Left-over Juice Pulp Dog Treat Recipe
I get A LOT of requests for recipes that use the pulp that is left over from juicing. Frankly, I understand that when you look at all of that vegetable matter, you think, “I can’t possibly throw this away!” But seriously, what you are looking at, it is just the plant matter that is left over from the fruits and vegetables after you extract the nutrients and flavor out of them. It is almost all fiber with hardly any nutrients.
My leftover juice pulp normally ends up feeding the compost pile. But all of that changed a couple of days ago. I was looking at the dwindling doggie treat jar and the pups expanding waistlines and made a decision. I would accept the juice pulp challenge make doggie treats from the pulp!
I started collecting my left-over pulp and placed it in the freezer. When I had a significant amount (only 3 juicings), I pulled it out, let it thaw and started making these little treats. With the addition of sunflower seeds and flax, I created a jar full of treats that the pups went wild for and wouldn’t pack on the pounds.
A great savings over purchased doggie bones, and much healthier, I think this dog treat recipe is a winner. Oh…and I did try one. They are good but honestly lack the wonderful flavor I could have gotten if I had used the actual veggies, not just their pulp. IMPORTANT NOTE: There are some fruits and veggies that are toxic to dogs. Please make sure you don’t include these in your treats. There is a good list here: Toxic Fruits and Veggies for dogs.
Juice Pulp Dog Treat Recipe
MAKES TWO TRAYS
- 8 cups juice pulp (make sure you don’t have anything toxic to dogs in your pulp)
- 1 cup sunflower seeds
- 1 cup ground flax soaked in 2 cups water for 1/2 hour
- 1/4 cup nama shoyu (optional)
- Mix all ingredients together and spread on non-stick sheets 1/4 inch thick.
- Score into 1-inch squares.
- Dehydrate at 145* for 1 hour, reduce heat to 115 and continue to dry until completely dry, flipping once during dehydration. Approximately 12-14 hours.
*How is this still raw? Read here: FAQ
ECL wrote on March 25, 2013
How do you “dehydrate” them? Is there a machine or do you just let them sit out and dry? Help!!! LOL!!!
Susan wrote on March 25, 2013
You dehydrate them in a dehydrator. It is a special machine that dehydrates food.
amy wrote on March 1, 2013
Betsy – set your oven to its lowest setting. I do this all the time to dehydrate yam slices to make yam chewers for my pup. Will be making the pulp treats once I have enough pulp saved up – Junedog loves it when I feed her the wet pulp and I’ve been needing training treats so I thought this would be a great use for it! Will soak the sunflower seeds first to sprout em – what a spoiled pup 🙂
Betsy wrote on November 4, 2012
What would someone do for this recipe if they didn’t have a dehydrator. I don’t mind if my dog doesn’t eat raw, I just want to not waste all that filling fiber matter that I could have ate if I had actually eaten the whole vegetable. Fiber is great for bulking up your stool!
Meredith wrote on July 26, 2012
I just found this post through the Kale University site. The timing is amazing. I just started a 21 day juice cleanse yesterday, and as I was throwing all of the pulp away I felt so guilty. I always do. And then I found this post! I have four dogs so this is the perfect solution to my guilt and their waste lines. Thanks so much for a wonderful idea.
Stephanie wrote on June 27, 2012
Just wanted to send you a little note about these. I make them ALL THE TIME now with just miscellaneous juicing pulp (I leave out the flax and sunflower seeds). My dog LOVES these. I use them as treats (I think he likes the crunching sound it makes too) and I’ve even substituted these for the spoon full of wet food I was feeding him at night with his dry food. I just crunch of a few shards of these, throw in portion of dry food, add some water and BAM! Dinner. His poops have improved in quality too 😛
He seems happy, full of energy, anal glands are always clean when I groom him, and his coat is nice and healthy looking.
Thanks for the recipe and inspiration! This is a keeper for life.
Elsa wrote on April 30, 2012
I made these for our dogs, and they “sit” immediately when I bring out the container. They love them! And I love your site. Great, inspiring photos, too.
Susan wrote on April 30, 2012
Love it!! Cheers!
Wendy wrote on April 30, 2012
These will be perfect for my girl, Athena The Wonder Dog! I’ve been looking for a healthy treat for her I could make. We make our own food for her a lot of the time. Thanks so much for posting this. 🙂 I’ll let you know how Athena likes them.
Linda wrote on April 8, 2012
My dogs love the pulp fresh from the juicer – they sit and wait for it to be dumped into their bowls. They run into the kitchen when they hear me chopping something on the cutting board like a cat runs to the sound of the can opener. I always give them a little bit of a treat, like a hunk of apple or pear, or zucchini, carrot, rutabaga. They’re fruit and veggie hounds!
Cheryl Boswell wrote on April 7, 2012
Great idea. The dog treats I buy my little one are unbelievably expensive. Since I am in the kitchen preparing my weeks’ food for myself anyways, I’ll whip up these treat. I think she’ll like them.