Dogs love these 3-Ingredient, gluten-free, homemade dog treats. They are quick and easy to make and can help you save money by using pantry ingredients.
Last year, for National Puppy Day (March 23), I shared a recipe for 4 Ingredient High Quality Homemade Puppy/Dog Training Treats. Our dogs LOVE these treats, and they were such a lifesaver training our new puppy Orla.
Little did I know that recipe would become the MOST POPULAR recipe on my blog. (THANK YOU!) Seems like you and your furry family members love those treats as much as I do. So, I thought it would be fun to share another recipe. This one only requires 3 ingredients, and these homemade dog treats are gluten-free! Plus, they can also be used when training your dogs.
Homemade Gluten-Free Dog Treats Ingredients
Oats / Oat Flour
The first ingredient you’ll need is gluten-free oats or oat flour. Most of the time, I never buy oat flour since it’s so easy to make at home. But if you have oat flour, go ahead and use that.
To make your own flour, add 1 1/2 cups of rolled oats or quick oats in a blender or food processor. Then, blend until it’s fine and powdery. And, volia! Homemade oat flour!
NOTE: Most oats are naturally gluten-free. However, during processing, they may become contaminated with gluten-containing products. So, when choosing your oats, be sure to pick one that is labeled “Gluten-free”.
Peanut Butter
Next, you’ll need peanut butter. You can use natural or conventional peanut butter. Although, the best peanut butter you can find should only have peanuts (and/or salt) as ingredients. Or better yet, you can make your own!
NOTE: When choosing your peanut butter be sure not to use peanut butter sweetened with Xylitol. It is highly toxic to dogs! So, do not use it!
Our dogs absolutely LOVE peanut butter! Whenever they smell peanut butter, they come running. Then, they’ll start doing all their tricks in hopes of getting some! So, for my dogs, and possibly yours, peanut butter is a great ingredient for dog treats.
TIP: For a special treat for our dogs, we like to fill a Kong with our favorite dry dog food. Then, we plug the top of the hole with peanut butter. Our dogs go crazy for this, and this also helps them eat their food more slowly. It’s also a great way to crate train them.
Banana
Finally, you’ll need a large, ripe banana! This recipe is a great way to use up browned bananas that are on their last leg. In fact, the more brown and speckled a banana, the sweeter they are. While you should be careful giving your dog too much sugar, the natural sweetness in the banana is a perfect paring with the peanut butter and oats.
Since every dog is different and has different nutritional needs, be sure to consult with your vet if you are concerned about feeding your dog any of these ingredients. I love my dogs and consider them part of the family. So, I would never feed them anything I didn’t feel good about.
Homemade Gluten-Free Dog Treats Prep Tips
The first step for these Homemade Gluten-Free Dog Treats is to combine the oat flour, peanut butter, and banana to make a dough ball (1, above).
The dough can be sticky or dry depending on how big your banana is. If it’s too dry, add additional peanut butter. If it’s too wet, add additional oats. Before adding additional ingredients, keep mixing your dough. While mixing, it takes longer than you think to come together. You’ll know the dough is too dry if it’s crumbly and does not stick together.
Next, you’ll need to roll out your dough into 1/4″ thickness (2, above). I like to roll out the dough on parchment paper since it can stick. Smooth out any cracks in the dough.
Next, cut shapes from the dough with a bench scrapper or a cookie cutters. I prefer square treats since I can bust them out quickly. For reference, I cut mine about 1/2″ wide and long, and I got about 95 treats (2 & 3, above). If you have any scraps or small pieces after cutting, combine them, reroll, and make more treats.
Using a bench scraper helps move the treats directly to the cookie sheet once they are cut (3, above). If you have multiple dogs and need multiple dog treat sizes, I highly recommend using the bench scraper since you can easily cut treats of different sizes. Plus, the bench scraper is less likely to damage your countertops or work surface.
