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.
Sorry if I missed this but how long is this good for in the fridge? Just trying to gauge how often I will have to make this 🙂
As I am not an expert on food safety, I cannot really say with certainty. Methods for optimal food storage and shelf life should be based on good judgment and what you are personally comfortable with. Hope that helps, Tovia!
Is there a way I can make this in a regular pot on the stove as opposed to a Crock Pot? Would I just cook the ground beef first and then add/cook veggies until they’re tender? Thank you so much for your help – and sorry if this is a silly question!
You can try this stovetop recipe instead!
https://damndelicious.net/2015/04/27/diy-homemade-dog-food/
Thank you very much, Chungah! It’s my summer project to add more homecooked meals for my dog and you were the inspiration!
How much should I give my dog?
She weighs around 10lbs.
I really want to start making her yummy “special” meals on occasion, what to make sure I don’t over or under feed her!
Please consult with your pet’s veterinarian and use personal judgment when applying this information to your own dog’s diet.
What daily quantity do you recommend for a 15 pound adult dog?
Please consult with your pet’s veterinarian and use personal judgment when applying this information to your own dog’s diet.
Please do a Google search on Apoquel. I stopped giving it to my Baby because it has really negative effects on the immune system.
I plan to start her on the homemade food. I had rather try this as risk her immune system.
Thank you all for the information.
I have a silver lab that has allergies. He has lost a lot of hair and was scratching so much that he was keeping us awake a lot at night. He was put on Apoquel which helped, plus an expensive dog food for allergies at the vets office. Eventually he was put on allergy shots which I gave him at home starting out daily with a low dose. He was then referred to a dermotologist. He is allergic to Beef, Turkey and Corn among a bunch of eviromental grasses and house mites. The dermotologist gives him a shot every 7 weeks which is expensive and the prescription food he is on is $93 for a 30 pound bag which lasts a month. I have just started making his food to see how it goes. I have to use chicken. Hopefully this will help with his allergies and our expense. WE have 3 dogs, just starting with the one dog for now.
I would be willing to bet that once you move to a human grade homemade dog food, his allergies would start to be relieved. Commercial dog food talks about using the 4 D’s= dead, diseased, dying, down animals and they use ingredients that fail human pesticide levels ( no wonder cancer rates are so high). Agree with others on using a variety diet and supplementing is a must! Also my dog rarely has gas since switching off a commercial food. He loves it and all are happy!
Chicken is the prime suspect in food allergies for most dogs. I would eliminate it all together. But grd beef at Costco 17.00 for 5 lb of 91 % . You need a quality beef for the dogs. low fat.
can dogs handle the beans okay? My dog has some gas problems at times and I’m concerned about whether the kidney beans in the recipe could aggravate things.
It’s hard to say – my dog never really had gas problems with this!
Hi, I’ve been feeding this to my pugs for a couple of years and they are in great heLth. Winding if you have any suggestions on tweaks to make this work for a pressure cooker? Instant Pot specifically. It doesn’t want to come to pressure. Not sure if maybe it needs more or less liquid?
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
This is not following guidlines of the original diet made by Dr Ruth. If you are not feeding raw bones meaty bones regularly, you must add calcium in the form of a calcium supplement or bone meal. Add sea salt for minerals.
This popped up on my Pinterest feed as my dog was snubbing her nose at her food she has eaten for 7 years. How appropriate! I made this yesterday with a few substitutions based on what I had on hand and it turned out great and the dog loved it. Oddly, I had no white rice so I used steel cut oats and barley. Of note, my crockpot was already being used so I cooked this in my Instapot which also worked out very well and was done in a snap. My dog is on two quarter cup feedings per day so I measured quarter cups and put them in muffin tins and froze them that way. Then remove the pucs and put them in a Ziploc bag. I plan on taking two out every evening and putting in frig to thaw out for the next day. Thanks for the idea!
We have a little JackChi (Jack Russell Terrier-Chihuahua mix) rescue with a very sensitive tummy. I’ve tried everything, but what she likes one day, she hates the next. I decided, after spending SO much money on I/D digestive foods at her vet, to try making her foods and treats. Living on the streets while a puppy, I think she pretty much ate anything she could (I don’t even want to think what that may have been…), and we’ve battled runny poo since the rescue delivered her to us. Normally, I do a mix of I/D digestive food (loaf in can), brown rice and fresh (boiled) chicken, turkey or beef. She’ll normally eat it (only because of the fresh chicken I believe), but I really want to give her something better. Long story short, I decided to give this slow cooker food a shot. She won’t eat it. She took a few bites the first time I tried to give it to her and that was it. Now I have a freezer/fridge full of the stuff and wonder what I might do to make it more appealing to her. I hate to just throw it out! Suggestions?
