If you have some old bananas on your sideboard that are starting to turn brown, you may be thinking of making banana bread.
While that's a great idea for your human family members, these homemade banana dog treats are another great way to use up the aging fruit.
Bananas are a great addition to your pet's diet as long as you feed them in moderation.
They are low in calories and high in vitamins and minerals like biotin, potassium, and copper.
Bananas are also high in fiber, which is good for your pup's digestion.
They are low in cholesterol and sodium, but they are a bit high in sugar.
That's why it's important to feed these treats in moderation. As with dog treats, you don't want to add too many unnecessary calories to your dog's diet.
My favorite thing about making homemade dog treats is that you can customize them to your pet's needs.
For example, if you're doing training work and feeding lots of treats daily, you can make them very small.
Even if you're not feeding them as training treats, you can cater the size of the treats to your pet. I make a variety of sizes because I have multiple dogs.
Homemade Banana Dog Treats Recipe
This homemade dog treat recipe uses just 5 ingredients. It's easy to make and great for dogs with food allergies and sensitivities.
If your dog is allergic to oats, you could substitute quinoa flakes or rice bran for them.
You could also substitute mashed sweet potato, canned pumpkin, plain yogurt, or applesauce for the banana.
I like to make different variations of this recipe to keep the treats appealing to my dogs and add different nutritional benefits to their diets.
PrintRecipe: Homemade Banana Dog Treats
As I mentioned, you can cater homemade dog food and dog treat recipes to meet your pet's specific needs. If your dog needs a grain-free recipe, you could use almond or coconut flour in place of the oats.
Be sure to check the nutritional information below, and do not feed too many of these treats in one day. As with any dog treats, feeding too many will add unnecessary calories to your dog's diet.
You'll need to increase your pet's activity level in order to burn off extra calories. It's important to keep your pet lean and prevent obesity.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 72 treats 1x
- Category: Baked Treats
- Method: Oven Baked
- Cuisine: Dog Treats
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups oats
- 3 medium bananas
- 2 tbsp. raw honey
- 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp. ground flaxseed
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350°.
Mash the bananas in a large bowl. Add the honey, oats, cinnamon and flaxseed to the bowl.
Mix to combine. You want the dough to hold together, but you don't want it to be too wet.
If it's not holding together, add some water 1 tablespoon at a time until you get the right consistency. If the mixture is too wet, add more oats1 tablespoon at a time until you get the right consistency.
You can roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and use cookie cutters to form the treats into cute shapes. You can also drop small spoonfuls of the dough onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
I use a small ice cream scoop to form the treats. No matter what you do, place the cookies on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
Bake the treats for about 15 minutes. The bigger you make the treats, the longer you'll need to bake them.
When they begin to turn light brown, you'll know they are finished baking.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 treat
- Calories: 45
- Sugar: 2.9 g
- Sodium: 1 mg
- Fat: .8 g
- Carbohydrates: 9.2 g
- Fiber: 2.5 g
- Protein: 1.1 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
How to store: Leftover homemade dog treats can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 12-14 days.
Remember that homemade treats do not contain the preservatives that store-bought products do.
They will not last as long. However, you can freeze these treats in an airtight container for up to three months.
For More Information
We publish many homemade dog food and treat recipes every month. For more recipes, pet food cooking tips, and advice, see our “Recipes” section.
If you're new to the home-cooked dog food world, 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.
