5 Homemade Dog and Cat Treats Recipes (2024)

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Homemade dog and cat treats are super simple to make!Our dog has bad grain allergies. If we let him eat wheat or corn we are ALL up all night long listening to him scratching. These recipes are a great way to make your own pet treats, especially if your pet has allergies!

5 Homemade Treats Recipes for your Dog and Cat

Homemade Dog Bone Treats

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup skim milk

Mix flour and baking powder. In separate bowl, mix peanut butter and milk. Then add to flour mix. Knead until smooth. Roll out to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into shapes or usea cookie cutter* and place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

*You can roll into balls and flatten with a fork.

Homemade Diabetic Dog Treats

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup beef liver, chopped

Place everything in a food processor and mix or mix chopped liver, eggs and flour in a bowl (make sure theliver is well chopped). Bake on a parchment paper lined jelly roll pan at 325 degrees for 15 minutes or until the center is set. Cool and cut withapizza cutter into pieces. Itwill be sponge like. Store in the fridge in an airtight container.

2 Ingredient Dog Treats

2 cups whole wheat flour (or oats – ground in a food processor to a flour)
2 (4 oz.) jars of baby food – beef, chicken, turkey, sweet potato, carrots, fruit*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix ingredients together and add extra flour or water to make firm dough. Roll out on a floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut with cookie cutters or a pizza cutter. Place 1/2 inch apart on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes. Store in a paper bag. An air tight container will make them soft.

*If you have leftover veggies from your own meal, puree them and use them in place of the baby food.

Fruit and Veggie Dog Treats

1 sweet potato, cooked
1 banana
1 cup carrots, minced
1/2 cup applesauce
2 cups white or whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup water

Mash the sweet potato and banana together well. Add the rest of the ingredients. Roll out on a floured board 1/8 inch thick. With a pizza cutter, cut into strips and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Store in a refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

HomemadeCat Treats

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup powdered milk
1/2 cup tuna, packed in oil
1 egg
1/4 cup water

Mix the flour and milk. In a separate bowl, smash up the chunks of tuna and add the egg. Add this mix to the flour mix. Add water a little at a time until it makesa sticky dough. Drop by spoonfuls on a greased cookie sheet about an inch apart. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes.

You can make EASY and delicious meals at home in less time than eating out! You’ll save a ton of money on food and your family will thank you!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

Vickie Nichols
December 9, 2014 at 4:05 pm

Thanks for information on Dog and Cat treats.
Reply
Sue
December 9, 2014 at 4:39 pm

These are all great for your pets…but remember….unlike store bought treats they don’t have any preservatives (good thing) so, I know from experience they will spoil or mold quicker! Most homemade treats can be frozen.
Reply
- Julia Zimmer
  March 25, 2022 at 2:45 pm
  
  I need a dog recipe to pour into the tiny bone shaped molds to bake for my little Bichon & havent found a pourable one that can be baked. Anyone???
  Reply
  - Grandma Betty
    April 6, 2023 at 12:09 pm
    
    DEAR JULIA:
    I made the treats on a sheet pan and cut them into tiny square sizable for your pet….. chicken liver snacks are good and cats and dogs love them…. 2 cups self rising flour 1/4 cup butter or oil… 2 eggs …..1 tub of chicken livers…
    I use a processor…. put it all in the processor at one time…flick a few times to mix and when smooth….pour out on parchment paper on sheet pan, 335F for 20 mins… take out and cut into small pcs about 1in squares…. put back in and cook for 30 more mins…. will look like miniature brownies… AND THEY LOVE THEM…keep in frig… if you need to freeze half… do so… very healthy and they will love you for it.
    Reply
    - Christin
      June 22, 2023 at 6:01 pm
      
      Do the diabetic treats need to be beef liver or can it be chicken liver?
      Reply
Heleen Schoofs
December 9, 2014 at 9:51 pm

use vitamin A drops to preserve the treats
Reply
- Lori
  December 19, 2015 at 8:04 am
  
  how much Vitamin A oil do you use for a recipe? Also where can I find this oil?
  Reply
  - Jill
    December 19, 2015 at 3:53 pm
    
