Short answer: Wash sweet potatoes, slice them into even 1/4-inch rounds with the skin on, and dry them at 145°F in a food dehydrator for 6–8 hours — or bake them at 250°F for 2–3 hours, flipping halfway. They're done when they bend without snapping and feel leathery, not tacky. Cool completely, then store in an airtight container.
I'm Preston Smith, co-founder of Bully Sticks Central. We make single-ingredient chews for a living, so I get asked about homemade treats constantly. Dehydrated sweet potato is the one I actually recommend people try at home — it's cheap, it's one ingredient, and it's hard to get wrong.
Are sweet potatoes safe for dogs?
Yes, cooked sweet potatoes are safe for most dogs. They're a source of dietary fiber, vitamin B6, vitamin C, and beta-carotene. The American Kennel Club notes they should be cooked and served plain, never raw and never with butter, salt, or seasoning.
Two cautions worth stating plainly. Raw sweet potato is hard to digest and can be a choking risk. And regular white potatoes are a different vegetable — raw ones contain solanine, which ASPCA Animal Poison Control lists as toxic to dogs. Don't substitute.
How do you dehydrate sweet potatoes for dog treats?
- Pick firm potatoes. No soft spots, no cracks, no green patches or sprouts.
- Scrub, don't peel. The skin is fine for dogs and holds the slice together as it dries.
- Slice evenly, 1/4 inch. This is the step that matters most. Uneven slices dry unevenly, and the thin ones scorch while the thick ones stay damp inside. A mandoline helps.
- Dry them. Dehydrator: 145°F for 6–8 hours. Oven: 250°F on a parchment-lined sheet for 2–3 hours, flipping at the halfway mark. Leave the oven door cracked an inch so moisture escapes.
- Check for doneness. A finished slice bends like leather and springs back. If it's still soft or sticky in the center, keep going — that leftover moisture is what causes mold.
- Cool completely, then store. Airtight container, cool dark spot, two to three weeks. Any longer and the fridge or freezer is the safer call.
How long do homemade sweet potato treats last?
Two to three weeks at room temperature in an airtight container, assuming they were dried all the way through. Homemade treats have no preservatives, so check them before every use. Any softness, off smell, or visible spotting means throw the batch out. Freezing extends them to a few months.
How much can I give my dog?
Treats should stay under roughly 10% of your dog's daily calories — the rest comes from complete, balanced food. For most dogs that's a slice or two a day. Sweet potato is higher in sugar and carbohydrate than a meat chew, so if your dog is overweight or diabetic, talk to your vet first. VCA Animal Hospitals has a good primer on treat calories and weight management.
Introduce any new treat gradually. One slice, then wait a day and watch for loose stool before you make it routine.
Is a homemade veggie chew enough?
Not on its own. Dehydrated sweet potato is a snack, not a chew. It's gone in thirty seconds and it does nothing for the jaw work and dental scraping that dogs actually need from chewing.
That's the gap our chews fill. Our bully sticks are 100% real meat, single-ingredient, fully digestible, and contain no rawhide — ethically sourced from grass-fed American and Argentinean farms and 100% high-quality guaranteed. Same idea behind our 100% natural single-ingredient chews generally: one ingredient, nothing added, nothing to read on a label.
Plenty of people do both. Sweet potato rounds for training and quick rewards, a real chew when the dog needs to work on something for twenty minutes.
A few things that go wrong
- Slices too thick. They look done on the outside and mold a week later. Stick to 1/4 inch.
- Oven runs hot. Most home ovens overshoot at low settings. If your slices are browning at the edges, prop the door open and check earlier.
- Storing warm. Warm treats sweat inside a sealed container. Cool them on the rack for at least an hour.
- Adding anything. No oil, no salt, no cinnamon, no honey. Plain is the whole point.
That's the entire method. If your dog does well with it, it's one of the cheapest healthy treats you can keep on hand.
This post was last updated at August 7, 2026 01:15
