Spinach, Carrot and Zucchini Dog Treats
DIY dog treats that are nutritious, healthy and so easy to make. Plus, your pup will absolutely LOVE these!
We recently had quite a scare with Butters. It was moving day and the movers had just arrived to pack up our stuff and load up the truck. The husband took both dogs out for a walk so they can be out of the way for the movers. Five minutes later, he walked back into the house in a panic, with Butters in his arms.
He said he had no idea what happened but something was clearly wrong with him – he was lethargic, he lost all bowel movement, and just collapsed to the ground.
He handed off Ollie to me and rushed off to the ER, while the movers were still in the house loading up the truck.
It was the scariest 30 minutes of my life, waiting by the phone, hoping for good news.
Then I got that text telling me he got stung by a bee. No, wait, he first ate the bee, and then the bee stung him right at the tip of his tongue.
He recovered quickly after a few shots and some monitoring, but as I said, there’s nothing more scary than not knowing what is wrong with your pup.
Upon recovery, we surprised him with these veggie-loaded treats. After devouring his first treat in 0.00007 seconds, he forgot all about that traumatic bee sting incident.
Sorry, it’s just Ollie here. Butters wanted to be fully recovered before posing in front of the camera to make sure he looks his best.
Spinach, Carrot and Zucchini Dog Treats
Ingredients
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- ¼ cup peanut butter
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup old fashioned oats
- 3 cups whole wheat flour, or more, as needed
- 1 carrot, peeled and shredded
- 1 zucchini, shredded
- 1 cup baby spinach, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat; set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat pumpkin puree, peanut butter and eggs on medium-high until well combined, about 1-2 minutes.
- Gradually add old fashioned oats and 2 1/2 cups flour at low speed, beating just until incorporated. Add an additional 1/4 cup flour at a time just until the dough is no longer sticky. Add carrot, zucchini and spinach, beating just until incorporated.
- Working on a lightly floured surface, knead the dough 3-4 times until it comes together. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Using cookie cutters, cut out desired shapes and place onto the prepared baking sheet.
- Place into oven and bake until the edges are golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.*
- Let cool completely.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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style=”text-align: center;”>Please consult with your pet’s veterinarian regarding possible allergies your dog may have.
you can replace the pumpkin with apple sauce made them turned out great
Hi, I made them today. I love the concept but wanted to know better. Are these a chewy treat or crunchy treat? The texture of yours looks smoother. I’m new to puppy/ dog treats.
They are a bit more chewy than crunchy. 🙂
While I like the idea, didn’t have much luck with them. You didn’t say if you squeezed the water out of the zucchini before adding so I didn’t- found the dough not sticky but very wet, after 35 min and turning up oven still too soft inside. I make my dogs treats all the time and haven’t had this happen- so I’m going to say should have squeezed out water from zucchini. Might try again as Ilike the idea of them- but lesson learned
Thank you for sharing these. I can’t really afford the store treats anymore. It is gone up to 12 and 20 dollars a bag. I am going to start making my own. Hoping they will be healthy for my frenchie. Thanks
Is there a way to make these grain free?
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. But if you get a chance to try it, please let me know how it turns out! 🙂
was wondering the same thing! i am celiac so i don’t (can’t!) have whole wheat flour in the house.
There are several flours you can sub to make them grain free. The most popular in dog treats would probably be coconut flour. Make sure you research the ratio though. It’s not always a 1:1.
These turned out great! A bit sticky even after adding the full 3 cups of whole wheat flour, but I just added in some more oats and flour to fix that up. My corgi Walter (@thecuriouscorgi) loves these! The first time he tried one he looked at me wanting more, then started sniffing up toward the counter where the later batches were cooling – good thing he’s not tall enough to counter surf!!
These will also make for a great gift. Thank you for the recipe – looking forward to trying more out!!
Thank you for sharing!
I made these , but I skipped the veggies and added blueberries instead,. Our dog loves them. Thanks for the recipe.
Awesome!
How long do they last at room temperature? Do they have to be refrigerated?
A few days at least but as I am not an expert on food safety, I cannot really say with certainty. Methods for optimal food storage and shelf life should be based on good judgment and what you are personally comfortable with.
Can these be frozen?
Unfortunately, we cannot answer this with certainty as we have never tried freezing this ourselves. Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
I have been making this recipe for my dogs for about 3 years now. Each time is for their birthdays. They love it and are obsessed. But instead of dog treats i make it as a cake. Thank you for the recipe!