    Not sure which recipe calls for vitamin A Lori. I may have over looked it.
    Reply
    - Ellie Nash
      February 23, 2019 at 12:05 am
      
      Fantastic !!! I have LIVERS from Christmas in freezer I’ve been wanting to make my Beagle liver treats .
      Reply
Chris from CT
December 10, 2014 at 3:56 am

I like the idea of being able to offer pets a homemade goody, but as Sue says – you need to take heed of the fact that there are no preservatives in these treats
Thanks for the recipes
Reply
Kathy
December 10, 2014 at 10:50 am

I’m going to try substituting chicken or beef for the tuna in the cat treats. My EXTREMELY picky cat wont eat anything that has any kind of fish in it!
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Reply
Tina
December 10, 2014 at 12:00 pm

Every one of your recipes has wheat flour in them and you said your dog is allergic to wheat. Has anyone ever tried substituting rice flour in the recipe?
Reply
- Jill
  December 10, 2014 at 12:14 pm
  
  You probably can. It is after all dog food and I don’t think the texture or taste is going to matter to much to a dog. You could use white flour instead of wheat. It is less expensive and most dogs don’t have a problem with it.
  Reply
  - Kim
    August 12, 2022 at 5:09 am
    
    I grind my own oat flour and use that and coconut flour exclusively in my dog treats. I steer clear of whole wheat flour PURPOSELY, BECAUSE of the tendency to an allergy of it, so I’m really surprised that some of the recipes HAVE wheat flour in them. There are other safer alternatives to choose from.
    Reply
    - Jill
      August 12, 2022 at 1:10 pm
      
      We usually do the recipes for the majority of people and most don’t have a problem with wheat allergies also we are trying to save people money on many things and give delicious and healthy things so this recipe fits the bill. Also I had to chuckle because when we first wrote our book and posted this recipe whole wheat flour was considered the safest and healthiest alternative – no one had even heard of oat or coconut flour let alone try to find it to buy. I have found that if you keep a recipe long enough in about 5 yrs they will change what is “healthy” again. Like at one point they considered butter was really bad for you and margarine was best and now they have changed it again. At one point people were told not to eat anything but wheat flour. Who knows what it is going to be next year.
      Reply
      - Kim
        September 6, 2022 at 12:33 pm
        
        Thanks so much for your response. I was wondering if you have the nutritional information for this recipe? I love the ingredients in it, but really would like to know the different values of nutrients in them. Can you please email me the information if you have it please? I’m not tech savvy AT ALL and may have a hard time finding your response back to me. Thanks so very much!
      - Jill
        September 7, 2022 at 10:46 am
        
        Kim sorry we don’t have the nutritional info for any of our pet food recipes.
      - Marcie
        December 1, 2022 at 6:59 pm
        
        Exactly!
- Barbara Hummel
  August 9, 2018 at 5:13 pm
  
  I heard on TV that rice flour contains arsenic, so you may want to consider this.
  Reply
  - Jill
    August 10, 2018 at 10:07 am
    
    We have checked into this and it is fine. Be careful of everything you hear on TV and on the internet. You probably get more bad things in your organic food like e coli, salmonella, tape worms etc than any amount of arsenic in the rice but you never hear about that very often because there is big bucks in keeping things like that quiet. So be very careful on worrying about these things. I remember years ago doctors and everyone was saying don’t eat eggs or fat and everyone jumped on the band wagon not eating any eggs or fat. Fast forward and not it is ok to eat eggs again and they are finding the body needs fat for many different things – like brain development in babies. The thing is my folks and many others I know have now lived to the ripe old age of 91 eating a steady diet of rice(not to mention rice is the main staple in most diets in many countries)so I are not going to worry about it too much.
    Reply
    - Debbie noel
      February 21, 2022 at 2:25 pm
      
      Thank you I will try these for my cat she loves tuna .
      Can I feed her chicken instead she loves that more
      Reply
- Ellie Nash
  February 23, 2019 at 12:07 am
  
