Sweet potatoes are healthy, tasty, and oh so nutritious! If you are looking for a way to make your dog’s diet delicious while keeping it clean, sweet potatoes will make your dreams come true.
These underground tubers have plenty of fiber that can go a long way in supporting a dog’s healthy gut. They are often used to alleviate things like diarrhea and constipation and encourage healthy bowel movements.
Vegetables are also low in fat while packing on essential vitamins such as B6, A, and C.
The best part about sweet potatoes is that you can prepare it in a number of ways for your lovely pup.
If it is your first time to prepare sweet potatoes for your pup and you are looking for some inspiration, this guide will come in handy.
Are sweet potatoes dog-friendly?
In case you are wondering whether sweet potatoes are good for your dog, the plain answer is yes they are!
According to the AKC website, these tubers are safe for dogs. Since they are whole, they don’t cause an immune response in a dog’s body or cause damage to his GI tract.
However, if your dog is diabetic, less active, or overweight, you need to exercise a little more caution. This is because they have a high glycemic index.
Like with all other things in life, exercise moderation when it comes to feeding sweet potatoes to your dog. Give according to the size of your dog, his activity level, and his health condition.
Also, if you can, remove the skin to make it easy for your dog to digest it.
Finally, never feed your pup raw potato or one that is extremely dry and hard as it is difficult to chew.
How to Cook Sweet Potato for Dogs
There are a number of ways to prepare sweet potatoes for your dogs. You can bake, mash, boil, and steam them.
If you want to take things to a new level, feel free to make cookies off of your sweet potatoes or mix them up with liver or pork.
To get you started, here are two of our absolute sweet potato recipes for dogs.
1. Delightful Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Most dogs enjoy sinking their teeth into a bowl of mashed potato goodness! It is savory and creamy, making it a good treat for your four-legged friend.
If you’ve made a mashed potato dish for your family before, you know how easy it is to whip it up.
Well, making this healthy veggie for a dog is even easier. This is because most of the ingredients such as butter, brown sugar, heavy cream, nutmeg, and salt are not included in the recipe.
Most of these condiments are not dog-friendly not to mention necessary. Don’t get it twisted though, even without these flavor enhancers, the mash will taste delightful. The reason is simple: the food is already sweet in nature.
Let’s get into this tasty sweet potato for dogs recipe.
What You’ll Need
- Two medium-sized potatoes
- A bowl
- Water
- Pan
- Potato masher
- Knife
- Potato peeler
- Strainer
Directions
I. Wash and peel your sweet potatoes
For optimal results, soak them first in vinegar before washing them thoroughly. This step helps to draw the dirt out more than water alone will do.
Use a potato peeler or a knife to peel the potatoes.
Once peeled, give them one more wash and slice them into cubes.
II. Boil the cubed sweet potatoes
The best way to do this is to bring some water to a boil in a pot. As a rule of thumb, the water should cover the potatoes entirely.
Once it boils, throw in the potatoes, reduce the heat to medium and let them simmer away for 30 minutes.
To know if they are ready, pierce into one cube with a fork or knife. If it goes through with ease, the potatoes are done.
Else, cover the pot and give it a few minutes for them to be fork-tender.
III. Mash them up
The final step is to mash the sweet potatoes. Before doing this, drain off the water in the pot using a strainer.
Then proceed to mash it up using a potato masher. This is the fun part.
Be sure to work the mash until you get a smooth consistency.
Let the potatoes cool before serving it to your pup.
IV. Serve
That’s it! The mashed potatoes are ready to be served.
You can offer it to your dog as is or mix it in his food.
Ideally, the amount to give depends on the size of your dog. If you have a toy breed, you might want to serve only a tablespoon of the mash.
Otherwise, you can serve as much as 1/4th a cup for giant breeds.
2. Yummy Homemade Sweet Potato Treats
Homemade sweet potato treats are easy to make and only require one ingredient; sweet potatoes! They are also incredibly easy to prepare.
Here’s a great recipe to follow for great sweet potato treats.
What You’ll Need
- Two medium-sized potatoes (or whichever amount you please)
- Knife
- Potato peeler
- Baking tray
Directions
I. Wash and peel the potatoes
Begin by thoroughly washing your veggies. If you can, soak them up in vinegar for a while then rinse them up to get all the dirt out.
You can also go ahead and scrub them up using a kitchen brush to really make them completely clean.
Then proceed to peel the up using your potato peeler or knife.
II. Slice the potatoes
The next agenda on your list is to slice the sweet potatoes. This time around, you don’t want cubes but rather, thin slices that can become chewy or crunchy when baked.
You have two options here: slice them longitudinally about 1/8 – ¼ inches thick.
The thinner the slice, the crunchier the treat; and the thicker it is, the chewier the treat.
Secondly, you can cut lengthwise, about the same measurements.
III. Bake the potatoes
Place the slices on a baking sheet and spread them out in one layer.
One big sweet potato (or two medium ones) will cover one baking sheet. If you have more, you might need more baking trays.
Do not add salt, oil, or any spice. The treats need to be as natural as possible.
Once ready, throw the baking tray in a 200-2500F oven for three hours. You might want to check on them after one and a half hours.
Flip them up to make them evenly cooked.
The time frame depends on the thickness of your slices and the end result you are looking to achieve. More time in the oven makes them crunchier. If you only want them to be chewy, don’t let them sit for more than three hours.
Ideally, a chewy hydrated treat is great compared to a dry crunchy one.
IV. Serve
Once ready, let the potatoes sit in the oven until cooled.
Serve them to your pup and see him go bonkers over them. Keep the remaining in an airtight container. These treats can last anywhere from five days to three weeks depending on whether they are chewy or crunchy.
As you might have guessed, the latter tends to last longer than the former.
Final Thoughts
Sweet potatoes are as good to dogs as they are to humans. They have plenty of essential vitamins, are rich in fiber, and most importantly, harmless to a dog.
Hopefully, you now know how to cook sweet potatoes for dogs. The secret is to keep the recipe simple, chewy, and delicious!
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