Low-Fat Homemade Dog Treats—Healthy & Delicious (2024)

4.47 from 226 votes

🐾Ingredients

Pumpkin puree
Peanut butter—beware of low caloric that may have Xylitol (very toxic to dogs)
Eggs
Flour—AP, whole wheat, or others—depending on your dog.
Cinnamon and salt

👨‍🍳How to Make Healthy Low-Fat Homemade Dog Treats

Preheat oven to 350° convection or 375° conventional.

Combine ½ of a 14-oz can of pumpkin puree with 2 eggs, ¼ cup water, 3 tablespoons peanut butter, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon cinnamon. With a stand mixer dough hook on two or by hand, slowly mix in 3 cups of whole wheat or other flour. You may need more water—you want the consistency of pie dough. If mixing by hand, do as well as you can in the bowl, then move to a floured area to finish combining.

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut it in half for easier handling.

Roll out the dough to ¼ inch thick and use bone-shaped or other cookie cutters. Or roll into logs of 1-inch diameter. Cut into ¼ to ½ inch pieces.

Prep two large baking sheets with parchment paper and distribute the biscuits evenly.

Bake for 30 minutes for semi-hard or longer for harder bones. The bones must reach 165° internal temperature for food safety due to the eggs.

For more details, keep reading. See theRecipe Cardbelow for complete instructions and to print.

🥜Ingredients options

• Pumpkin Puree—Use real puree, not pumpkin pie filler, which may have harmful spices like nutmeg. You could use squash or sweet potato instead.
• Peanut Butter—Dogs love peanut butter, which has excellent protein and healthy fats, but DO NOT use any brand with Xylitol, which is very toxic to dogs. It is found mainly in lower-caloric peanut butter, but READ THE LABEL. Also, many types of nuts are toxic to dogs, so be careful about other nuts or nut butter.
• Flour—Almost any flour will do. I tend to use whole wheat, but all-purpose flour is fine. Or use alternative flour like rice or oat flour, which are gluten-free if that is what you need. Soy flour will work well, but some dogs and owners have problems with it. Coconut flour and other nut flours should be avoided unless you are sure they are safe.
• Eggs—The eggs will help hold everything together. Use two whole eggs or four egg whites to eliminate 10 grams of fat and 115 calories for the entire recipe, Only about 2 calories and a fraction of a gram of fat per treat.
• Cinnamon—Optional. It is primarily for you—skip it if you want. A small amount is safe.

🐕Tips to make them right every time

• Mixing tips
  • A good stand mixer earns its keep with this recipe. But you can use a food processor or hand mix in a large bowl.
  • The amount of water will vary a lot depending on the flour used. You are trying to get to a pie crust consistency. Add a bit more water or flour to get there. The dough should not be very sticky.
  • You can blend in other dog-safe ingredients like rolled oats or wheat germ. Just be sure you are using safe additives.
  • Here are some everyday things toxic to dogs: Grapes/raisins, chocolate, onion, garlic, chives, avocados, citrus, and many more things can have issues. So before using a product, be sure it is safe and read all labels.
• Cutting tips
  • The shape doesn't matter to the dog. But we humans like bone or holiday shapes. I generally roll the dough into logs and cut it into ¼ to ½ inch thick disks.
  • If you want to cut shapes, roll the dough onto a floured surface about ¼ inch thick and use a cookie cutter to make what you want.
• Baking tips
  • A large baking sheet with a non-stick covering like parchment paper or a silicone baking mat is suggested. A coat of PAM on bare metal is not enough—they stick.
  • The suggested 40 minutes at 375° is generally correct. It will produce a nice dry dog cookie, especially if it is ¼ inch thick.
  • Baking time will vary by size and thickness, so watch to color and get to at least 165°. Longer is OK to crisp them more.
  • If you need softer for an older dog, undercooked (30 minutes total) to leave more moisture. They still need to reach 165° due to the eggs. But softer means more moisture, which means spoiling (molding) faster. Just be aware of the issues.

How to Store Homemade Dog Treats

Generally, you can store these dog treats for 5 to 7 days at room temperature, but it may be shorter if you make them softer. Keep them in an airtight container. Refrigerating will extend the storage time to 1 to 2 weeks.

They will freeze well when stored airtight for up to 3 months.

Like other homemade baked products—these do not have the preservatives you will find in store-bought treats. So mold will come faster than you think.

❓FAQs

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Low-Fat Homemade Dog Treats—Healthy & Delicious

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Servings #/Adjust if desired 60

Some recipes have an option to display the photos here with a switch above these instructions but the photos DO NOT print. Otherwise step-by-step photos are in the post.

Your Own Private Notes

To adjust the recipe size:

You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.

Nutrition Estimate

Calories : 26 kcal (1%)Carbohydrates : 5 g (2%)Protein : 1 g (2%)Fat : 0.5 g (1%)Saturated Fat : 0.1 g (1%)Polyunsaturated Fat : 0.1 gMonounsaturated Fat : 0.2 gSodium : 23 mg (1%)Potassium : 42 mg (1%)Fiber : 1 g (4%)Sugar : 0.1 gVitamin A : 250 IU (5%)Vitamin C : 0.4 mgCalcium : 2 mgIron : 0.2 mg (1%)

Serving size is my estimate of a normal size unless stated otherwise. The number of servings per recipe is stated above. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.

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