Homemade Dog Food Recipes

Keep your dog healthy and fit with this easy peasy homemade recipe – it’s cheaper than store-bought and chockfull of fresh veggies!

I never thought I would be one of those dog owners who made homemade human food for their pups. Not in a million years.

But when Butters recently fell sick with an upset stomach, our vet advised us to feed him a bland diet – chicken and rice without any kind of seasoning. So that’s what we did – we poached a chicken, shredded it in a food processor, and mixed in some white rice and fed him this bland diet for 3 days.

That’s when I started to do some research on homemade dog food, and I have been so amazed as to how many different kinds of vegetables dogs can have. And with the help of Balance IT, you can create so many different recipes for your pup!

Now the best part about making homemade dog food – just like making anything at home – is that you know exactly what is going into the dog bowl, and not any of that questionable gelatinous gunk from the canned food.

But it’s important to note that dogs have different nutrient requirements than humans for their proportional body size, such as:

Now this recipe here has a balance of 50% protein, 25% veggies and 25% grains, but the ratios can easily be adjusted to suit your pup’s breed and/or needs.

Once you’ve made your batch, you can divide them up into single servings, note the date, and freeze it. When ready to serve, you can defrost it in the fridge overnight and nuke it for 15-30 seconds. That’s it! Now who knew that making dog food would be this easy?

Homemade Dog Food

This Homemade Dog Food recipe teaches you how to prepare a drool-worthy meal for your furry friend. It’s made with a combination of wholesome, easy-to-find ingredients that contain a nourishing balance of carbs, fat, fiber, and protein.

Prep: 5min

Total: 30min

Serving Size: 1 serving

Nutrition Facts: calories 301 kcal, Carbohydrate 32 g, Protein 37 g, Fat 3 g, Saturated Fat 1 g, Trans Fat 0.02 g, Cholesterol 62 mg, Sodium 113 mg, Fiber 13 g, Sugar 3 g, unSaturated Fat 2 g, servingSize 1 serving

Ingredients:

• 2 carrots (chopped)
• 1 large sweet potato (peeled and chopped)
• 1 1/2 cups lentils (rinsed; preferably green or brown)
• 3 1/2 cups water
• 2 lb. ground turkey or ground chicken
• 5 oz. spinach

Instruction:

1. Add the lentils and water to a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer until the water is absorbed and the lentils are cooked.
2. Meanwhile, add the carrots and sweet potato to a food processor and pulse for a few seconds; set aside. Add the ground turkey or chicken to a large pot or Dutch oven and cook it until it’s no longer pink, using a wooden spoon to break it up.
3. Add the chopped carrots and sweet potato to the pot with the turkey, along with the spinach. Sauté for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Add a small amount of olive oil if needed.
4. Once the lentils are cooked, add them to the pot and stir to combine.
5. Store food in sealed containers in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. Or, transfer to a freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months; thaw in the refrigerator overnight.

Homemade Dog Food Recipe

A homemade dog food recipe that can be custom-made for your dog. It is healthy, freezer friendly, and chock full of veggies, meat, and rice.

Prep: 60min

Total: 90min

Yield: 16

Serving Size: 1 cup

Nutrition Facts: servingSize 1 cup, calories 338 kcal, Carbohydrate 25 g, Protein 18 g, Fat 18 g, Saturated Fat 7 g, Cholesterol 62 mg, Sodium 334 mg, Fiber 2 g, Sugar 2 g

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds ground beef (7 cups cooked crumbled ground beef)
• 2 cups brown rice (or swap white rice)
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 28 ounces beef stock (optional) + 1/2 cup water (28 oz = 3.5 cups, add 1/2 cup water for proper ratio to make rice)
• 1 1/2 cups fresh broccoli, shred or cut finely (or a 12 oz frozen bag)
• 2 cups fresh carrots, shred or cut into small coins (2 large carrots)
• 2 cups sweet potato, small cubes or shred (1 large sweet potato)
• 2 cups fresh spinach

Instruction:

1. Chop, shread, or process in a food processor all the veggies. My dog is a small dog and prefers the veggies finely shredded in a food processor.
2. In a large cast iron pan or skillet, briefly saute carrots, broccoli, and sweet potato until just soft for a few minutes on medium.
3. Portion 4-5 cups of Homemade Dog Food per zip lock back, and store in an airtight container or larger zip top bag in the freezer. Pull our one small bag per week, and reheat a serving for your dog in the microwave for 30 seconds. I sometimes sprinkle some dry dog food into the homemade food to stretch out my homemade dog food batch.

DIY Homemade Dog Food

Keep your dog healthy and fit with this easy peasy homemade recipe – it’s cheaper than store-bought and chockfull of fresh veggies!

Prep: 10min

Total: 55min

Yield: 8

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups brown rice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 pounds ground turkey
• 3 cups baby spinach (chopped)
• 2 carrots (shredded)
• 1 zucchini (shredded)
• 1/2 cup peas (canned or frozen)

Instruction:

1. In a large saucepan of 3 cups water, cook rice according to package instructions; set aside.
2. Heat olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add ground turkey and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the turkey as it cooks.
3. Stir in spinach, carrots, zucchini, peas and brown rice until the spinach has wilted and the mixture is heated through, about 3-5 minutes.
4. Let cool completely.

Easy Homemade Dog Food

To make prepping this homemade dog food a cinch and to save LOTS of time and dishes in the process I like to cook the hard boiled eggs and the rice in my Instant Pot! I start with cooking the eggs first, then while the rice is cooking the Instant Pot I brown the sirloin and get all of the fresh ingredients together. It really does help make the process of meal prepping homemade dog food so much easier! See recipe notes for Instant Pot cooking tips and times!

Prep: 30min

Total: 1h

Yield: 13

Serving Size: 1 cup

Nutrition Facts: servingSize 1 cup, calories 288 calories, Sugar 1.9 g, Sodium 119.7 mg, Fat 10.5 g, Saturated Fat 2.8 g, Trans Fat 0.1 g, Carbohydrate 24 g, Fiber 2.4 g, Protein 22.9 g, Cholesterol 197.8 mg

Ingredients:

• 6 cups cooked organic brown rice (3 cups uncooked rice)
• 2 pounds ground lean beef, cooked through, fat drained
• 4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and diced small
• 3 medium sized carrots, shredded or thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup minced curly parsley
• 3 tablespoons of olive or safflower oil

Instruction:

1. Combine all of the ingredients together in a large container and stir to combine completely.
2. Store tightly sealed in the refrigerator in-between feedings.

HOMEMADE DOG FOOD | healthy dog food recipe