Single Serving Dog Cupcake
Treat your pup with this single serving dog cupcake! No need to get out the mixer for this 1 bowl, 5 ingredient recipe.
Do you celebrate your dog’s birthday or gotcha day? This recipe yields enough batter to make ONE large or TWO medium sized dog-safe cupcakes.
Why bake a whole cake? Make just what you need to treat your little guy or gal. Have two pups? No problem- divide the batter among two cupcake liners and make an extra one to share.
This small-batch recipe came from my desire for our dog to not consume a whole cake on his first birthday. Chewbacca (Chewy) has no voice inside his head that tells him to stop eating. Who wants to take away a cake from a puppy when they’ve had enough?
Single Serving Dog Cupcake
Full of all the things your dog loves, this cupcake is a dog’s dream come true!
PUMPKIN – Good for all sorts of dog tummy problems, this gourd is full fiber and beta-carotene. We’re using CANNED pumpkin, not raw, and not the sugary pie-filling.
PEANUT BUTTER- My dog’s love language! Be sure to use a brand that does not have Xylitol.
OATS- We’re using old fashioned, plain rolled oats- bonus it’s a great alternative for dogs who are sensitive to wheat.
EGG- Eggs are a great source of digestible protein, riboflavin, and selenium.
BAKING POWDER- Gives the cupcake rise.
Dog Cupcake Toppings
Serve this cupcake plain or top it with what your dog loves.
Frosting is optional. Some popular choices are unsweetened whipped cream, plain yogurt, or peanut butter.
We used unsweetened whipped cream (just whisk a few Tablespoons of heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form), cheddar cheese, and a slice of bacon.
Get creative with toppings for your dog’s special day! Try cheese, bacon, doggie treats, blueberries, or shredded carrots.
Dog Cupcake Substitutions
Some families do not use peanut butter due to an allergy in the home. You can make this recipe with almond butter, cashew butter, or sun butter. Please read every ingredient every time for safety to your dog and family!
You can omit the baking powder if desired. The cupcake will be dense but it will not change the taste.
This recipe calls for plain old fashioned rolled oats. Quick cooking oats can be substituted, just be sure they are plain (not the kind sold flavored in individual packets).
You guys- I seriously did not even know that I was a dog person until that cute ball of fluff entered our lives one year ago. Does he look pleased with his cupcake? Follow along with his adventures on Instagram at BahlBoysBestFriend
Can Humans Eat This Cupcake?
This cupcake is 100% safe to eat. As I told my kids though, there is no added sugar so it may not be to your liking.
Single Serving Dog Cupcake
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons pumpkin puree
- 3 Tablespoons peanut butter
- 3 Tablespoons oats
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 Tablespoons whipping cream, optional
Instructions
- PREHEAT oven to 350 degrees F. Place 1 or 2 paper liners into a muffin pan. Recipe makes one large cupcake or 2 medium sized cupcakes.
- WHISK together pumpkin, peanut butter, and oats in the bottom of a small bowl.
- MIX in the egg and baking powder until incorporated.
- BAKE for 20-25 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
- COOL completely and frost if desired.
Notes
- Recipe yields about 6 Tablespoons of batter. This is enough to make ONE large or TWO medium sized cupcakes. Baking time will vary. Begin with 20 minutes, add another 5 minutes if necessary,
- Frosting is optional. Some popular choices are unsweetened whipped cream, plain yogurt, or peanut butter.
- Get creative with toppings for a special day! Try cheese, bacon, doggie treats, blueberries, or shredded carrots.
Nutrition
Looking for More?
Need a whole dog cake? Try this massively popular Spoiled Dog Cake Recipe. (It’s popular for a reason!)
Have a bunch of dogs? Try these Peanut Butter Pupcakes from a self-proclaimed Crazy Dog Lady.
What about Homemade Dog Breath Fresheners? These are next on my list to make!
