After making and sharing two variations of natural dog treats for Basil (apple treat recipe here and carrot & banana treat recipe here), we had a few requests for some gluten and grain free natural variations. We've pined here on the blog before over our love for Sam's Yams natural sweet potato dog treat chews, and this past weekend we tried our hand at making our own version.
We've LOVED dehydrated sweet potatoes as a treat option for Basil for many reasons. They are completely natural and made from a healthy whole food for starters. Other benefits include the fact that they actually take him a while to eat (he has to work at them) and they can "regulate" his system in times of need, if you catch our drift... Sam's Yams brand sweet potato chews have been our choice so far since they are the straight up sweet potatoes — no added fillers or supplement claims. They also come in large packages with the giant thick chews. All of this being said, these packaged sweet potato treats are pretty expensive — enough so that we get them in limited quantities and every single time we do buy them we ask ourselves why we couldn't make them ourselves.
Up until this point, we've always thought we couldn't make them since we don't yet own a food dehydrator. That being said, we made a batch of homemade fruit leather this past fall in our own oven that called for a slow dehydrating process — so we thought we'd try the same process to try to dehydrate some sweet potatoes!
So, while picking up groceries at Ellwood Thompson's this weekend, we loaded up 3 ginormous organic sweet potatoes and promised ourselves this would be the weekend we tackled making these dog treats. They actually came out great and we couldn't wait to share our method here on the blog for all of you that might be interested in making them for your own pups!
What you'll need:
- Large sweet potatoes
- Mandoline or sharp knife
- Cutting Board
- Baking Sheets
- Aid of your choosing for greasing the pans
- Oven
Preheat oven to lowest setting; ours went all the way down to 175 degrees. Meanwhile, slice one top off sweet potatoes to make for easier balancing when slicing. Carefully cut thick lengthwise slices of the sweet potato using a sharp knife or mandoline, about 1/3 inch thick for larger chews (we went with the crinkle cut setting on our mandoline and chose to leave the skin on). Trust me, you want them thick — when dehydrating, the slices are going to lose the majority of their thickness.
Grease you baking sheets and arrange slices on flat surface of pans.
Place pans on top racks inside oven and let them do their thing...for a
looooong time.
We let ours slowly cook and dehydrate over a period of about 8 hours, give or take. The higher your heat setting, the less amount of time you will need, though the lower the setting and longer the time, the better the overall outcome.
Here's what ours looked like about 4 hours into the process:
You can take your dehydrated chips out of the oven when they have reached your desired doneness; less amount of time for softer/chewier treats and a longer amount of time for dryer and tougher treats. We opted for longer and turned our oven off when they were almost fully dry to the touch. They were still a tad moist and pliable at that point so we just let them sit in the oven turned off overnight — the next morning they were perfect.
You can really see the difference before and after being in the oven:
While a little bit thinner then the store bought treats we're used to, we were really happy with the outcome and simply made a note to cut thicker slices next go round.
Update: We actually did make thicker ones a little later, see the "meatier" outcome here.
The final test laid in the hands (er, paws) of Basil's approval:
...and check!
He liked them so well it was hard to get a still shot of him when he had one. This is how he really felt about them:
Now that we've successfully made a batch of these dehydrated sweet potato chew treats for Basil, we're thinking this same process could translate over to other fruits and vegetables like apples, bananas, and more. This process is a great way to make natural, gluten free and grain free treats for your dogs — and save a little money while you're at it!
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We love making homemade treats for Reuben. I'll have to give these a try. Here's a question, If you sprinkled them with a little cinnamon and sugar could you make a batch for people as well?
ReplyDeleteCamping season (The forest service here rents out cabins that you can hike to, so we will snow shoe in for our first trip of the year) is approaching in a couple of weeks and I'm trying to figure out homemade options for snacks and foods as compared to all the highly processed, packaged foods.
Mmm..that sounds quite tasty. Right at the last moment of cooking I might also toss a big marshmallow on to melt. Let us know how they turn out!
DeleteOoooh, that sounds fantastic! I might try that actually:)
DeleteDo it! Do it!
