Homemade Dog Treats with Real Meat

I’ve always been focused on feeding my dogs a healthy, whole food diet. And today I’m going to share my recipe for homemade dog treats with real meat.

Although for the most part, my dogs eat healthy whole foods, I’ve always had issues finding commercial dog treats that are healthy, minimally processed, and not overly expensive.

Yes, I know! That’s an almost impossible feat. Because in today’s world, if dog treats are healthy and minimally processed – they cost a fortune. And with two big dogs who train daily, it’s just not sustainable.

I’m also really picky about the ingredients I use in homemade dog treats. I want whole foods that I can give my dogs with confidence. Things like peanut butter, coconut oil, and rice or wheat flour are not the kind of ingredients I want to give my dogs daily.

So without mincing (no pun intended) any more words…

Here’s my recipe for homemade dog treats with real meat!

Homemade Dog Treats with Real Meat

Tools

• Baking tray. (I used two 28 cm baking tray for this recipe).
• Sheets of baking paper.
• Large mixing bowl.
• Spatula or food processor.

Ingredients

• 1 kg of ground meat. (I used ostrich for this recipe, but you can use any ground meat you have on hand).
• 3 x organic chicken eggs. (I used medium-sized eggs for this recipe).
• 1/2 a cup of organic coconut flour.
• 1/4 cup of organic hydrolyzed collagen powder.
• 1/4 cup of freshly chopped parsley.
• 1/2 a cup of water (This is to be used as needed).

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 180° C.
2. Line your baking tray with a sheet of baking paper. (I used a 28 cm square silicone baking tray for this recipe).
3. Mix all the ingredients together into a smooth consistency.
4. Pour the mixture into your baking tray. (The mixture should be no more than 3 cm in height).
5. Bake at 180° C for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown.
6. Remove from the baking tray by lifting the sides of the baking paper.
7. Place on a cooling rack and allow to cool.
8. Cut into small blocks around 2 or 3 mm in size.
9. Freeze what you don’t use. This way you’ll have treats handy whenever you need them.

Notes

1. Depending on how much natural fat is in your meat you might have some fat collected on top of the bake when removing from the oven. This is totally fine but you can scoop it off if you prefer.
2. I used two baking trays for this recipe, but my dishes are small. If you have a large baking tray, you’ll likely only need one tray.
3. Using baking paper makes it super easy to remove the finished product from the tray. There’s no sticky mess and cleaning up is a breeze.
4. Keep the 1/2 cup of water handy and only add a little at a time. I didn’t need all that much water because the meat I used still had a lot of juice to compensate.
5. If you’re using large to jumbo eggs you might only need one or two. So crack and add one egg at a time to make sure you get the consistency just right.
6. For fan assisted ovens you might only need to heat to 160° or 170° C. My oven is not fan-assisted, so I used 180° C for this recipe.
7. I used fresh parsley from my garden. If you only have access to dried parsley, use around 2 teaspoons for this recipe.