Need human treats for 1 or 2? Try my S’mores Cereal Treats for Two or this Single Serving Monster Cookie Dough Dip.
61 Comments on “Single Serving Dog Cupcake”
Didn’t have pumpkin but substituted garbanzo beans. Worked great! So cute! Better than paying $20 for a fancy dog dessert.
Can you substitute coconut flour for the oats? Oats make my guy itchy and feed yeast (give him nacho feet 😂) Thanks!
I baked this for my dog’s birthday. She absolutely loved it. I took a photo and a video of her eating it. I will make this again for her on a special occasion.
I made this cupcake today my dog & she loved it😊
My 10 year old daughter made this for our pup’s birthday. It was simple to follow and turned out great. Our dog loved it and ate every bite!
I didn’t have pumpkin puree so substituted with carrot puree. Also chopped up peanuts as I didn’t have peanut butter. They still turned out great and my puppy was thrilled. I topped them with mashed potato and cauliflower…sprinkled with a few chopped peanuts. Super cute!!
I made this for my Katie’s 4th birthday. she loves it! I drizzled a little honey over the whipped cream. Super easy.
Can I double the recipe and freeze the rest?
This was a great recipe for my adorable baby girl that just turned one! She is a French bulldog and she eats anything and everything but she absolutely LOVED this cupcake. Great recipe and will definitely be making this again! I was reading the comments saying that baking powder is bad for dogs which is true but it’s a very tiny amount and I added the 1/2 teaspoon and they turned great with no upset tummy or anything like that.
Hi, I’ve made this cake for my dog a few times and she’s loved it! I’ve also read the comments here about how baking powder is toxic to dogs. While that is true, it’s only true if ingested in a large amount I’d like for other readers to know. Even the American kennel club has a recipe for a birthday cake that uses baking powder
Quick and easy!
So easy! And thank you for a small batch recipe. I hate having to cook a whole cake for 1 dog.
Our pups loved it! I doubled the recipe and got 6 medium sized pup-cakes. I used a peanut putter-cream cheese frosting.
Note that baking powder is ok in small amounts, mixed with other ingredients and BAKED. No tummy troubles here. But if you are worried, just omit it. Thank you for sharing this great recipe.
I’m really glad I read the comments never did think about the baking powder very bad for dogs I just added flour instead Making this for my Min pins 2nd birthday Turned out awesome
I loved the small portion of this recipe! It’s one of our dog’s birthday today but o have stuff to do so it was quick and easy to make two birthday cupcakes!
My dog Nala is a Rott/ mastiff mix who now has a weight problem! Problem is I love to feed her treats and I probably feed her too much food. I am now getting the problem under control, but what would be a healthy way of “treating “ her once in a while?
This may seem like a dumb question but can cats have this???
I don’t have cats, I’m sorry my knowledge is lacking here.
My puppy absolutely adored this recipe on his 2nd birthday!
I know this might sound and I’m sorry for that, but stop deleting my comment. It is important to know and I tried to be as polite as possible. Baking powder is not okay for dogs.
Nobody is deleting your comment. The first time someone comments it goes to a folder to be approved. This cuts down on spam comments. But thank you for your concern! The post states “You can omit the baking powder if desired. The cupcake will be dense, but it will not change the taste.”
Baking powder is actually extremely toxic to dogs, please change this if possible. Thanks :). I substituted it for flour and they turned out great!
Hi, I bake for my dog a lot and noticed something in your recipe. I saw that it calls for baking powder. I had never seen this in a dog recipe before and was unsure so I looked it up and it turns out baking powder, baking soda and yeast are extremely toxic to dogs, please change this if it’s possible. Thanks :). Anyway, I substituted it for flour and they came out great!
did you sub the exact amount? I plan on making this and subbing it with flour and just curious if the measurements are the same? or if there is a different ratio with flour to baking powder? 🙂
for those asking, baking powder makes cake fluffy so you probably don’t need to add anything in it’s place, just take it out. 🙂
hey ….I just put a comment in & left my full name, lol… just hit the comment button too fast..do you mind either taking my last name out or just not posting? thanks for your time!!! & the recipe;) obvi I don’t want to post this one haha
I got you. No problem.
