Homemade dog food can be custom-made for your dog, is healthy, fresh dog food, and a freezer meal all in one. Chock full of fresh veggies and a great way to ensure your dog’s diet has a good variety.
Once every 6 weeks you can make up homemade meals in place or in addition to your pups regular food. Sassy is so happy with her own dog food, and especially loves when I warm it up.
Skip all the junk in traditional store-bought commercial dog food, your dog is going lick the bowl clean…
Your dog will absolutely love this easy homemade dog food recipe. Years ago my first Shih Tzu Lucky suffered from horrible allergies to chicken. This went on for a long time, little did I know that was his issue. He had a hard time keeping food down, wouldn’t eat it, had skin issues, and I never knew why.
So when I got my second Shih Tzu Sassy, I learned about this allergy to chicken. At first, she was on dry commercial dog food and treats and had the same issues as Lucky Boy. Even expensive fancy wet food gave her issues, as there was some chicken by-product in almost every brand. So many commercial pet products contain chicken. Her health issues were getting worse. So I set out to make her the best homemade dog food I could, and even created a recipe for her very own dog biscuits with her name on them-so cute!
As pet owners, we want the best for our dogs, and yes it takes a couple of hours of home cooking to make their food. But it is worth it, the quality of our dog’s life is worth it. I also think I saved a small fortune at the vets. After some trial and error, I learned what Sassy’s favorite homemade dog food is, and she likes it finely minced with ground beef and vegetables (no chicken-not even chicken stock in the rice!). You can create your own version or try this one, and you will find it is almost the same price as dry food for small dogs.
Table of Contents
You & Your Dog Will Love DIY Dog Food!
- Homemade dog food vs store bought – advantages are you can control the ingredients for allergies which can cause health issues.
- Peace of mind ther are no unwanted preservatives, fillers, and shelf stabilizers.
- Packed with fresh leafy greens and colorful vegetables.
- Cooked raw meat like ground beef, ground turkey, or ground chicken can be used in this homemade recipe, it is going to taste better than dog foods that sit in a bag or on the shelf.
- Senior dogs lose their appetite and need soft food in small pieces as sometimes they don’t have all their teeth to chew.
- You can use up ingredients you have on hand from your freezer and not throw them in the trash.
How To Make Homemade Dog Food
- 3 pounds ground beef (7 cups cooked crumbled ground beef)
- 2 cups uncooked white or brown rice
- 1 teaspoon of sea salt (skip if using buillon)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 28 ounces beef stock (optional) + ½ cup water 28 oz = 3.5 cups, add ½ cup water for the proper ratio to make rice
- 1 ½ cups fresh broccoli (shredded, cut finely or a 12 oz frozen bag)
- 2 cups fresh carrots (shredded, cut into small coins – 2 large carrots)
- 2 cups sweet potatoes (small cubes or shredded – 1 large sweet potato)
- 2 cups fresh spinach
Let’s Make It!
Make Flavored Rice
Use a ratio of 1 cup rice to 2 cups water with beef bouillon or beef stock, you can scale up or down check your rice package instructions. Feel free to swap in beef, chicken, or vegetable broth for better flavor. I also LOVE Better Than Beef Buillon to flavor the rice, it is totally Sassy approved.
Bring the stock/water to a boil, add rice and salt (skip salt if using bullion). And if you want to add a pat of butter, it makes rice taste even better. Cover the pot and simmer for 18 minutes on low and don’t remove the lid. Brown rice takes 30 minutes. Check the rice, and if done turn off the heat, replace the lid, and let it rest for several minutes in the steamy pan. Use a fork to fluff it up!
Make Ground Beef and Veggies
Brown and crumble 3 lbs of ground beef in a large skillet. Place in a large bowl with the drippings.
Chop, shred, or process all the veggies. My dog is a small dog and prefers the veggies finely shredded in a food processor. You can use a knife or a box grater works too.
In a large pot (cast-iron pan or skillet), briefly saute carrots, broccoli, and sweet potato until just soft for a few minutes on medium. Place into the large bowl. In a large bowl, add the cooked ground beef, warm rice, warm sauteed veggies, and fresh spinach. Mix well with a large spatula.
Mix and Portion Homemade Food For Dogs
The best way to store fresh food for your doggie is to use freezer bags. I have a small dog, so using this recipe I calculated the calories she needs per day. Measure a few day supply based on your dogs caloric needs. And portion it into a 5 day supply, so it is food safe after it defrosts.
Simply pull out a frozen bag of new food and let it defrost in the fridge every 5 days. I give her ⅕ of the baggie daily. The bags compress flat in the freezer or you can place them in an airtight container. Store in an airtight container or larger zip-top bag in the freezer.
Cost of Homemade vs. Store-Bought
$20 of ingredients made 40 individual 1 cup homemade servings or about $.50/serving. Store-bought dry food is about $.41 per serving. So yes, homemade is more expensive but has fresh nutrition and ingredients I believe are good for your dog, after all, dogs ate human leftovers and scraps way before dog food was manufactured!