Finally, line a Half-Sized Baking Sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Then, transfer the dog treats to the prepared baking sheet, and bake the treats at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. The treats will be done when they are golden brown on the bottom. Since they can over-bake quickly, be sure to check the treats at the 12 minute mark. Keep checking them every minute until they are done.
Homemade Gluten-Free Dog Treats Storage and Use
For the longest shelf-life, refrigerate the treats in an air-tight container. The treats will be good up to two weeks in the fridge, or you can freeze up to a month.
As mentioned in my previous post, you can package these treats in individual portions in your fridge. So, when you are ready to work on training your dog, the correct portion for your dog is all ready to go! It makes the treats very convenient and easy to work with.
At our house, our dogs sleep in their crates at night. So, every night, we let our dogs go potty before bed. Then, they are put into their crates and given one of these treats. They love the nightly routine, and they love looking forward to a bedtime treat.
More Recipe Suggestions
If you love this post, be sure to check out my original recipe for 4 Ingredient High Quality Homemade Puppy/Dog Training Treats.
Or if you are looking for a human snack, give these Frozen Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Pretzel Bites a try. Don’t tell, but my dogs also love these before they are covered in chocolate!
For another suggestion for overripe bananas, I recommend my One Bowl Banana Bread. In my opinion, it tastes even better than Starbucks!
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Homemade Gluten-Free Dog Treats
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups Old-Fashioned Oats* (Gluten-free)
- 1/2 cup Peanut Butter (Xylitol-free)
- 1 large Banana Ripe
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a half-sized baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat.
- Add oats to a food processor or blender, and process until finely ground.
- In a large mixing bowl, add banana and mash with a fork until smooth. Add peanut butter and ground oats, and mix until well combined and a dough forms. The dough should be tacky but not too sticky. If your dough is dry add 1 tbsp of peanut butter at a time until dough holds together. Add 1 tbsp of oat flour at a time if your dough is too wet.
- Line work surface with parchment paper, and roll dough into a 1/4" thick circle. Using a bench scraper, slice the dough into 1/2" squares. (Or you can cut the desired size or use cookie cutters.) Using the bench scraper, transfer treats to the baking sheet.
- Bake 12-15 minutes until the bottoms are golden brown. Avoid over-baking or they could dry out too much and fall apart. Allow treats to cool for 15 minutes before serving or storing.
Notes
BE SURE TO SAVE THIS Homemade Gluten-Free Dog Treats RECIPE FOR LATER ON FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, OR PINTEREST OR YOUR OTHER FAVORITE SOCIAL MEDIA SITE! I WOULD BE SO APPRECIATIVE IF YOU WOULD RATE THE RECIPE IF YOU LOVE IT AS MUCH AS I DO. THANK YOU FOR READING!
All information and tools presented and written within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am NOT a doctor, nutritionist or registered dietitian. Please check with your veterinarian about any concerns regarding your pets’ nutrition. CleanFingersLaynie is not responsible for any adverse effects from following the advice provided.
I made these for my grown dogs. I used a snowman cookie cutter so they are two bite sizes. A bigger treat. They love them! And this was so easy to make! I spent more time washing the dishes than making them.
Love the idea of using a snowman cookie cutter! We have two-bite treats, so why not our furry-family members too! Thank you for such a fun comment! Made my day!
Trying out your dog recipes today. Thanks heaps! 👍🏽
Is the 20 kcal per treat or the whole recipe? I am trying to find very low kcal treat for puppy training.
Thank you!!
Hi Holly, the calorie count will depend on the size of treats you make. When I make these, I make approximate squares 1/2″ wide and long and about 1/4″ thick (see post for pictures). This gave me about 95 treats, and each treat is 20 kcal. But you could definitely make them smaller for a lower calorie treat! Best wishes for your training! I know it can be tough!
How long can the treats be on the counter in a container?
As mentioned in the post above, for the longest shelf-life, I recommend storing them in the fridge not on the counter.