DeleteThank you, thank you for this recipe! I can't work/touch/eat flour at all so this is perfect for me and the pups :)
ReplyDeleteMy husband just happened to pick up some sweet potatoes this week so I'll give it a try tomorrow. I'll send some photos from the taste test.
Monica this was just to easy and beats the $15.00 bags we have seen in the store! Can't wait to see your photo's!
DeleteThank you very much for sharing. I wanted to make my own food but after months of research i was afraid of malnourishing my dogs. i settled on taste if the wild and i was happy to see that you mentioned it. my dogs love it and they look absolutely fantastic! Is Dog bones safe for my dog see this and tell me? how to make dog bonesBest of lack…..
ReplyDeleteOh i want to try this! Would having the oven on so long, even if low, make a quite large gas bill?
ReplyDeleteJasanna - great question. We wondered the same thing, but our monthly bill didn't turn out to be any higher so it was a win-win!
DeleteLove this! Just came from the vet and he recommended that the pup eat sweet potatoes. How long does a batch of these keep fresh for?
ReplyDeleteHey Michelle! So glad you like the recipe. we find the treats keep well in an airtight or zipper container for about 1 week or indefinitely in the freezer. We've begun just keeping ours in the freezer and giving them straight to Basil that way — he loves them!
DeleteMy Sheltie is allergic to wheat and is on a restricted Venison and Sweet Potato diet. Definitely trying this! I just hope I can get my oven low enough, it tends to run hot.
ReplyDeleteTammy we are jealous of your Sheltie's diet! If your oven runs hot, just keep an eye on them and take them out sooner as they begin to harden and dry. Hope it works!
Deletethese sound great!! my Liberty and Harley love sweet potaoes any way ..so will make a batch to freeze..tfs..loves ya
ReplyDeleteAwesome Gail! Basil says to say "WOOF" to Liberty and Harley!
DeleteI wonder if it's possible to slowly dehydrate on the dashboard of your car? I'm in Texas, it's freaking hot in the summer!
ReplyDeleteYou know what, we bet you could! I would just put some sort of protective covering between the potatoes and the car! We would LOVE to know if this works.
DeleteThis sounds awesome! Our doxie loves his sweet potato treats but they are too dang expensive! Can't wait to try this!
ReplyDeleteThis is EXACTLY why we wanted to try making them too — those store-bought ones are SO expensive. Once we mastered making them at home, we've never bought them again.
DeleteI made these treats and they came out pretty good. They were hard like my dog likes them. I put the extra ones in a tin container (Like the kind you get xmas cookies in) and the next day whenI took them out, they were soft again and chewy. the dogs didn"t like them at all. They like them hard like the kind you buy in the stores. What did I do wrong? Does puting them in a freezer bag make that much difference? Can anyone tell me what I should have done? Thank you.
ReplyDeleteAwesome, so glad you tried them and found a hard texture you like. One thing we've been doing that works really well and keeps them hard is putting them in a freezer bag and storing them in the freezer. We just take them straight from the freezer and give them to Basil and he loves them.
DeleteI love your recipe and am going to make them tomorrow. My doxie Gizmo is on pregnizone due to a serious back injury and has gained a lot of weight. I'm always looking for a low calorie treat. Will let you know how they turn out.
ReplyDeleteAwww, hope the treatmaking went well today and that Gizmo was a happy pup!
DeleteThank you so much for your kind remark. Gizmo loved them so much, I went out and bought a dehydrator. Going to try other veggies and see what we get. My goal in life is to keep my boy healthy.
ReplyDeleteBarbara we have the same goals in mind! Great!
DeleteMy Gizmo has lost one pound on his new diet of small amount of kibbles, some cooked green beans and carrots. For his treats...dehydrated sweet potatoes. My goal for him is a total of 7 pounds. GO GIZMO!!! You'd never know a year he was paralyzed. He's. my miracle boy.
ReplyDeleteGreat news Barbara and thanks for sharing! We would love a photo if you have a minute and you can reach us through our contact us page at the top of the blog!
