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 have a question, do you add any supplements to the dog food you make like “ BalanceIt “ suggests dogs need. If so which do you add? I’d hate for my dogs to be difficient in vitamins. BalanceIt sells some, but they seem kinda pricey just wondering your take on this? Thanks
Yes, I add supplements but I recommend consulting with your pet’s veterinarian to see what is best suited for your pup.
Recipe looks interesting. Can u pls suggest any vegetarian recipes for my 12 yr old Shih-Tzu dog? I can add egg. No issue. Except no meat.
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications. Sorry, Radha!
I differ with your advice that all starches are bad for diabetics. On a plant-based diet that includes lots of starchy vegetables, including white and sweet potatoes, I have reversed type 2 diabetes and done away with the medications for it and for high cholesterol. It is fat that causes the problem for diabetics. Starch is not the culprit. Our bodies use carbs and store fat. Fat is what keeps insulin from entering cells as it should and forces it into the bloodstream, thus insulin resistance and diabetes. That’s why losing weight ends type 2 diabetes.
That’s an awful lot of vegetables and grain! You need to make sure the meat contains organs and such also 🙂
Thank you for this recipe. My senior shih tzu has been picky ever since we brought him home from the shelter 6 years ago. I have switched between high quality dog foods to encourage him to eat. I added cheese, I started giving him refrigerated dog food…. still kind of picky. I thought maybe I should just let him eat junk dog food so he would enjoy eating his food. BUT!!Today I made this recipe, he ate two bowls even with his Nutro dry mixed in. The vet would tell me that he’ll eat when he is hungry, I believe that is true but I’m so happy he is enjoying his food now…..FINALLY !! Bubba the Shih tzu thanks you too.
Thanks for this recipe, Chungah! I’m going to try this with my dog this week. I see a lot of people asking how much to give. As always just ASK YOUR VET what the calorie requirements for your dog are and multiply that by the nutritional information that has been handily provided!!
My vet told me we should be shooting for 1000-1200 calories for his breed/weight. so divided 1100 by 412.3 calories per cup in this recipe that comes out to about 2&2/3 cups a day. So we’ll start with 1 & 1/3 for breakfast and 1 & 1/3 for dinner. Which is Actually very close to what we have been giving him of his dry food 😀
Where is the dairy in this recipe? At the first of the article you said they had to have a certain percentage of dairy. Just wondering.
There is no dairy in this recipe.
Dairy: you can test the recipe w/ a few ounces of shredded low/no-lactose Cheddar or American cheese.
Aslo, regarding the rice debate..
The Difference Between Brown and White Rice
All rice consists almost entirely of carbs, with small amounts of protein and practically no fat.
Brown rice is a whole grain. That means it contains all parts of the grain — including the fibrous bran, the nutritious germ and the carb-rich endosperm.
White rice, on the other hand, has had the bran and germ removed, which are the most nutritious parts of the grain. This leaves white rice with very few essential nutrients, which is why brown rice is usually considered much healthier than white.
Brown rice has a big advantage over white rice when it comes to nutrient content. Brown rice has more fiber and antioxidants, as well as a lot more important vitamins and minerals. White rice is mostly a source of “empty” calories and carbs with very few essential nutrients.
100 grams (3.5 ounces) of cooked brown rice provide 1.8 grams of fiber, whereas 100 grams of white provide only 0.4 grams of fiber.Brown rice is high in magnesium and fiber, both of which help control blood sugar levels. Research suggests that regularly eating whole grains, like brown rice, helps lower blood sugar levels and decreases the risk of type 2 diabetes.
Simply replacing white rice with brown has been shown to lower blood sugar levels and decrease the risk of type 2 diabetes. On the other hand, high consumption of white rice has been linked to an increased risk of diabetes. This may be due to its high glycemic index (GI), which measures how quickly a food increases blood sugar.
Brown rice has a GI of 50 and white rice has a GI of 89, meaning that white increases blood sugar levels much faster than brown. Eating high-GI foods has been associated with several health conditions, including type 2 diabetes.
The list below shows a comparison of other vitamins and minerals:
Brown (RDI) White (RDI)
Thiamine 6% 1%
Niacin 8% 2%
Vitamin B6 7% 5%
Manganese 45% 24%
Magnesium 11% 3%
Phosphorus 8% 4%
Iron 2% 1%
Zinc 4% 3%
Can once melted frozen peas be frozen again?
Usually frozen things should not be frozen again.
As I am not an expert on food safety, I cannot really say with certainty – sorry! Methods for optimal food storage and shelf life should be based on good judgment and what you are personally comfortable with.
So we just recently started this but we have two 50 pound dogs. How many cups do you think we should do for them and how many times?
