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 have been doing home made dog food
For a year. I have 3 that HAD severe skin allergies that nothing would help. Prescription pills would calm it. But it never stopped. No more issues and honestly the dog food is cheaper to make. When I am pressed for time I do buy a non seasoned rotisserie chicken and strip it and use the drippings to flavor the rice. I also incorporate flaxseed, cranberries, apples and bone broth. I make a double batch and freeze. My dogs will bug me until I feed them as they love it.
I haven’t tried this yet but is looks n sounds like it’s just what I need.i have two morkies. Bindi, who is 12 n very sick, n Connor who is 13 n in pretty good health. They now refuse to eat dog food. Connor weighs 16lbs. Bindi has lost weight but because of her food mostly. My question is how much n when should I feed them.
I have been making this for my westies for over 1 year. My old guy wouldn’t eat but would touch this. He died in Feb at age 16. I got Sonny in April and they all have loved it! Katie is allergic to chicken, so I use ground bison, venison or turkey. I even will combine the different meats for variety. Thanks for a great recipe!
Thanks for the recipe…my 13 yo Chug has congestive heart failure. About 2 weeks ago she started to seriously decline and began refusing food. My husband and I started preparing mentally for having to put her down…I was heartbroken. However, I saw that she still begged for people food. So, I stumbled on this recipe in pursuit of trying to find something that I could make her that she would eat. We’ve been feeding a variation of this to her for the last 3 days and her energy is back and she’s like a new dog. It’s been an amazing transformation.
I lost my little Bindi to heart failure in March at 15 years old, they told me as a puppy she would only live 2-4 years. I wish you all the best with this recipe, wish I had it when I needed it. I’m looking because my new little sensitive soul just got out of intensive care after spending 4 days there with HGE, she had 4 blood transfusions. Right now she can only eat boiled chicken. But will need more as the days go on.
Hi!
Thanks for sharing!
My sweetie has tummy problems also, and even though I have been cooking for her since I got her, 4 yrs now, even some meats, veggies bother her, but your recipe i think will do her fine.
Just be careful with the broths and sauces for humans because especially onion and garlic, msg etc: can cause serious issues. I read every single label anymore to make sure. Very few store broths don’t have onion. Don’t know if you know, or make your own. Just fyi.
Best wishes and healthy happy days for many years to come for you and your family!
I have a beagle and I have been making her food with these and similar recipes for almost a year and she doesn’t shed nearly as much and feels so much better! She’s 9 and playful like when she was 3!
Can you share what other recipes you use with your beagles? I have two and beginning this quest.
My little old yorkie has cancer and getting to eat is a challenge but he loves this stuff!
Easy to make! Added chicken in the mix. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Love this. My dog is about 20kg. Just want to know how much per serving I need to feed and how much serving in a day.
Instead of peas and zucchini what can I add? Pinto or kidney beans??
Really wanting to make this, but don’t want peas for sure in it.
Your dog wont know about the peas lol… hope you dont think this is a receipe for yourself
her dog may have a pea allergy, which is why she doesnt want peas
I think many don’t know how some veggies fit a dog’s diet. Each veggie has vital ingredients they need. Spinach has copper, peas are great proteins, and the list goes for miles.
We might dislike some of the ingredients, but they may add healthy years to your dog’s life. Read up on safe and unsafe spices. Cinnamon and tumeric are great, as well as basil and ginger. Just watch out, you might enjoy your dog’s dinner.
I’m looking forward to making this dog food, however I don’t know how much my Lab should have each day. Ace is a big boy and will eat all day if I let him. I have to how much to feed him. Thanks . After reading other reviews I know now to ask the Vet. There are some things I can add to this discussion. DO NOT FEED DOGS ONIONS. Maybe look up what they can’t have it may help. If certain foods are out of season you can use baby food. It comes organic! Just watch it to see the salt content. I have enjoyed reading all the reviews. Thanks to all animal lovers
I made this for my mini wiener! (7lbs) she is 5 yrs old and has dripping runny eyes since I brought her home. Hoping this fixes that. She LOVED it. I used canned carrots and peas….so I had carrots and peas left over, as well as some brown rice, so I thought I would be clever and mix those with some pumpkin as a treat…..NOTHING>. Not going for that at all. Although I was frying the turkey and she was well aware of that, I think she was disappointed. I also did a GREAT dog mommy hack! I stole about 1/2lb of of the turkey burger and in a SEPERATE pan I fried that up with some onion and some of the spinach, added about 3/4 C brown rice a little ketchup, mustard and Wercestershire sauce….not much, not runny like sloppy joes, just enough for some flavor…..and it was delish!
just fyi. “Onions contain compounds called disulfides and thiosulphates which can be toxic cats and dogs if ingested. “
or are you the one eating the onion one lol?
NO ONIONS for dogs! Onions actually cause their blood cells to explode! Look it up, please! DON’T feed onions to your dog!
I just made this for my Beagle’s, added butternut squash to the recipe as they love a taste of sweet. They loved it!!! We have been having trouble trying to find a healthy food for them as they are getting old. 5 stars, let’s hope it continues
Hi! I was thinking of doing this for my beagle too. Do you have any recommendations for serving size? Can a smaller batch be kept in the refrigerator for a week?
I have a beagle and I have been making her food with these and similar recipes for almost a year and she doesn’t shed nearly as much and feels so much better! She’s 9 and playful like when she was 3!
Dogs have a system like ours. Food left a week is not good for us, and not good for them. Freeze meal size portions and keep them safe and healthy.
I am so happy to found this recipe! I am fostering ( hoping to adopt) a pup who did not want to eat the kennel dog food we were given for him. The poor guy is so thin and has a bad knee and will need surgery soon. I made this this morning, super simple, and the little guy ate it up! If he continues to like it, I will invest in additional vitamin supplements to ensure its a balanced diet and add liver and other goodies. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Great recipe use it my dog and my cat. My Rottweiler was 20 lb overweight no longer is. Thank you
How much did you feed him per day? I have an 80 pound lab I want to try this with.
Jerry – I am looking at this for my 1 year old rott. What suggestions can you give and how much do you feed per day?
This is a great recipe and my corgis love it. We hunt deer and have an abundance of venison so they get mostly it for their protein. I add in some tuna and eggs for additional protein and the egg shells for calcium. I put fresh blueberries and apples for some sweetness.
I have a similar recipe but I added blueberries for the antioxidants. She will leave all the blueberries at the bottom of the bowl. Now I squash each blueberry and she eats everything! She loves it!
My yorkipoo loves this and no more doggie breath. Just not sure how much to feed my little 9# baby.
I also need to know how much to feed my dog. He is about 7 and a half pounds. He also has developed a terrible skin allergy in his later years. Nothing is working, keeps losing hair. Hooding this might work. Just started today and he loves it. How much please??
Love this recipe going to use it for my 8wk staffie pup i have also bought some meat and bone meal 4kl how much do I add to his food before I freeze it thank you.
Lynda
How do you know what portion size to give a dog for the day.
I want to feed my labs on this kind of food as both have had tummy trouble recently and have been on chicken and rice which they love .
Both big boys but I would much rather feed them this kind of food.
Are there any guidelines as to how mu h for weight of dog?
Hi Angela! This would be best discussed with your vet and/or nutritionist.
A good general guideline I go by is to give twice the amount you would give of dry kibble because this food still has the water so is less dense. Adjust from there.