These Sweet Potato Dog Chews only use one-ingredient to make a healthy, homemade dog treat for your favorite pet! DIY dog treats are a great gift too!
My boyfriend dog-napped our labradoodle last weekend.
I don’t think she minded one bit – His guys’ weekend meant she got to spend a 4-day weekend at the beach – Running around off her leash, digging holes in the sand and basically being a wild animal – A far cry from her typical days in Portlandia which consist of wearing her Pendleton wool jacket, attending doggie daycare and then crashing for the night buried amongst all the pillows on our king-sized bed dreaming of when her next Bark Box will arrive. And yet, as extravagant as her Portland-life may sound – She still prefers the freezing cold, pouring down rain… beach.
So – In order to bribe her back into liking me better the guy who takes her to the beach, I spent my weekend baking her treats – Sweet Potato Dog Chews to be precise.
It just takes one ingredient to make these healthy dog chews – and a whole lot of time… But for the majority of the time, it’s completely hands-free. Start by slicing your sweet potatoes into lengthwise slices about 1/3-inch thick. Any thinner, and they’ll turn into chips, but any thicker, and you’ll have to cook them for ages. What we want are sweet potato chews with a lot of “chew” to them. I set my oven to the lowest heat setting and let them cook away all day – It ended up taking about 6 hours to get them to that perfect texture – Not too soft, but not brittle either. A flip at about the 3-hour mark let me know that they were about halfway there. Once the cooking is complete, let the sweet potato chews cool in the oven as it cools down, that helps to dehydrate the chews even further.
When that sand-covered labradoodle ran back in the house after her 4-day weekend in beach-heaven, I won her back into my good graces with one little slice of sweet potato…
Sweet Potato Dog Chews
Ingredients
- 3 sweet potatoes
Instructions
- Preheat oven 200 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Slice the ends off sweet potatoes to make for easier slicing. Cut 1/3-inch lengthwise slices using a sharp knife or mandolin.
- Bake for 6 hours, flipping once during the cooking time. After 6 hours, turn off your oven and leave the chews in the oven as it cools.
- Store sweet potato chews in a sealed container for up to 2 weeks.
I made my second batch today. I had previously purchased similar treats for $8.99 for 5 ounces. Your recipe is easy on the budget, so easy to make and no artificial ingredients. Plus my dog goes crazy for the dried sweet potatoes!
Yay – I’m so glad to hear that you pup loved these Sweet Potato Chews Victoria!
Can these be frozen?
You can also use a food dehydrator if you have one. These save money on the electricity bill!
Wow, cool! My dog is allergic to ev.ery.thing, so making this kind of a sweet potato dog chew with just one ingredient would be perfect. Great recipe – can’t wait to spoil my dog!
Yay! I hope your pup loves them Catherine!
What a great idea!! And really how easy. I may have to try these for Roxy and see if she likes them.
fyi – Roxy’s favorite place is also the beach. 🙂
Dogs on the beach are just the best – They love the wide open spaces and their freedom!
<3 Love the action shots/testimonial of how good these treats are, and such a plus knowing these are completely natural! I have a cat not a dog so don't think I will be making these, but I'll remember them for friends with the appropriate fur baby!
Thanks Pech – Sammie definitely loves these Sweet Potato Chews. I think this was her favorite blog post I’ve ever done 😉
What a GREAT idea. I love the concept to make as a gift too.
Thanks Melissa!
I am excited about this post! My sheltie, Pax, demands a slice of sweet potato every night after dinner. If I forget, he goes to where they are kept and looks from me to them repeatedly! I have been buying the dried sweet potatoes for him, but would love to make them myself. I had no idea it was this easy. 🙂 The smell may drive Pax wild while the treats are cooking, but I am definitely giving this a try! Thank you!
What a sweetie! Yes – the house smell while these are baking is divine and could drive both humans and dogs nuts! 😉
How long do they stay fresh and do you have to refrigerate after they are baked?
These will keep fresh for about 2 weeks. No need to refrigerate.
Can make bigger batch can and seal in canning jars and or freeze… sealing in old canning jars was better long term product
From a quick google, baked sweet potato only lasts 2 hours outside the refrigerator, and 3-5 days in the refrigerator. I am a bit worried about giving my puppy these after a few days, especially if not refrigerated. Please convince me not to worry because these look great and my dog is on a sweet potato+tuna limited diet, so there are not a lot of options out there!
Hi David – these are more like “dehydrated” sweet potato rather than baked potato. Since they are baked until chewy, and the liquid is removed, they will keep for longer outside the refrigerator. Hope that helps!
Can you make them in a dehydrator?
Hi Cheryl – I imagine that these would work in a dehydrator too. I’m not sure what temperature it cooks at, so they may take more or less time…
Anine love loves loves these awesome goodies. I love them because they are good for her. We, Annie and me, will be making these often.
