Use the arrows on the above slider to review the foods you should or should not feed your pet from the Thanksgiving table, then read below for some pet treat recipes using leftovers.

Turn These Extra Thanksgiving Ingredients Into Pet Treats

Want to make some delicious treats for your or your neighbor’s pet this holiday season?  Kids love helping to make treats for pets.  Here are some recipes that you can try.

Turkey Tots

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: Approximately 20 minutes

Yield: 12 Turkey Tots

Ingredients:

• • 1/2 lb. leftover turkey (no skin and no bones)
  • 1/4 c. oatmeal
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp. plain yogurt
  • 1/4 c. cooked carrots or green beans (no seasoning or sugar)
  • 1/4 c. pureed, cooked pumpkin or sweet potato (no seasoning or sugar)

Instructions:

Preheat oven 400° degrees F

Finely chop the turkey or pulse it in a food processor to break it into small bits. Add oatmeal, egg, yogurt, vegetables and pumpkin or potato and mix thoroughly.  The mixture should be the consistency of raw meatloaf.

Grab small portions of the mixture and roll into small meatballs.  Space the balls evenly on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake in an oven at 400°F for 20 minutes or until lightly browned and cooked all the way through. Cool before serving.

Spinach Snaps

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes or until lightly brown

Yield: Approximately 25 Snaps depending on the size of your cookie cutter

Ingredients:

• • 1/2 lb. leftover turkey (no skin and no bones)
  • 1/2 c. leftover cooked rice, no seasoning
  • 1/4-1/2 c. chicken stock
  • 1 egg
  • 2- 2 1/2 c. whole wheat or white flour
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped spinach

Instructions:

Preheat oven 375° degrees F

In food processor combine the turkey, rice, spinach, and chicken stock to make a paste.  Add egg and flour to form a wet dough.  Transfer mixture to a large bowl and work in remaining flour to form a stiff dough.

Rollout the dough to a thickness of 1/4 inch.  Use your favorite cookie cutter to make small biscuits.  Place biscuits on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake in an oven at 375°F for 30 minutes or until lightly browned and cooked all the way through. Cool before serving.  Once cooled, Snaps can be frozen for later use.  If you give these to friends, make sure they’re aware that these treats contain flour in case the pet has an allergy.

Poochy Pumpkin Pie

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: Approximately 10 minutes

Yield: 12-20 Poochy Pies depending on the size of baking tin

Ingredients:

• 2 c. oatmeal
• Applesauce
• 1 egg
• I 16oz can of pureed, cooked pumpkin or sweet potato
• 1/8 c. honey
• Greek Yogurt, Plain

Instructions:

Preheat oven 375° degrees F

Pulse the oatmeal in a food processor until fine and place into a large mixing bowl.  Add the egg and enough applesauce to make a firm dough.  Roll the dough out to the thickness of a pie crust. Use a round cookie cutter to make portions big enough to line the bottom and sides of a non-stick muffin tin.  The dough should come up about half way on the sides of the muffin tin.  Bake at 375° F until slightly brown, approximately 20-30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Mix the pumpkin or sweet potato puree with the honey.  Spoon small portions of the pumpkin/honey mixture into the cooled pie crusts.  Place a dollop of the Greek yogurt on the pie before serving to give the appearance of whipped cream.

Easy Does It

Though all the ingredients in these recipes are easily digestible by dogs and cats, go slowly. Sudden changes in diet can cause a bout of diarrhea.

Have a homemade pet treat recipe?  Use the comments section at the bottom of the page to share!