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10 Best Homemade Dog Food Recipies (Easy Step by Step Guide)

10 Best Homemade Dog Food Recipies (Easy Step by Step Guide)

There are lots of reasons people often prefer home cooked meals to boxed, prepared, or frozen meals. We associate homemade meals with high quality ingredients, know exactly what the contents are, know the source,  and love all the love that goes into them. All these reasons also go for Fido. Plus, making Fido’s food at home can help you save money, and isn’t as time-consuming as you may think. You can cook his food in bulk and package it according to proper portion sizes, storing it for later use.

While you might think of your dog as a carnivore, and while they do love meat, they can also benefit from:

  • eggs
  • berries
  • watermelon
  • greens
  • carrots
  • and more.

Because dogs can eat many of the same foods we do, some homemade dog food is even nutritious and delicious for you, too!

Remember, it is important to consult your veterinarian before making any changes to your dog’s diet. Be sure to ask your veterinarian what specific dietary needs your particular dog might have based on his breed, size, age, and any medical conditions he may have.

Benefits of Homemade Dog Food

Bulldog at Table

There are many benefits, in addition to the ones discussed above, to feeding your dog a homemade diet. These include:

  • usually a higher protein content
  • easier to digest, which eases strain on your dog’s immune system and improves his digestive tract health
  • control over what ingredients to use, the ratio of the ingredients, the source of the ingredients, and the ability to adjust when needed
  • less risk of preservatives and chemicals
  • cooked at a lower temperature, which preserves nutrients.

Keep in mind, though, that controversy does exist surrounding the benefits of homemade dog food diets, and that a high quality commercial dog food is still more beneficial for your dog than a low quality homemade diet. If you decide to become Bingo’s personal chef, make sure you have a clear understanding of his particular dietary needs by talking to your veterinarian and conducting research. Some books to consider are below.



Raw and Natural Nutrition for Dogs: The Definitive Guide to Homemade Meals

Buy from Amazon



Canine Nutrigenomics: The New Science of Feeding Your Dog for Optimum Health

Buy from Amazon



Feed Your Best Friend Better: Easy, Nutritious Meals and Treats for Dogs

Buy from Amazon

Your Dog’s Dietary Needs

Just like people, dogs need specific nutrients in their diets to remain healthy, active, and energetic,  but they don’t need the same nutrients in the same proportions. One thing to keep in mind is that dogs require more protein than they do carbohydrates. Fifty to 75% of your dog’s diet should consist of animal protein. In addition, keep the following rules in mind.

Three rules:

  1. Variety: While relying on some staple foods is acceptable, just like you, your dog needs variety in his meals to enjoy a complete and healthy diet. Variety refers to including various meats and parts of meats, different fruits, and different vegetables. Including a variety of different foods in your dog’s diet helps make sure he reaps the benefits of a wide nutritional range. No one perfect, all-inclusive recipe exists, so preparing a variety of different meals for your dog to enjoy throughout the week is one of the surest ways to meet his nutritional needs.
  2. Balance: When you feed your dog the same commercial dog food day in and day out, it is important to make sure that food is completely balanced with all the right ratios of nutrients–because it’s Bingo’s only chance to take in these essential nutrients. However, if you are preparing different homemade meals for your dog each day, you need only make sure his diet is balanced over a period of time, such as days or weeks.
  3. Calcium: There are many ways to ensure your dog gets enough calcium in his homemade food. One option is including raw bones. If you’re wary of bones due to safety hazards they may pose, another option is including calcium supplements.

It’s also important to consider how much food your dog needs. The average adult dog needs to consume 2-3% of his body weight, but may require more if she is lactating or very active. The amount of food your dog needs depends on breed, size, age, activity level, and health. Talk to your veterinarian to determine how much food your furry friend should eat each day.

Golden Retriever with Watermelon

Recipe 1: Easy Salmon for You and Your Dog

Why we love it:

  • It’s eco-friendly, using food items you would often throw away
  • It’s healthy and nutritious for both you and your dog
  • It fosters bonding time–your dog can cook and eat with you!

