Steel Cut Oats Cookies Recipe

A stack of 5 cookies with oats and milk in the background with text on the upper half.

Cookies with a bite taken out with text overlay.

2 images of cookies on a plate with text in between the pictures.

You can make some darn good cookies using steel cut oats! Chewy, soft and lightly sweetened, these banana breakfast steel cut oats cookies are vegan and gluten-free. Easy to make and only 10 simple ingredients required.

A stack of cookies with jar of steel cut oats, milk and spoonful of peanut butter behind.

If you have no idea what to do with that forgotten bag of steel cut oats, definitely give these breakfast steel cut oats cookies a try! Wholesome, hearty and filling, they are great as a quick breakfast or snack.

Jump to:

💚Why you will love this recipe
🌾What you will need
📃Notes/substitutions
🔪How to make
✔Helpful tips
✨Variations/optional add-ins
❔Commonly asked questions
🍽More healthy breakfast recipes
📖 Recipe

💚Why you will love this recipe

Incredibly chewy and moist - If you love soft cookies, these banana steel cut oats cookies will be your next favorite! Plus, they are lightly sweetened, and have a mild refreshing banana flavor.
Filling and hearty - They are jam packed with fiber and slow-digesting oats, hence will keep you full and satisfied for quite a while.
Easily portable - Making them a great quick snack to take with you on-the-go. These banana breakfast cookies are also great as a lunchbox filler!
Stores well and freezable - You can easily multiply the ingredients to make a larger batch as part of your meal prep.

🌾What you will need

Ingredients needed like steel cut oats, oat flour, banana and peanut butter on a grey background.

📃Notes/substitutions

Oat flour - If you do not have any on hand, make your own by simply blending up some oats in a blender until it is finely ground.
Peanut butter - Can be substituted with other nut butters like almond or cashew butter. To make it nut-free, use tahini or sunflower seed butter in place.
Maple syrup - Feel free to use other liquid sweetener like agave syrup or even honey, if not vegan.
Chocolate chips - An optional ingredient, so feel free to omit to make it sugar-free.
Gluten-free - Make sure to use certified gluten-free oat flour and steel cut oats.

🔪How to make

Start by cooking your steel cut oats. In a pan or pot, place in oats along with 2 ¼ cups of water, and bring mixture to a boil.

Lower heat to a gentle simmer and cook for 12-15 minutes, or until most water are absorbed by oats. Give it a stir occasionally. You will want the oats mixture to be quite dry, as seen from the picture below. Set aside.

Collage showing uncooked and cooked steel cut oats in a black pan.

Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a bowl, mash bananas until smooth. Add in peanut butter, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Mix well.

Collage showing mashed banana and wet ingredients in a bowl with fork.

Next, add in rest of the ingredients and mix until everything is well incorporated.

Cookie dough in a white bowl with a fork.

Using a cookie dough scoop or spoon, scoop out about 2-3 tablespoons of mixture. Slightly flatten it using the back of a spoon.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until they appear to be set.

Collage showing before and after baking cookies in a lined black baking sheet.

Let them sit in the pan for 10-15 minutes, before transferring them to a cooling tray.

✔Helpful tips

Use ripe banana. Specifically, those that are brown and spotty. As banana is one of the main sweetener here, you will want to make sure that they are ripe and sweet.
Cook your steel cut oats until they are dry. As seen from the process shots above, I have cooked mine until they are really thick and lumpy.
Your cookie dough will be on the stickier side, so don't freak out as it is completely normal!
Slightly flatten your cookies before baking using the back of a spoon. As they are made without butter, these steel cut oats cookies will not spread out much.
Make sure that your cooked oats is at room temperature before adding it in. Or not, your chocolate chips will melt when stirred into the mixture!

✨Variations/optional add-ins

You can swap chocolate chips with the same amount of chopped nuts, be it peanuts, almonds, walnuts or pecans. This provide extra nuttiness and crunch to these steel cut oats cookies!

To make oatmeal raisin cookies, swap chocolate chips with a handful of raisins.

If you fancy some chocolate banana cookies, add in about ¼ cup of cocoa powder or cacao powder.

Lastly, feel free to add in any spices or seasonings that sounds good to you. Ground nutmeg, pumpkin spice or even almond extract all works great in this recipe!

A cookie with a bite taken out on a parchment paper with oats and chocolate chips in the background.

❔Commonly asked questions

Are these cookies gluten-free?

Yes, these banana steel cut oats cookies are naturally free from gluten. However, do ensure that you are using certified gluten-free oat flour and steel cut oats as cross-contamination may occur during processing.

