DIY Homemade Dog Food
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
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:
- High-quality protein (meat, seafood, dairy or eggs)
- Fat (meat or oil)
- Carbohydrates (grains or vegetables)
- Calcium (dairy)
- Essential fatty acids (egg yolks or oatmeal)
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?
DIY Homemade Dog Food
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups brown rice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 pounds ground turkey
- 3 cups baby spinach, chopped
- 2 carrots, shredded
- 1 zucchini, shredded
- ½ cup peas, canned or frozen
Equipment
Instructions
- In a large saucepan of 3 cups water, cook rice according to package instructions; set aside.
- 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.
- Stir in spinach, carrots, zucchini, peas and brown rice until the spinach has wilted and the mixture is heated through, about 3-5 minutes.
- Let cool completely.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
I do this but add pumpkin and sweet potatoes. And a mix of broccoli and cauliflower na celery. I sometimes add frozen veggies like corn, peas and beans.
How much should a 20 lb dog be fed a day?
My dog is eating about 1/2 cup of this twice daily. She also has access to Acana dry dog food during the day- about 1/2 cup as well. Do you think I am over feeding her?
Sounds like an estimate is 25/30 calories per lb so a 20 lb dog should probably be eating just over a cup per day.
Obviously review the diet and serving amount with a professional that knows your dog but directionally it sounds like you’re in the right ballpark.
Disclaimer: I am an accountant who uses google and my advice should not be taken as scripture. 🙂
This is really great. I made it with a few alterations for our 4 dogs. I would like to know what the serving size would be for my dogs per day. The wight of my dogs: 68lbs, 70lbs, 40lbs and 12lbs.
This is what I’d like to know as well. I don’t want to be under or over feeding.
My dog LOVES it! She can’t wait to eat.
I Love this recipe for my Westie Marley. I always give her an egg in the morning and add veg, fish or chicken to her diet of kibble. I hope to eventually get her off the processed dog food. I met a lady one day that had a Westie that’s was 19 years old. Never had any store bought food. She cooked every meal.
Love this. I have made before but I got another rescure dog who needs some special attention sooooo.
Now I want some pill pockets next on my search!!
Thanks
Check Costco for pill pockets
While this recipe may lack in certain nutrients, it’s the only thing my new puppy will eat and he LOVES it! However, I switched the peas with yellow squash since my puppy (8 week 9lb English Crm Golden pup) has a bit of tummy issues. We also used white rice instead of brown because of this issue, but it’s great for picky eaters!
Great recipes!
That sounds great and I’m wondering is there any for a French bull dog as they need to be on a grain free diet.
I would like to know how much of this recipe to feed my 90 lb Golden. thank you
I am extremely excited to start my two rescues on this diet. For their health as well as my pocket QUESTION: I have an overweight terrior/heeler mix she is 30lb and short like a terrior. She needs to lose 7-9 lbs. How much should I be feeding her? She’s used to her dry food twice a day so I’m hoping to stick to her schedule at least. Thank you in advance!! And for the recipes. Really excited!!!
I tried this today for the first time. I have a 38 lb Aussie doodle. She is a very picky eater. if I mix anything in her food she will eat around it. I started to mix some ground turkey and rice with her regular dog food and she will eat the rice and ground turkey but not the dog food. This went on for weeks. My VET finally told me just trying to make my own food and so I did today and she licked the bowl clean. Thank you for the recommendation.
I love this!!! Thank you.
I’m going to try this for my 1 year old golden retriever that suddenly has a loss of appetite when it comes to her kibble. She loves the bland diet so she will be over the moon with this. What are some over meat and vegetable combos? When would you include lentils, beans, or oatmeal? Would either of those replace the rice or an addition?
My French bulldog puppy her weight is 2 98kg I’ve been giving her white rice but I’ll get her some brown rice & spinach to cook with the chicken & carrots and peas I think I’ll keep her on it 3 times aday & ask the vet on the 23rd December what he thinks but I’ll get her some Turkey for a change
My 2-yo French bulldog loves it!!!! Since she was a puppy, she has been a very picky eater. I have been trying so much different dog food. I mixed expensive dried fish patties with nibbles. She only eats the dried fish patties but leaves nibbles until she is very hungry without options (lol). One my friend just started making her own dog food, which inspires me. I found this recipe via google search. The first try was yesterday and my pup buried her head in the bowel until the bowel was sparklingly clean! Good job!!
Sorry.. typo – Bowl*
I’m going to try this recipe! How long does it last? Can I make a bigger batch to save some in ziplocks?
Love recipe and going to start my dog on real food due to allegies. He is 36 kilo lab cross, not sure how much to give him?
Recipe(s) are right on! Our almost 14 year old is having a few health issues. Awhile back he just stopped eating. Out of desperation I concocted similar recipes and WOW-he is eating like a champ and doing much better. I rotate chicken and ground turkey, mixed with veggies (frozen in a pinch) and still a scoop of his dry kibbles. Never going back straight dog food again. It’s also so much fun to make for them. Whip up a weeks worth, freeze and take out as needed. Thanks for sharing!
I followed the recipe but added other things, like pumpkin and dried cranberries. I get vegetables delivered to my door all organic, and I used them on the recipe. I used ossobuco meat, got rid of the tough parts. Boiled in low heat with minimal amount of liquid. Let it get soft. Got rid of the bones but kept the marrow. I know bone broth is good for dogs. So it’s on the recipe. Much cheaper than the “good quality” food I buy for my dog.
My 8# dog is crazy for this- b4 this it took 3 hrs every nite to eat her food ugh. Now it’s gone in 3 minutes!! And I know it’s healthy- it shows in her brighter 11 yr old eyes…more prancing etc.
Thank you for sharing!
Healthy recipes! such a piece of good information about homemade food for dogs,
it will help tons of dog owners, who want to give their loved ones a healthy diet.
Thanks for sharing!