We celebrated Luna’s second birthday recently and it was super fun! It’s always fun to find an excuse to spoil your pup and engage with them in different ways. Who am I kidding though … I am constantly replacing their toys with new ones or excitedly bringing home a new bed or treat for them to try out. I do love trying out new pup-cake recipes and with Luna’s allergies it’s been a challenge to find something that I know they will all love but still accommodate all health concerns.
We’re in the very beginning of the Coronavirus outbreak and we’ve all been encouraged to self quarantine. I want to keep this post light and happy but if you need information about COVID-19 please visit the CDC’s website.
With that being said I hope you were able to get all of your essential grocery items. Things have gotten a little crazy and I know stores are running out of quite a few items. This recipe contains very few ingredients and hopefully you have some (if not all of them) in your pantry or fridge. I also want to make note that you will see me use unsweetened applesauce in a lot of my recipes but that’s because Luna is allergic to eggs. In general 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce will replace one egg in baking recipes. Of course recipes may vary but if you ever want to use an egg because you don’t have applesauce on hand that shouldn’t be an issue. Both apples and eggs contains many health benefits for dogs when served in moderation. Also, there are lots of great egg substitutes out there that are safe for dogs, so there’s always plenty of ways to make something if you’re missing an ingredient.
This recipe is also super awesome because I only needed four pup-cakes so I used the rest of my meat mixture to make little meatball treats that can be used as puppatizers at your party, stored in the fridge for your pups to snack on, or you can even freeze the meatballs! This is great while everyone is trying to meal prep and stretch out their food until groceries are restocked and the alert for spreading Coronavirus isn’t so high. Prepping snacks for your dogs during a pandemic is a real thing, right?
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DIY Turkey Pupcakes
What you’ll need:
- 1 lb. of Lean Ground Turkey (or your protein of choice just keep in mind cooking temps and times may vary.)
- 1 Small Zucchini
- 1 Large Sweet Potato
- Divide 1/4 cup and 2 heaping spoonfuls of Unsweetened Applesauce.
- 1 cup of Quick Oats
- Standard muffin pan with paper or silicone liners
- Small cookie sheet if you’re making additional meatball treats
Turkey Pup-Cake Recipe with Sweet Potato “Frosting”
Course: French Bulldog Blog15
minutes15
minutes30
minutesIngredients
1 pound of Lean Ground Turkey (Or your ground protein of choice but cooking times may vary.)
1 cup of Quick Oats
1/4 cup of Unsweetened Applesauce
One small, peeled, and shredded Zucchini
- Sweet Potato Frosting (Optional)
2 heaping spoonfuls of Unsweetened Applesauce
Blueberries – Optional (I only used these for garnish and froze the rest to use in a future recipe. It’s totally up to you if you want to add them.)
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
- Thoroughly wash your sweet potato and pierce multiple times with a fork or knife. (Watch your fingers!) Place it on a paper towel and microwave for 3 minutes on full power. Then carefully flip your potato over and microwave for an additional 2 minutes. The potato should very easily pierce with a a knife. If not just keep microwaving for one minute at a time until the potato is soft. Split the potato and allow it to cool while you’re getting the pup-cakes ready.
- Combine all of your turkey, 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce, 1 cup of oats, and the shredded zucchini. Knead all of the ingredients together until they’re completely combined (This is pretty much a dog meatloaf!)
- I used silicone cupcake liners but you can easily use whatever you have on hand. Fill your cupcake liners about 3/4 of the way full with your meat mixture. I rolled my left over meat mixture into one inch meatballs and lined them on a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Everything should be cooked through in 15 minutes but always make sure to double check that your meat is cooked through!
- Now scoop out the inside of your cooked sweet potato into a bowl and add your 2 heaping spoonfuls of unsweetened applesauce and combine well with a fork or spoon. Once your pup-cakes are done and have cooled to at least room temp or safe eating temperature you can either pipe on your sweet potato frosting or just spread it on with a knife or spoon. Top each pup-cake with a blueberry for garnish.
Notes
- Sub out the 1/4 cup of applesauce in your meat mixture for one egg if you don’t have any egg allergies in your house.
- Blueberries are totally optional.
- Don’t want to use Zucchini? I think this would also work well with one or two small shredded carrots.
- Store your extra meatball treats in an airtight container for five-seven days.
- You can also vacuum seal and freeze your cooked meatballs so that your pups can enjoy them at your discretion. Just make sure they’re completely thawed before serving them!
This recipe is in no way meant to be a meal replacement. While I think it could be a nice food topper as a treat periodically it does not provide all of the nutrients a dog needs to remain healthy. It’s just a tasty treat! Always consult with your vet about ingredients that they feel are safe for your pup.
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