DOG-I-Y: Easy Two-Ingredient Homemade Dog Treats
If you’ve ever wanted to try making treats for your dog, but didn’t know where to start, I’ve got the recipe for you! With a base of only two ingredients and endless ways to customize to your dog’s tastes, you’ll never go back to store bought dog biscuits again.
I originally tried this recipe for Wrigley’s first birthday and have made countless variations since. It’s easy and comes together in minutes! Plus, it’s a hit with every dog who’s tried it. Are you ready to get domestic?? Let’s do this!
Easy Two-Ingredient Dog Treats
Ingredients:
- 2 cups 100% organic whole wheat flour* (or wheat germ, spelt, rolled oats — or a mixture of these)
- 2 (4oz) jars of pureed baby food** – beef, blueberry, sweet potato, chicken, etc.
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Mix ingredients together to form a stiff dough. If necessary, add extra flour or water as needed.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out evenly until it’s about 1/4 inch thick. Use cookie cutters to cut into desired shape or a pizza cutter to make cubes.
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, place treats about 1/2 inch apart. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes.
- Allow to cool completely before storing in a paper bag (storing in an air-tight container will make them soft, but they’re still edible).
And that’s it! Consider getting creative and including tasty surprises like grated carrots or sweet potatoes, parsley, blueberries, bananas, etc. — whatever non-toxic fruits or veggies your dog likes.
Also, this recipe makes a lot and lasts for a few weeks. If the amount is too much for your dog to consume within that time, consider halving the recipe or freezing the dough/treats for later!
*A note on the flour: if you’d rather create a grain-free version, you can substitute the flours listed for bean flour (like chickpea flour/gram flour) or even buckwheat (which isn’t actually a grain and is gluten-free). Other options are quinoa flour, coconut flour, and even peanut flour — or a mixture of any of these!
**A note on the baby food: Most baby foods do not contain these ingredients anyway, but it’s good to note that you should avoid using any that contain onions, grapes, or raisins. Unsure? Check this list of possibly toxic foods from ASPCA.
P.S. I originally shared this recipe on Curbly — there are a lot of great flavor combination suggestions and other valuable tips in the comments, so be sure to check out that post!
What a great idea!!
Thank you!
Can’t wait to get my creative juices going…I know my furry Baby will love these with this basic recipe idea…Thank you so much for sharing…I have been wanting to do these but never really knew where to start or how to start…I’m sure the pumpkin one’s & the chicken one’s she will Love =D
What a great recipe! It doesn’t get much easier than this. I know my 3 Aussies will LOVE these! Thank you for sharing.
Thank you! Hope your doggies love them as much as mine do!
If anyone tries any interesting flavor combos that your dogs love, let me know!
my daughter make dog treats for her dogs , the dogs cant have some of the stuff in the store or home made so she does her own SWEETS DOG TREATS, she sells them in the store now
Awesome!
Oh, excellent! The simpler the better. I think Elka would really dig these with banana, though who am I kidding? She loves almost everything!
Banana would be super tasty!
I made a 1/2 batch with Chicken baby food, Banana-Berry baby food, Oat flour, and just a dash of cinnamon. Dog loves ‘em!
Oooh! That sounds super good! I’ll have to try that combo next time!
Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe! I actually didn’t have any baby food and my pupate sensitive to grain so I took your suggestion and used chickpea flour and then 2 mashed up bananas and a tablespoon or two of creamy peanut butter. They loved them! Thank you again
Ooh, I will have to try it that way! Sounds tasty.
What is the topping on the little square treats?
Blueberries!
I went looking for bean flour at my grocery store only to be told they don’t have it. I did some research to see where I could find it and discovered it’s called faina in some central and south American countries. They had faina! Grrrrr….another trip.
Oh, good to know!! Sorry you had to take one for the team!
Ive made these twice now. My dogs love them. These are SO much better for the pups (and my pocketbook). Thank you for posting this!
Awesome! That’s great to hear!
How do these need to be stored and how long do they keep?
I usually store them in a paper lunch sack — airtight containers can make them soft (though they are still edible). They should be good for about 2 weeks or so. You can also freeze them if you happen to make a large batch!
These sound so easy to make and gonna make them for my dog. Can you store the treats in a ziplock bag?
Yes, though they may get a little soft. I usually store them with the bag open a little or in a paper bag.
Can cats eat these doggie treats too?
I assume so! As long as you use ingredients your cat isn’t allergic to, I’d say these are probably okay.
Hi i was just wondering, if you added extra things like sweet potato, carrots, chicken, lentils, blueberries, raspberrys, applesauce, or any other extra, how much of it would you put in..would the dough get really wet with the wet things like potato or the banana?
If you’re finding the dough is difficult to work with or overly wet after adding these additional ingredients, try adding more flour/flour substitute a little bit at a time until it form a stiff dough! Hope that helps.
Excellent recipe and very easy to make!
My beagle – Peter loves these and I no longer buy the store treats!
I added some beef broth with the baby food in order to get the dough to come together. I also put in some bacon bits and chopped carrots at the end. When I first made them, they seemed soft so I put them back in the oven on 170 until they hardened up. He liked them on the crunchy side and I stored them and they remained hard. Great comments and helpful tips on additions to make them even better.
