DIY Homemade Dog Food
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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?
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I am very interested in getting all of your DIY
dog food recipes. Thanks!
Donna & Dusty
can lean beef or ground meat be used as a variety?
Please consult with your pet’s veterinarian and use personal judgment when applying this information to your own dog’s diet.
what can you do with the portions? How long refrigerate? Can you freeze?
Methods for optimal food storage and shelf life should be based on good judgment and what you are personally comfortable with. Hope that helps!
This one looks really easy to make. I think my doggos will love this food.
What about organ meat??? I’ve been making turkey with 3 types of green vegetables, kidney beans and other items, but I keep reading about organ meat. Any thoughts?
Carolyn, this may be best consulted with your veterinarian.
The recipe is great and simple! But I wonder why the cholesterol content is so high? 49%
I’ve made this recipe but not sure how much for each meal any suggestions
Please consult with your pet’s veterinarian and use personal judgment when applying this information to your own dog’s diet.
Thanks for the recipe, I was having major challenges with my dogs digestion and we were getting no answers from the Vet. I had her on a bland diet for far too long so I needed to do something fast, and that’s when I found your recipe. I made her first batch on July 15th and she’s had a healthy reaction and solid consistency ever since (knock, knock). I feed her 1 cup twice per day. I sent an email over to our vet with the recipe and asked if the nutritional value was right for our dog and she referred me to a “Veterinary Nutritionist” and/or “Balance IT… is it weird that she wouldn’t be able to tell me? Anyway I’d just like to say Thank You from the bottom of my heart. My Dog Bronx loves the food and its easy to make, especially when considering the alternative. You’ve changed out lives!
That’s really awesome to hear, Erik – thanks so much for sharing! We’re happy your little pup is doing so much better!
my mom “homemakes” food for her dog, which usually consists of pieces of meat from a rotisserie chicken and some canned veggies like green beans. the dog is elderly and super picky, sometimes snubs her nose to the food and eats the cat’s instead. i told my mom this recipe — only because if she’s feeding the dog homemade food, i want her to have a balanced diet. my mom and sister were very skeptical about the recipe. they had seen the dog walk away from her food numerous times. however, she *loves* this food so much that she never walks away, eats it all, and eats twice as much as she was with the rotisserie chicken/canned veggie meal. when mom told me, i had to leave a comment. thank you! we’re very impressed.
Thank you, Evelyn!
How much do you feed your pup? I have a 55 lbs GSD mix that eats 2.5 cups of his dry food now.
We feed our 4.5-yr old, 19-pound corgi one cup of food each day, supplemented by treats. This was decided after consulting our vet and a nutritionist. I recommend consulting with your own veterinarian to see what is best for your pup.
Hello! My dog is allergic to carrots, what ingredient should I use instead?
You can omit the carrots or replace them with any other vegetable your dog can eat/likes.
Hi, thanks for the recipe. We’re just at the beginning of thinking about changing our 7 year old Maltese’s diet to homemade. We recently tried some healthier options from some online sources (real food, prepared so even humans can eat it, frozen and shipped to us), but the cost is really high.
My question on your post is that you provide a link to Balance IT but your recipe here doesn’t include any supplements. Do you have any suggestions on how to make sure we get the right nutrients into our dog food, preferably from whole foods without adding any supplements–we’re trying to keep the cost down as low as possible while giving our dog something better than dried kibble, which she detests.
Hi Brian. We recommend consulting your vet for those kind of questions since we cannot give any professional advice when it comes to pet care. I hope that helps!
Hi Brian, I have a 7yr old maltese as well did you find any good recipes? I just found out about the Taste of the Wild lawsuit so I’ve had it with commercial dog food.
sounds very interesting, i will definitely get busy right away.
Let us know how you like it!
Both dogs and cats require taurine – it is absolutely essential. Where would the dog be getting taurine from in this food? I don’t see it listed in the Nutritional Information. Apologies if someone already asked this question.
Hi Melanie! I add supplements using Balance IT – it’s a great resource as recommended by my veterinarian.
I would like to know what can I feed my dog. She is diabetic I have to give her an insulin shot twice a day every 12 hours. And what should I give her to keep her blood sugar levels low.
Hi Angie! This may be best answered by your pet’s veterinarian. Hope that helps!
How much does this make is it a week supply? How long can it freeze for
Kylie, portions can vary depending on the size and breed of your dog. Methods for optimal food storage and shelf life should be based on good judgment and what you are personally comfortable with.
My border collie weighs 20 kg. How many grams of the home made dog food do I give her ? Also do u give her biscuits as well ? If so how much per day Thank you
Sarah
Please consult with your pet’s veterinarian and use personal judgment when applying this information to your own dog’s diet as feeding ratio can vary by weight and breed.
Hi
I am a dog owner from india.i tried ur menu and my dog just loved it.but the problem is that in india it’s difficult to get fresh spinach and , zucchini is a rare possibility.
So this time around I tired something on the same lines but added my personal touch.
White rice, four to five cubes of cottage cheese ,chicken roasted and shredded.
Roast chicken pieces in microwave and dry it out of its water content.
Add to mixer grinder along with cubes of cottage cheese.qucik grind to fine granules or shred them .
In a pan take rice as per requirement .Add virgin coconut oil .Don’t exceed content of oil. Restrict to an.amount so that the rice is glistening. Heat for five min in low all the
while stirring.
Mix contents of pan and.mixi and make balls . The coconut oil acts as a good binding agent . It is good for skin coat and for digestive system.
I made around 6 balls of table tennis ball size.
My dog just gobbled it up.
Sorry I forgot to take a pic.next time for sure.
My sweetheart is a six month old small breed like apso.
Increase quantity for larger breeds.
Best part is that u can refrigerate it for future servings.
Hope this helps
How long does it keep in the freezer?
Methods for optimal food storage and shelf life should be based on good judgment and what you are personally comfortable with. Hope that helps!
Could you give me an idea of what the feeding ratio might be, (i.e. 8 oz for every xx number of pounds)? I’m anxious to try this for my pooch!
Please consult with your pet’s veterinarian and use personal judgment when applying this information to your own dog’s diet as feeding ratio can vary by weight and breed.
Thanks for sharing this homemade recipe! I’ve been looking for a nutritious dog recipe for a long time, so I am getting the material today and make this recipe for my dog.