Aw that’s so sweet Melissa! Awesome!
Hi… So wanna try this recipe for my puppy, Ruffles…
Can u tell me if i can replace pumpkin puree with anything else?
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
Sooo, I saw your question and decided to leave my two cents. You can bake sweet potatoes and scoop out three potato, blend with filtered water (if needed) to consistency and oz. Unfortunately cannot say how many sweet potato due to varying sizes. Eyeball eat what is left! I do not understand not wanting to user the puree as it is so very good for dogs and people! I use it inn smoothies for consistency, flavor, natural sweetener or a pumpkin spice w/turmeric for a breakin healing smoothie. If that dog head a sensitivity to pumpkin the potato may as well though. Similar in nutrients and vitamins…
Forgive the grammatical errors as my MS brain goes up and down in processing. I cannot edit my comment on this blog, but I hope you get the jyst?
Be careful of commercial peanut butters that they do not contain that toxic sweetner beginning with X not sure how it is spelt Xy…. it apparently is lethal to dogs. You are best to get your peanut butter from freshly churned at Health Food Store. Cashews, are deadly.
Xylitol. It’s an artificial sweetener that dogs should NEVER be given. It can cause everything from a slight laxative effect (which it also causes in humans) to death. Most commonly it causes hypoglycemia and/or organ failure.
It’s never really safe to give a dog any artificial sweetener. (Unless of course your vet says differently.)
Unsure of what to think. Was way to wet when I tried, so I added more flour to make more of a “cookie” textured dough. I tasted a couple but mostly I get flour taste with peanut butter after taste. Wish a texture would have been posted on recipe (pre and post baking). Also, this made waaaay too many cookies for my little and now I’m wondering how long they’ll be good for. I wanna donate to a shelter but stuck inside for covid19 quarantine… ugh!
My dough was WAY too wet… I think it’s because the veggies created so much water. I didn’t see to squeeze the water out so I had to add more four to get a “cookie like” dough. I too had way too much dough. I froze the rest after cutting 2 dozen bone shapes out. I’m going to see how it holds up in the freezer to later thaw to make more… I hope my doggos don’t have a mouth full of flour :/
Xylitol
Hi my dough came out really sticky and I added a bit mor flour and oats and still really sticky. What did I do wrong?
Did you follow the recipe exactly as written without any substitutions?
Help made them yesterday and the they are soft are they suppose to be crunchy or soft
They are meant to be soft but they can be more crunchy if baked for a longer period of time.
Oh my gosh, this sounds like a terrifying experience! I can’t imagine. So glad he was ok 🙂 Thanks for the recipe, I will definitely be trying them for my pup!
So i was wondering if the treats will turn out the same without the spinach and zucchini.?
Yes!
Same happened to my little shih tzu …rushed to vet spent the night on an iv with antihistamines as apparently hes allergic. Scared me to death so now needless to say im a vigilant bee/hornet guard now. Hes a fussy guy when it comes to treats so will try these. ..they sound like something he will love.
Ty for the recipe
connie and dozer
Sounds more likely that his poor little tongue and mouth swelled and he had a hard time breathing more than anaphylactic shock.
All animals are allergic. It’s why we have a histamine reaction at all. It’s the severity that varies. But being stung in the mouth is particularly tricky because it swells the area close to the trachea and can cause us (or our pups) to struggle to breathe. I’m so glad your pup is ok!!
These sound awesome, however, not everyone knows MANY KINDS of PEANUT BUTTER CONTAIN ZYLETOL ~ ZYLETOL IS LETHAL TO DOGS! Within as little as 30 minutes your dog (s) Can Die. Their blood sugar drops incredibly fast and without immediate veterinarian help…well you know. MANY PRODUCTS HAVE ZYLETOL ADDED TO THEM such as sugar free GUM, DIET DRINKS and hindreds of other food & drinks. I’ll be making these Dog Treats asap with an alternate to PB. IF they turn out I’ll let you know what works. Thank you for the receipe!
No need to omit the PB. Just check the ingredients list. It Xylitol will be listed if it’s there. Considering it’s an artificial sweetener you’ll have no trouble finding it on the ingredients portion of the label.
I gotta get my dog to try them. Thanks for the recipe.
I cannot believe how nuts-o my dog went over these. Excited that I will have something more to do with all my zucchinis next summer. Thanks for the fantastic recipe 🙂