How to store and can I freeze them?

Breakfast steel cut oats cookies can be stored in a sealed container and be refrigerated for 3-4 days. You can freeze them too, and they can be kept frozen for 3 months.

To reheat frozen cookies, let them thaw overnight in the fridge, or on countertop for a few hours. You can then proceed on to bake them for 5-10 minutes in an oven preheated to 180C/350F.

To make the heating process quicker, thaw cookies using your microwave's "defrost" function. Then, heat them up for 15-30 seconds, or until thoroughly warmed.

Can steel cut oats be used for making cookies?

Yes, it is totally possible to use steel cuts oats to make cookies, and this recipe is the living proof! You will need to cook the oats first before using as they are tougher and harder than regular oats.

However, if the cookie recipe calls for rolled or quick oats, you cannot swap it with steel cut, and vice versa. Their texture is vastly different, hence cannot be used interchangeably, especially in baking.

A plate of cookies with milk, chocolate chips and spoonful of peanut butter in the background.

📖 Recipe

A stack of cookies with jar of steel cut oats, milk and spoonful of peanut butter in the background.

Banana Steel Cut Oats Breakfast Cookies

You can make some darn good cookies using steel cut oats! Chewy, soft and lightly sweetened, these banana steel cut oats breakfast cookies are vegan and gluten-free. Easy to make and only 10 simple ingredients required.

Prep Time 25 mins

Cook Time 15 mins

Total Time 40 mins

Course Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine American

Servings 15 cookies

Calories 136 kcal

Wet ingredients

▢ 2 medium ripe banana (about 7 oz / 250g)
▢ ¼ cup maple syrup
▢ ¼ cup peanut butter (or other nut/seed butter)
▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Cooking oats

Start by cooking your steel cut oats. In a pan or pot, place in oats along with water, and bring mixture to a boil.

2 ¼ cup water, ¾ cup steel cut oats
Lower heat to a gentle simmer and cook for 12-15 minutes, or until most water are absorbed by oats. Give it a stir occasionally. You will want the oats mixture to be quite dry. Set aside.

Making cookies

Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a bowl, mash bananas until smooth.

2 medium ripe banana
Add in rest of the wet ingredients and mix well.

¼ cup maple syrup, ¼ cup peanut butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Next, add in dry ingredients along with cooked steel cut oats. Mix until everything is well incorporated.

1 ½ cups oat flour, ⅓ cup chocolate chips, 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda
Using a cookie dough scoop or spoon, scoop out about 2-3 tablespoons of mixture. Slightly flatten it using the back of a spoon.
Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until they appear to be set.
Let them sit in the pan for 10-15 minutes, before transferring them to a cooling tray. You can now enjoy your banana steel cut oats cookies!

*Oat flour - If you do not have any on hand, make your own by simply blending up some oats in a blender until it is finely ground.

Helpful tips

Use ripe banana. Specifically, those that are brown and spotty. As banana is one of the main sweetener here, you will want to make sure that they are ripe and sweet.
Cook your steel cut oats until they are dry. As seen from the process shots above, I have cooked mine until they are really thick and lumpy.
Your cookie dough will be on the stickier side, so don't freak out as it is completely normal!
Slightly flatten your cookies before baking using the back of a spoon. As they are made without butter, these steel cut oats cookies will not spread out much.
Make sure that your cooked oats is at room temperature before adding it in. Or not, your chocolate chips will melt when stirred into the mixture!

Storing - Cookies can be stored in a sealed container and be refrigerated for 3-4 days. You can freeze them too, and they can be kept frozen for 3 months.

Reheating - To reheat frozen cookies, let them thaw overnight in the fridge, or on countertop for a few hours. You can then proceed on to bake them for 5-10 minutes in an oven preheated to 180C/350F.

To make the heating process quicker, thaw cookies using your microwave's "defrost" function. Then, heat them up for 15-30 seconds, or until thoroughly warmed.

Calories: 136 kcal Carbohydrates: 21 g Protein: 4 g Fat: 4 g Saturated Fat: 1 g Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g Monounsaturated Fat: 1 g Cholesterol: 1 mg Sodium: 57 mg Potassium: 131 mg Fiber: 2 g Sugar: 7 g Vitamin A: 11 IU Vitamin C: 1 mg Calcium: 29 mg Iron: 1 mg

Nutrition info calculated is just a rough estimate and is provided as a courtesy. Bear in mind that value will vary based on variables like specific brand or type of product used. To obtain the most accurate representation, it is highly recommended that you calculate it on your own with the actual amount and type of ingredient used.

Reader Interactions