Chicken Nugget Dog Treats – a Homemade Option

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There is no reason for McDonald’s chicken nuggets when you can make these chicken nugget dog treats. Besides, feeding your doggo McDonald’s chicken nuggets, is not a very healthy option.

Seriously, McDonald’s is a fast food restaurant and fast food replaces healthy food. Chicken nuggets are cooked in vats of vegetable oil at fast food places.  Therefore, the crust and the chicken of the nuggets are saturated inside with oil.

When cooked this way, the nuggets become high in fats, which can clog arteries and slow blood circulation. As a result, a dog will gain weight and get lazy eating chicken nuggets on a regular basis. In addition, they may even refuse to eat regular food.

On the other hand, these homemade chicken nugget dog treats are super healthy. The sweet potato and the carrots pack a serious punch of nutrients.

Sweet potatoes and carrots are an excellent source of beta carotene, and potassium. In addition, sweet potatoes are high in vitamin C. Furthermore, carrots are a particularly good source of fiber, vitamin K, and potassium.

However, those two healthy ingredients are not what I want to discuss with you today. I actually want to talk about the star of these dog treats and that is the chicken.

Chicken Nugget Dog Treats’ Star Ingredient

If you read the labels on dog food, you will find chicken as a popular ingredient. That’s because the benefits of chicken for dogs makes it a great meat to include in their diets. In addition, chicken is considered a lean meat.

“Dogs need protein as a main energy source, and chicken provides that boost without a big calorie count.”

Dr. Katy Nelson, associate veterinarian at the BelleHaven Animal Medical Centre in Alexandria, Va.

Benefits of chicken for dogs:

• high in protein, which provides energy
• protein also helps to build lean muscle mass
• contains Omega 6 fatty acids, which help sustain healthy skin and shiny coats
• great source of essential amino acids and glucosamine, which helps promote bone health
• consists of B3 and B6 vitamins, which supports the maintenance of healthy brain cells and a healthy nervous system
• provides phosphorus and selenium, which builds strong teeth and is essential for immunity

There is a growing movement toward raw feeding, which includes raw chicken and bones. However, I highly suggest that you consult with your veterinarian if this is something you are interested in. 

For sure do not give your dog raw chicken from the grocery store. Consequently, there is a risk of salmonella and bacterial infections. However, chicken prepared by raw food companies go through special steps to prevent disease and infection. So, make sure you check into those companies if you try your dog on a raw food diet.

On the other hand, if you aren’t raw feeding, be sure to fully cook chicken without seasoning. You can prepare it by either roasting, poaching, grilling, or baking.

Before You Feed Your Dog Chicken

Take into consideration the following three things:

1. Chicken is the third most common food allergy among dogs.
2. Never let your dog eat a cooked chicken bone. To clarify, cooked chicken bones splinter very easily. As a result, the splinters can puncture the stomach and intestines. In addition, the splinters can even cause choking.
3. The lean breast meat with fat and skin removed is the healthiest for your dog. On the other hand, vets suggest not feeding dogs the fatty dark meat. Their reasoning is that it can lead to pancreatitis.

Let’s Make Chicken Nugget Dog Treats

You will need the following ingredients:

• sweet potato
• carrot
• distilled vinegar
• raw,unfiltered honey
• salt
• ceylon organic cinnamon
• olive oil
• oats
• chicken breast

So, you actually are going to cook three of the ingredients separately before assembling the treats. I cook these at the end of a week where my menu includes the three during the week.

For example, I may bake chicken on Monday. I will leave one chicken breast unseasoned and bake it with the rest. After it is cooked, I shred it, put it in a baggie and throw it in the freezer. 

Then on Wednesday, I may bake sweet potatoes. I bake an extra, and when it is baked, I store it in the refrigerator in a baggie. 

Subsequently, on Friday I may cook carrots. I will take out a cup of them and store in a baggie in the refrigerator. So, on Saturday, I would be able to bake these chicken nugget dog treats.

Cooking Step by Step

Firstly, bake an unseasoned chicken breast at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Secondly, bake a sweet potato at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes.

Thirdly, while the sweet potato is cooking, peel and cut two large carrots. Cook these how you prefer. I chose to steam mine in a steamer pan over boiling water for about 25 minutes.

Now, while the sweet potato and carrots are cooking, shred the chicken and set aside.

After the sweet potato finishes cooking, remove it from the oven to cool. Then, let your oven cool down to 225 degrees.

After that, scoop the inside out of the cooked sweet potato and put it in a large bowl.

Next, add the cooked carrots to the bowl of sweet potato. Then, mash the two ingredients together with a fork or a potato masher. I love using a potato masher, because I think it is easier. I want to note here that the consistency of this mixture will be lumpy. 

Then, add the vinegar, honey, and olive oil to the mixture and stir well.

After that, add the salt and cinnamon, stirring well.

Now, add the shredded chicken and oats to the mixture. Furthermore, make sure the mixture is blended completely by using your hands to knead it. The mixture will need to sit for about five minutes, so the oats can expand.

Finally, spoon into a small silicone muffin tin.

Lastly, bake at 225 degrees for 2 hours and 15 minutes. Then, flip each nugget over and bake for another hour.

After they finish baking, pop them out of the silicone muffin tin onto a cooling rack. The nuggets will be semi soft with a crispy outer edge.

Let them thoroughly cool before sharing them with your doggo. And, of course that is the best part of baking treats for your dog.

Store these chicken nugget dog treats in an airtight container in the refrigerator or the freezer. They will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week and in the freezer for up to three weeks.

In Conclusion

Does your dog prefer sweet or savoury? Let us know in the comments below.

If your dog prefers sweet, try these banana apple pupcakes.

If your dog prefers savoury, try these greenie beanies.

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