DeleteThanks for the recipe for drying sweet potatoes! My dogs love them and ate them fresh from my garden this summer! I planted over half of the garden with sweet potatoes just for the purpose of making treats for my dogs. After following your recipe, I have them in the oven now. Thanks again,
ReplyDeleteThat is awesome Nany! I hope you little one loves them as much as Basil! What time of year do you plant your sweet potatoes?
DeleteJust make sure what ever you dehydrate for your doggie is ok for dogs to eat.
ReplyDeletehave tried dehydrating meat? like the chicken jerky they sell in the store?
ReplyDeleteamelia
Hey Amelia,
DeleteWe haven't tried it yet, but we'd love to!!
Arthritis makes it hard to slice lengthwise a raw sweet potato. I wonder if steaming a whole sweet potato before slicing and then dehydrating, would make the yam chews any less lovable to my large breed?
ReplyDeleteNot really sure if that would work but certainly worth a try. We use a mandolin to slice our sweet potatoes which does make it much easier!
DeleteGood luck!
I will be making these tonight. Thanks for the great idea.
ReplyDeleteGreat Alice! We hope they turned out!
DeleteI've made these in the oven and food dehydrater.I prefer the oven as I don't like to listen to the noise the dehydrater makes.
ReplyDeleteIf you cannot get your oven down to 175 deg.just don't leave them in as long. In any case take them out before they are crisp. They will continue to cook-dry out-for quite some time after being removed from the oven.
Great advice Maria!
DeleteI've made these in the oven and food dehydrater.I prefer the oven as I don't like to listen to the noise the dehydrater makes.
ReplyDeleteIf you cannot get your oven down to 175 deg.just don't leave them in as long. In any case take them out before they are crisp. They will continue to cook-dry out-for quite some time after being removed from the oven.
What was the final slicing thickness of the second batch you did?
ReplyDeleteWe go with about a quarter inch thickness and we do use a dehydrator now as opposed to an oven!
DeleteMy dogs love these! I made them in the oven at 150 deg. and they turned out great. However, the potatoes are difficult to slice with a knife (even if it's sharp). Can anyone recommend a mandoline brand that they've had success with, especially cutting something like a potato which isn't easy? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteSo good to hear and really is a job for a mandolin. I use one similar to this one
Deletehttp://www1.macys.com/shop/product/calphalon-mandoline-precision?ID=580542&cm_mmc=Google_Seasonal_PLA-_-Brands+SH+PLA_Home+-+PLA+-+Calphalon-_-45350013995-_-mkwid_eD9sitkU&gclid=CNXHuvrf7bMCFQZnOgod6CQAEg
Thanks for stopping by!
Pampered Chef!
DeleteI use a dehydrater but will try the oven, the dehydrater is noisy. I par boil mine first, a lot easier to cut that way.
ReplyDeletegonna try this for our dog Basil...a boxer! His mom's name is Sage!
ReplyDeleteOh love it!! Basil and Sage — the perfect set of names!
DeleteMight work to slice the sweet potatoes in your food processor. Safer tnan a mandoline and easier than with a kitchen knife. will try this for my corn and wheat allergic dogs!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip!
Deleteyou don't need oil of any kind if you place PARCHMENT PAPER on the baking sheet first... works amazing!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for that tip!
DeleteOhhhhhh! Im off to the kitchen now to make Sugars treats for her Christmas stocking!! Gonna include a batch of these to go with her fav peanut butter snacks!! Yes, shes as spoiled as the 2-legged children!! Merry Christmas!!
ReplyDeleteHope they turned out great! Happy New Year!
DeleteThanks for sharing our year in review. It's fun getting to know about your adventures! Karen and Crossroads Bassets Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteThanks for following along Karen! Happy New Year to you and your family!
DeleteI found this recipe after seeing a news special on dog chews made in china and how many dogs were dying from them. I have since taken away all my dogs many chews and am determined to make her chews from now on. I have a batch in the oven right now and they are about 1/3" thick. However, I am a little bit worried about leaving my gas oven on that long. I have it set at 170. How long do you think it would take and do you think it is safe to sleep with it on?
