Easy Crockpot Dog Food
DIY dog food can easily be made right in the slow cooker. It’s healthier and cheaper than store-bought, and it’s freezer-friendly!
If you didn’t know what your slow cooker is capable of, you’ll be very happy to know that you can now add dog food to the crockpot list.
Remember that DIY homemade dog food recipe I made recently? Well, this is pretty much the crockpot version, using a blend of different veggies that will hold up a little better in the slow cooker.
Now the best part about this, just like all slow cooker recipes, is that you can simply dump everything right in. That’s it! Simply set it before you go to work and then you can come home to 2 weeks worth of dog food by the time you get home.
It’s easy, it’s healthy, it’s nutritious, and you know exactly what’s going into your pup’s bowl. This recipe is also completely customizable to veggies that you have on hand – just be sure to double check what your pup can and can’t eat. You can simply do a “can my dog eat xyz” search on Google.
But as always, please consult with your pet’s veterinarian for possible allergies and when applying this information to your own dog’s diet.
Easy Crockpot Dog Food
Ingredients
- 2 ½ pounds ground beef
- 1 ½ cups brown rice
- 1 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 ½ cups chopped butternut squash
- 1 ½ cups chopped carrots
- ½ cup peas, frozen or canned
Instructions
- Stir in ground beef, brown rice, kidney beans, butternut squash, carrots, peas and 4 cups water into a 6-qt slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on low heat for 5-6 hours or high heat for 2-3 hours, stirring as needed.
- Let cool completely.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
style=”text-align: center;”>Please consult with your pet’s veterinarian and use personal judgment when applying this information to your own dog’s diet.
How long can this be kept in the fridge?
This can be kept for at least 1-2 days in the fridge, but please use your best judgment as I am not an expert on food safety.
My vet gave me a list of foods my dog can eat and everything in your recipe was on it! And she told me to make in the crock pot! It lasts roughly 5-6 days in the refrigerator is what she said before bacteria starts growing on it. She told me to make a large batch and then portion it and freeze it! Our Bischon has allergies and was bit by three ticks so were trying to bring her platlet count to a healthy level. She said NEVER feed a dog dry food because it causes their body to work harder (just like ours) and ends up shortening the dogs life. Always add water if your feeding your dog dry food. Our dog is a therapy dog for my 7 year old with ADHD so we will do whatever it takes! Thanks for your blog! We love your recipes and im sure our dog will too 🙂
Your post doesn’t make sense, my dog eats all of that and it’s in their dog food. My girls can’t have that cheap food or any corn products. All the better dog foods you buy are made from those exact veggies and maybe some fish. So you should probably question your vets knowledge.
It made perfect sense.
Google commercial dog food…even the expensive ones are junk…ie: Blue Buffalo.
Because you know more than someone with 8 years of college and years of experience, right? You must’ve done absolutely no reading on commercial dog food.
mine has become allergic to any dog food I have introduced to her…just give her 4-5 weeks and she is scratching and biting her feet…so even though it is good dry dog food they add extra ingredients that some of the dogs are reacting to…I have gone down to gluten free oats and pork..she even reacted to fish and beef now…so I am going to try it with the ingredients except peas…I know she reacts to those
My vet has studied this topic at length and even written a book on animal nutrition. Commercial dog food, even the “good” brands, contain large amounts of filler and by-product. We always make our own food. Perhaps you should question your own knowledge.
Even the best food is processed. Take your time and check out all the ingredients one by one. You will change your mind. Don’t forget the additives. Your dry kibble isn’t what you think.
read her post again, no where does it say “can’t”
Blue Buffalo SUCKS! they’ve had so many recalls and somehow are still on the shelves! we have a golden retriever and a healer/pitbull who absolutely love your recipes! we were on BB until our golden started having extreme asthma symptoms and we couldn’t figure it out, we went all natural and he cleared up immediately! comparing whole natural food to dried food is like comparing a home cooked meal with boxed freezer meals….there are no nutrients no matter what they say on the label!
don’t you get it ???it’s chemical free and disease free , it’s not made in some dirty factory it’s made in your own kitchen you know what’s going in there food you don’t when is manufactured !!