Who developed it:

Where we found it:

Ingredients:

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 squash
  • 3 potatoes
  • 2 carrots
  • 2 portions of salmon, skin-on (1 ounce for every 10 pounds your dog weighs, plus an amount for you)
  • 1 head of broccoli with stem

Instructions:

  1. Wash all vegetables thoroughly.
  2. Remove stem from broccoli.
  3. Chop broccoli for yourself; chop stem and set aside for Fido.
  4. Peel and cut carrots for yourself, setting aside peels for Fido.
  5. Cut squash. Set aside a portion for Fido.
  6. Peel and slice potatoes, setting aside potato peels for Fido and potato slices for yourself.
  7. Pour one tablespoon of olive oil into pan and fry salmon, starting with
    the skin side down on medium heat. After flipping, pull crisp
    salmon skin off both pieces of salmon and place in dog bowl as nutritious appetizer.

For Fido’s Feast:

  1. Mix chopped broccoli stem, chopped squash, and carrots peels together and steam in rice cooker or bake in oven.
  2. Pour one tablespoon of olive oil in air fryer and air fry potato peelings.
  3. Chop Fido’s portion of salmon into bite-sized pieces, and toss with vegetables and potato peels.
  4. Allow to cool for 15-20 minutes before serving.

For Your Dinner:

  1. Steam broccoli, squash, and carrots in rice cooker or bake in oven.
  2. Pour one tablespoon olive oil in air fryer and air fry potato slices.
  3. Serve salmon with vegetables and potato slices.



Philips XL Airfryer, The Original Airfryer, Fry Healthy with 75% Less Fat, Black, HD9240/94

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Recipe 2: Turkey, Rice, and Veggies

Why we love it:

Who developed it:

Where we found it:

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups of water
  • 1 1/2 cups brown rice
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 3 pounds ground turkey
  • 3 cups baby spinach, chopped
  • 2 carrots, shredded
  • 1 zucchini, shredded
  • 1/2 cup peas, canned or frozen

Instructions:

  1. In a large saucepan, cook 3 cups of water and rice according to package directions.
  2. Heat olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat.
    Add ground turkey and crumble as cooking it until browned, about 3-5 minutes.
  3. Stir in vegetables and brown rice until the
    spinach has wilted and the mixture is heated through, about 3-5 minutes.
  4. Let cool completely.

 

Turkey, rice, and veggies

Recipe 3: Easy Crockpot Dog Food

Why we love it:

  • The crockpot is so easy
  • The food is easy to freeze, store, thaw, and serve later
  • Nutrition facts are included
  • The recipe is customizable–mix and match veggies and proteins; flexible according to what you have on hand (just make sure it’s safe for Fido to eat!).

Who developed it:

Where we found it:

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 pounds ground beef
  • 1 1/2 cups brown rice
  • 1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped butternut squash
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
  • 1/2 cup peas, frozen or canned
  • 4 cups water

Instructions:

  1. Stir ground beef, brown rice, kidney beans, butternut squash, carrots, peas, and 4 cups water into a 6-quart slow cooker.
  2. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 2-3 hours, stirring as needed.
  3. Let cool completely.

Crockpot Dog Food

Recipe 4: Meatballs

Why we love it:

  • It’s fun and looks good enough for you to eat
  • It’s good for Dingo’s digestion.

Who developed it:

  • Sumika

Where we found it:

Ingredients:

  • 10 lbs. lean ground beef
  • 3 slices of bread, cubed small
  • 2 cups of oat bran
  • 4 eggs
  • 3 cans pumpkin puree
  • Salt to taste
  • 4 carrots, boiled/steamed and mashed
  • Flour
  • Leaves of 4 kale stalks, finely chopped

Instructions:

  1. In large bowl, combine all ingredients and form into balls.
  2. Roll balls lightly in the flour, shaking off any excess.
  3. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Larger meatballs may take longer; smaller meatballs may bake faster.

Meatballs

Recipe 5: Chili

Why we love it:

  • It’s delicious for you and your dog.

Who developed it:

Where we found it:

Ingredients:

  • 4 carrots, peeled and sliced
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 can tomato paste
  • 1 can no-salt beef broth
  • 1 can corn (optional)
  • 250 grams cream cheese
  • shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1 package macaroni noodles

Instructions:

  1. Boil macaroni according to package directions.
  2. Brown beef in frying pan.
  3. Add butter, carrots, corn, cream cheese, and tomato paste to beef and cook for 5 minutes.
  4. Place beef mixture in casserole dish.
  5. Add beef broth and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
  6. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Dog Food Mat1

Recipe 6: Chicken Chunks and Vegetables

Why we love it:

  • It’s super simple
  • It costs roughly $10 and lasts two dogs one week or one dog two weeks.