My puppy who happens to be also named Chewbacca (chewy) turns 1 tommorow. Same day as me! Excited to make my baby this recipe, for my spoiled pug
Our two Weimaraners loved these. I topped with Greek yogurt.
I made this for my neighbour’s pup’s birthday and it was a huge hit with him! Face full of whipped cream, he managed to wolf down the cake in minutes. Highly recommend this recipe! I think making a cake is too much for a pup so this is just perfect!
I made this for my two 5 year old pups! They LOVED it! I topped it with plain Greek yogurt.
This recipe was so easy & turned our perfect! The dogs loved it too!
peanut butter is dog safe.
NO other NUTS are safe…do not use almond or other nut butters for your dog.
not all peanut butter is dog safe, you need to check ingredients as there is one that is harmful, I think it is xyiltol that is not good so check this is not included
Could this recipe be used to make a cake instead of cupcakes? Looks amazing! Can’t wait to make for my pup.
This cupcake is so simple! My pup loved it for her 1st birthday. It actually made 3 small cupcakes which was perfect for me.
I made this into mini pupcakes and they can out awesome!
Great recipe my dogs loved it and they turned out really cute
I was so glad to find just a single cupcake recipe. Image mine with pumpkin & Greek yogurt. I decided to double the recipe and freeze 3 for other occasions. I would recommend to others if they also do this though, still only use just a single egg. The first batter I made was very eggy, and after baking extra time in the oven, the cupcakes didn’t hold firmly
I made this for my dog’s birthday this past week and it was so easy and she gobbled it up! Thanks for a great recipe!
I made this for my puppy’s 1st birthday a few days ago and he loved it! I baked it in mini bundt cake molds and topped it with peanut butter. He couldn’t stop licking and eating it. Thanks for the great recipe!
Using whipping cream do, does it stay firm in the refrigerator.
I would use whipping cream right before serving.
I really liked that this was just enough for the dog’s birthday treat and took almost no time to whip up.
I was wondering if you can switch the pumpkin puree for something else?
I’ve used apple sauce and it came out good
Loved how it came out! How long will these last if I were to make ahead? Do you recommend storing them in the fridge?
Thanks! I would recommend a sealed container for 2-3 days if you were to make ahead, a few extra days if refrigerated.
I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to give dogs baking powder
Always check with your veterinarian. According to the veterinarians that we sought council from, baking powder in small amounts is fine (in baked goods… not straight out of the box). Baking SODA is completely different and should not be given to pets.
In the post we addressed your concern and said you can of course omit the baking powder, resulting in a denser cupcake. Most dogs will not critique a dense cupcake.
Thanks for writing!
Hello! I’m so excited I found your recipe! I’m hoping to make this for my girl who is turning 15 at the end of the month…do you think this could be good for puppy’s with sensitive stomachs?
I’m not a medical professional, but my pup has a sensitive stomach and he did fine with this. We especially try to give him pumpkin often.
A very good small batch recipe. My pup loved it! Will definitely be keeping this recipe for future birthdays!
This was perfect! We did mashed potato “frosting” in the shape of an ice cream scoop! Thank you!
Love this recipe! Can oats be omitted all together?
I have had success swapping out the oats for a small chopped up apple.
Great recipe! My puppy loved it and I’ll absolutely be making it again
I think there’s a mistake with the recipe. It says mix in oats twice in step 2 and step 3, and never says anything about the egg. I think it’s meant to say egg in Step 2?
Thanks! The recipe instructions have been updated. Egg goes in step 3
The cakes look so beautiful and funny. My puppies love them. Your recipe is simple, easy to make. I should bake the cake for about 20 minutes, right?
Yes that is correct. You may have to adjust the baking time depending if you bake it as one cupcake or two.