8 of My Favorite Homemade Dog Treat Recipes

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Discover how to make healthy and delicious dog treats with these simple homemade dog treat recipes and wholesome ingredients.

Making homemade dog treats is a great way to ensure your dog gets a delicious treat without additives, preservatives, and fillers in store-bought dog treats. Not to mention, it's a fun project that you can do with your dog by your side! In this article, I explore some of the benefits of making homemade dog treats and share my favorite recipes.

Benefits of Homemade Dog Treats

Making homemade dog treats can offer several benefits:

Quality Ingredients: You control the ingredients used in making dog treats. You can select high-quality, wholesome ingredients free from artificial additives, preservatives, and fillers. This allows you to cater to your dog's dietary needs and preferences.

Health and Nutrition: Homemade treats allow you to include nutritious ingredients that support your dog's well-being. You can incorporate lean meats, vegetables, and fruits that offer vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. This promotes a nutritious diet and can improve your dog's overall health.

Tailored to Dietary Restrictions: If your dog has allergies, sensitivities, or dietary restrictions, making homemade treats allows you to create recipes that cater to these needs. You can avoid ingredients that trigger allergies or select specific ingredients that align with your dog's dietary restrictions.

Bonding and Enrichment: Making dog treats at home can be a fun activity that involves the whole family, including your four-legged taste testers. It provides an opportunity for bonding and strengthens the relationship between you and your dog. Additionally, engaging your dog in activities like treat-making can provide mental stimulation and enrichment.

Cost Savings: Sometimes, making homemade dog treats can be cost-effective compared to purchasing high-quality store-bought treats. It allows you to buy ingredients in bulk and prepare larger quantities at a lower cost per treat.

When making homemade treats, follow safe food handling practices, use dog-safe ingredients, avoid recipes with too many ingredients, and research questionable ingredients.

Easy Protein Dog Treat Recipes

1 – DIY Chicken Dog Treat Recipe

This recipe can be used with any lean protein. Whenever my local grocery store has marked down meat, I stock up to make dog treats. This is a healthy, single-ingredient, low-calorie snack that my dogs love.

Open and wash a family-size pack of boneless chicken breasts (white meat has less fat to trim, leaving less of a mess in the dehydrator).
I create 1/4″ thick slices of the chicken.
Occasionally, I'll sprinkle the chicken with herbs (parsley, rosemary, basil, or oregano) before dehydrating (OPTIONAL)
Place chicken slices on the food dehydrator trays.
Dehydrate for 8 to 9 hours at 155 degrees F (68 C); adjust to get your preferred texture.

2 – DIY Pork Chop Dog Treat Recipe

Pork chops are an affordable protein, especially the family packs. This is a healthy, single-ingredient, low-calorie snack that my dogs love.

Open and wash a family-size pack of boneless pork chops (trimming off the fat).
I create thin slices of the pork chops.
Occasionally, I'll sprinkle the pork chops with herbs (parsley, rosemary, basil, or oregano) before dehydrating (OPTIONAL)
Place pork chop slices on the food dehydrator trays.
Dehydrate for 8 to 9 hours at 155 degrees F (68 C); adjust to get your preferred texture.

3 – DIY Organ Meat Dog Treat Recipe

I'm able to get organs from local farms and homesteaders, usually the liver, spleen, kidneys, and heart. I use the organs in the meals I formulate for my dogs, but when I have extra, I make dog treats. I've also found great deals on hearts, gizzards, liver, and tongue at local markets.

Organ meat is nutrient-dense, but I'm careful about how often I give organ-based treats to my dogs. Organs are rich, and feeding too much can lead to digestive issues. There is also a concern that feeding too much liver can lead to excessive copper in the system.

Slice up partially frozen organs into strips.
I create thin slices of the organ meat.
Place the slices on the food dehydrator trays.
Dehydrate for 8 to 9 hours at 155 degrees F (68 C); adjust to get your preferred texture.

I always dehydrate organ meat outside because the smell lingers.