Thanks for the easy recipe!
Oh, I will have to try some with bacon bits! Great idea. So glad Peter loves them!
To ensure these are crunchy (mine came out chewy, too, but dogs are gulping them down anyway) you can can just turn off the oven and let them cool down inside overnight after they are baked. Also, please be cautious about the immense amount of salt in things like beef broth and bacon bits–hard on canine kidneys.
Did anyone else have them puff up like pita chips? What am I doing wrong?
I’ve had this happen on a few batches — I’m not sure what causes it, but they are still edible!
Can you use brown rice flour instead of whole wheat flour?
Yes! You might need to adjust the quantities, but just add as you go until you have a dough stiff enough to roll out.
I am making these for a friend’s doggies, and she mentioned most dogs are allergic to raisins and chocolate, so it’s probably good to look for those things before you buy.
Also, approximately how many treats will this recipe make? (about 1 square inch squares)
Thanks for the recipe!
Yes! Chocolate and raisins are toxic to dogs, as are onions. Definitely watch out for any baby food that might contain those ingredients. Also, I’ve never measured how many treats this makes, but it will make A LOT of 1 inch squares!
Can you make your own Puree instead of using baby food
Definitely!
I was curious because i feel bad making these for my dog and not having aome sortof treat i can make for my cat. Do you think cats would enjou these as much as dogs?
That’s fair! Honestly, I’ve never had a cat so I have no idea if they would like them as much as dogs — there’s only one way to find out!
How many treats will this make?
A LOT! You can freeze them or halve the recipe as well.
Will white flour work with this?
Yes, any flour will work! Just make sure it’s not something your dog is allergic to, of course.
I used white flour (it’s all I had) and it worked great! They didn’t get crunchy but they were still nice & chewy. The first batch I did canned pumpkin and cinnamon. The second batch, I did peanut butter & banana! My dog LOVES them!! Oh and some of mine puffed up too….didn’t affect the quality of them at all though.
Ooh, I will have to try pumpkin and cinnamon! That sounds tasty!
Made these last night and couldn’t have been easier! My 3 dogs are CRAZY for them–keep going into the kitchen to sniff and locate–there isn’t a container lid tight enough to hide them!
Yay! That’s great to hear!
Would using whole wheat white flour work for these?
Definitely! You can substitute most any kind of flour — you’ll just have to play with the measurements until you get a dough that isn’t super sticky.
My little lulu loved these treats, gave some to a friend for her dogs and they loved it too. I used banana baby food with some blueberries inside, kinda like a turnover, and sweet potato with carrot on the inside. They were both winners….my dog usually isn’t possessive with her food or treats but she would not let me grab that one! Mine were also a bit on the soft side…I figured it was because I made it like a turnover. Is it that I did not cook it long enough?
Oh, I’ll have to try those flavors! As for being a bit soft, it may be because of the turnover style or the baking time. You’ll have to experiment a bit!
well i just made these and used banana’s.peanut butter and a touch of honey. yes they maybe too sweet,i thought about that after i made them. they are in the oven right now. Hubby said if the boys dont like them he will eat them.. lol
Sounds tasty!
I made these for the second time tonight! I blogged about it, would love to see more reciepes to try out for my puppy!
http://onelittlerosebud.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/dog-treats.html
Oh, yay! Thanks for sharing this on your blog! We definitely have plans for some more homemade treat recipes!
No! Wheat is not good for your dog! Or cat!
Please see the list of suggested grain- and wheat-free substitutes at the end of the post.
Above is a link to the ASPCA website that shows what foods are not good for your pet. Wheat is not listed.
I made two batches for my dog. The first one, I used sweet potato and chicken baby food, and for the second batch, I used blueberry and apple babyfood. He loves them, particularly the blueberry and apple babyfood. I tried the fruit one myself, and I actually liked it, too
Ooh, I bet! Those sound like great combos.
I am excited to make these my mom used to make them for the dogs but stopped. Much healthier. Could be a good thing to share with family dogs.
thanks for the simple recipe you are awsome. Love your site.
Thanks Angela!
Love this recipe but it made way more than we needes. However they only 4 days on the counter in an air tight container and they were growing mold I noticed on the 5th day.
i wasted more than half of the treats.
Kristy – I’m sorry to hear that! In the future, I would recommend storing them in a paper bag or some other non-airtight container. They can get pretty soft otherwise and, in your case, develop mold. Also, try keeping out what you need for a week or so (these last much longer in a paper bag) and freeze the rest! These do freeze pretty well. Hope that helps!
So I made the today I have an animal rescue event tomorrow and what do ya know my two dogs sat by my side while I made them. I put avocado (researched not harmful) bannanas cinamon vanilla peanut butter and carrots. Btw I tasted the dough and it was delicious. I wont feed my dog something thats nasty lol I also make my own dog food!
I just wanted to say this was an easy recipe! Good Job!!
My nephew’s girl friend made these for my dog and as they came out of the oven I decided to taste one. They were yummy. You bet my dog loved them if I did. She made them with Chicken/SweetPotato Combo and Whole Wheat.