9 Easy Homemade Dog Treat Recipes

Treat your pup to a healthy snack with these great homemade dog treat recipes! Everywhere you look these days are reminders to pay attention to your health and diet: Eat organic. Shop at farmer’s markets. Consider going grain-free. Omit preservatives. Don't forget about holistic alternatives!

Just like humans, pets can have food allergies or intolerances to certain additives. One way to make sure you know exactly what your pet’s diet consists of is to make your own pet treats. Here are some of our favorite homemade and healthy dog treat recipes that you can make from items in your kitchen pantry.

1. Pumpkin Dog Treats Recipe

Ingredients:

●      2 eggs

●      1/2 c. organic canned pumpkin

●      2 tbsp. powdered milk

●      1/4 tsp. sea salt

●      1 tsp. dried parsley leaves

●      2 1/2 c. rice flour

●      Preheat oven to 350ºF

Directions:

●     Whisk together the eggs and pumpkin puree until smooth. Stir in powdered milk, salt, and parsley until well combined. Add rice flour a little at a time until you have a firm, dry dough. (Use a rubber spatula to fold in the flour until the dough gets too tough, then you can switch to kneading with your hands.)

●     Roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thickness, and use a dog bone cookie cutter (or any other cute but smallish cutter) to cut out shapes, and place them on an ungreased baking sheet. Pop them in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.

●     Flip over the biscuits, and bake for another 10–15 minutes until baked through and turning golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool completely before feeding to your pup.

Not only will this recipe yield about 3–4 dozen treats for you to store away to teach your dog some new tricks, but it will also help alleviate doggy breath! Now you can get rewarded for your pet-approved baking skills with some doggy kisses.

2. Peanut Butter Dog Treats Recipe

Ingredients:

●      1–2 eggs

●      1–2 c. whole wheat flour

●      1 c. water

●      ½ c. peanut butter (preferably without added sugar)

●      Preheat oven to 350ºF

Directions:

●     After the oven is preset to 350ºF, begin by combining the flour, eggs, and peanut butter into a mixing bowl and stir. This will create a thick dough. Begin adding water into the mixture to soften the dough and continue to mix.

●     Roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thickness, and use a dog bone cookie cutter to cut out shapes, and place them on an ungreased cookie sheet.

●      Pop them in the oven and bake for 15–20 minutes. Bake until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool completely before feeding to your pup.

3. Pupkin Biscuits

Ingredients

●      2 eggs

●      1/2 cup canned pure pumpkin puree

●      2 tablespoons dry milk powder

●      2 1/2 cups white or whole wheat flour

Directions

●      Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, stir together the eggs, pumpkin puree, milk powder and flour; add 2 tsp. water, or enough so that the dough just comes together.

●      On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with 1-inch cookie cutters. Gather the scraps, combine, roll and form more biscuits; repeat until all the dough is used.

●      Place the biscuits 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, then turn over and bake until hardened, another 20 minutes. Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes.

4. Sweet Potato Dog Treats Recipe

Ingredients:

●      1 sweet potato

●      2 ½ c. whole wheat flour

●      ¼ c. unsweetened applesauce

●      2 eggs

●      Preheat oven to 350ºF

Directions:

●     Start with properly preparing the sweet potato. Begin by removing all skin from the sweet potato, as this can become a difficulty for dogs to digest if not discarded. Then, split the potato in two and scoop out about 1 cup of sweet potato into a large mixing bowl. Mash the potato as well to create a smooth texture.

●     Next, add the remaining ingredients into the bowl with the sweet potato and mix until dough forms.

●     Roll out the dough to about 1/2 inch thickness, and use a dog bone cookie cutter to cut out shapes, and place them on an ungreased cookie sheet.

●     Pop them in the oven and bake for 35–50 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely before feeding to your pup.

5. Frozen Dog Treats Recipe

Ingredients:

●      Unsweetened frozen blueberries

●      Unsweetened frozen strawberries

●      Plain yogurt

●      Water

●      Baking mold/ice cube trays

Directions:

●     Begin by whisking together regular yogurt with water to create a mixture that you can pour into an ice cube tray. Depending on whether you want the treats to be more watered down or creamier, experiment with the amount of water you want to add in.

