There’s no denying that our furry family members bring us immeasurable happiness and joy, so why not at least try to repay the kindness with these homemade treats?? Made with only 3 ingredients, gluten free (not that the pets may need this, but to any owner with Celiac this is critical!) and fun to create, these sweet nutritious treats will make the perfect gifts for the pooches on your Christmas list this year!
Just the smell of banana and peanut butter may bring your curious puppy wandering in to see what you are creating!! “Grand-pup” Chief seemed to have a sense that we were making something just for him as he pretty much couldn’t stay away from our treat production process!
For the gluten free oatmeal (or regular oatmeal if you don’t need to make these gluten free!) it is best to process it a bit in a blender or Cuisinart to create more of a “flour” rather than have the full oat grain. This will make it easier for the dough to come together and roll out smoothly. It’s not critical to pulverize every last grain, in fact I like the more rustic result of mostly flour, and yet still being able to see some oats.
For this batch of dog treats we used (mashed) bananas, which I find most dogs love! But you could also experiment with other fruit or vegetable purees, like applesauce or pumpkin, as long as you feel confident your pet(s) can tolerate them. It’s important to keep any of the purees as natural as possible. Applesauce should be just apples, no sugar, corn syrup or artificial sweeteners and the same goes for pumpkin puree. It should be simply pumpkin, and not pumpkin pie filling! You may want to contact your vet to verify which fruits /vegetables would be healthy and safe for your pet, and once you know, have fun playing around with flavors to create your little Fido’s favorite delight!
But I digress….for this recipe, mix the oatmeal flour, mashed bananas and peanut butter together in a medium bowl until they are well blended and you can bring the dough together into one lovely treat ball. And just like when you are making cookies….there will be eager mouths around wondering whether they can lick a bowl or have an early snitch of dough! And what chef could resist that??
At this point you have a couple of options. You can either roll out the dough right on the countertop (using some reserved oatmeal flour to help with easy rolling) to about a 1/4″ thickness and cut into desired shapes. Then carefully transfer to a cookie sheet. Alternatively, if that seems a bit fussy for you, or you just prefer a more rustic treat look, simply scoop some dough (about a tablespoon at a time), roll it into a ball and then flatten on the cookie sheet with the palm of your hand. Either method will create a delicious snack that your pooch will love!
Easy Gluten Free Dog Treats
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups oatmeal, gluten free if necessary
- 1 banana, mashed (about 1/2 cup)
- 1/2 cup peanut butter, natural creamy or chunky
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
- Place oatmeal into a blender or Cuisinart and blitz for several seconds until it is more of a flour-like texture. Reserve a couple tablespoons for rolling out the dough.
- In a medium bowl stir together remaining oats, mashed banana and peanut butter until thoroughly mixed together. If you find the dough is dry and crumbly add a bit more peanut butter until it becomes more pliable. Alternatively, if you have a really wet dough, you may need to add in the reserved oat flour to achieve that pliable texture. Using your hands, gather dough together into a ball.
- Transfer dough to countertop sprinkled with some of the reserved oat flour or other gluten free flour. Using your hands, first shape the ball into a disk shape, and then gently roll out dough to a thickness of about 1/4" using additional oat flour or other gluten free flour to keep the dough from becoming sticky. Cut dough into desired shapes and gently transfer to lined (either with a silicone mat or parchment paper) cookie sheet. Alternatively, if you don't want to roll out your treats, scoop dough into approximately tablespoon portions, roll into balls and then flatten with the palm of your hand onto the cookie sheet.
- Bake for about 15 minutes or until edges just start to darken. Allow to cool 15 minutes or so before sharing with your furry friend, or trying yourself! This recipe should yield about 18 treats (3 1/2' x 1 1/2").
Love the dog treat recipes – look simple to make and delish for our furry friends!