I just love making homemade treats for my dog. There is no worry about what ingredients are used or if they are good quality when you make them from scratch. Plus, you can save a ton of money making treats at home. The good quality treats from the stores cost an insane amount of money! For my post this week I’ll be sharing my recipe for soft chew dog treats. They are made with just 4 ingredients and they are super easy to make.
I’ll be visiting my parents this coming weekend and wanted to give them some treats for their dog Bear. Funny story, Bear was actually my dog from college but when I moved out of my parents house they asked if they could keep him. They were extremely attached so how could I say no to that? I adopted Bear when he was 5 years old and now he is 16 so he’s no spring chicken. He’s had most of his teeth pulled and he’s unable to chew hard dog treats so these soft chew treats are perfect for him. He’s going to love them!
For this recipe you’ll need just 4 ingredients (not counting the water). They include, peanut butter, bananas, baking powder and wheat flour. One thing to note before giving a dog peanut butter is that the ingredient xylitol, an artificial sweetener used in some peanut butter is deadly to dogs. Natural peanut butters are just fine for dogs and I’ve never met a dog that doesn’t drool obsessively over it. Just be sure to check that the peanut butter you are using is dog safe.
*Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will make a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
If you don’t already have a dog bone shaped cookie cutter, you can purchase one here from amazon 
Also, if you would prefer harder treats, roll the mix thinner than the 1/4″ that I call out in the recipe and/or increase the baking time. Scroll down to get the full recipe that you can download and print for easy reference.
Here are a few large photos of the process.
All of the ingredients mixed together.
Rolled out to about 1/4″ thickness and then cut with dog bone cookie cutter.
Laid out on the cooling rack before the taste test by Abby.
Makes about 2 dozen treats. The treats will keep for about a week. Freeze what you won't use in a week to give to your pup later.
- 2 Bananas
- 1 cup Natural Peanut Butter MAKE SURE IT DOES NOT CONTAIN XYLITOL!
- 2 cups Wheat Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/4 cup Water
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
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Mash the bananas in a large bown
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Add the peanut butter to the bananas and mix well.
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Add the baking powder, flour and water and mix well.
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Use a rolling pin to roll out the mixture until it is about 1/4" thick and then cut out the treat shapes using your cookie cutter.
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Line a baking pan with parchment paper (or spray with non-stick spray). Then bake the treats for 10 minutes, flip the treats and then bake for another 10-15 minutes.
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Let treats cool before serving.
Abby certainly loves these treats and I’m sure that Bear will too. Just look at that face as she takes the treat from my hand! I can’t stop laughing!
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Have you ever made homemade treats for your dogs? What’s your favorite recipe?
<3 Hannah
Free Feather Printable
Does using wheat flour mean it contains gluten? What alternative for gluten free?
Yes, they aren’t gluten free but you could use a gluten free flour mix if you wanted.
is flour good for dogs??
I’m not a professional when it comes to dog nutrition but when I googled it this is what I found. “The good news is that none of the flours you’re likely to see on your store shelves are actually dangerous for your dog. However, white flour is highly processed and has no nutritional value whatsoever, so please don’t use that in Fido’s treats.” https://www.wiggleworthy.com/flour-for-dog-treat-recipes.html#:~:text=The%20good%20news%20is%20that,use%20that%20in%20Fido's%20treats.
I either use gluten free flour or whole wheat flour when I make treats for my dog. They don’t seem to upset her stomach at all. I have to imagine that they are better for her than a lot of the store bought treats.
Do you know what the conversion would be for oat flour? I tried to google and couldn’t find a solid answer, but maybe I’m not using the appropriate terminology. Tia!
I’ve never made it with oat flour but if it were me I would sub it 1 for 1.
My dachshund just had most of is upper teeth removed this week and I’m on the hunt for a good soft treat recipe for him…
Are you putting the baked treats in the freezer or the dough to bake later?
I always give some away so a batch never lasts us more than a week. I bet they would freeze well though.
Oh thank you for this recipe. Our little 6# poodle too, has few teeth and can’t eat hard crunchy snacks. Our little Kady thanks you too. Happy Holidays.
Thanks so much for the comment Brenda. I’m so happy that your dog loves them!
Would these need to be refrigerated?
I would recommend keeping them in the refrigerator since they aren’t as dry as typical dog treats. I usually portion them out in batches and keep a week’s worth in the refrigerator at a time. I sometimes freeze the rest if I don’t give them away.