  Use almond flour or coconut flour .
  Reply
  - Jodi
    November 23, 2022 at 1:02 pm
    
    Coconut I believe is ok. If I am not mistaken, dogs should not have almonds.
    Reply
    - Jill
      November 24, 2022 at 8:41 am
      
      LOL I can’t afford coconut or almond for myself let alone my dog even though I do love them.
      Reply
- Christin
  June 22, 2023 at 6:07 pm
  
  I’ve used oat, coconut, whole wheat and unbleached flour. The only thing I would say is you may have to add more water depending on the flour you’re working with.
  Reply
grizzly bear mom
December 10, 2014 at 2:07 pm

DELIGHTFUL gift for the MAIDEN AUNT, like me who has everything but who LOVES her pet! I would love for someone else to love on my furkid. Ensure you include the recipe so she can recreate it, or determine that it includes wheat flour, which her dog is allergic to and she can pass on to friends.
Reply
Stacy
December 15, 2014 at 8:01 pm

Jill mentions “you could use “white flour”, less expensive, etc. Wheat is wheat no matter what color or how refined. And these biscuits will not hold up the same without a binding agent. I know this as I am Celiac and have a shepherd that has an issue with “wheat” of any sort. There is a gluten free flour on the market made by Krusteaz, it’s 1 cup equals 1 cup wheat flour.
Reply
- Jill
  December 15, 2014 at 11:58 pm
  
  This is true but the thing is many people have their dogs on special diets when they really don’t have to be or they automatically put them on a wheat free diet when they are itching without having them checked out by a vet. What many people don’t realize is that more dogs have an allergy to certain proteins then they do wheat but because it is so popular for people to be on a wheat free diet they think their pets should be too. For example people who think they have wheat allergies has gone up 15% but only about 3-4% actually have it. They are doing the same with their pets. I just want everyone to make sure their pets really need to be wheat free.
  Reply
Gloria Kelley
January 25, 2015 at 9:03 am

Jill, I got Mickey a couple of months ago from the local shelter here in Las Vegas so I know nothing about his background. He’s a year-old terrier mix. I make all of his own food and his treats but for the past couple of weeks he’s been scratching and has acquired a rash in his groin area. I’m wondering if it could be the wheat flour I am using in his treats. I’ve eliminated the wheat germ from his food recipe and decided to try coconut and rice flour in place of the wheat flour for the treats. I’m not sure what it could be that’s causing the itching and you mentioned proteins. Can you expand on that for me?
Reply
- Tawra
  January 25, 2015 at 10:00 pm
  
  Our dog had major itching issues and we had to put him on a lamb, chicken and rice dog food. I buy the 6 dog food by Rachel Ray from Walmart and it works really well. You might try it.
  Reply
  - Dogs000
    April 28, 2018 at 8:29 pm
    
    Can I sell a recipe I will make sure to put were I got it from!?
    Reply
    - Tawra
      April 30, 2018 at 10:47 am
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      No.
      Reply
- Diana
  July 23, 2015 at 1:37 am
  
  One of our dogs is allergic to chicken and it is very difficult to find food and treats that don’t have some form of chicken so I’ve started to make his treats. Most recipes are for small batches so I don’t worry about them spoiling. I do make double batches of some treats and freeze one batch that way if I’m not up to making them fresh I know he won’t have to suffer as well. Love my fur babies.
  Reply
Connie
February 7, 2015 at 3:09 pm

These are wonderful, what is the shelf life on them? Also, do you have a recipe for frosting? My dog’s love their cookies with frosting.
Reply
- Jill
  February 7, 2015 at 3:53 pm
  
  The shelf life is the same as would be your own food. For example how long do you usually keep liver or tuna in the fridge. You can half the recipe if you don’t think your pet will eat them fast enough or most of the recipes can be mixed and frozen in small portions then pulled out to bake when you need them.
  Reply
Mary Jane
February 12, 2015 at 7:18 pm