Who developed it:

Where we found it:

  • Josh Cross

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound chicken breast, cut into half-inch chunks
  • 1 cup rice
  • 1 jar gravy
  • 1 can corn, drained
  • 1 can green beans, drained
  • 1 can carrots, drained

Instructions:

  1. Cook chicken cubes in skillet.
  2. Cook rice according to package directions.
  3. Mix chicken, rice, vegetables, and gravy together.

Skillet

Recipe 7: Spinach and Salmon Scramble

Why we love it:

  • It’s one of only two breakfast recipes we found
  • You can eat it, too!
  • It requires only four ingredients and only four steps.

Who developed it:

Where we found it:

Ingredients:

  • 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
  • 1/2 can (3 oz.) boneless, skinless salmon, drained
  • 2 eggs

Instructions:

  1. Heat extra virgin olive oil in small, nonstick skillet over medium heat.
  2. Add spinach and salmon and heat through.
  3. Add eggs and stir continuously until cooked through, about 2 minutes.
  4. Let cool before serving.

spinach and egg scramble

Recipe 8: Hearty Black Bean Bowl

Why we love it:

  • It’s vegan
  • It only costs about $0.64 per serving.

Who developed it:

Where we found it:

  • VegAnnie.comhttp://www.vegannie.com/dog-food-recipes/hearty-black-bean-bowl

Ingredients:

  • 1 large sweet potato
  • 2/3 cup uncooked brown rice
  • 1 1/3 cup water
  • 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained, and rinsed
  • 6 kale leaf stems, broken into 1-inch pieces

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Line baking sheet with tin foil.
  3. Pierce sweet potato with a fork multiple times in various places.
  4. Place on baking sheet and bake for one hour.
  5. While sweet potato is baking, cook rice: Bring rice and water to a
    boil in stockpot. Lower temperature and simmer, covered, for about 45
    minutes.
  6. Allow baked sweet potato to cool; chop into small pieces.
  7. Combine rice, beans, sweet potatoes, and kale stems and separate into 3 equal servings.

vegan homemade dog food

Recipe 9: Meat Loaf

Why we love it:

  • It’s easy to stockpile and store
  • It’s pretty
  • It’s great for your cat, too!

Who developed it:

Where we found it:

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound lean ground turkey
  • 1/2 cup chopped carrots
  • 1/2 cup peas
  • 1/2 cup oats
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 hard-boiled eggs
  • olive oil

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Mix together lean ground turkey, chopped carrots, and peas.
  3. Add the oats and eggs. Mix until mixture begins to stick.
  4. Lightly grease a loaf pan with olive oil and add half the mixture to pan.
  5. Place eggs along the center of the loaf and cover with other half of mixture.
  6. Bake for 45 minutes.
  7. Allow to cool before serving (makes 12, half-inch slices, one serving each).

*Note: If you plan to feed this food to Fido’s feline friend, the recipe creator recommends chopping the slices up.

cat and dog cuddling

Recipe 10: Doggie Beef Stew

Why we love it:

  • It’s hearty and filling.

Who developed it:

  • Anna Smith

Where we found it:

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound stew beef
  • 1 small potato
  • 1 small sweet potato
  • ½ cup carrots, chopped
  • ½ cup water
  • ½ cup white flour
  • 1 tablespoon canola or olive oil

Instructions:

  1. Peel potato and sweet potato and cut into chunks.
  2. Bake potato and sweet potato chunks for 8 minutes or until almost done.
  3. Heat oil in a frying pan and cook stew beef until browned through.
  4. Remove beef and slowly add water and flour into pan.
  5. Stir until mixture becomes a thick gravy.
  6. Return beef to pan and add carrots, potatoes, and sweet potatoes.
  7. Cook for 10 more minutes.
  8. Allow to cool before serving.

Beef Stew

Preparing home cooked meals for Fido can be a great way to show him how much you love him. Remember to consult your veterinarian before embarking on a homemade meal plan to make sure your dog gets all the nutrients he needs.

Continue reading:

10 Dog Treat Recipes Rover Will Drool Over

The 5 Best Must-Have Dog Food For English Bulldogs in 2022

Fromm Dog Food Reviews