How to Make Homemade Chicken Dog Treats

Ever cook chicken and turn around to see your pup waiting for a piece? If so, these homemade chicken dog treats are bound to be gobbled right up. Once you see how simple making your own dog treats can be, you may never go back to the store-bought stuff. These homemade chicken dog treats use whole, nutritious, people-food-grade ingredients and don’t contain any preservatives.

These chicken treats have all the crunch of a traditional dog biscuit and will keep for months in your freezer.

How to Make Chicken Dog Treats

Kate Morgan for Taste of Home

Ingredients:

• • 1 chicken breast
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 sweet potato
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth
  • 2 cups oat flour

Tools You’ll Need

Rolling Pin

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Measuring Cups

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Cookie Cutters

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• • Rolling pin: We prefer a tapered French style, which has no crevices to trap dough.
  • Measuring cups: These keep things accurate. After all, baking is a science!
  • Cookie cutters: They aren’t a necessity, but certainly make these treats more fun.

Directions

Step 1: Cook and roughly chop the chicken

Bake or saute the chicken breast with just a bit of olive oil. Once it’s cooked through, chop it roughly into chunks. Don’t worry about shredding it; it will break up into finer pieces once it’s mixed into the dough.

Step 2: Cook and mash the sweet potato

Bake your sweet potato at 350°F for 30 minutes or until it’s soft in the middle. Remove the skin and mash.

Step 3: Combine the sweet potato, chicken broth and egg

Lightly beat the egg. In a medium bowl, mix the sweet potato, broth and egg. Add the chicken, breaking up the pieces as you mix.

Step 4: Gradually add oat flour

Add the oat flour to the wet ingredients 1/2 cup at a time, combining after each addition. You may not need all the flour; keep adding until the dough is no longer wet and has reached a consistency you can roll out.

Editor’s Tip: If you don’t have oat flour, you can make your own in one step. Use a blender or food processor to chop 1-1/2 cups of old-fashioned oats until it reaches a flour consistency.

Step 5: Roll and cut the dough

Kate Morgan for Taste of Home

On a floured surface, use a rolling pin to flatten the dough into a sheet about 1/4- to 1/2-in. thick. Cut the dough into shapes.

Editor’s Tip: This dough can be rolled out just like a typical cookie dough. For less mess, you can roll out your dough between two sheets of parchment paper. If you don’t have cookie cutters, use the rim of a glass or jar to make round treats, or just use a knife to cut the dough into squares.

Step 6: Bake, cool and serve

Place the dog treats on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown. Let them cool, then treat your pooch! If you’re looking for a quick recipe, here’s our 3-ingredient dog treat recipe you can make in 15 minutes.

Tips For Making Chicken Dog Treats

Kate Morgan for Taste of Home

You can mix together all the ingredients by hand or, to save yourself a few minutes, beat with the whisk attachment of a stand mixer until just combined. If the dough seems too wet, add more oat flour a tablespoon at a time. If it’s too dry, add more broth or water a teaspoon at a time. You’ll know it’s perfect when it sticks to itself, but not to your fingers.

Are chicken treats good for dogs?

In short, yes! The chicken and egg in this recipe give your dog a protein boost, and sweet potatoes are one of the best sources for vitamin A, which helps support your dog’s skin, fur, eyes and muscular system.

How long do these treats last?

These treats don’t contain any preservatives, so they shouldn’t stay at room temperature for more than a couple hours. They’ll last a few days to a few months with proper storage in the fridge or freezer.

How should I store chicken dog treats?

Store the dog treats in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days, or in the freezer for up to three months.

What’s a good serving size for my dog?

That depends on the size of your dog. A large dog can eat two to three of these treats in a day without ruining their appetite.

Can humans eat these dog treats?

Yes, but the flavor might not get your tail wagging quite as much as your dog’s.