Pumpkin Dog Treats – 10 Easy Recipes!

You don’t have to wait for Halloween–or even autumn–to make some pumpkin dog treats. These easy and inexpensive recipes use canned pumpkin and just take a few minutes to make!

Is Pumpkin Good for Dogs?

Pumpkin is a great ingredient for all dogs; its rich orange color hints at the lutein and alpha and beta carotene contained inside.

When making pumpkin dog treats that include peanut butter, be sure to check the ingredients of your peanut butter to ensure does NOT include Xylitol, a sweetener that is very toxic to dogs.

What Kind of Pumpkin Should You Buy?

To make pumpkin dog treats you’ll need to buy canned pumpkin…but not pumpkin pie filling (which has too many spices and too much sugar).

You’re looking for just plain, ol’ canned pumpkin with only one ingredient: pumpkin.

Want to make your own homemade pumpkin from scratch? We’ve got a recipe on making pumpkin puree.

Pumpkin Treat Recipes

1. Peanut Butter and Pumpkin Dog Treats

Our recipe for Peanut Butter and Pumpkin Dog Treats appears in our The Healthy Hound Cookbook and has been one of our most popular dog treat recipes–not only with the numerous magazines which have run the recipe but with the dogs who have enjoyed the finished product!

Our recipe was even included in USA Weekend–with our dear Irie as our model!

This recipe is quick and easy to make–and involves no special equipment.

Mix all your ingredients except the water then add it sparingly. Depending on the amount of oil in your peanut butter, you may need the entire 1/2 cup…or not.

The dough should turn out sticky but not dry; if it feels dry, you need a little more water. If it’s too sticky (if it’s sticking to your fingers), you need a little more flour.

Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface; I used pumpkin-shaped cookie cutters along with some mini Halloween cookie cutters…

I used the mini cutters to make indented shapes on the top of the treats:

Next, the treats were ready for the preheated 350 degree oven:

After baking for about 20 minutes, they were ready to take out and cool.

Be sure to cool the peanut butter and pumpkin dog treats completely before serving or refrigerating.

You can refrigerate the treats for about a week or, if they’ll be around longer than that, freeze part of the batch.

Be warned: the smell of these treats baking is frighteningly good! You just might have to test one before giving it to your dog!

2. Pumpkin Mini Muffins for Dogs

I love using mini muffin tins for dog treats. These treats feature rice flour–you can use brown rice flour (more nutritional) or white rice flour.

Ingredients

• 1 2/3 cup rice flour
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 1 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup water

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray three mini-muffin tins or line with parchment papers.

In a large bowl, mix rice flour and molasses then add pumpkin puree, oil, and eggs. As needed, add water until mixture is consistency of mashed potatoes.

Using a spoon, drop spoonfuls of mixture into muffin cups.

Bake for 20 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

Cool completely before serving or refrigerating.

3. Pumpkin Gingersnap Dog Treats

Just as with people, ginger treats are often given to dogs who suffer from carsickness or nausea–or just because they’re yummy! These treats are easy to put together and good enough to share with your dog!

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups oat flour
• 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) butter, warmed to room temperature
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 4 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a medium bowl, pour out flour then add butter, egg, ginger, and pumpkin. Mix thoroughly.

Turn out dough on a floured surface and knead until completely combined. Roll out dough (thinner for a crisp consistency, thicker for chewier biscuits) and cut with cookie cutters.

Place cookies on a parchment-lined cookie sheet on the middle rack of the oven; bake about 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack before serving or refrigerating.

4. Paleo Liver and Pumpkin Dog Treats

Coconut flour is used for this gluten-free dog treats (although you can also substitute all-purpose flour if your dog is fine with that.)

Coconut flour contains B6, vitamin C, calcium and potassium so it’s a healthy choice for your dog.

Ingredients

• 1 pound chicken liver
• 2 cups pumpkin puree
• 3 eggs
• 3 cups oat flour
• 4 tablespoons butter

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease mini muffin tins or line with cupcake liners.

Puree chicken livers in blender. Once pureed, add eggs, butter, and pumpkin. In a large bowl, mix puree with flours.

Partially fill muffin tins with mixture and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely before serving or refrigerating.

5. Pumpkin Pupcakes

You don’t have to wait for a Saturday morning or special occasion to make these easy pupcakes–pancakes for dogs! Molasses gives them a hint of sweetness, along with the pumpkin puree.

I always opt to use blackstrap molasses, which has many more benefits rather than using sugar in your dog’s treats. Blackstrap molasses is rich in iron and antioxidents as well as calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus and vitamin B6.

Ingredients

• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon molasses
• 1 cup oat flour
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) butter, melted

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to middle position. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Lightly grease muffin tin or line with cupcake baking cups.

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients; mix thoroughly. Pour batter into cupcake holders and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and transfer cupcakes to cool on a wire cooling rack. Cool before frosting or serving to your dog!

The world record pumpkin weighed nearly 500 pounds. Snoopy and Linus would agree that’s definitely a Great Pumpkin!

6. No-Bake Pumpkin Dog Treat: Pumpkin Ice Cream

No time for cooking? Our Pumpkin Ice Cream recipe requires nothing more than yogurt, peanut butter and pumpkin puree stirred together and frozen. It just doesn’t get easier than this!

7. Pumpkin Crispies

Remember the fun of making treats with Rice Crispies as a kid? This is a dog-friendly version that’s fun to make with the youngest dog lovers in your family.

This super simple recipe isn’t just easy on you—it’s also an excellent choice for senior dogs or for dogs with wheat allergies.

Ingredients

2 cups pumpkin puree
¾ cup rice cereal
½ cup powdered milk

Instructions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a cookie sheet or line with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients.

Use a spoon or melon baller to drop dough onto cookie sheet. Flatten slightly if you like or leave as small balls.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool completely before serving or refrigerating.

8. Pumpkin Latte

Nothing says fall like pumpkin lattes and this one is specially formulated for dogs!

Along with pumpkin puree, this pumpkin latte for dogs recipe includes coconut milk or goat’s milk–and requires no cooking!

9. Pumpkin Pie for Dogs

This pumpkin pie, made without the usual pumpkin pie spices which upset dogs’ stomachs, takes a bit of preparation but the results will have your dog’s tail wagging.

This recipe was created by Loews Hotels Executive Chef Mark Ehrler and is large enough to cut into treat-size pieces; freeze the remainder.

10. Liver and Pumpkin Dog Treats

Nothing says all pumpkin dog treats have to be sweet–these dog biscuits are savory!

Ingredients

• 1 pound chicken liver
• 2 cups pumpkin puree
• 3 eggs
• 3 cups oat flour
• 4 tablespoons butter

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Top cookie sheet with miniature muffin liners.

Puree chicken livers in blender. (You can also use beef liver in this recipe, if you prefer.)

Once pureed, add eggs, butter, and pumpkin. In a large bowl, mix puree with flour.

Partially fill muffin tins with mixture and bake  for 25 minutes.

Remove from heat and cool completely before serving or refrigerating.