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In the midst of all the people food preparation, making something special for your dog this holiday season doesn’t have to be a huge project. If you’re a pie pro or a veggie dice champ, you’ll have some leftovers for a canine side. Try putting some dough aside from a baking session and make a few mini pies for your dog— you can freeze the extras and have a pop-in-the-oven treat that is guaranteed to please.
Ingredients for a pie for your dog
A pie’s filling can be strictly based on your leftovers to save food waste, or you can plan a special mixture just for your dog with its own ingredients.
Filling ideas (these items are often found in dog foods due to their high nutrition content, so it’s quite compatible with many existing dog diets):
- Steamed or boiled sweet potatoes or pumpkin
- Shredded (plain) meat
- Turkey or chicken broth (Pro Tip: Mixing in some turkey or chicken broth and a packet of gelatin will help you get a better filling no matter what you’re using).
- Veggies like carrots, peas, and green beans are all edible to dogs provided they aren’t seasoned with garlic, onion, sugar or salt.
For pie dough, we recommend unsalted grass fed butter or coconut oil as the fat, these are the best ones for canines and taste great to us both. You want to limit how much fat a dog gets in their diet, but the fats they do eat should be high quality. So, you can take your extra pie crust and bake it, or create a super healthy crust via Beagles & Bargains which includes flour, oatmeal, unsweetened applesauce, and water. Either way – remember that dogs cannot have raw dough, as it can lead to bloat which is life-threatening.
Prep ingredients for dog-friendly pies
Deciding on a shape is the fun part! Depending how much dough you’ve made or saved, you can mold in a mini cupcake tin or whip up hand pies, folded over like a dumpling or ravioli. These shapes and ultimately, the size of the treat, should be based on your dog’s weight more so than how much food you have. Remember – a small breed doesn’t need much, and even larger dogs need to exercise moderation, so err on the side of small.
Cooking and baking dog-friendly pies
Put your chosen ingredients in a bowl. Bring ½ c broth of to a boil and dissolve one packet of gelatin, then allow it to cool slightly. Pour broth/gelatin liquid over your precooked fillings and mash together until well mixed. Cool completely if you’re making hand pies; tinned pies will be fine with a warm filling.
Then, a quick bake for 10-12 minutes in a 350°F degree oven should do the trick. Serve them after cooling completely, and freezing the leftovers makes a great future snack, they’ll hold up for about four weeks. Bone appetit!
If you make special holiday treats for your dog, you probably consider them part of the family! Protect them like family by enrolling in pet health insurance. Start by getting a free quote.
