Frozen Recipes

Dog-safe Christmas dinner: frozen festive treats your dog can actually have

Five frozen festive recipes from the plain bits of Christmas dinner, and the trimmings to keep well away.

By 6 min read
Broth being poured into a FreezCone filled with kibble

Every Christmas Day, somewhere in Britain, a dog sits perfectly still beside the dinner table and gives the performance of a lifetime. The good news is that your dog can have their own Christmas dinner. The catch is that it has to be the plain bits: turkey without the skin, vegetables without the butter, and none of the trimmings. These five dog-safe Christmas recipes turn those plain bits into frozen festive treats, each packed into a different toy so your dog is busy while you eat.

Set the dog's portion aside before anything gets seasoned, buttered or covered in gravy, and you are most of the way there.

Dogs can have small amounts of plain turkey breast (no skin, no bones), plain carrots, parsnips, green beans, a sprout or two, plain potato and sweet potato, plain yoghurt and some fruit such as blueberries and apple. Cook their share separately with nothing added, pack it into a toy and freeze it on Christmas Eve. Keep gravy, stuffing, pigs in blankets, Christmas pudding, mince pies, chocolate and cooked bones well away.

Which Christmas foods must dogs never have?

The trimmings are where the trouble is. Keep all of these out of your dog's frozen treats, and off their plate altogether:

Never in a dog's Christmas dinner

  • Gravy, including granules and stock cubes, which usually contain onion
  • Stuffing, especially sage and onion
  • Pigs in blankets and sausages
  • Christmas pudding, Christmas cake and mince pies, full of raisins, sultanas and currants
  • Chocolate in any form, from selection boxes to tree decorations
  • Cooked bones, including the turkey carcass
  • Turkey skin and fatty trimmings
  • Bread sauce, which is made with onion, and sugary cranberry sauce
  • Anything sweetened with xylitol, including some sugar-free sweets

Our full guide to Christmas foods that are dangerous for dogs explains why, and what to do if your dog helps themselves.

How do I cook my dog's share of Christmas dinner?

Separately, and plainly. Boil or steam a few vegetables in their own pan with no salt or butter, and take them out before anything gets roasted in goose fat or glazed with honey. For turkey, poach a turkey breast steak in unsalted water, or carve a little plain breast meat from inside a bird that was not cooked with onion or garlic in the cavity. Take off the skin and check every scrap for bones.

Let everything cool completely, then fill your toys on Christmas Eve so they have all night to freeze.

1. Christmas dinner on a wheel

Prep: 10 min, plus cooking · Freeze: overnight · Good for: the main event, served while you eat · Made in: FreezWheel

The FreezWheel has separate compartments, which makes it perfect for a little plated dinner: a section of turkey, a section of carrot, a section of parsnip.

You'll need

  • About 40 g plain turkey breast, shredded
  • 1 small carrot, boiled and diced
  • Half a small parsnip, boiled with nothing added and mashed
  • 2 to 3 tbsp of the unsalted cooking water

Method

  • Pack turkey, carrot and parsnip into different compartments
  • Trickle the cooking water over the top to bind it
  • Freeze flat overnight
  • Serve on a towel or hard floor while the family eats

2. Snowball

Prep: 3 min · Freeze: 3 hours or overnight · Good for: Christmas morning while the presents come out · Made in: Freezball

Round, white and wintry, and much better for your dog than the chocolate coins.

You'll need

  • 4 tbsp plain natural yoghurt, with no sweeteners
  • A small handful of blueberries
  • A few small pieces of apple, with the core and pips removed

Method

  • Stir the fruit through the yoghurt
  • Spoon into the Freezball and tap it down
  • Freeze for at least 3 hours
  • Hand it over before the wrapping paper starts flying
“Really great product I have filled with yoghurt and fruit and kibble with broth which my dog loved its very strong good quality”
Karen H., verified buyer

3. Festive parsnip and sweet potato swirl

Prep: 12 min including cooking · Freeze: overnight · Good for: a meat-free treat for the afternoon lull · Made in: FreezSwirl

Two Christmas root vegetables, mashed with nothing added. The swirl shape makes your dog chase every last bit, which buys you time for the King's Speech.

