It is only natural to want to share all of your delicious treats with your best furry friends. However, we know that not all human foods are safe for our pets. Unfortunately, ice cream is one of those tasty snacks that you should not share with your dog. Thankfully, you can make dog ice cream that your pet can enjoy!
Like humans, some dogs are lactose intolerant. There are also many ingredients commonly found in ice cream (like chocolate, sugar, caffeine, raisins, nuts, and especially xylitol) that could make your dog very sick or even be toxic.
Homemade ice cream for dogs is simple to make, and only requires a few ingredients.
It's much cheaper than commercial doggy ice cream products, too!
This recipe is made with apples, but you could easily substitute any other dog-friendly fruits of your choosing.
Apple and Honey Ice Cream for Dogs Recipe
Most owners believe that ice cream is a safe treat for their pups.
While it's not toxic, ice cream made for humans contains lactose, which some dogs cannot digest.
Human ice cream also has sugar and artificial ingredients that could upset a dog's stomach.
Making homemade ice cream with dog-friendly ingredients is a much better option.
Recipe: Apple and Honey Ice Cream for Dogs
Making your own doggy ice cream allows you to select your own ingredients, so you can choose things that you know your dog loves and aren't toxic. You can also choose fresh, whole food ingredients that are safer and healthier than the artificial ingredients in commercial products, and make substitutions.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: about 12 treats 1x
- Category: Frozen Treats
- Method: Freezer
- Cuisine: Dog Treats
Ingredients
- 1 cup low-fat plain yogurt
- 1 apple (chopped)
- 1 tbsp. raw honey
Instructions
To make this ice cream, just add the yogurt, honey and apple to a food processor. Puree the mixture. Once it is smooth, just pour the mixture into ice cube trays and freeze until firm.
If you're going to feed this treat to your pet on a regular basis, you can substitute other dog-friendly fruits and veggies. Some of my favorite substitutions include:
- pumpkin
- cranberries
- blueberries
- bananas
- kale
- spinach
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 treat
- Calories: 30
- Sugar: 4.8 g
- Sodium: 15 mg
- Fat: .3 g
- Carbohydrates: 5.5 g
- Fiber: .5 g
- Protein: 1.2 g
- Cholesterol: 1 mg
Once the ice cream is frozen, you can remove it from the molds and place the frozen treats in an airtight container.
You can keep them in a freezer for about 8 to 10 weeks.
Feed them sparingly.
As you can see in the nutrient information above, these treats contain about 30 calories each.
One a day won't make a big difference in your dog's diet, but feeding too many could lead to unhealthy weight gain.
For More Information
We publish many homemade dog food and treats recipes every month. For more recipes, pet food cooking tips and advice, see our “Recipes” section.
If you're new to home-cooked dog food subject, I recommend you read more about “How Much To Feed” to understand serving sizes, “What Supplements To Use” to create well-balanced meals, and “How To Store” for tips on simple and easy homemade dog food storing in a fridge or a freezer.
Dog Ice Cream Honey and Apple Recipe: Closing Thoughts
I hope you loved this dog ice cream recipe as much as my dog Sadie loved it. Remember that honey and apple has sugar in it, so feet these sparingly.
Let me know in the comments below how it went with this recipe!