CFINK, it’s been a while since you’ve posted, but I also have a very itchy dog. I think it’s caused both by food and environmental allergies. She kept scratching and giving herself skin infections. A new amazing drug was released a few years ago. Please go ask your vet about APOQUEL. It’s the first drug that has helped. Peanut used to scratch so hard she’s fall over. After a week in Apoquel, she hardly ever scratches, her feet actually have hair growing on them, she doesn’t have a single skin rash, and she doesn’t luck all evening. They aren’t completelysure about the long term effects, but I think quality of life is at least as important as quantity. Now I cook the dog food because I have two senior dogs with missing teeth. They need the softer food and I just can’t find it, that they will eat, in a pet store.
You should watch “PET FOOleD” on Netflix. Maybe it’ll shed some light for you. 🙂
Dry dog food, no matter what is in it, is never as good as fresh or freeze dried food. There are also many preservatives and way too much sodium in commercial dog food, no matter how good they say it is. Also, making it yourself is a lot cheaper then purchasing dog food that is categorized as healthy or all natural.
A potato chip is made out of potatoes but you cannot logically argue that both are the same value nutritionally. Same for kibble.
All these ingredients may be in store bought dog food but there is also a lot of added crap to make the shelf life longer. I don’t add fillers or chemicals to my homemade food. So maybe you should do your research before making a unnecessary rude comment.
I think you misread what she said. She was saying that, based on the ingredients and the conversation she had with her vet, this recipe is exactly what she is looking for.
Unless you are suggesting that her vet is wrong about the dry dog food? In which case, nearly every vet I’ve ever talked to has always told me that dry food is hard on a dogs system. They’ve ALL suggested that I make my own or find a very good quality food and supplement as much as possible to ensure max health benefits/needs. There is one exception I guess but they were huge on selling one of those diet brand dog foods that cost an absolute fortune and they swore by only ever using that one brand (conflict of interest?).
The dry dog food is made from questionable meat. Rendering truck, diseased meats, weird animals, cartilage, and overall gross stuff counts as “meat”. Dr Pitcairn has been writing books on natural food and homeopathic remedies for pet health. I can’t believe you would assume overbaked and extruded food would be equal to something you could yourself eat from the crockpot.
Yes but Dog Food companies use rotted and meat parts and organs.
my dog has allergy to all dairy products and meat with the exception of fish. natural balance has a vegan dog food he does well on but pricey. Purina has a salmon dry food I started him on so well see. i think Ill try this too but add salmon instead of beef
Someone suggested your vet is not good and argued dog food is better . They may be right about label ingredients , but would they sit down and eat that canned dog food or this recipe? I’ve read many articles about the meat ingredients being the parts humans don’t eat even in high quality /cost gluten or grain free brands. At $2plus for 1 can. Which I’ve bought plenty of and my dogs still scratched. I have recently switched to homemade its cheaper for my 2 adolesent gsd and they seem to have stopped scratching. Not only that but the hugs yes hugs I get after they eat and the many times they have both carried their bowls to me for seconds… at least that what I think they are trying to tell me, says I’ve made the right choice for my babies. But each owner can make there own decisions on what’s best for there own dogs instead of insulting the writers vet look for canned dog food ads , since this recipe blog isn’t right for you!
In 2007 their was a major pet food recall. One ingredient from one supplier tainted over 100 brands of dog food. Melamine was found in the gluten, it mimics protein. Dogs died or got very sick costing thousands of dollars in vet bills. It was found in the cheapest dog food up to the most expensive veterinarian sold dog food. There is another recall right now over excessive vitamin D.
