Homemade Applesauce Dog Treats are a tasty snack for your furry friend. As they bake in the oven, your fur baby will wag their tail in anticipation!
Your sweet pup deserves the very best. These apple sauce treats taste like dessert, but they are so nutritious that you will be proud to share them with your pet.
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Why This Is The Best Dog Treats with Applesauce Recipe
There are so many crunchy dog treats recipes out there – what about dogs that need soft foods? These easy homemade dog treats are soft and chewy and easy for even older dogs to eat.
One of the best things about homemade dog treats is that they are less expensive than store-bought and have simple ingredients. Your dog will probably get hungry as they bake because they will be able to smell the apple and banana flavors.
Not only will you save money, but you can be proud that you are giving your fur baby tasty treats that are healthy for them too. Applesauce dog treats do not have added sugar or artificial sweeteners. (You can’t say that about some store-bought treats).
I love making homemade dog biscuits, and these are snacks that are full of nutrients! Make a batch of these when your dog wants a special treat and share your love with your pup.
The Best Things About These DIY Dog Treats
Baking homemade treats yourself means you know you are giving your four-legged friend all natural dog treats with wholesome and simple ingredients. There aren’t any mystery ingredients found in store-bought dog treats.
If you give your dog raw apple slices for treats, then these homemade dog treats with unsweetened applesauce are the next step in spoiling your hound. This may be your dog’s new favorite treat.
Benefits of Apples for Dogs
Apples are a great source of dietary fiber that’s great for your dog’s gut health and digestive system. They are high in Vitamin C, which is great for your dog’s immune system.
Apples have a natural sweetness and help your dog balance their blood sugar. If your dog has a sweet tooth, then give them some apple dog treats instead of whipped cream or ice cream.
Ingredients
The exact ingredient amounts and step-by-step directions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this article. First, I want to share some information about the ingredients I used in this homemade applesauce treats recipe.
Here’s a list of what you’ll need. They are common ingredients found in regular grocery stores. Oh, use organic ingredients if you want to make organic dog treats.
- Applesauce – unsweetened store-bought or homemade applesauce for dogs.
- Banana – use a ripe banana.
- Egg adds protein and is a binder for the dough.
- Coconut Oil is one of the best oils with healthy fatty acids. You can use olive oil if you don’t have coconut oil.
- Old-Fashioned Oats are used to make oat flour.
- Baking Soda keeps the treats from being too dense.
Flour Substitutions
When you make this dog treats recipe and want to use different flours, there are a few things to keep in mind:
If you do not want to use oat flour, use brown rice flour. And you can make it by placing uncooked brown rice in a food processor or blender and blending until it has the consistency of flour.
You can substitute all-purpose flour or a 50-50 combination of all-purpose and whole wheat flour for the oat flour. The amount will have to be adjusted since those flours will cause the dough to have a different consistency. It will take less of those flours than oat flour. Because whole wheat flour is denser, it’s not a good substitute to use by itself.
You can substitute coconut flour for the oat flour but you’ll need to add more liquid to the batter. Either more applesauce or some water.
Equipment Needed
You probably have most of the kitchen items you need to make these homemade dog treats. You can use any regular silicone candy mold but a dog paw print mold gives these treats a fun look.
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Skillet
- Large Bowl
- Dog Treat Molds
- Baking Sheet or cookie sheets
How To Make Applesauce Treats
These are the recipe steps and some photos of the process of making the treats. I hope they help you make this healthy dog treats recipe! Note there’s a printable recipe card below.
- Blend the old-fashioned oatmeal in a blender or food processor to create flour.
- Place the flour and baking soda in a large bowl. Stir or whisk to combine.
- Place the applesauce, banana, egg, and melted coconut oil in a bowl.
- Stir to combine well.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
- Stir until the batter is well combined.
- Spoon the batter into a silicone mold on a baking sheet.
- Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes until golden brown.
- Transfer the baked treats to a wire rack and cool them to room temperature
Cut Out Treats
Don’t have any silicone molds? You can roll out the dough and use cookie cutters to cut the dough. Just add more oat flour, a little at a time, until it has a good rolling consistency that’s not too dry or wet.
Place the ball of dough on a lightly floured surface and use a rolling pin to roll out the dough. Use cookie cutters for dog treats to cut out the treats. Or you can use a pizza cutter to cut square or rectangular treats.
Place the cutout treats on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper and bake at 350°F for about 10 to 15 minutes.
Recipe Variations
- Applesauce Carrot Dog Treats – add 1/4 cup of grated carrots to the batter.
- Applesauce Cinnamon Dog Treats – add 1/2 teaspoon to the flour mixture.
