This Almond Butter Cookies recipe is grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free and sugar-free, making them perfect Whole 30 dessert. These are a great healthy snack or dessert option for both adults and kids!
Original post written 1/29/18 | Updated 3/6/19
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Hey, Day 15 and I’m on a quest for Whole 30 desserts. Part of me can’t believe I’ve made it this far on the Whole30 program, another part of me wonders what the heck I’m thinking and a different part of me feels amazing.
I flip between these three feelings throughout the day. According to what I’ve read, my sugar cravings should begin to subside soon. So far NO good on that.
I made these Almond Butter Banana Cookies a few days ago so I could get a teensy taste of that sweetness I love so much. Except there is zero added sugar in these babies. The cocoa gives these healthy cookies a chocolatey zing and the bananas and raisins give a boost to the sweetness.
Considering they are grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free AND sugar-free, they are pretty amazing. I mean. I’d rather eat all 75 cookies in Cookie Remix first, but these would definitely be number 76.
VIDEO TUTORIAL
HOW TO MAKE THIS ALMOND BUTTER COOKIES RECIPE
STEP 1
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. In a large mixing bowl (or bowl of stand mixer), combine the ripe mashed bananas, almond flour, almond butter and cocoa powder. Mix until combined. Stir in the raisins.
STEP 2
Drop batter by 1-tablespoon chunks onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. Let cool and enjoy!
RECIPE NOTES
- Swap the raisins out for a different dried fruit, but check the ingredients first to make sure no sugar has been added.
- Add chopped cashews, pistachio or macadamia nuts, if nuts are your thing. Avoid peanuts if you are following the Whole30 program. For a finely chopped nut, consider running them through a food processor before adding them to the batter.
- Applesauce (plain, with no sugar added!) or shredded apples or carrots would taste great in these, as well.
- Use ripe bananas for this recipe for best results.
- A sprinkling of sea salt would be a tasty addition to these cookies.
- If you are NOT trying to adhere to the Whole30 program, some chocolate chips would be a delicious sweet addition to this recipe.
- Adding a tablespoon of chia seeds to the recipe would be a deliciously healthy and good idea!
Promise me you won’t write these off at first glance, if you know what I mean.
CAN I REPLACE ALMOND BUTTER WITH PEANUT BUTTER
You can absolutely use almond butter and peanut butter interchangeably in cookie recipes. If you stick with creamy natural peanut butter, the two nut butters have very similar consistencies and also similar nutritional values. However! If you are sticking with the Whole30 program, stick with the almond butter (peanuts are not allowed)!
They taste way better than they look and if you are following the Whole30 program, I promise you will be happy to pop a few of these into your mouth when the sugar cravings hit. Especially if you have a sweet tooth like I do. This is a great recipe and I hope you love it as much as my boys and I do!
OTHER DELICIOUS HEALTHY COOKIE RECIPES
If you aren’t following a specific diet plan, but you’re looking for healthier cookies, check out my 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies!
If you are doing Whole30 or have done it recently, please leave a comment letting me know how it’s going or what your experience was with it.
LOW CARB RECIPES THAT ARE WHOLE30 COMPLIANT
- Instant Pot Spaghetti Squash – Cook spaghetti squash in your Instant Pot for an evenly-cooked squash in a fraction of the time it takes to prepare it in an oven!
- Sauteed Cabbage is the perfect quick and delicious side dish for any meal. Using only a few ingredients and taking 10 minutes of your time, you can’t go wrong with this super flavorful and affordable recipe!
- Egg Roll in a Bowl – Unleash the delicious egg roll! Enjoy the ingredients inside an egg roll minus the carbs and calories.Done in 20 minutes and supremely delicious!
- Cauliflower Mushroom Rice – Replace rice with this veggie-packed side dish. It’s easy to make and prepared in 15 minutes. Packed with flavor and texture plus this recipe also complies with the Whole30 program!
- Healthy Burgers with Sweet Potato Buns – These delicious burgers are made healthy by using sweet potatoes instead of buns! They are Whole30 compliant and will satisfy your every dinner-table desire.
HEALTHY FOODS FOR PICKY KIDS
Knowing you can help your kids get the nutrients they need in more than one form is what we want to help you accomplish! We’ve put together a list of delicious foods that our kids don’t see as healthy but allow them to enjoy eating their fruits and/or vegetables in a snack or breakfast item.
- Healthy Breakfast Cookies aren’t just for breakfast and they are deceptively delicious. Kids will never know how healthy they are!
- Homemade Fruit Roll-Ups – Eliminate artificial and unknown ingredients by making your own homemade fruit roll-ups! This is the ultimate snack food for kids. Great for lunch boxes, too!