●     After you have your yogurt mixture, pour into your trays and add your frozen fruit into the mixture. When pouring the yogurt mixture into the mold, be sure to leave enough space to add fruit.

●     Finally, put the trays into the freezer for 3–4 hours to freeze and serve to your dog! These are the perfect summertime treats, especially during the dog days of summer.

6. Banana Dog Treats Recipe

Ingredients:

●      2–3 bananas

●      3 ½ c. oats

●      2 tsp. ground cinnamon

●      Preheat oven to 350ºF

Directions:

●     Start by preparing your main ingredients. First, mash your bananas in a large mixing bowl. Also, grind up your cup of oats in a food processor until they become a powder-like consistency.

●     Add the oats into the mixing bowl along with ground cinnamon, and even a hint of water or honey if the mixture becomes too dry. Try to avoid having the dough become too sticky or too wet.

●     Lastly, roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thickness, and use a dog bone cookie cutter to cut out shapes, and place them on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake them for about 15 minutes.

7. Pumpkin Cheese Cup Recipe

Ingredients:

For the Cups:

●     2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

●     1/2 cup whole rolled oats

●     1 egg, slightly beaten

●     1 cup water

●     1/2 cup all-natural crunchy peanut butter

For the Filling:

●      1/2 cup puréed pumpkin

●      16 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature

Directions:

For the Cups:

●     Preheat oven to 350°F.

●     Combine wheat flour and oats in a large bowl. Add egg, water and peanut butter and mix well.

●     On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough and roll out to 1/8 inch thickness.

●     Cut out 24 2-inch circles. Use remaining dough to cut out 24 small garnish cookies (Here’s an idea: Cut the cookies into your dog’s favorite shapes.)

●     Spray a mini-muffin pan with oil and lightly dust with flour. Lay circles in the mini-muffin cups and press.

●     Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool enough to handle, remove from pan, then let cool completely.

●     Store in sealed container until ready to fill with cheese mixture.

For the Filling:

●     With a hand mixer, mix pumpkin and cream cheese together until well blended.

●     Place cream cheese mixture into a pastry bag with a large-tip opening; you can also use a plastic sandwich bag—snip corner of sandwich baggie to create a 1/2-inch opening.

●     Gently squeeze filling into cookie cups. Garnish with a small cookie.

8. Peanut Butter Crunchies Recipe

Ingredients:

●      ½ c. organic salt-free smooth peanut butter

●      1 c. hot water

●      1 c. organic wheat bran

●      1 ½ c. organic bulgur wheat

●      ½ c. organic white whole wheat flour (or any flour of your choice)

Directions:

●     Preheat oven to 350° F.

●     Mix all ingredients until peanut butter is well incorporated.

●     Using a large spoon or ice cream scoop, drop dough onto a parchment-paper-covered cookie sheet.  Use a wet fork to press in the classic fork pattern on top, if desired. (Note: dough will be harder to work with in just a few minutes, so create the cookies as soon as you mix the ingredients.)

●     Bake for 50 – 60 minutes, until the crunchies just start to turn golden brown. Enjoy the tail wags from your furry buddy as she eats something you make just for her!

9. Peanut Butter and Pumpkin Treats

Ingredients:

●      2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

●      2 eggs

●      1/2 cup canned pumpkin

●      2 tablespoons peanut butter

●      1/2 teaspoon salt

●      1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

●      Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

●      Whisk together the flour, eggs, pumpkin, peanut butter, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl. Add water as needed to help make the dough workable, but the dough should be dry and stiff. Roll the dough into a 1/2-inch-thick roll. Cut into 1/2-inch pieces.

●      Bake in preheated oven until hard, about 40 minutes.

Bottom Line

These easy dog treat recipes will allow you to get creative while also mixing some nutrients into your dog’s diet.

But healthy treats are just a small part of what it takes to keep a dog feeling good. Signing up for a dog insurance policy can help too. Be sure to check out How Pet Insurance Works to see how.