These 3-Ingredient Dog Treats, or 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Dog Treats, are easy to make with items you most likely have in your kitchen. The ingredients are easily substituted, and suggestions for substitutions are included.
I haven’t purchased store-bought dog treats since, well…since the beginning of the year.
At first, I was attempting to avoid going to the grocery store. Now I am trying to use what I have in my kitchen in an attempt to reduce kitchen waste.
When I realized that I could use up the assortment of flours that I had accumulated, I jumped right in with both paws feet. Additionally, this recipe uses soft fruit like bananas or cooked apple, pears, carrots or sweet potato, so I can put to good use any of these ingredients before they go bad, thereby really cutting back on food waste.
And, I swear my sweet, sugar-faced girl really does prefer these 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Dog Treats over the store-bought variety.
You’ll notice that this recipe calls for 3 simple ingredients; oats, peanut butter, and soft fruit or vegetables. I used some apples that were a little wrinkly and quickly cooked them in the microwave to make a quick applesauce. I didn’t peel the apples but did remove the cores and seeds.
But as I noted above, you could easily substitute any soft fruit or vegetable with the exception of avocado, onions, mushrooms, garlic, rhubarb, grapes, and raisins which are harmful to dogs.
And feel free to substitute another grain for the oats. Check out the list of acceptable grains for dog treats in this Pumpkin Dog Treats post.
making these dog treats as gifts?
Make sure you nab these free gift tag printables, especially for your homemade dog treats!
Dehydrate your dog treats to store them at room temperature.
And like those Pumpkin Dog Treats, these 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Dogs Treats are best if you completely dehydrate the dog treats to pull all the moisture out. The dehydration will allow you to store these tummy yummies at room temperature without the risk of them getting moldy. You will know that your dog treats are fully dehydrated if they break with a ‘snap’!
You can cut these in any shape you choose. I’m partial to the heart, but there are some other really cute dog-themed cookie cutters.
3 Ingredient Dog Treats
3 simple ingredients come together to make these simple dog treats
Ingredients
- 2 cups oatmeal (or a substitute grain)
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1/2 cup soft fruit or vegetables (cooked apple, carrots, sweet potato, pumpkin or a banana)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250°
- If using oatmeal, place it in a food processor and blend until most of the oats are ground. I left some oats whole, but you can process it as much as you want. The cookies are easier to cut if most of the oats are processed.
- If using another grain, combine the grain, peanut butter, and fruit or vegetable in a food processor and process until the dough comes together.
- Roll dough 1/4" thick, using flour if the dough is sticky.
- Cut out using a cookie cutter or cut into squares.
- Place cookies on cookie sheets and bake at 250° for 2 hours until the dog treats are completely dry and crispy.
- Once dog treats are fully dehydrated, they can be stored at room temperature. Mine sit out at room temperature for at least a month without getting moldy, but you do need to make sure to fully dehydrate them.
Notes
Avoid peanut butter with xylitol.
Looking for more dog treat recipes?
I’ve got you covered! Pumpkin (or a variety of other soft fruits or vegetables) shines in these Pumpkin Dog Treats; this post also discusses grain substitutions. If your pups love some cheese, then they will love these Cheddar Cheese Dog Treats. And these simple, one ingredient Sweet Potato Dog Chews couldn’t be easier. Or, you can head over to see all of our dog treat recipes in one place!
Bookmark this page or pin the following image to refer back to these 3-Ingredient Dog Treats in the future.
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22 Comments
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Hi there, I’m Lynn and I’m in my happy place when cooking, baking, creating, crafting, diy-ing or gardening. You too? We should be friends! Reach me at [email protected] Read more about me here.
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Michelle
July 17, 2020 at 10:55 pmWhat an easy recipe! I’ll have to try these for my dog. I’m sure he’ll love them!
lynn
July 18, 2020 at 7:35 amSo easy! And I’m pretty sure your pup will love them…they are tasty, if I say so myself! 😉
Ursula Stelzner-O'Neale
October 25, 2021 at 11:27 amIf you don’t use oats, what other “flour” is canine tolerable?
lynn
October 25, 2021 at 12:05 pmHere’s a list of some of the flours that are suitable for dogs, in moderation of course.
Whole Wheat Flour
Garbanzo or Chickpea Flour
Buckwheat Flour
Coconut Flour
Oat Flour
Brown Rice Flour
Barley Flour
Millet Flour
Debbie Britland
August 8, 2020 at 10:20 pmHi! I have never made treats for my dogs before and this seems really easy. You say to make sure they are completely dehydrated. This happens while in the oven, right? Or do I need to buy a dehydrator to do this?
Thanks,
Debbie
lynn
August 9, 2020 at 6:27 amGood Morning Debbie,
Yes, you can get to the ‘dehydrated’ stage by slowly baking them in a 250 degree F oven for about 2 hours…no need to buy a dehydrator. Just make sure they break with a ‘snap’ when cooled. If not, pop them back in to get completely dry. Happy Baking, my friend.