Last year, on Spring break, I had my two grand kids come for a week. We found a recipe for a hard biscuit type dog treat. The kids and I made them, with their dog and ours in mind. The kids loved packaging up the treats for their dog, and taking them home, and of course they loved indulging our dogs. The biscuits were largely whole wheat flour, a bit of oil, cornmeal and a garlic powder. No refrigeration needed for these when they were done baking. They would have been great with a little bacon grease instead of oil, and we did freeze them, just for good measure. It is a great activity to make dog treats with the grand kids.
Reply
- Jill
  February 13, 2015 at 6:50 am
  
  Had to laugh Mary Jame – I love all my own “treats” and food cooked in bacon grease instead of oil. Poor bacon grease has gotten a bad rap for some reason and yet it is free and seasons foods like nothing else. If we used it more often we probably wouldn’t have to spend so much time shopping in the expensive exotic foods isle to buy seasonings and sauces for out dishes. As far as being bad or good for you it is no different then using butter in things and oh taste so good in fried potatoes, baked beans, eggs even replacing the oil or butter in cornbread.
  Reply
Kris
February 13, 2015 at 9:56 am

Just what I’ve been looking for. I’ve started to make my own pet treats in addition to feeding the cats and dogs more “real food”. It’s harder to find recipes for cats.
Reply
Mary Jane
February 14, 2015 at 10:16 am

I am totally with you on the bacon grease thing, Jill. The trick is to not use anymore than is necessary, and with the flavour and aroma of bacon, a little goes a long way. We have bacon once or twice a month, when we can find it on sale. I save the grease in a little half pint jar in the fridge. That can last the two of us for anywhere from 6 weeks to 2 months. When I was growing up, if we had bacon and eggs for breakfast, my mother would “fry” a slice of bread for toast, in the bacon grease, after the eggs were cooked. Sometimes we just had the toast cooked in the grease; no bacon or eggs. It was always delicious, and we never thought anything of it, until we went to school, and other people thought it was disgusting. Years later, reading how people in Britain survived the lean times during the Second World War, I discovered that this was one of the things they ate. My mother’s foster mom was from Britain.
Reply
- Jill
  February 14, 2015 at 10:34 am
  
  Yes my grandma use to make bacon grease gravy all the time too. Years ago it was pretty much a staple in most households and no one would dream of throwing it out. Same would go for hamburger grease. It was saved like the bacon grease but many people always used part of it to make hamburger gravy and in the same way we love sausage gravy now they would make hamburger gravy on toast or biscuits.
  Reply
Kit Vargas
February 17, 2015 at 3:17 pm

Looking for treats for cats on renal diet.
Reply
- bobby catts
  April 27, 2019 at 2:17 pm
  
  what if we dont have tuna lying around our house for the ct treats is there any subs?
  Reply
  - Jill
    April 29, 2019 at 8:42 am
    
    I suppose you could try canned chicken maybe but I am not sure your cat would like that as much as tuna
    Reply
    - Anita
      November 9, 2021 at 6:04 am
      
      Why not tinned mackerel or sardines. .? Much cheaper than tuna. Can you use frozen fish too….defrosted and cooked? I can get cheap anchovies.
      Reply
      - Jill
        November 10, 2021 at 9:16 am
        
        Use what is cheapest in your area. Prices are different in different areas.
Michelle Miller
May 31, 2017 at 11:20 pm

The treats are great but let me suggest adding that peanut butter must be xylitol free. And the diabetic treats will raise blood blood glucose since they are made with flour. Best to test your pup to see how how much they raise BG.
Reply
- Jill
  June 1, 2017 at 2:56 pm
  
  These treats and our recipes are written for the average person’s diet and if you have special needs then adapt them as you need.
  Reply
Niki Vincelli
June 19, 2017 at 11:43 am

Would these recipes be alright for a diabetic dog? My dachshund is diabetic and I have been looking for food and treat recipes. I heard that cooking for them is much better than buying anything in the stores.
Reply
- Jill
  June 19, 2017 at 12:20 pm
  
  I don’t know Niki. You may have to check with your vet or if you have a list of things he can or can not eat you could check it.
  Reply
Robin
July 26, 2017 at 12:58 pm

On the treats with liver, how do you cook it?
Reply
- Jill
  July 26, 2017 at 4:23 pm
  
