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August 23, 2026 5 min read
TL;DR: Frosty Paws is the grocery freezer aisle's best known frozen dog treat, four cups for about $6.69, a whey and soy flour base with no added sugar per the label. That works out to roughly $1.67 a cup. Our Pupsicle Mix is a freeze-dried, mix-with-water powder, about $12.49 a jar for roughly 25 treats, around 20 calories each; the Chicken & Sweet Potato and Turkey & Cinnamon flavors are dairy-free and soy-free (Beef & Cheddar carries dairy). Frosty Paws wins on zero prep and grocery-store availability. Homemade treats made with our mix win on portion control and skipping dairy and soy entirely. Here's the label-by-label breakdown.
Frosty Paws has been the default frozen dog treat since the late 1970s, the kind of thing you grab off a grocery store shelf without thinking twice. We make dog treat mixes, so people ask us how a homemade Pupsicle actually compares, on ingredients, price, and what you're really getting per treat. Here's the answer.
Frosty Paws Original comes in a 4-count box, 13 fluid ounces total, about 3.25 fluid ounces per cup. The label lists: water, whey, soy flour, coconut oil, maltodextrin, polydextrose, monoglycerides, minerals (dicalcium phosphate, dipotassium phosphate, ferrous fumarate), guar gum, vitamins (vitamin C, B6, B1, B12), and natural flavor. The box discloses milk and soy as allergens.
Marketing claims on the box: "no sugar added," described as a source of "high-quality protein," a vegetarian formulation, fortified with vitamins and minerals, no artificial colors or flavors. We weren't able to confirm a calorie count for Frosty Paws on any page we could reach, Purina's own site blocked our attempts, so we're leaving calories out rather than guess.
Price runs about $6.69 for the 4-count box at most retailers, with a range from $5.38 to $6.99 depending on where you shop. That's roughly $1.67 a cup, or about $0.51 a fluid ounce.
Frosty Paws also sells a Peanut Butter flavor. Per the label, it swaps in peanut butter syrup for some of the dairy: water, whey, soy flour, maltodextrin, coconut oil, peanut butter syrup (peanuts, corn oil, salt), monoglycerides, minerals, guar gum, vitamins, and natural flavor. Same dairy and soy allergens as Original, just a different flavor lean.
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 hands-on work. A 4.3 ounce jar is $12.49 and makes roughly 25 treats, around 20 calories each. The Chicken & Sweet Potato flavor lists freeze dried chicken, whole wheat flour, sweet potato powder, and whole egg protein, four ingredients, no dairy and no soy in this flavor. The line as a whole skips added sugar, salt, preservatives, color, and artificial flavors, and everything is sourced and made in the USA.
| Cooper's Pupsicle Mix | Frosty Paws | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $12.49 per jar (~25 treats) | $6.69 per 4-count box |
| Price per treat | ~$0.50 | ~$1.67 |
| Calories per treat | ~20 | Not published |
| Dairy | None (Chicken & Sweet Potato flavor) | Yes, whey (contains milk) |
| Soy | None | Yes, soy flour (contains soy) |
| Prep | Add water, freeze (~1 minute hands-on) | Ready to eat, frozen already |
| Form until use | Shelf-stable dry mix | Sold frozen, needs freezer space |
By price per treat, ours costs less. But that's only half the story, Frosty Paws is a bigger single serving, a whole 3.25 fluid ounce cup, versus a small mold-sized Pupsicle, so you're not comparing identical portions. What the table does show clearly: ours skips both dairy and soy, and you know the calorie count going in.
The general rule is that treats should stay under about 10 percent of a dog's daily calories. For a medium dog eating around 700 calories a day, that's a 70 calorie budget. Without a published calorie count for Frosty Paws, there's no clean way to fit a cup into that math. That's not a knock on the product, it's a real gap in what's published.
Our Pupsicle treats run about 20 calories each, so that same medium dog could have three or four in a day and still have room for other treats. A single Frosty Paws cup, being a full 3.25 fluid ounces, reads more like a dessert-sized portion than a training-sized treat, worth keeping in mind for small dogs especially.
The steps: mix the powder with water per the jar's instructions, pour it into a silicone mold or ice cube tray, tap out the air bubbles, and freeze for 2 to 3 hours. Pop them out and store in a labeled freezer bag for up to about 2 months. No cooking, no oven, nothing to shop for beyond water.
My dog Maple treats mold-popping like a scheduled event, she hears the tray hit the counter and posts up in the kitchen until treats show up in her bowl. She's not a picky critic, she'd eat a paper towel if we let her, but she's a reliable check on whether a batch actually froze solid before we hand it over.
Frosty Paws comes in two flavors, Original and Peanut Butter, both built on the same whey-and-soy base, so switching flavors doesn't change the allergen picture. Our Pupsicle Mix line has more range: Chicken & Sweet Potato and Turkey & Cinnamon are both dairy-free and soy-free, Beef & Cheddar includes cheddar cheese powder (so it does carry dairy, unlike the other two), and Lamb & Spinach is our novel-protein option built for sensitive stomachs. If dairy is the concern, Chicken & Sweet Potato or Turkey & Cinnamon are the flavors to start with.
Frosty Paws is a grocery-freezer product, most major chains carry it, and price is the biggest source of variation store to store. Our Pupsicle Mix ships from our own site or Amazon, and because it's a shelf-stable dry mix until you add water, there's no cold-chain shipping problem and no freezer aisle trip required to restock.
Frosty Paws has earned its spot in the freezer aisle honestly, it's been there since the 1970s and plenty of dogs love it. We built the Pupsicle Mix for a different situation: a calorie-labeled treat you make in small batches instead of buying frozen cups by the case, with dairy-free and soy-free flavors if that's what your dog needs. If you want to try it, the Pupsicle Starter Kit comes with mix and a mold to get your first batch going. For a broader look at what else is out there, our Frosty Paws alternatives guide covers more store-bought and homemade options, and our full ingredient breakdown of Frosty Paws goes deeper on the label itself.
If your dog has had loose stools after a dairy-based treat, whey or milk is the likely cause, and Frosty Paws is a whey-based product. A dairy-free and soy-free option like our Pupsicle Mix is worth trying instead, and check with your vet if the issue persists.
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