2 Homemade Dog Treat Recipes for Longevity & Healthy Aging
If you care about the quality of the food you put in your own body, chances are you’ve looked at the ingredient list on your dog’s treats — or kibble — and thought:
Wait. Why are there 100 ingredients in this?
A lot of commercial dog food and treats are highly processed and made with ingredients you may not necessarily choose if you were making your dog’s food yourself.
The good news? Homemade dog treats are actually pretty easy to make.
Some of the best treats can be made with simple, recognizable whole foods like salmon, blueberries, sweet potato, flaxseed, chia seeds, carrots, and organ meats.
And while no single food or dog biscuit is going to magically add years to your dog’s life, what we feed them over time absolutely contributes to their overall nutrition and health as they age.
So instead of thinking of these as magical “longevity cookies,” think of them as a way to make the treats you’re already giving your dog a little more nutrient-dense.
My philosophy is pretty simple:
If I’m going to give my dog a treat anyway, can I make that treat do a little more?
These are two of my favorites:
Oven-Dried Chicken Liver Treats
Blueberry Salmon & Sweet Potato Dog Biscuits
Both are made with whole-food ingredients, require no dehydrator, and freeze beautifully.
Oven-Dried Chicken Liver Dog Treats
Possibly the easiest homemade dog treat imaginable.
One ingredient: chicken livers.
Chicken livers are rich in protein and naturally contain nutrients like iron, zinc, B vitamins, and taurine. They’re also incredibly flavorful, so your dog probably doesn’t need you to coat them in bacon-flavored peanut butter dust to be interested.
Slow-drying them in the oven turns them into little homemade jerky treats — no dehydrator required.
Oven-Dried Chicken Liver Dog Treats
Makes: about 1 pound of treats
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 2½–4 hours
Ingredients
1 pound chicken liver.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 300°F.
Trim away any large pieces of excess fat and pat the chicken livers very dry.
Slice each liver in half lengthwise. This helps them cook and dry more evenly.
Arrange the livers in a single layer on a wire rack set over a baking sheet.
Bake for 20–30 minutes, or until completely cooked through and the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
Reduce the oven temperature to 200°F and continue drying for 2–3 hours, turning once or twice.
The livers are ready when they are dark, shrunken, firm, and dry throughout.
Turn off the oven and leave them inside for another 30–60 minutes with the door slightly cracked.
Cool completely before storing.
Storage
Think jerky, not roasted chicken. If the center is still soft, juicy, or squishy, continue drying.
Store in an airtight container:
Refrigerator: 5–7 days
Freezer: 2–3 months
I like to keep a few days’ worth in the refrigerator and freeze the rest.
Blueberry Salmon & Sweet Potato Dog Biscuits
This recipe is where things get a little more fun.
I wanted to make a homemade dog biscuit using nutrient-dense whole foods without turning it into one of those recipes with 14 powders and supplements just because they’re supposedly “good for you.”
Every ingredient has a purpose.
Salmon provides protein along with EPA and DHA omega-3 fats.
Blueberries provide anthocyanins — the colorful polyphenols responsible for their deep blue-purple color.
Sweet potato and carrots provide fiber and carotenoids.
Flaxseed and chia provide fiber along with plant-based omega-3 fats.
Egg adds protein and helps hold everything together.
Together, they make a crunchy, colorful biscuit with a lot more whole-food variety than your average dog treat.
Blueberry Salmon & Sweet Potato Dog Biscuits
Prep time: 15 minutes
Bake time: 1½–2 hours, including drying
Ingredients
¾ cup cooked and mashed sweet potato
⅓ cup canned salmon, well drained
¼ cup frozen blueberries, thawed and lightly mashed
2 tablespoons finely grated carrot
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 large egg
1 tablespoon natural peanut butter
1¼–1½ cups oat flour
⅛ teaspoon turmeric
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 325°F.
Add the mashed sweet potato and salmon to a large bowl and mash together.
Stir in the blueberries, carrot, flaxseed, chia seeds, egg, peanut butter, and turmeric.
Add 1¼ cups oat flour and mix until a dough forms.
Let the dough rest for 5 minutes so the flax and chia can absorb some of the moisture.
If the dough is still sticky, add more oat flour one tablespoon at a time until it is firm enough to roll.
Roll the dough to about ¼-inch thick.
Cut into small biscuits with a cookie cutter or simply slice into squares.
Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 25–30 minutes, until firm.
Reduce the oven temperature to 200°F and continue baking for another 60–90 minutes, flipping halfway through.
Turn off the oven and leave the biscuits inside for another 30–60 minutes with the oven door slightly cracked.
Cool completely before storing.
The finished treats should feel dry and crunchy rather than soft or bendable.
Important Note
Make sure your peanut butter contains no xylitol or birch sugar, which is toxic to dogs.
If your canned salmon is particularly salty, drain it thoroughly or give it a quick rinse before using.
Storage
Because these treats contain fish, egg, fruit, and vegetables — and no commercial preservatives — I don’t recommend storing them on the counter. Keep them in an airtight container:
Refrigerator: 5–7 days
Freezer: 2–3 months
Keep about a week’s worth in the refrigerator and freeze the rest. Pull out a few at a time as you need them.
Will you make these treats for your furry friend? Leave a comment and let me know below! :)
