Ben & Jerry's Doggie Desserts vs Homemade Frozen Treats
Alex WillenTL;DR: Ben & Jerry's Doggie Desserts are small frozen cups, about $2.29 each for 4 fluid ounces, roughly $0.57 an ounce. The brand doesn't publish a calorie count for them. Our Pupsicle Mix is a freeze-dried, mix-with-water powder that works out to about $0.50 a treat, around 20 calories each, made from a 4 or 5 ingredient list with no added sugar. Ben & Jerry's wins on novelty and zero prep. Homemade frozen treats win on knowing exactly what you're feeding and how many calories it costs.
Ben & Jerry's built its name on human ice cream, so when they put out a dog version, people noticed. Doggie Desserts are small frozen cups sold in the same freezer case as the human pints, made for dogs. It's a fun idea and a recognizable brand. But "recognizable" and "easy to budget calories against" are different things, and that's where this comparison gets useful.
What's on the Ben & Jerry's Doggie Desserts Label
Doggie Desserts come in 4 fluid ounce cups. Two flavors show up most often: Pontch's Mix (peanut butter and pretzel swirl) and Rosie's Batch (pumpkin and mini cookies). A single Pontch's Mix cup runs about $2.29, and a 12 count case of Rosie's Batch works out to the same $2.29 per cup. Either way, that's roughly $0.57 an ounce.
What we can't tell you with confidence is the full ingredient panel or a calorie count. We were not able to independently confirm those details against the brand's own packaging, so rather than guess, we're leaving them out. If you want the exact numbers, the cup itself is the source, check the label before you serve.
Here's what we can say with confidence: it's a dessert, not a meal topper or a training treat. The name says so. That framing matters for how you think about portioning it.
Price Per Ounce Math
| Product | Type | Price | Price Per Ounce | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupsicle Mix, Chicken & Sweet Potato (Cooper's Treats) | Freeze-dried mix, add water and freeze | $12.49 per jar (~25 treats) | ~$0.50 per treat | ~20 cal per treat |
| Ben & Jerry's Doggie Desserts, Pontch's Mix | Ready-to-eat frozen cup | $2.29 per 4 fl oz cup | ~$0.57 per oz | Not published |
Straight ounce for ounce, the two land close together. The real gap shows up in what you're buying at that price. One is a jar of shelf-stable powder that makes roughly 25 individual treats you portion yourself. The other is a single-serving cup, ready to hand over as-is, with no calorie information to plan around.
Calories
Without a published calorie count for Doggie Desserts, there's no way to know how many calories one cup adds. That's not a knock on the product, just a gap worth knowing about before you hand one over daily instead of occasionally.
Our Pupsicle Mix treats run about 20 calories each. The math is simple because the number is on the jar.
What Making Frozen Treats at Home Looks Like
Our Pupsicle Mix is a freeze-dried, just-add-water powder. You mix it with water, pour it into a mold or ice cube tray, and freeze it, about a minute of actual hands-on work. A 4.3 ounce jar runs $12.49 and makes roughly 25 treats. Each flavor uses a short ingredient list, 4 or 5 items, real freeze-dried meat plus a starch and an egg protein binder, nothing else. No added sugar or salt, and no preservatives or artificial flavors, and everything is sourced and made in the USA.
My dog Maple treats freezer time like a personal event. She hears the mold hit the counter and parks herself in the kitchen until it's in her bowl. She's not a discerning critic, she'd eat a sock if we let her, but she does go through phases where she'll sniff a new flavor and walk off, so having a short ingredient list means we're not guessing what set her off if that happens.
The trade-off is real: you're doing a small amount of prep and waiting an hour or two for things to freeze. If you want zero prep and don't mind not knowing the calorie count, that's a fair trade to make the other way.
The Actual Steps
- Mix the powder with the amount of water called for on the jar.
- Pour or spoon the mixture into a silicone mold or ice cube tray.
- Tap the mold on the counter to settle it and knock out air bubbles.
- Freeze for 2 to 3 hours, longer for larger mold cavities.
- Pop the treats out and store them in a labeled freezer bag.
That's it, no oven, no cooking, no ingredients to shop for beyond water. It genuinely takes about a minute of hands-on time, the rest is the freezer doing the work.
Storage and Serving
Frozen treats from a mix keep well for up to about 2 months in a sealed freezer bag. Don't refreeze a treat once it's thawed. If you're serving outside on a hot day, a frozen treat will start softening within a few minutes in direct sun, which is normal and not a sign anything's wrong, just plan to hand it over somewhere your dog can enjoy it without it turning into a puddle on the carpet.
Ben & Jerry's cups need the same basic care, keep them frozen until serving time and don't refreeze a thawed cup. Beyond that, there's nothing to prep, which is exactly the appeal.
Can You Give Both?
Nothing stops you from doing both. A reasonable split: Doggie Desserts for the occasional hot-day treat or birthday, homemade Pupsicles for the regular rotation where you want to know the calorie count going in. Just remember that without a published calorie figure for the Ben & Jerry's cup, it's smart to treat it as an indulgence day rather than stacking it on top of a normal day of other treats.
Where Ben & Jerry's Genuinely Wins
Straight talk: if you want a fun, familiar-brand treat for a hot day or a dog's birthday, and you're not worried about tight calorie tracking, Ben & Jerry's Doggie Desserts do exactly that job well. There's no mixing, no molds, no freezer wait, just open and serve. Brand recognition counts for something too, plenty of people trust a name they already buy for themselves. That's a legitimate reason to pick it up.
Buy Ben & Jerry's Doggie Desserts If
- You want a grab-and-go novelty treat with zero prep.
- It's a one-off occasion (a birthday, a hot afternoon, a reward for the vet visit going well).
- You're not trying to track calories closely that day.
Make Frozen Treats at Home If
- You want to know the calorie count of what you're feeding, not guess at it.
- You want a short, plain ingredient list you can read in five seconds.
- You're giving frozen treats regularly, not just once in a while, and want the per-treat cost to stay low.
If you want to try it, our Chicken and Sweet Potato Pupsicle Mix is the easiest starting flavor, and the Pupsicle Starter Kit comes with molds included if you don't already have any on hand. For more on the category, our roundup of the best frozen dog treats covers other options too.
If your dog has a dairy sensitivity or a known food allergy, check the label of any packaged dessert before serving.