Sophia, this may be best consulted with your veterinarian.
Thank you so much for this recipe! Even though we buy good quality food our littlest yorkie boy who’s about 7 years old suddenly stopped eating and got the runs. The only thing I could get him to eat for two days was part of a peanut butter sandwich. Then I found a packet of the dog food I had made in the freezer… one last one left. I thawed it out and held out a tablespoon of it to him and he ate it up! I was SO relieved! He ate half a bowl of it this evening no problem so I’m making two more batches. One just like the recipe says and one with egg yolks, peas, turkey, spinach, peas, pumpkin and brown rice.
Much love from our fur kids and family!
Wendy in Lexington TN
I really like this recipe for my beautiful dogs. Homemade dog food is guaranteed fresh and nutrient packed! Thank you so much.
I’m really grateful for your provided information. I will save this article for one of my favorite this month and if it’s okay to you I will share this to my friend.
How much of the balance it canine supplement do you use with this recipe?
Emily, this may be best consulted with your veterinarian.
This is actually not a balanced diet for a dog and you can have problems if you don’t feed the correct ratios of meat and bone. Please let people know they need to do more research than just following this blog! Misinformation can harm puppies. Please research raw, prey-model, and BARF diets. The absolute best diet for a dog is raw, but you have to feed it correctly to make sure they get proper nutrition. Cooked diets like this can cause a lot of long term issues…
I have a 15 month 124 lb Great Dane and have recently discovered he has severe food allergies that have caused severe bowl issues his whole life I am now cooking for him but I am concerned with getting the nutrients and calories right for him He is allergic to Wheat,Corn,Rice,Sweet Potatoe and Pork any help would be appreciated. I took him in to discuss the food with my vet he is determined that I need to feed him the 1 brand of dog food he can have it is 73.00 for 17 lbs he would need 5 bags a month this just isn’t feasible for us I don’t want him to lose more weight so a good recipe with advice on how much would be greatly appreciated. I am feeding him beef , Chicken Breasts, Chicken Gizzards and Livers, White Potatoes, Cottage Cheese, Greek Yougurt no sugar, Oatmeal, Eggs and ground egg Shells also add different veggies such as carrots, spinach,Parsley, peas, green beans, garbonza beans
I have a 15 year old shih tzu. Ever since he broke his jaw 4 months ago i have to feed him canned food. That stuff isn’t cheap…. Do you know if I save money by making the food for my dog instead of buying can food? Also what’s the receommended portion to my little man? He’s never hungry in the morning. Only eats at dinner time.
Any suggestions or opinions welcomed!
Thanks!!
Marie, this may be best consulted with your veterinarian.
I’m really confused my all the filler? I had German Shepherds which were used for protection work. They were big strong, very high energy dogs. I initially had them on Iams for ages, and it seemed to change.. both my cats and dogs started to lose condition. Several Vet trips and multiple food changes.. we wound up with the cats on Origen Red, and the dogs on a BARF diet. There was raw chicken with bone in for their calcium, their meats changed, I had multiple sources from rabbit, to venison, to beef, to goat, to pork (store bought only), we even got beaver, squirrel and tripe. Both of my boys got between 4 1/2 to 5 lbs a day total because of their energy level. I suppose what I’m trying to say is that dogs are primarily carnivores, yes they WILL eat vegetation, but their digestive system is not designed for it. That is why is causes so much gas and huge piles of poo. Your dogs body can’t utilize it, so it just gets rid of it. It’s amazing the first week of a true raw diet where you are only feeding raw meat, bones, and organ meat. The poos will bee so tiny even if you have a 200 lb dog.. and the best part, after about three days, they just vanish, they just dry up, crumble and disintegrate. I only have a Chihuahua at the moment, she is very pampered. Filet, Ahi Tuna steak, whatever we have I cut some up for her before I start cooking. I’m looking for my next dog. Hopefully it will not be long. I would NEVER EVER buy any food that the first ingredient listed wasn’t an animal protein
I’m soooo happy I found this recipe! My dog is such a brat and won’t eat hard dog food. We ended up switching him over to wet dog food of the same brand, and they sent me expired food! I didn’t notice for over a week of feeding it to him. I felt sooo bad about it. I ended up making this for him right after that, and he absolutely loves it! He used to never get excited about his food, and now he jumps around when I pull out a baggy. 🙂
This is a great recipe, but cats and dogs also need specific nutrients daily. I make dog food, but my dog also gets regular dog food once a day. Also, be careful to those that give fish to cats. I learned the hard way that too much is not a good thing. It ended up costing me $2500!
Easy to make & the boys loved it!!!
Thank you