Give it to a friend with a pooch. Honestly, it’s all people food. Doctor it up with spices and make a casserole. :).
This is a 6-qt crock pot recipe. I used a 4-qt and also got lots of pink meat. I was weary of continually stirring during cooking because I read that everytime you open the lid, you have altered the cooking time. However, this morning I went to serve (cooked last night) and discovered lots of pink meat on the bottom. I think it needed more room to cook in a larger crock pot.
This may not be a completely balanced diet without additional vitamins/minerals. Could result in some deficiencies if fed long term which can result in numerous health issues. Probably need to consult a nutritionist to be sure its balanced for healthy growth and maintenance! Just a thought. New to the blog, but I love your recipes!
Are we supposed to put water in this? I dont think adding brown rice to a recipe with no water makes sense!?
Philip, please refer to step #1.
1. Stir in ground beef, brown rice, kidney beans, butternut squash, carrots, peas and 4 cups water into a 6-qt slow cooker.
I have been cooking my dogs food for several years now. Something I haven’t tried is using low sodium broths to cook her chicken or beef in instead of water. Have you tried this? Also, my dog got deathly ill eating tainted dog food so I don’t feed her dried food which is suppose to help clean her teeth. Any suggestions on what to feed her that will help clean her teeth? Maybe something baked that has the crunch of dried food?
Thanks for the recipes!
I wouldn’t use rice because of the high arsenic levels found in most rice around the world, canines also do not eat rice in the wild. Google it for more info. Furthermore, Canines in the wild would never eat beans, i would remove all beans from their diet and replace the rice with oats, which canines can and do eat in the wild. You also need to add organic and natural supplements to make it a complete meal. I use Dr. Dobias supplements https://peterdobias.com/ as they are by far the best on the market.
I’ve just learned about the scam the pet food industry has been pulling off and am disgusted! So we’ve been making our own pup food and my girls are loving it! This is for those concerned about their dog’s itching. My oldest is 12 and she has seasonal grass allergies where she chews het feet. Benadryl clears that up in the summer. She takes a baby aspirin and glucosamine daily and without it she chews at her legs something terrible! I’ve read this is in response to pain, probably arthritis. My own vet argued this is not the case. But i know my dog. My point is, perhaps itching is not always in response to an allergy.
My question is with regards to the ‘Damn delicious recipe’ that contains beef, brown rice, kidney beans, butternut squash, carrots and peas.
What is the recommended serving size for a large breed (my dog weighs 100lbs+).
Thank you
I recommend asking your vet for an appropriate serving size, just because we can’t make any guaranteed statements and every dog is different. Thanks Shirley!
My sister always made her fur baby home made food, I never did for my sweet dog who lived to be almost 17. and I’m sure it is better than a lot of store bought dog food because of the fillers and preservatives and so forth. Wonder what about cats? hehehe I know mine is super picky but does anyone know what could be in home made cat food? I mean do cats eat ground turkey and ground beef?
Have a Blessed Day 🙂
Tami, this may be best answered by your veterinarian.
Thank You! have a great Day!
YASSS so pumped about this! I tried your other recipe for my Pup, and he loves it! This one will be easier on me though. 🙂
How many cups do you get from this recipe? Thanks
12 cups.
I’m all set to make a batch of the ground turkey version of the ‘standard’ DIY recipe, but wondered if you’d mind clarifying some of the ingredient amounts?
I assume that the ‘1-1/2 cups brown rice’ is the raw amount? Sorry if that seems dumb, but to me, it would be better to tell us how much cooked rice to add, since it’s cooked before assembling the recipe. Also, could you show the carrot and squash in Cup amounts as you do the other veggies? I’ll be trying it out on my two terrier mixes who are, or should be, 30-35 lbs. One of them got up to 49 and the vet said DIET NOW ! She’s losing, but by just reducing her dry food to nearly nothing, I feel like she may be missing out on nutrients. And she loves people food, so I’m sure she’d love this recipe. Thanks !
The recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups uncooked brown rice. The carrot and squash are already listed as cup amounts.