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?
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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.
Made this today and got just over 8 cups of food. Did I do something wrong? Also, what size dog are you feeding? I definitely don’t have 2 weeks worth of food for a 40lbs dog.
She does love it thought!!
Rache, portion size may vary depending on the weight of the dog. Butters is roughly 18-20 pounds.
We recently adopted a 9-year-old longhaired chihuahua mix from our local animal shelter. He weighs 6 pounds. He has only two teeth–almost all his teeth were rotten & fell out at the shelter–so we feed him only wet food. He is VERY finicky. He won’t eat beef. He’ll eat Trader Joe’s lamb & rice wet food one day & refuse to do so the next. We have to chop up Dasuquin with a rolling pin and mix it into his food once per day; one leg was badly broken and deformed years ago, but he uses it as a crutch, to push things aside, & to do high 5s, so the Dasuquin is to help him with pain. I’m wondering if I should make his food. Perhaps he’d find that more palatable. He just ate tiny pieces of turkey with gusto and enjoyment, while he will NOT eat wet dog food with turkey. Our vet does NOT want him to lose weight, & at the shelter it was difficult to keep weight on him. We don’t want him to starve, but we don’t know what to do.
This post is unclear as to portion sizes for different size/weight dogs. My dog is 75lbs and normally gets 4.5-5.5cups of dry dog food per day but it depends on the brand.
We cannot give advice to the dietary needs of your specific dog, so while we provide the recipe, we ask that you use your best judgement when it comes to feeding your pet. Please consult with your pet’s vet if you are unsure.
You can check the calorie count in 5 cups of your dogs usual dog food and then compare to the calories in this. The information is usually on the dog food website, but you can email them if you can’t find it. I found out my 25 lb beagle eats 400 calories per day of kibble.
How much of this food, per day, is the appropriate amount to feed my dogs? I have a 55lb dog and two 35lb dogs.
Please consult with your pet’s veterinarian and use personal judgment when applying this information to your own dog’s diet.
How much does it make? And how long does it last in fridge? And of course I’m
Assuming you can freeze it?
This recipe yields about 12 cups. It can certainly be frozen to extend shelf life but methods for optimal food storage and shelf life should be based on good judgment and what you are personally comfortable with. Hope that helps, Sky!
I don’t have a crockpot, is there anyway to make this in a regular pot/stock pot on the stove?
You can try this recipe instead! 🙂
https://damndelicious.net/2015/04/27/diy-homemade-dog-food/
Do you happen to know if I could feed this recipe to a cat instead? Obviously cut up into smaller pieces. Thank you!
Unfortunately, this is not something I can answer. It may be best to consult your veterinarian.
Do you have this recipe for a instant pot? please email me. I am a fan of your website and I make my own dog food thank you for your time.
Not at this time. Sorry!
We have 3 dogs, 2 mini dachshunds & a lab shepherd mix that weighs 85 pounds. My question is how much to feed the dogs using this recipe? We feed the dogs twice a day, dry food lower calorie blend.
Please consult with your pet’s veterinarian and use personal judgment when applying this information to your own dog’s diet.
Ive been making my own dog food for a little over a year but I never use a recipe. Im loving this one and am getting ready to try it. I was reading comments because I have a silly question and was too embarrassed to ask. After seeing some of the brutal/rude comments Im not so embarrassed!! LOL. Gosh people are so rude!!! My silly question is….. Do I put the brown rice in raw? 😛
Yes, that is correct. 🙂
Hi! I’m researching homemade dog foods to switch my dog to. He used to be on a raw diet but I don’t have enough freezer space to keep up with it. This recipe looks very promising but my dog doesn’t do very well with rice and other grains. Would quinoa be a suitable substitute to the rice? It’s found in a lot of high quality commercial dog foods so it’s safe to eat but I wanted to ask before jumping into it. I’ll be consulting my vet once I have my final recipe together, of course 🙂
Hi Jay! I have personally never fed my dog quinoa but upon further research, it looks like dogs can consume cooked quinoa in small amounts. But as always, please consult with your pet’s veterinarian. 🙂
thank you so much for there reciept . i am staring to make treats for my groomer to give to her dog she does. thanl you again for the help.bcmylly
Thank you for this recipe! And all your others too! I will try it this weekend. I make something similar, baked, with hamburger. oats, carrots, broccoli and eggs. But it will be great to have an alternative and crockpot too! I also cook boneless chicken breasts and thighs in the crockpot with a little water for recipes and for dog treats.
I do usually have some kidney beans, but can chickpeas be used or other types of beans? I notice that in a lot of the grain free dog foods they use chickpeas. Now you have my imagination going and I’m thinking about something with canned butternut squash or pumpkin too! Thanks!
Hi Tina! Yes, you can add or omit ingredients as you like, but please use your best judgement when making modifications and consult your vet if you have any dietary-specific questions.
Are the ground beef and rice pre-cooked?
No, they are not. They are cooked through in the slow cooker.
Love this recipe! super healthy ingredients and my dog loves it! We have recently been short on time around the house and we’ve been on this subscription from RawWild! Our dogs love it and they’ve never been happier! check out https://www.rawwild.com/ for some great food your dog will love!
Thanks, George!
Hi. I have been feeding my 3 yr old caboodle this recipe for about 4 months now. He loves it and his poops are normal whereas before he had a lot of issues. However, I have noticed that his coat around the mouth is going a lot more red/ruby in color. He is white/apricot in color. Could the food be changing his coat or is there something else that could be causing it?
Hi Erica! I’m so happy to hear that his poops are normal! As for the changing of his coat, unfortunately, I am not entirely sure. It may be best to ask your pet’s veterinarian. Hope that helps!
would this be ok for a 8 week old newfoundland puppy?
Please consult with your pet’s veterinarian and use personal judgment when applying this information to your own dog’s diet.
Are you supposed to brown the meat first?
No need to brown the meat first, unless you prefer to do so.
First batch is almost ready – my pup has been ‘hounding’ me for hours to get some. Question: have you ever tried this in the instant pot? Would love to see an adaptation, because I’m a bit obsessed with mine. Thanks!!
That’s a great idea, but we haven’t tried it. If you’re feeling adventurous – give it a try and let us know if it worked!
Are you able to substitute the Ground Beef with Chicken and Ground Turkey? Thanks!
Yes, absolutely.