This serving size is for my 11-pound dog, she is small. So you would need to calculate the number of daily calories your dog needs.
PRO TIP: This recipe for homemade dog food calculates the calories for you in 1 cup servings.
Do Your Portion Research
You will need to do some research on how many calories your dog needs per day based on your dogs activity level and your dog’s weight. There are so many factors to consider that will vary due to the breed, size, age, and activity of your pet. My dog needs about 400 calories a day, and is a small dog weighing just 11 pounds.
Nutritional Needs
To meet your dog’s specific nutritional needs, there are so many considerations for a balanced diet for healthy dogs. You will want to talk to your vet, and each dog has unique considerations for their health issues, breed, activity level, and food allergies.
You can also supplement dog’s food with liquid vitamins or fish oil on their food, again seek the advice of a good vet.
PRO TIP: Puppies, adult dogs, and especially senior dogs have different needs. You can use this handy tool to check the nutrition of the dog food you create here at BalanceIt.
Fresh DIY Dog Food Tips
Dog owners do get really concerned about feeding their dogs human food and scraps. I just had a really long chat with Sassy’s vet at her annual health check-up. Each dog is totally unique. Some have food sensitivities, easily get upset tummies and some have digestive issues, so regular commercial food is best for those dogs.
Sprinkle Dry Kibble
I sometimes sprinkle some dry dog food into the homemade food to stretch out my homemade dog food batch. Use high-quality commercial pet food and check the label carefully for any ingredients to avoid food allergies and reactions.
Trying New Dog Recipes
Best advice is to slowly introduce new foods to our dogs. We want to keep our pets healthy and food changes can cause issues to their digestive tract. All dogs are unique, what works for one won’t work for another. Fresh dog food recipes have ingredients your dog might be trying for the first time so go slow, with small portions. Sassy could not handle chicken stock cooked into the rice, and wouldn’t eat it due to her allergies, so I used beef stock or Better Than Buillon when I make the rice and she loves it.
Try Different Veggies
Each time I make a new batch of homemade dog food, It’s a good idea to use up different veggies. If some are about to go bad or I have extra and want to use them up quickly and find this is a perfect use.
Experiment With Textures
Try different textures of veggies and see what your dog likes!
What I learned is as long as the veggies were finely grated in a food processor, Sassy ate it all! She wasn’t a fan of the cubed shapes and large spinach leaves, so I finely chopped the food and that did the trick to get her to eat it all. I think she loves the brown rice mixed in with the beef stock the most.
Use Up Extra Freezer Meat or Leftovers
The last tip I have is to use up meat that has been in the freezer a while and is not something you want for dinner but still safe for your dog. I often buy too much quantity when recipe testing ingredients, and use up extra steak meat or pork I have on hand for homemade dog food. Nothing goes to waste around here, but I don’t feed her bones, fatty meats, etc.
Senior Dogs Picky Dogs
One tip I can share is you can use riced frozen vegetables. I have used packages of riced cauliflower, sweet potato, and broccoli. All work great, save time and are convenient, but they are a little more expensive. These will work great for dogs that can’t chew well, are picky, don’t each much food, or won’t eat larger pieces of dog food.
Finely Chopped Dog Food
If your dog is picky or will only eat finely chopped dog food (like mine), you can either run the vegetables through a food processor or finely chop them on a cutting board. Hand held boxed graters work but take a lot of time. I use the shredder blade on my processor and buzz everything through. Also, try frozen riced vegetables, they are a great option and work great!
Variations For Dog Food
What Meat Proteins Can I Use?
- Beef
- Chicken (my dog is allergic, many dogs are)
- Turkey
- Lamb
- Fish
- Eggs
- Liver (organ meats)
- Duck
- Bison
- Venison
What Vegetables Can Dogs Eat?
So if you have ever wondered what veggies can dogs eat safely? Let’s answer that question. Again, I am a food blogger over here and not a veterinary medicine professional or nutritionist. But for thousands and thousands of years dogs have survived off the scraps of human food.
- butternut squash
- brussel sprouts
- fennel
- peas
- zucchini
- carrots
- sweet potato
- fresh spinach
- cooked potato (in moderation)
- pumpkin
- celery
- broccoli (chopped)
- frozen peas
- bell peppers
- green beans
- kale
Don’t Feed Your Dog
- Onions (never feed)
- Mushroom (never feed)
- Tomatoes (never feed)
- Garlic (never feed)
Again, do your own research on what is best for your dogs’ diet!
Can My Dog Eat FAQ
So many readers are asking if these vegetables for dogs safe? So let’s go through some of the most asked questions.
Sassy girl, is happy. Okay, she didn’t like the spinach and pulled it out! But loves the rice and beef.
The trick I learned was to chop it finer than seen here and she gobbled it all…
Homemade Dog Biscuits
These Dog Biscuits are super fun to make and you can even personalize them for your pup. Again, I use a lot of fresh veggies, peanut butter, pumpkin, and more in them, and Sassy just LOVES these! I also share how to order the super cute biscuit cutter in the recipe post 🐶🐾
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