- Peanut Butter Applesauce Dog Treats – substitute the coconut oil with 3 tablespoons of peanut butter. Use natural creamy peanut butter that does not contain xylitol.
- Pumpkin Applesauce Dog Treats – substitute half of the applesauce with pumpkin puree.
Serving Size
How many homemade applesauce dog treats should you give your pup at once? That depends on the amount of food you gave your pet to eat that day and the size of your dog. Large dogs can consume more than smaller dogs. It’s best to give them small amounts – maybe one or two – a day.
Treats should be considered in your dog’s daily caloric intake. Make sure you don’t exceed the recommended amount for your dog.
Dogs shouldn’t have too many treats – including these yummy applesauce dog cookies. For this reason, I suggest only giving your spoiled hound one treat per day.
However, you can use your own judgment regarding how many treats are right for your dog.
How to Store
These baked dog treats should be stored in an airtight container. They can be stored on the countertop, in the refrigerator, or in the freezer.
How Long Do Homemade Dog Treats With Applesauce Last?
Baked applesauce dog treats in a sealed container will last up to 5 days on the counter or in the refrigerator. They will last up to four months in the freezer.
Can Humans Eat Applesauce Dog Treats?
Yes, people can eat these dog treats. All the ingredients are safe for human consumption. But I doubt folks would like them. They don’t taste as sweet or flavorful as other types of human foods.
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Popular Homemade Dog Treat Recipes
Want to make more treats for your dog? Here are some different types of dog treats to make:
- Apple Dog Treats
- Banana Smoothie for Dogs
- Dog Gravy made with chicken broth
- Homemade Peanut Butter Dog Treats
- Homemade Dog Treats without Peanut Butter
- Oatmeal Dog Treats
- Sweet Potato Dog Treats
Find more easy dog treat recipes here on Spoiled Hounds!
Applesauce Dog Treats
Ingredients
- 2 cups Uncooked Old-fashioned Oats or Brown Rice
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ cup Unsweetened Applesauce
- 1 Ripe Banana mashed
- 1 Egg
- 2 tablespoons Melted Coconut Oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Pulse the oats or brown rice in the blender or food processor to create flour.
- Place the flour and baking soda in a large bowl. Stir or whisk to combine.
- Place the applesauce, banana, egg, and coconut oil in a bowl. Stir to combine.
- Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir to combine well.
- Spoon the batter into a silicone mold.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- Transfer the baked treats to a wire rack and cool them to room temperature.
Trying this today.
I’ve read coconut oil was bad for dogs now what should I use?
Coconut oil is safe for dogs. But if you don’t want to use it, you can use sunflower oil instead.
Coconut oil is “very” beneficial for dogs. My Dobie is 12, she has coconut oil in her food everyday!
coconut oil is great for dogs, we use it to keep our dogs skin conditioned, our dog eats it off spoon(I think it helps with digestion) and we just put it in her dog treats for same reason…but recipe says you can use olive oil as a substitute
If my dog has Copper storage disease will using oats as flour hurt him? I’m only asking because we finally have him on the mend from it and we have been dealing with this since the end of May.
It’s always best to ask your vet about foods that are okay for dogs with any health conditions or diseases.
Hi ,
I will be making this for my baby girl Sala she loves treats,love making her treats and knowing what’s in them,and if there are safe.
Thank you
Evelyn Stallings
My three dogs, along with my husband and I, love these! They are similar to mini banana bread.
they are great people snacks…lol
I accidentally licked finger when filling molds and was blown away by the taste.
Anticipating good results!
I’ve been reading that didn’t use bad for dogs now? What do I use instead?
Coconut oil is bad for dogs from what I’ve been reading?
Coconut oil is safe for dogs. But if you don’t want to use it, you can use sunflower oil instead.
Is there anything else I can substitute the coconut oil with or can I skip that ingredient?
You can use sunflower oil or olive oil.
Coconut oil is safe for dogs. But if you don’t want to use it, you can use sunflower oil instead.
Hi, I don’t have a silicone mold, what else can I use?
You can add a little more flour until it has a rollable consistency. Then just roll it out on a floured surface and cut out the treats with a cookie cutter or use a knife or pizza cutter to cut the dough into squares or rectangles.
Do you fill your mold up to the top with the mix?
Yes, fill the mold to the top with it.
Do you buy the silicone baking molds and are you able to freeze them.
Yes, I buy silicone baking molds on Amazon. They can be frozen.
Read this if your worried about coconut oil:
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/is-coconut-oil-good-for-dogs/
What can I do if I don’t have molds to put the mixture in?
You can roll out and cut the dough. Just note you may need to add more flour if the dough it too sticky to roll.