- Healthy Breakfast Muffins – Enjoy breakfast the healthy way! These breakfast muffins are beyond delicious plus they’re packed with good stuff.
- No Bake Granola Bars – These Healthy No-Bake Chewy Granola Bars are the perfect snack for little ones. There is something comforting about knowing EXACTLY what goes into your kids’ bodies!
Almond Butter Cookies Recipe – Whole 30 dessert
Ingredients
- 2 ripe bananas mashed
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/2 cup almond butter
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup raisins
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. In a large mixing bowl (or bowl of stand mixer), combine the bananas, almond flour, almond butter and cocoa. Mix until combined. Stir in the raisins.
- Drop batter by 1-tablespoon chunks onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. Let cool and enjoy!
We love these! Life saver for whole 30. I throw everything in the vitamix and then pipe them out onto the pans. I use dates instead of raisins and with everything blended it’s a smooth texture and comes out great. Thank you!
Great use of your vitamix. I love that! Thanks for sharing that tweak, I’m sure others would enjoy it too.
These cookies are a LIFESAVER. We swapped raisins for chopped dates, but otherwise followed the recipe and they are absolute perfection for a healthy treat!
Great swap! I’m glad you shared that idea, thanks for sharing!
Weird texture and after taste. IMO if you want something sweet, freeze a banana and put a little almond butter on it.
Thank you for sharing. Frozen bananas are a good treat.
My batter was beyond thin! I think it would be food to add how much mashed banana is needed for this recipe as all are different sizes. Also, how do you tell when done?
Hi DK – that can be frustrating if you don’t have the result you were hoping for. These particular cookies, like snickerdoodles as well, aren’t as thick a dough like chocolate chip cookies or ginger snaps. So for these, you can just add a little bit more flour to thicken up, start with a 1/4 cup and see if that helps. There are so many variables to what can cause cookie batter to be thin so I would just recommend that. Thank you for sharing that!
Great! I followed your basic recipe, but swapped out raisins for chopped dates. I also stirred in some raw hazelnut pieces and went heavy on the sea salt. Baked 11 mins, then let them cool on the pan. They have an almost brownie-like texture. I’m on day 12 of Whole 30 and these are just the treat I needed!
That sounds amazing! Glad you could use my recipe to inspire your Whole30 treat. I’m sure others will enjoy your take on it!
Your recommended Almond Butter Banana Cookies are one of the most delicious Whole30 recipes that are completely healthy and fit. It felt so great while trying this amazing dessert. I have also learned how long does it take for red light therapy to work because it can be advantageous for my physical health. Currently, I am following both the Whole30 and Red Light therapy procedures.
Delicious and satisfying!! I added some chopped walnuts, an egg and a little date syrup. Just finished off my first batch and am prepping now to make my second!! ☺
That’s wonderful! Thank you for sharing your additions – they sound so good. I’m sure others will appreciate the ideas too.
Curious if I could use a frozen banana to make these as I don’t have any ripe banana and we are currently quarantined.
Great question! Thaw it out, it’ll work great. It won’t look as great but the flavors still there. You might find your banana is more wet because it was frozen and now isn’t, so just be aware you might have to adjust the dry ingredients a bit.
Realizing it is a WHOLE30 compliant cookie, it’s not sweet, but it is tasty! Well done. I prepared as per the recipe, thought about putting dates instead of raisins, but went with raisins. Dates might make it sweeter if that’s what you are craving.
Dates would be a great tweak – thanks for sharing!
Hi I am so proud of myself for staying whole30 for 21 days and I have missed something sweet like cookies but I have found the my sugar dragon is sleeping more but wondering can you eat this on whole30 I thought you had to wait until after?
I didn’t try the recipe yet but definitely will after whole 30. One week left! Unfortunately these are “technically” whole 30 due to the ingredients being compliant. However, per the whole 30 book guidelines you aren’t allowed to recreate sweets or treats like cookies even with whole 30 compliant ingredients. The program encourages against this to get out of the habit of “needing a sweet treat” . So I guess it would matter how you’re using these cookies. Before the gym for energy? Go for it! After dinner because you have a sweet craving? Don’t do it, it condones your sweet craving and you’re working towards reducing these cravings with the program. Thank you for the recipe!! My husband and I plan to continue eating this way after we’re done but a bit less strict so these will be perfect!♡
I actually used sunflower butter, did not put the raisins in, and they came out delicious! Next time I’m going to add walnuts 🙂
That is a great tweak to this recipe. Thank you for sharing!