Dog Chews: Banana and Oat
Soft, chewy, four-ingredient dog treats made from ripe banana, oats, and an egg. They are a good counterpart to the crunchy pumpkin biscuits: no nut butter, no rolling out, and they mix in a single bowl. Makes about 2 dozen treats.
Check before you start. Use plain rolled oats (not instant packets with sugar or flavoring) and nothing else added. If you add a spoonful of peanut butter, make sure it is xylitol-free.
Ingredients
| Amount | Ingredient |
|---|---|
| 2 | very ripe bananas (about 1 cup mashed) |
| 1 | large egg |
| 2 cups | old-fashioned rolled oats |
| ½ cup | oat flour (or whole wheat flour), plus a little extra if needed |
| 1 tsp | ground cinnamon (optional) |
Equipment
- Large bowl and a fork or potato masher
- Spoon or cookie scoop
- Parchment-lined baking sheet
Method
- Heat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment.
- Mash the bananas in the bowl until smooth. Stir in the egg and cinnamon.
- Stir in the oats and oat flour until the mixture is thick and sticky and holds together. If it is too wet to scoop, add oat flour a tablespoon at a time.
- Scoop tablespoon-size mounds onto the sheet and press each flat to about ½ inch thick. They won’t spread much.
- Bake 15–18 minutes, until firm and lightly golden on the edges.
- Cool on the sheet for a few minutes, then move to a rack. They stay soft in the middle; for a firmer chew, leave them in the turned-off oven for 20 minutes.
Storage
These are moist, so they keep less well than dry biscuits:
- Refrigerator, airtight, up to 1 week.
- Freezer, up to 3 months. Freeze them flat on a tray, then bag them; they thaw in a few minutes.
Notes
- Bananas are high in natural sugar, so keep these to a treat or two a day, and fewer for small dogs.
- Treats should stay under roughly 10% of a dog’s daily calories.
- If your dog has a grain or egg sensitivity, or you aren’t sure these ingredients are right for them, check with your vet.
- Skip raisins, chocolate, onion, garlic, and xylitol in any variation of this recipe; all are harmful to dogs.