I’ve also seen diy dry dog food on pinterest. I haven’t personally tried it, but it might be a good idea if your dogs have allergies and sensitivities.
You are right, dry dog food should not be given consistently without water. Our vet and breeder both told us that dry dog food alone is okay SOMETIMES because it helps to clean the teeth (through chewing), but about 1x daily or couple of times a week add some water to it about 30 mins before feeding to make it mushy because soggy food digests easier and promotes good digestion. Before I started making my own dog food, we would mix water with it one day, dry food the next day, then add a can of food the day after that and then repeat. Now, we make our own recipe (similar to one above, which we are going to try) and my dog loves it. We started making our own because my German Shepherd would refuse to eat dry food and he stopped gaining weight (BAD, since he was less than 1 year old).
Hi,
I started feeding my dog this but it seemed to go bad. Also I was wondering what you feed your german shepherd because that is what I have as well. BTW my dog will not leave the kitchen since cooking his food from home.
I agree, i do add some wet occasionally, only wet rots dogs teeth if that is all you give them. I give my dog frozen fruit and frozen veggies. My vet agrees with this. He loves the crunch and since its frozen it contains water…
My Dog Labrador, was 10 lbs over weight, when I switched to vegan/fish he lost 10 lbs maintaining the same amount of food. No More dry flaky skin, no more scratch en, beautiful coat.
I didn’t read your whole thread. I had to stop and comment when she said all good are processed…… is a pea processed? Packed with fillers? I’m pretty sure a pea is a fucking vegetable. Straight from the earth. Pretty sure a carrot wasn’t harmed by manufactures either. Nor the squashes
I have really appreciated your dog food recipe. I never thought of making it myself, but my new dog would not eat much for days, even with high quality Blue Diamond food.Now he eats normally, is not getting overweight and his coat and energy level is amazing! I change things up a little with each batch to explore what he likes and doesn’t like. So far, the only thing he doesn’t like is grounded turkey. Thank you!
However much do I feed a 60lb dog?l
We, unfortunately, can’t give you advice on that. It is best to consult with your veterinarian.
Hi Jodie,
My challenge in making my own dog food is how much do you feed them?
I have to dad hounds, one is 6kg and is quite slight and an 11kg bigger dog who needs to loose weight. I want to make sure they get enough
I am wondering about that also. As I have a 150# Saint (5.5 years old) and a 100# Golden (almost 2) I feed them Nutro Lamb and rice (they are allergic to chicken) and they are no longer itchy. My Saint eats 8 cups a day and the Golden eats between 3-6 cups a day.
I pay roughly $50 a bag (30#) and it might last 2 weeks
I understand many dogs are allergic to chicken, I hear its mostly because of flea dander in the food 🙁 .
From other raw food recommendations: Adult dogs can be fed between 2-3% of the their body weight. We recommend starting with 1/2 pound of food per 25 lbs of body weight daily and make adjustments according to your dog’s age and activity. We also suggest that the daily ration be split to feed morning and night.
Can I sub ground turkey instead of beef and keep cooking time the same?
Yes.
Not sure if dogs will care, but I have found that when I add raw turkey I to a crockpot it gets grainy by the time it’s done cooking. I found that if I cook the turkey first it keeps its flavor and texture much better.
Our vet recommends white rice vs brown due to its easier for them to digest… even tho brown better for humans
Everything I’ve research agrees with this comment on white versus brown rice for dogs. Dogs cannot digest the outer husk on the brown rice like humans can.
How long is it good for in the refrigerator? Also do you freeze it and take it out as needed?
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. Hope that helps, Tina!
You can freeze. It in portion sizes and use it as needed. My dog is going to be 19 in April and I have been making her food for years with no problem. I also dehydrate liver for her as treats and I make her dog biscuits bacon and peanut butter. She proves them. I got the recipe from Pinterest. Happy cooking everyone.
How do I know how much to feed a 60 lb dog?