Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked and mashed sweet potato, cooled
- 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup whole-wheat flour
- 2 tablespoons natural peanut butter (xylitol-free)
Optional Add-Ins
- ¼ cup pumpkin purée (100% pure pumpkin)
- ¼ cup finely shredded carrots
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1–2 tablespoons water, if needed
Ingredient Notes
Sweet potato. Use plain cooked sweet potato with no added salt, butter, or seasoning of any kind. Sweet potato is naturally sweet, easy to digest, and a good source of fiber and vitamins for dogs, which is why it works so well as the base flavor here instead of added sugar.
Old-fashioned rolled oats. Oats are a gentle, easily digestible grain for most dogs and give these biscuits their hearty texture. Blending part of the oats into a coarse flour helps bind the dough, while leaving some oats whole adds texture and a bit of extra crunch.
Egg. The egg helps bind the dough together and adds a bit of protein. Be sure it’s fully cooked through during baking, as this recipe is designed to be baked long enough to cook the egg thoroughly.
Whole-wheat flour. This adds structure to the dough so the biscuits hold their shape well when cut and baked. If your dog has a known wheat sensitivity, see the substitutions section below for alternatives.
Peanut butter — xylitol-free is essential. This is the single most important ingredient note in the entire recipe. Xylitol is a sugar substitute found in many “natural” or sugar-free peanut butters, and it is highly toxic to dogs, even in small amounts — it can cause a dangerous, rapid drop in blood sugar and, in some cases, liver failure. Always check the ingredient label carefully and confirm the peanut butter you’re using does not contain xylitol (sometimes listed as “birch sugar”) before using it in any dog treat recipe.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Cook the sweet potato until completely tender, then mash it until smooth and let it cool. It’s important that the sweet potato has cooled before mixing it into the dough, since adding hot mashed sweet potato can partially cook the egg prematurely and make the dough harder to work with.
Blend 1½ cups of the rolled oats in a food processor until they form a coarse oat flour, leaving the remaining ½ cup of oats whole. The oat flour helps bind the dough, while the whole oats add texture and visual appeal to the finished biscuits.
In a large bowl, combine the mashed sweet potato, egg, and peanut butter, stirring until smooth and well blended.
Add the oat flour, the remaining whole rolled oats, and the whole-wheat flour to the bowl. Mix until a firm, workable dough forms. If the dough feels too dry or crumbly, add water a tablespoon at a time until it comes together. If it feels too sticky to roll out, work in a little extra oat flour.
Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to about ¼ inch (6 mm) thick. Cut into bone shapes, paw prints, or small circles using cookie cutters, and arrange the pieces on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 22 to 28 minutes, or until the biscuits are firm and lightly golden around the edges. For extra-crunchy biscuits — which many dogs prefer for satisfying, longer-lasting chewing — turn off the oven once baking is done and leave the biscuits inside for another 20 to 30 minutes as the oven cools. This slow, gradual drying-out period is what gives them that extra-crisp bite.
Transfer the biscuits to a wire rack and allow them to cool completely before serving. Cooling fully also helps them firm up to their final crunchy texture.
- Prep Time: 20–25 minutes
- Cook Time: 22–28 minutes (plus an optional 20–30 minutes of oven-cooling time for extra crunch)