Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

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These banana chocolate chip cookies are beyond addicting. They are moist, chewy, dense, and loaded with real banana flavor and plenty of chocolate chips. They are also super easy to make with no mixer needed!

The Best Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

We love anything and everything banana in our house. The flavor is just the best, particularly in desserts and treats like these cookies. The trick when making a recipe like this one is to get just the right amount of banana flavor without messing up the texture of the cookie and to have just the right amount of chocolate.

When creating this recipe, I started with my banana oatmeal cookies. They are quite popular, a well-loved recipe and also a very reliable recipe. I had to adjust for the loss of the oatmeal with some additional flour (but not too much!) and get the right amount of chocolate chips, but they are pretty similar otherwise. So if you’ve tried those and love them, you’ll love these too. They have the best texture, the perfect flavor and are sure to be gone in no time. You may want to just start with a double batch.

Why You’ll Love Them

• Soft and chewy. I am obsessed with the texture of these cookies. They are so soft and chewy and wonderfully moist. And they get even better the second day!
• Plenty of banana flavor. The banana flavor really comes through in these cookies. And it’s all-natural from sweet, overripe bananas. No extracts needed.
• Beautifully simple instructions. There’s nothing fancy about this cookie recipe. Just combine the wet ingredients, fold in the dry ingredients followed by the chocolate chips, chill, and bake. It’s the perfect recipe for any skill level.

What You’ll Need

Here’s what you’ll need to make these cookies. Be sure to scroll to the recipe card below for precise measurements.

• All-purpose flour – It’s important to measure your flour accurately. Too much flour will give you cakey, dense cookies. Too little and your cookies will spread too much.
• Baking soda – The baking soda lends the perfect chewy texture to these sweet banana cookies.
• Ground cinnamon – You can leave the cinnamon out but I think it adds that added touch of flavor to these cookies.
• Salt – Believe it or not, your cookies would be quite bland without a touch of salt.
• Unsalted butter – You’ll want to melt the butter before using it. Salted butter would work fine, but you’d want to reduce the amount of salt you add so that your cookies aren’t too salty.
• Sugar and brown sugar – I like using brown sugar in addition to granulated sugar. It contributes a little extra moisture and flavor. You could use dark brown sugar, but it does have more molasses in it, so the cookies may spread a little more and be on the thinner side. Pack the brown sugar tightly into the measuring cup in order to get the proper amount.
• Egg – Be sure to use a large egg, not medium or extra large. It binds your cookie together and adds to it’s chewy texture.
• Vanilla extract
• Mashed over ripe bananas – I mean it when I say over-ripe. If they aren’t ripe enough, they won’t contribute an adequate amount of sweetness to the cookies and the texture will be off. Check out the section below titled “A Note On The Bananas” for more information.
• Semi-sweet chocolate chips – Dark chocolate or milk chocolate chips would also work here. So would white chocolate chips if you’re feeling like a little something different.

A Note On The Bananas

Make sure to use overripe bananas for the best flavor and texture. They should be soft on the outside and easy to mash when you peel them. They should also smell appetizing. Overripe bananas will have plenty of brown spots but they shouldn’t be completely brown and/or nearly falling apart. If they don’t hold together anymore, they’re probably too ripe and your cookies won’t bake properly.

How To Make Banana and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Here’s a quick look at how to make these moist, chewy banana chocolate chip cookies. You’ll find more detailed instructions in the recipe card below.

• Combine the dry ingredients. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
• Combine the wet ingredients. Whisk together the melted butter and sugars and then whisk in the egg and vanilla extract.

• Add bananas. Add the mashed bananas and whisk together to combine.
• Put it all together. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, followed by the chocolate chips.
• Chill. Cover the cookie dough and refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours.

• Prep. Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a cookie sheet with a silicon baking mat.
• Form the dough into cookies. Create 2 tablespoon-sized cookie dough balls and arrange them on the baking sheet. Press additional chocolate chips onto the top of the cookie dough balls, if you’d like.
• Bake. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
• Cool. Allow the cookies to cool for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack lined with parchment paper to cool completely.

Tips for Success

• Measure your flour carefully. Using too much flour will result in caky, dense cookies. Using too little flour will cause your cookies to spread excessively. I suggest using the spoon and level method or a food scale to get the perfect amount. Check out my post on How to Measure Flour Correctly for more information.
• Don’t over-mix. When mixing the dry ingredients into cookie dough and then again when folding in the chocolate chips, mix just until everything is incorporated. No more. Over-mixing can cause the glutens in the flour to overdevelop which will give you tough, dense cookies.
• Don’t skip the chill. Cover the cookie dough and refrigerate it for at least 2 hours (ideally overnight for even better flavor). This will help keep the cookies from spreading too much and add to their flavor.
• Work quickly. The cookie dough is pretty sticky, even when it’s cold. It gets even stickier as it warms up. So work quickly as you shape it into cookies. If the dough gets too sticky, pop it back in the fridge for a bit.
• Give the cookies plenty of space. These cookies spread, so make sure to leave a couple of inches between each cookie on the baking sheet.
• Don’t over-bake. Bake the cookies JUST until the centers look cooked, no more (about 10 minutes). This will give you a slightly denser, chewier cookie (which I love). If you bake them for much longer, they will turn out cakey.
• Perfect shape. If your cookies aren’t quite the perfect round shape you’re looking for, use a spoon or something similar to gently push the sides of the cookie into that classic round shape. Do this just after they come out of the oven, Once they start to cool, they’ll be harder to shape.
• Mess-free (ish) removal. These cookies tend to stick to the parchment paper after cooling. To help release them, give them a little twist on the paper before lifting them up.

Fun Variations

In an experimental mood? Feel free to play with mix-ins. I used semi-sweet chocolate chips but you could use milk or dark chocolate chips instead. White chocolate chips or butterscotch chips would also be fun. So would chopped walnuts, pecans, raisins, coconut flakes, and/or a candy bar of your choosing. Feel free to mix and match.

Just make sure you don’t overload the cookie dough. Limit your mix-ins to a total of about 1 1/2 cups or less.

Proper Storage

• Countertop. Once the cookies have cooled completely, seal them in an airtight container. I recommend using a sheet of parchment paper to separate any layers. They will keep at room temperature for up to 5 days.
• Freezer. Arrange the cookies on a baking sheet and pop them in the freezer for a couple of hours. Once firm, seal the cookies in a freezer bag and store them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Allow the cookies to thaw at room temperature before enjoying.

More Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes

• Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Layer Cake
• Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Watch How To Make Them

Read Transcript

This recipe was updated 5/24/2024. I think the new version is even better, but if you’d like the previous version of the recipe, you can download the PDF of the recipe.

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