Hugs,
Lynn
Kaitlin
November 22, 2020 at 2:54 pmAre there any good substitute options for the peanut butter? Wanting to make my girls special treats for my youngest furbabys adoption anniversary, but have limited ingredient options. We’ve got carrots, apples, and pumpkin puree but very little peanut butter and no eggs.
lynn
November 23, 2020 at 3:36 pmHi Kaitlin,
do you have any nut butter? If you have whole nuts, you could blend them to get the nut butter. I’m struggling to come up with a good substitute…you need something sticky to hold it all together. I have never tried it, but I wonder if yogurt that has been drained of the whey might be sticky enough.
Lynn
Holly K
February 13, 2021 at 1:31 pmHi! Wondering if you are able to add a frosting to the top afterwards or would that mess up shelf life time??
lynn
February 14, 2021 at 8:09 amI’d be afraid that adding frosting would limit the shelf life. If you are so inclined, I would keep them in the fridge.
Dolly
July 17, 2021 at 5:39 pmI was unable to use all the dough because it was so dry. I used a cooked apple but I’m thinking maybe it wasn’t large enough to give the dough enough moisture to help hold it all together?? I used your recipe with peanut butter, cooked apple, & ground oats. Your suggestion please? Thanks so much.
lynn
July 17, 2021 at 5:44 pmHi Dolly,
I’m so sorry, I have not had that problem. I would definitely try to add another cooked apple, pear or carrot or mashed banana. Hopefully, you have one of those on hand but if you don’t, add a little water, broth or milk in small increments. Let me know if that works.
Lynn
Diane Walter
January 17, 2022 at 12:31 pmHi! I have made these treats a couple times and they turn out great! Three dogs love them. I did not pulse the oats as I do not have a food processor. I took a potatoe masher and pounded on the oats for a few minutes. I also do not have cookie cutters so shaped the dough into small balls. It is a tad mess but they turn out fine; very nice and dry.
lynn
January 21, 2022 at 7:27 amHi Diane,
I am so glad to hear how you altered the recipe to make it work for you! I’ve always believed that any recipe is just a jumping off point for us to put our own spin on it! I will share your input for other readers, encouraging them to use what they have to make this simple recipe. And all that matters at the end of the day is that our pups love them!
Hugs, Lynn
Renee
January 26, 2022 at 12:18 amMy dog loves these, especially the cronch! Sometimes I add a little cinnamon or turmeric for her joints. I’ve eaten them myself- they taste like my mom’s oat muffins!
I am a lazy fur mum, and I use my thermomix to grind the oats at speed 7 for 20 seconds, add the peanut butter and cooked apple, and mix for about a minute on speed 4. It doesn’t come together well in the bowl itself, but I turn it out on a flat surface, and squish it together into a ball before flattening.
Once rolled out, I use a pizza cutter to make rectangles, and a pie slice server to scoop them up into the parchment prepared tray. They don’t need a lot of space, so I can cram a lot onto two trays!
I’ve been making dog treats for years, and this is definitely my go-to. Thank you!
lynn
January 26, 2022 at 9:50 amGood Morning Renee!
Adding turmeric or cinnamon is brilliant! I am going to start doing that as well. Thanks so much for sharing your review…I’ve tasted them as well!! They are quite tasty and so easy.
Thank you so very much for sharing your tips and comments! It really helps others when deciding if they want to give this recipe a go!
Have a wonderful day, my friend.
Hugs,
Lynn
LouAnn Sibley
April 23, 2022 at 9:58 pmMy Yorkie Zona …”LOVED” them!” I used cooked carrots and banana and ground up Quaker Oats in the food processor. Yes, they were dry, so I rolled them into small balls and used a glass to flatten them.
Yes, they snapped when I broke off pieces!!
Thanks for the recipe!!
lynn
May 11, 2022 at 10:11 amHot diggity! I’m so glad that Zona loved them. My girl Flora does love them too! Thanks so much for writing in and sharing!
Have a great day!
Maria
December 3, 2022 at 11:29 amI made these with cooked apple and added turmeric to the dough and a few flax seeds on top! They’re cooking now and smell so good. Great way to use up apples or bananas that aren’t super fresh anymore. I found the apple easy to cook in the microwave. I had to add a little extra water and apple to form a dough that comes together. Was too lazy to roll them out so made little dough balls and flattened with a fork and sprinkled flax seeds on top. Great recipe!
lynn
December 6, 2022 at 9:26 amGood Morning Maria,
Thanks so much for sharing your twist on the recipe. As an inveterate recipe tweaker myself, I appreciate hearing what others do. And I love the idea of adding Turmeric to these tummy yummies! I will be doing that for my old girl, too! Thanks for the suggestion.
Hugs, Lynn
Dianne
December 5, 2022 at 9:50 amI made these “cookies” last week for my dog. He loves them. If I ask Jackson if he wants a cookie, he comes running over and sits at my feet to get it. I have a multi-purpose oven that dehydrates. It took less than an hour to dry the cookie out. One recipe made a big bag of dog bone size cookies. Thank you for an easy, safe and low cost treat to make for my dog. I look forward to trying more of your recipes.
lynn
December 6, 2022 at 9:00 amHi Dianne,
I am so glad that Jackson loves his cookies! Making our fur babies happy brings us such joy, too!
Dehydrating these treats is key and really doesn’t take much time.
Thanks for writing in! We love to great reviews!
Hugs, Lynn