Awww – So happy to hear that you pup loves them Joyce!
Just got a new Maltese puppy (Rylee) in January and he loves these chews. I used to make them for my last Maltese (Buddy) and he loved them as well. The best part is they are easy to make, as well as being very healthy for our fur babies. ❤
Awww! So glad that they both love these chews Barb! I need to make some more for our Sammie soon!
HI I was reading somewhere that the oven needed to be cracked to let some of the moisture out true or false?
These looks great! How long does it take for s dog to eat through these?
Hi Vanessa – My dog will eat right through one of the chews in about 10 minutes. I’m sure it’s quite different from dog to dog though!
I make sweet Pawtato chips on a regular basis as my havapoo loves them! I slice real thin and toss with a tiny bit of organic coconut oil and a sprinkle of tumuric. I am going to try your recipe for a “chewy “ treat, maybe it will take him a little longer to devour!!
I’ll be he’s adorable Mary! Love havapoos!
Has anyone tried baking these
in a convection oven?….it may
shorten cooking time and save energy?
Thanks!
I can not wait to try this.. My babies luv sweet potato fries.
I hope they love the chews Mary Jo!
Hi, is this 200 degrees Fahrenheit?
Yes it is.
Do you think these would help with a pup that will bite if you try to brush the teeth?
Can these be vacuum packed or frozen ?
Sweet Potatoes are not always available in Alaska and I’d rather make a bunch at once
I would like to know also as I wold like to mail some cross country
Have you tried freezing, yet? I’m going to try if no one else has.
Freezing works best own vacuum sealer…. best end longer term product seal in canning jars did both
Thank you for the recipe. I’ve been searching for something to bake for my Labradoodle Marvel Spirit and I cant wait to try these.
I hope your pup loves them – Our labradoodle does!
I’ve been trying to give my dog more “real food” treats, and I think he will love these. Thanks for the recipe.
Of course – I hope your pup loves them!
Can these be vacuum packed and frozen until needed. Thinking of giving for Christmas to my granddog.
Hi Carole – Definitely!
My dog loves sweet potatoes. She has allergies to several things, including chicken and beef, so finding things she can eat and enjoys can be tricky and it gets boring for her. I’ve found a dry food she likes and doesn’t cause hives, but I have to mix stuff in because of her allergies. I’ve been using fresh ingredients and cooking myself, but she enjoys it, it is healthy and safe, and I can better control what she eats. The dried sweet potato treats in the store are expensive, so this works. I’m going to experiment this weekend (after I bake her birthday cake today). I can make pounds of these treats with this method for the cost of a 1-lb bag from the store or online. Thanks for sharing.
First time making these, and I think I may have cut them too thick. They are still moist, after baking at 200° for 6 hours. Should I turn the temp up and keep them in longer?
I would do that Stephanie!
I baked them for 3 hours at 250 and they came out hard and crunchy. Not very chewy. How thick should I cut them to get them chewy? Baking for 6 hours seems like they would be even harder. Any suggestions?
It’s possible that baking them at the correct temp of 200 degrees would fix that issue. Cheers
[…] Sweet Potatoes – A good source of fiber (not sure if dogs actually need additional fiber), low in fat, and contain vitamin B6, vitamin C, and manganese. Their naturally sweet flavor is appealing to pups, too. These are also super easy to make at home! […]
I’m making them even as I type. Have them in my dehydrator at 175 for 8 hours. I’ll let you know how they turn out.
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A friend made them for my dog Reckless and he loved them! can’t wait to make them myself!
Suggestion to microwave prior to slicing is spot on. Have a batch in oven now. Thank you!
I made this recipe and they seem to be quite soft is this the way they are to turn out?
Hi Sherry – You may need to bake them a bit longer, but they should be fine. Especially if you aren’t storing them for an extended period of time.
hello!
I am going to give this recipe a try for my 10 mo old Frenchie and her brother, 2 yr old S.Husky. But, I have a question …I went to the market to pick up some sweet potato but, I ended up not knowing which “sweet potato” was the correct kind. The red skin/orange center I thought was sweet potato was labeled yam, and a light skin/white center was labeled sweet potato. I’ve never cooked either so, I’ve never had to buy it before… little help!? can either be used, or did the market misslabel?
thanks,
Daniel
Hi Daniel – I can’t say for sure, but if you purchased the orange variety, it should be ok. Here is a helpful article: https://www.rover.com/blog/can-dog-eat-yams/
Great recipe, I made it for my two pups rusty and Benji (two terrier mixes- pound dog rescues) they both absolutely love them!!! So inexpensive and easy to make. Thank you so much and keep the great recipes coming my boys love them!!!
I’m so glad they liked it!
Hi! We slice the yams using a mandolin… and bake them in a 250 oven for 90 minutes…flip them over and a further 90 minutes. They’re cooked on the Epicure roaster, so they’re perfect every time! The dogs are crazy about them…