4 – DIY Ground Beef (or Turkey) Dog Treat Recipe

This recipe was inspired by Dr. Laurie Coger, who has a recipe using ground beef. I've slightly modified the recipe, using lean ground beef and turkey. The ingredients are easy; I mix up each batch of ground beef (or turkey) differently using the following ingredients:

a dehydrated (or freeze-dried) base mix or dog food*
pureed, plain sweet potatoes or pumpkin, and parsley
canned sardines, salmon, or mackerel (I use this with beef to make Surf ‘n Turf dog treats)
Bug Off garlic granules by Springtime Supplements
fresh herbs like parsley, rosemary, dandelion greens, and sprouts (clover, broccoli)
cheese

Mixing lean ground beef (or turkey) with one or a combination of the above ingredients provides an endless number of treat recipes that my dogs love and are easy to make.

Mix the lean ground beef (or turkey) with the ingredients of your choice (listed above).
Place the mound of the mixture between two lengths of parchment paper.
Roll the mound flat (to preferred thickness), slice it into strips, and place them on dehydrator trays.
Dehydrate for 8 to 10 hours at 155 degrees F (68 C); adjust to get your preferred texture.

Easy Non-Protein Dog Treat Recipes

5 – Dehydrated Kale Chips Recipe

Dehydrated kale chips offer several nutritional benefits due to the concentrated nutrients in kale, which are packed with vitamins (A, C, K), minerals (calcium, iron, magnesium), and antioxidants. Kale is an excellent source of fiber, which supports gut health. And it's a low-calorie snack. I'll be honest – my dogs aren't huge fans of kale chips (but I've had dogs in the past who loved them), but I make them anyway and sprinkle them over their meals as a topper on occasion.

Overall, dehydrated kale chips are a nutritious and flavorful snack option that can be a delicious way to incorporate more leafy greens into the diet while reaping the health benefits associated with kale. Plus, they're easy to make.

Wash kale, remove stems, and tear leaves into large pieces.
Massage olive oil (or coconut oil) into the leaves; be conservative.
Sprinkle kale with salt (or other spices if you're more experienced).
Place prepared kale on the food dehydrator trays with a regular mesh sheet.
Dehydrate at 105 degrees F (41 C) for about 12 hours; adjust to get your preferred texture.

6 – Dehydrated Apple Chips Recipe

Dehydrated apples offer several nutritional benefits, including fiber (for gut health), vitamin C, potassium, and antioxidants that support overall health. These are a low-calorie snack that my dogs and I love. We have two apple trees and dehydrate batches of apples each fall.

Peel, core, and slice apples about 1/4 inch thick.
Soak in a mix of lemon juice and water (to prevent browning).
Remove apples from the liquid and place them on the food dehydrator trays.
Dehydrate at 135 degrees F (57 C) for 6 hours; adjust to get your preferred texture.

7 – Dehydrated Banana Chips Recipe

Dehydrated bananas are rich in potassium, vitamins (C, B6), and minerals (manganese and magnesium). This low-calorie snack boosts energy and adds antioxidants to the diet.

Peel bananas and slice into preferred size, and arrange chips on a tray.
Dehydrate at 135ºF (52ºC) for 6-12 hours until the banana is dry and leathery; adjust to get your preferred texture.

8 – Dehydrated Sweet Potato Chips Recipe

Wash and peel two sweet potatoes.
Slice them thinly; I use a slicer because it's easier and faster than a knife.
Soak the sweet potatoes in a bowl of water for 30 minutes; change the water and soak for another 30 minutes.
Drain the water, towel dry the sweet potato slices, and lay flat on a cookie sheet.
Drizzle each sweet potato slice with melted coconut oil.
If the chips are for humans, sprinkle them with sea salt; I leave them salt-free for the dogs.
Arrange the slices on the trays of the food dehydrator.
Dehydrate for 12 hours at 145 degrees F (63 C); adjust to get your preferred texture.

More About Homemade Dog Treats

Storing Homemade Dog Treats

When making protein dog treats, I store them in the freezer until I'm ready to feed them to my dogs. I store thawed treats in a jar with moisture packets to keep them fresh. Because I have three large dogs, I go through a jar of treats in less than a week. I make smaller batches of fruit/vegetable dog treats, which I enjoy with my dogs the same week.

My Favorite Dehydrators

I have several dehydrators. You can find them at a fraction of the price on Craigslist or the Facebook Marketplace. I like having several because I made the mistake of dehydrating squid once, and although it was a hit with my dogs, it took months to get the smell out of my dehydrator.

Currently, I use the following dehydrators:

LEM 10-Tray Double Door, Countertop Dehydrator
Excalibur Food Dehydrator (the model is no longer available)
NESCO Food Dehydrator