoroughly combined with a hot liquid. This will help the cocoa powder to dissolve and release all of the chocolatey flavor particles into the hot liquid. This baking technique will intensify and enhance the chocolate flavor in these ultra-rich brownies!

I know that you will love this easy and indulgent recipe, so let’s get baking! If you’re a peanut butter and chocolate lover, be sure to check out these recipes too: Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies, Peanut Butter Granola Bars, and Flourless Peanut Butter Blondies.

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Vegan Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies

This decadent dessert perfectly combines peanut butter and chocolate to result in chewy, rich, and and beautiful brownies. Plus, they are almost too easy to make.

Course Dessert

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 16

Ingredients

Brownies

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips dark or semi sweet
• 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• Optional: 1/3 cup of chocolate chips

Peanut butter swirl

• 1/3 cup of creamy peanut butter
• 1 heaping tablespoon of powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon of melted coconut oil

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8×8 baking pan with coconut oil.
• Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl until combined.
• Combine one cup of boiling water with cocoa powder, chocolate chips, vanilla and coconut oil – whisk until all ingredients are melted and combined.
• Gently pour the wet mixture into the dry and stir until just combined (add in optional chocolate chips). Evenly pour batter into your greased baking pan.
• In a separate small bowl combine peanut butter with powdered sugar and coconut oil until smooth.
• With a spoon, evenly distribute peanut butter mixture onto the top of the brownies in lines or just small spoonful – use a fork to swirl the peanut butter throughout the brownie batter until desired appearance and the mixture is distributed evenly.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes in or until a toothpick comes out clean – let cool for 15 minutes and enjoy!

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Craving chocolate? I’m always craving chocolate and these Double Chocolate Muffins are the perfect fix because they are secretly made healthy and vegan! There is something so magical about a warm chocolate muffin that is fresh out of the oven. I went through a phase of making these muffins every single day because they were such a hit, and the best part is that they’re made with guilt-free ingredients.

Vegan baking basics

It can be difficult to make vegan muffins that are still moist and fluffy without using ingredients like vegan butter or flax egg. Personally, I like to utilize real ingredients that I know I will always have on hand. This is why these muffins call for banana as their egg replacement. Banana helps to make these muffins tender, fluffy, and flavorful. This recipe also calls for apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice) that gets combined with almond milk to create a similar result to using buttermilk in non-vegan baking. A homemade buttermilk replacement gives these muffins an extra lift and helps to create their soft texture.

If you are looking for an acceptable reason to eat chocolate for breakfast, these muffins are the perfect solution. Plus, no one would ever guess that they are made with plant-based ingredients. I know you will love these muffins, but be warned: these babies are dangerously addicting.

If you love this muffin recipe, try out my Blueberry Banana Muffins for more!

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Double Chocolate Muffins

These are the ultimate chocolate muffins. They are soft, moist, and filled with chocolate. This recipe uses simple ingredients like whole wheat flour and bananas to make these muffins extra flavorful and wholesome.

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
• ⅓ cup cocoa powder
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• ¾ cup almond milk
• 1 ½ teaspoons apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
• ¼ cup melted coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 overripe mashed bananas
• 3-4 tablespoons maple syrup
• ⅓ cup chocolate chips (vegan if desired)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease or line a muffin tin (yields about 9 muffins)
• In a small bowl stir together the almond milk and apple cider vinegar or lemon juice – let stand for 5 minutes.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the first 6 dry ingredients until combined.
• Add the coconut oil, vanilla, bananas and maple syrup to the almond milk mixture and stir to combine.
• Pour wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
• Evenly distribute the batter into the prepared muffin tin (filling each to almost the top)
• Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and cool on wire rack. I like to store these muffins in the freezer and heat them up whenever desired!

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Okay, let’s get real. I am a firm believer in the idea that chocolate cake should be a breakfast item. These donuts taste like the best chocolate cake you’ve ever had, but they’re shaped like a donut…which makes it acceptable to eat chocolate cake for breakfast. What could be better than that?

This is a recipe that I have made over and over and over again. One of my favorite Christmas gifts that I received this past year was a silicone donut tray, and I knew that the first donut I wanted to make had to be chocolate. These donuts turned out to be one of my favorite recipes of ALL TIME. They are so moist, so chocolatey, and dangerously addicting.

Why this recipe works:

The secret ingredient in these vegan donuts is pumpkin. Pumpkin makes these donuts exceptionally moist, but you would never guess that they are made with pumpkin when you taste them.

The other key ingredient that makes these vegan chocolate donuts moist and fluffy is just one teaspoon of apple cider vinegar. When apple cider vinegar is combined with baking soda, a chemical reaction occurs that gives cakes (or in this case donuts) an extra lift.

I promise that these vegan baked chocolate donuts will be the best donuts that you have ever had. Plus, they will most definitely be a crowd pleaser amongst all types of eaters. I hope you enjoy splurging on these little chocolate gems as much as we do. If you love donuts, be sure to check out my Blueberry Banana Baked Donuts recipe for more!

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Secretly Vegan Chocolate Baked Donuts

These (secretly) Vegan Chocolate Baked Donuts are seriously life changing. They are chocolatey, rich, soft, and SO easy to make. I promise that anyone who tries these donuts will be begging you for the recipe, and no one would ever guess that these babies are vegan!

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups flour (whole wheat flour may be substituted)
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup pumpkin purée
• 1/4 cup light olive oil or melted coconut oil
• 1/2 cup almond milk (warm if using coconut oil)
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/3 cup optional chocolate chips (vegan if desired)

Glaze

• 3/4 cups powdered sugar
• 2-3 tablespoons warm almond milk

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease or prepare a nonstick donut tray.
• Combine the first six (dry) ingredients in a bowl and whisk until well combined.
• Add wet ingredients to the dry and stir with a spoon or spatula until just combined. Here you may add the optional chocolate chips.
• Fill each donut mold to the top with batter and bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean or until the tops have puffed up and spring back when touched (you do not want them to be wet in the centers).  
• Place tray on a wire rack too cool for 10-15 minutes before removing donuts from the molds.
• Once the donuts have cooled, combine the ingredients for the glaze in a bowl and whisk. Dip each donut into the glaze twice and serve. You can eat these the same day or store in the fridge!

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