  Here is the instructions listed under the ingredients – you may have over looked them
  Bake on a parchment paper lined jelly roll pan at 325 degrees for 15 minutes or until the center is set. Cool and cut with a pizza cutter into pieces. It will be sponge like.
  Reply
Thomas J Jennings
September 27, 2017 at 2:21 pm

Where are the cat treats I only saw one
Reply
- Jill
  September 28, 2017 at 7:38 am
  
  There is only one
  Reply
Mary Ellen
November 17, 2017 at 6:25 pm

We have a food dehydrator, and what we do for our dog is slice sweet potatoes and then dehydrate them into “chips.” Bosco loves them, and his vet said they are healthy for him.
Reply
BrendaD
November 20, 2017 at 9:33 am

I made these with my 4-H group for small animals. The kids had a blast making them. I told them to store them in the freezer.
Reply
Terri
December 12, 2017 at 2:12 pm

Hi, love watching your blogs. Just found these recipes on an old one Of your blogs. Ordered your cookbook, looking forward to trying the recipes. Wishing you a very merry Christmas
Reply
- Jill
  December 12, 2017 at 3:00 pm
  
  Thank you so much Terri. Hope you enjoy the book.
  Reply
Christy
April 14, 2018 at 9:33 am

I have never seen a recipe for cat treats before! Thank you. Love your books; Dining on a Dime is my go-to recipe book!
Reply
Vanessa
April 17, 2018 at 9:45 am

Thanks for sharing! Are they very crumbly?
Reply
- Jill
  April 17, 2018 at 10:36 am
  
  They are all different but I don’t think they are especially crumbly. If you think they are just add a little extra wet ingredients or take away a little of the dry ingredients if they aren’t the right consistency for your needs.
  Reply
Vanessa
August 8, 2018 at 12:31 pm

Thanks for sharing! Do they keep long?
Reply
- Jill
  August 9, 2018 at 9:49 am
  
  The ones with meat and tuna in the will keep about a week in the fridge. The other ones will keep about 2 wks.
  Reply
Pamela in the central USA
September 7, 2019 at 1:16 pm

Hi Ellie – I agree with you to use almond flour but would also mix with fava flour to get a better dough to roll out and cut into shapes. When using GF flours, you will need to lower the water needed. I only use GF flours in my diabetic dog bakery so that it will not affect the dog’s blood sugars. Pamela
Reply
Jay
August 3, 2020 at 12:04 pm

Hi, I have a question about the cat treats recipe. Is the oil from the tuna put into the mix? And, do these bake hard or semi soft…I don’t think my cat will eat them if they are hard and spoonful sized. I figure I can cut them smaller but I must adjust either cook time or temp…So just want some clarification on whether they bake up hard…
Thanks
Reply
- Jill
  August 4, 2020 at 9:13 am
  
  You can put the oil and all from the tuna in. Also you can adjust the cooking time if you want them softer. You may have to just experiment a little. I would bake 2-3 at one temp and see how that works then if you need to you can try another 2-3 at a different temp and see which one your cat likes. Also store these in the fridge.
  Reply
  - Ana
    September 13, 2020 at 3:13 pm
    
    How long do they last in the fridge?
    Reply
    - Jill
      September 14, 2020 at 9:56 am
      
      Ana it depends on which recipe you use but think of it as you would people food. The ones with meat (liver, tuna etc.) in them should last about 4-5 days and the ones that have no meat a couple of weeks. If you don’t think your pet will eat them fast enough then just 1/2 the recipe.
      Reply
- karen callahan
  January 28, 2021 at 10:17 am
  
  they are soft i made them
  Reply
Kelly Bysura
December 4, 2021 at 11:35 am

If I want to ship some to my friends puppy/kitty how would I go about that safely? Freeze them and then ship with dry ice?
I would love to get some recipes for “cookies”, “icing” and pup cakes.
Reply
- Jill
  December 6, 2021 at 10:00 am
  
  Kelly I am sorry but I really don’t know how you would ship them. Maybe one of our readers would know or you could contact the post office and ask them or UPS
  Reply