Dog Donut Recipe: Baked Banana and Oat Donuts with Yogurt Frosting
Dog donut recipe baked with banana, oat flour and egg in a mini donut pan and dipped in plain yogurt frosting. No sugar and no frying, about 31 kcal each.
- Time
- 34 min + 2 h resting
- Makes
- 30 pieces
- Type
- Treat
- Difficulty
- Easy
- 33 % banana
- 25 % plain yogurt, no sugar or sweeteners
- 18 % egg
- 18 % oat flour
Follows THE RULE. All 6 ingredients are on our safe list: nothing that could harm your dog.
This dog donut recipe is baked, not fried, and the batter has just three ingredients: ripe banana, oat flour and egg. The donuts bake in a silicone mini donut pan and get dipped on top in strained plain yogurt, white or tinted pink with a few raspberries. No sugar, no frying oil and no glaze: the sweetness comes from the banana.
The batter comes out thick, like a cake batter, and with a piping bag (or a freezer bag with a corner snipped off) you can fill the rings in five minutes. They turn out tender and a little dense, closer to banana bread than to a bakery donut, and the ring breaks easily in half for small dogs. They make a good treat for a birthday or for a Sunday afternoon when you feel like baking something for them.
Why it works
Ripe banana takes the place of sugar and fat: it sweetens, adds moisture and helps bind the batter, so nothing else is needed. Oat flour gives body and a mild flavor that almost all dogs like, and the eggs set in the oven and hold the ring shape. Strained for an hour, the yogurt loses its whey and turns as thick as cream cheese: that way it clings to the donut instead of sliding off, and it adds a cool layer and a little protein.
Step by step
Strain the yogurt
Line a sieve with paper towels, set it over a bowl, add the yogurt and leave it in the fridge for an hour. It will lose its whey and turn as thick as cream cheese: if you use it as is, the frosting slides off and makes the donut soggy.
Prepare the oven and the pan
Preheat the oven to 180 °C / 350 °F (conventional, top and bottom heat). If your mini donut pan isn't silicone, grease it with the oil using a pastry brush or a paper towel.
Make the batter
Mash the bananas with a fork until there are no big lumps and beat them with the eggs. Add the oat flour in two batches and mix with a spatula until you have a thick batter that drops from the spoon in clumps, not in a ribbon.
Fill the rings
Spoon the batter into a piping bag or a freezer bag and snip off a 1/2-inch (1 cm) corner. Fill each cavity three-quarters full, piping around the center: that keeps the hole clean and stops the donut from overflowing.
Bake
Bake for 12-14 minutes, until golden and springing back when pressed with a finger. If your pan is small, bake in batches and keep the batter in the fridge in the meantime.
Cool completely
Leave them in the pan for 5 minutes, turn them out by flipping the pan over and let them cool completely on a wire rack. If you frost them while warm, the yogurt melts.
Dip them in yogurt
Divide the strained yogurt between two small bowls. In one, mash the raspberries with a fork and mix until it turns pink. Dip the top of each donut in one of the bowls, twist it and let it drip for a second. Set them on a tray and refrigerate for 30 minutes so the frosting firms up.
How many a day?
As a treat, keeping under 10% of what they eat each day.
— pieces a day at most
| Weight | 3 kg | 5 kg | 10 kg | 15 kg | 20 kg | 30 kg | 40 kg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pieces/day | ½ | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Puppy, senior, very active or on a diet? Calculate the exact portion.
- Energy
- 31.2 kcal/piece
- Protein
- 18 % dry matter
- Fat
- 14 % dry matter
Values estimated from the ingredients (BEDCA/USDA data). A treat: keep treats under 10% of what they eat each day.
Storage
Frosted: in the fridge, in a single layer in an airtight container, for 2 days. Unfrosted: 4 days in the fridge or up to 2 months in the freezer, in a freezer bag. Thaw them in the fridge overnight and dip them in yogurt just before serving. You can also freeze them already frosted and give them almost frozen, like an ice cream treat, to dogs that chew calmly rather than gulp.
If you don't have…
- You don't have a donut pan
- A silicone mini muffin pan, with the same baking time: you get round bites without a hole
- Your dog doesn't tolerate oats
- Rice flour in the same amount; the batter is paler and a bit more crumbly
- You'd rather not give dairy
- Top them with very smooth cooked sweet potato purée, or leave them unfrosted
- You don't have raspberries
- Strawberries in the same amount, well mashed
Cooking tips
- The 10% rule: each frosted mini donut has about 31 kcal. One is plenty for a 5 kg (11 lb) dog; a 20 kg (44 lb) dog can have up to three. Treats shouldn't go over 10% of their daily calories: the table in the recipe tells you how many fit their weight, and on that day trim their meals a little.
- For small dogs or puppies, break the donut in two or four: the ring snaps cleanly at its thinnest point.
- If the banana isn't ripe enough, the batter comes out dry and the donuts crack: add a tablespoon of water, or wait a couple of days until the peel is covered in brown spots.
- At a party, put the donuts on a plate and hand them out yourself, one at a time: don't leave them on a low table with several dogs around.
Safety
- Never give them bakery donuts: they are fried, coated in sugar glaze and sometimes chocolate, and "sugar-free" ones can contain xylitol, which is deadly for dogs even in small amounts.
- Read the yogurt label: plain, no sugar and no sweeteners. Fat-free, "light" and flavored yogurts are the ones most often sweetened; if you see xylitol (also listed as birch sugar or E-967), don't use it.
- If it's their first time eating yogurt, give a single donut and wait a day: dairy loosens some dogs' stools.
- Banana is high in natural sugars. If your dog has diabetes or is on a weight-loss diet, ask your vet first or choose vegetable-based treats.
Frequently asked questions
Can dogs eat donuts?
Not bakery or store-bought ones: they are fried dough, high in fat and sugar, and the glazes can contain chocolate or, in "sugar-free" versions, xylitol, which is highly toxic. A stolen bite usually causes vomiting or diarrhea at most, but if it had chocolate or xylitol, call your vet. Homemade baked banana and oat donuts, yes, as a treat.
Can dogs eat bananas?
Yes, in moderation. Ripe banana is safe, easy to digest and provides potassium and fiber, but it is fairly high in natural sugar, so it is a treat and not a meal. As a guide, a few slices for a small dog and half a banana at most for a large one, always without the peel, which is hard to digest.
What kind of yogurt can dogs eat?
Plain yogurt with no sugar, no flavorings and no sweeteners. Greek yogurt is fine too, but it has more fat, so use less of it. Always check the label: xylitol (E-967) is deadly for dogs and turns up in some "light" yogurts. Start with a spoonful to see how they handle the lactose.
Can you make dog donuts without a donut pan?
Yes, although they won't have a hole. Use a mini muffin pan with the same baking time and dip them in yogurt the same way. Another option is to drop balls of batter onto parchment paper and press the center with a wet finger: they come out like flatter rings. The batter is soft, so you can't shape the rings by hand.
What's in it, in detail
If they liked it, try
The fridge list
The foods your dog can eat, can have in moderation and must never eat, on a single printable page.