ReplyDeleteJenna, we couldn't agree more on trying out natural ideas for pets — so awesome you are trying out this recipe! We are suckers for safety first, so we would recommend just turning off the gas while you go to sleep (it won't hurt the treats at all) and then just turning it back on in the morning when you are around to monitor.
DeleteKeep us posted on how your pup likes them!
Mary & Tim
just bought a dehydrater especially for dog treats. my one dog has had Pancreatitis twice so is basically a vegitarian( with some fish) I tried to make sweet potato treats in the oven but don't think I left them in long enough. going to try a batch now. I enjoyed your blog.
ReplyDeleteLynn
i plan on making some sweet potato chewies for my pups tomorrow. i noticed that you left the skins on for your treats -- i've read around that the potential levels of solanine in the skins could be poisonous for pups; any ideas on this?
ReplyDeleteSweet potatoes are of a different botanical family than white potatoes, and do not develop solanine on their skins.
DeleteThank you so much for this post! I can't wait to make some!
ReplyDeleteBasil is so adorable!! Is he a Weimaraner?
Wow! Run the oven for 8 hours lol. That just does not seem economical or environmental at all no matter where you are in the world.
ReplyDeleteSilly me went and bought sweet potato treats from the pet store not realizing they were just dehydrated lol... in the oven now :)
ReplyDeleteHi we just adopted a puppy whos two months old and chewing on anything he can find. Can I give these to a small puppy?
ReplyDeleteHey Amy — congrats on your new puppy! These chews are perfect for puppies and will help keep them chewing and busy on the right things instead of your shoes, ha!
DeleteThank you for the post! We have a 10 month old vizsla/whippet puppy named Tierney. I am making these as we speak! We too love Sam's Yams, however the expense is too much. Question for you...the old relpy link you posted didn't work for your mandolin suggestion do you know what model/brand you use? I had quite a bit of trouble cutting them with a very nice sharp expensive knife.(even had the hubs help;)) Next time I may try par boiling them and cooliing before slicing. As with Sam's Yams I want them to be "chewier" for our dog Tierney as she can power through them pretty quickly. Trying them in the oven for the thinner slices (no waste!) and the dehydrator for the thicker ones. Thanks for the freezer tip!
ReplyDeletethank you for posting. ive always wanted to make rawhide chewsees for the pups but ive never wanted to invest in another appliance with our very small kitchen. the chew treats we've always bought, from target walmart and kroger and such, theyve always had a smell to them. i always try to avoid thinking about the amount of preservatives my pups consume with those things. i would love to place two questions to you:
ReplyDeletewould these work well to freeze ? little black dog tends to alligator his treats, he'd swallow them whole if he could, so id love to be able to slow him down.
im thinking of adding some mint flakes to the tops of the sweet potato slices when i make them. do you think that's a bad idea ?
thanks again. really like the idea of controlling what goes into my pups' digestive systems while at the same time allowing those nerds the enjoyment of chewsees.
Thanks for posting. I was looking for a way to do these as store bought are so expensive. Calli LOVES them! Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteMade them yesterday. Dogs loved them. Froze the leftovers and will give them the frozen treats today. Thank you for sharing this easy, healthy dog treat.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to try your whole potato slice today. I've been making the treats by cutting fry shapes but dogs eat them sooo fast. One trick to help dehydrating process is to place a rack on the cookie sheet and then the potatoes. It increases air flow and improves process.
ReplyDeleteI have a Scottie named Casey and when I make oven baked French fries for us I make him sweet potato fries, no seasoning on his, he loves them and eats them all. Going to give your treats a try, like the drying so they can be stored. Thanks for the posting.
ReplyDeletehow long do these stay god for? I am going to make a batch tomorrow =)
ReplyDeleteHave thought of drying sweet potatoes. Used to teach microwave cooking...and I plan to try that as the first step to get the drying process going; then moving to the dehydrator or regular oven. I know this will work; just don't have specifics until I can personally try it!
ReplyDelete