You can use an ice cube tray.
can you use wheat flour also in place of the oats
You can use all-purpose flour instead of oat flour made from oats. Whole wheat flour will cause the treats to be too dense and you’ll need to add more water or liquid. If you want to use whole wheat flour, then substitute half of the oat flour with whole wheat and half with all-purpose flour.
How about almond flour?
You can use almond flour. Just note that it has a lot more calories and fat than the other types of flour.
I was wondering if you could use almond flour instead of oats, rice or regular flour? Thanks!
Yes, just note that almond flour has a lot more fat and calories than oat, rice, or regular flour.
Should these be refrigerated??
They don’t have to be refrigerated but they may last a day or two longer when chilled.
What is the shelf life in the fridge
They will last up to 5 days in the fridge.
This is my first time ever making this. It was easy, I’m hoping it will help with the itching of my babies. I tried the oats this time, next time I’m trying the brown rice.
I give my dogs allergy relief bites. They don’t scratch themselves anymore. They sell some at petsmart or you can get them online. I use pupgrade. One little bite daily. They think it’s a treat.
Can these dog cookies be dehydrated for longer shelf life?
I haven’t tried dehydrating them so I can’t say for sure. You could spread them out on a baking sheet and bake them at 250°F until they are drier and crunchier. That will get the extra moisture out which should make them have a longer shelf life.
What do I use if I don’t have banana?
If you don’t have banana, you can use plain pumpkin puree or plain cooked sweet potato.
How long do these stay fresh at room temp? Can they be frozen?
They will last up to 5 days on the counter or in the refrigerator. You can freeze them and they will last up to four months in the freezer.
Are these soft or crunchy?
They are crunchy but on the softer side and not hard like typical dog biscuits.
Can’t I just use 2 cups of oat flour instead of grinding oats?
Yes you can. It’s just less expensive to grind the oats to make oat flour. And, until recently, oat flour was hard to find in regular grocery stores.
I didn’t have molds, so I used my mini cupcake pan! Perfect sizes all around 😍. My granddogs are going to love them!!
Great idea to use the mini cupcake pan and glad it worked for you.
PERFECT! These were SO easy and my Portuguese Water Dogs LOVE ’em!
I bought 5 silicone molds from Amazon for only $5, found this recipe on Pinterest, and gave ’em a try. Using a silicone spatula, I rubbed the batter all over, making sure to push into crevices, then used the same spatula to wipe off any excess. Even though my dogs are 40-50lbs, I like to feed them smaller treats so it filled (2) molds of small bones, making 18 bones and 1.5 molds of small paws making 15 paws for a total of 33 treats. After removing some for enjoyment within the next few days, I froze the remaining treats in the molds before vacuum-sealing them for proper freezer storage. Sounds like a lot but it was honestly very quick.
I’m so glad your dog enjoys the treats and you enjoyed making them.
I’m Vegan and don’t want to bring eggs into my home. Is there a substitute I can use for the egg?
Yes, mix 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons of water. Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes then use it in place of the egg.
They bake up more like a muffin when I made them…are the suppose to be like that?
They shouldn’t rise up like a muffin. Too much baking soda could cause that to happen. Make sure you’re using only ½ teaspoon.
I used the small muffin tin and they rose like muffins is it still ok to give my pup ?
Oh yes, just think of them as mini muffins for dogs.
Is baking soda okay for dogs?
Yes, a small amount of baking soda is okay for dogs. It’s only harmful if a dog eats a large amount of it.
Do they need to be refrigerated afterwards?
They do not have to be refrigerated. They may last a couple of days longer when stored in the fridge.
How should I store these ? How long will they last ?
They should be stored in an airtight container. They can be stored on the countertop, in the refrigerator, or in the freezer. They will last up to 5 days on the counter or in the refrigerator. They will last up to four months in the freezer.
I made these for my almost 10 year old Havanese. She gobbled them up! Thanks so much for the recipe❤️❤️
I’m so glad she enjoyed the treats!
Thank you so much for the recipe! easy to make and my Pup loves them!
I’m so glad your dog enjoys the treats!
Are these okay for kitties?
I am not familiar with food that is safe for cats. I recommend checking with your vet.
Can I add creamy peanut butter to the recipe?
I haven’t tested it to be sure, but you should be able to add 1 or 2 tablespoons of creamy peanut butter without drastically affecting the texture. Or swap 1 tablespoon of the coconut oil with 1 or 2 tablespoons of peanut butter.
I’ve made this before with great success but was wondering if this is able to be made without the silicone mold and instead like a roll out and cut with cookie cutters? Would I need to adjust anything? Thanks
Yes, just add more oat flour, a little at a time, until it has a good rolling consistency that’s not too dry or wet.
Thanks so much!