You'll need

  • Half a parsnip, peeled and boiled
  • About 60 g sweet potato, peeled and boiled
  • 1 tbsp plain natural yoghurt

Method

  • Mash the parsnip and sweet potato together until smooth
  • Spread it into the swirl
  • Dot the yoghurt on top and drag a spoon through it
  • Freeze overnight

4. Boxing Day bubble and squeak

Prep: 5 min · Freeze: overnight · Good for: using up plain leftovers · Made in: Freez Doughnut

The human version is fried in butter and often has onion in it. The dog version keeps the spirit and loses the risky bits.

You'll need

  • 2 tbsp plain boiled potato, mashed with no butter, milk or salt
  • 1 or 2 plain boiled sprouts, finely chopped
  • A few plain green beans, chopped small

Method

  • Only use leftovers you set aside before they were seasoned or buttered
  • Mix everything together
  • Press firmly into the ring of the doughnut
  • Freeze overnight

Freezbone tip

Go easy on the sprouts. One or two is plenty, unless you fancy spending Boxing Day evening with the windows open.

5. Turkey and rice star

Prep: 5 min · Freeze: overnight · Good for: a gentle, plain treat after all the excitement · Made in: FreezStar

A star for the top of the tree, or rather, for the dog under it. Simple, plain and filling.

You'll need

  • About 40 g plain turkey breast, finely shredded
  • 2 tbsp plain boiled rice, cooled
  • 2 tbsp unsalted water from poaching the turkey

Method

  • Mix the turkey and rice
  • Pack it into the star
  • Pour the cooking water over to fill the gaps
  • Freeze overnight
“Filled with her some of her daily food, kibble, cooked chicken and broth. All frozen and ready to go but I know she will love it as she uses other Freezbone products”
Fiona E., verified buyer

How much Christmas dinner can my dog have?

A little goes a long way. Treat these as part of your dog's food for the day, not on top of it, and take a little out of their usual meals when they have one. Rich food and a change in diet can upset some stomachs, so try new ingredients in small amounts beforehand if you can.

Fine in small amounts

  • Plain turkey breast, skin off, no bones
  • Plain carrot, parsnip and green beans
  • A sprout or two
  • Plain boiled potato and sweet potato
  • Plain natural yoghurt, blueberries, apple without core or pips

Not even a little

  • Anything with gravy, stuffing or onion
  • Pigs in blankets
  • Pudding, cake and mince pies
  • Chocolate
  • Cooked bones

If your dog has a sensitive stomach, a health condition or a special diet, check with your vet before Christmas rather than on the day.

Make it a Christmas Eve ritual

Fill two or three toys on Christmas Eve and you have one for Christmas morning, one for dinner time and one spare for Boxing Day. If you want to get ahead, our batch-freezing guide shows how to fill a week's worth in one go. For everyday fills the rest of the year, try our frozen dog treats from UK supermarket ingredients, or watch the Freezbone recipe videos.

General information, not veterinary advice. If you think your dog has eaten something harmful, contact your vet straight away.

Frequently asked questions

  • Only the plain parts. Small amounts of plain turkey breast without skin or bones, and plain vegetables such as carrot, parsnip and green beans, are fine for most dogs. Gravy, stuffing, pigs in blankets and anything with onion are not.

  • Yes, a little plain turkey breast with the skin and every bone removed. Poach a turkey breast steak separately, or use plain meat from a bird not cooked with onion or garlic in the cavity.

  • A plain cooked sprout or two is fine for most dogs. More than that can cause wind, so keep it small.

  • Yes, if they are plain. Boil or steam them separately with no butter, honey, salt or oil, and set them aside before the rest goes in the roasting tin.

  • No. Gravy and stuffing usually contain onion, and sage and onion stuffing is a classic. Onion is toxic to dogs, so keep both well away.

  • A frozen toy filled with plain turkey and vegetables, or plain yoghurt with blueberries and apple, keeps your dog busy and happy while you eat, and contains nothing they should not have.

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Written by Freezbone Team

We design freezable, refillable chew toys and test every fill and routine on our own dogs before we write about it. Freezbone LTD ships across the UK.

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