Homemade Dog Food Recipes: Cookin' By The Book

So, you’ve grown tired of looking for new dog foods to try, your dog doesn’t like them or it upsets their stomach. Maybe you just want to feed your dog a raw diet. Before you crank out the meats and vegetables or moreover pull out a cookbook, it’s important to do some research. Actually, we have a few homemade dog food recipes right here:

Benefits of Homemade Dog Food

Firstly, let’s talk about the benefits of making your own dog food. As mentioned above, some dog food may upset your dog’s stomach. These stomach problems can be due to gastrointestinal sensitivity as well as doggy allergies. Likewise, homemade dog food makes it easier to eliminate certain irritants when making food for your pet. This means you also know exactly what goes into their food and can’t be confused by the label on their kibble. Picky eaters may benefit as well since you can select ingredients they enjoy. Meanwhile, if your dog is overweight it becomes simpler to control their diet. Homemade dog food recipes have higher nutritional value as many ingredients in store-bought food lose some of their nutritional value due to over-processing.

Important Nutritional Guidelines

Listed from top priority ingredient to least necessary in dog food:

1. Protein:  chicken, beef, fish, turkey, lamb, and cooked eggs
2. Fat:  oil and meat
3. Carbohydrates:  rice, corn, and beans
4. Minerals:  calcium, potassium, sodium, magnesium, iron, zinc, etc.
5. Vitamins A, B, C, D, E and K

Common Mistakes When Going Homemade

• Not using a trusted source for ingredients
• Not preparing a balanced meal
• Switching up their diet
• Using unsafe or unhealthy ingredients
• Changing up the dog food recipe
• Changing their diet to homemade too quickly from kibble

Home Grown Dog Food Recipes

Homemade Dog Food Recipe by redgirl on All Recipes

• 6 cups of water
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 2 cups brown rice
• 16oz combination frozen pac67kage of broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower

The prep time for this recipe is 5 minutes and 25 to cook.

Place the water, turkey, rosemary, into a dutch oven while breaking up the turkey evenly. Then bring the mixture to a boil over high. Once at a boil reduce the heat to a simmer for 20 minutes. Add the frozen vegetable package and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Store in the fridge when not in use.

Easy Crockpot Dog Food by Damn Delicious

A great homemade dog recipe if you don’t have a lot of time to cook.

• 1 1/2 cups of brown rice
• 2 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1 1/2  cups chopped carrots
• 1/2 cups peas
• 15oz kidney beans drained and rinsed
• 1 1/2 chopped butternut squash

Prep time 10 minutes, cook time 6 hours

Stir in rice, ground beef, kidney beans, squash, peas, carrots, and 4 cups of water into a 6qt crockpot. Cook on low heat for 5 to 6 hours or high heat for 2 to 3.

Homemade Dog Food by Emily’s Little Homestead

Good homemade dog food for cooking multiple meals at once.

• 2 or 2 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 2 pounds ground pork
• 1 large sweet potato
• 1 large apple, cored
• 2 carrots or 8 baby carrots
• 1 cup of chopped kale
• 1/2 blueberries
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup of rice

Prep time is varying

Grab a 4 to 6qt crockpot and put the ground meats in it. Peel and chop the potato, carrots, and apple. Combine the fruits, vegetables, and meat into the crockpot. Cook ingredients on low for 5 to 7 hours or high for 3 to 5. Once the meat is browned begin to cook the rice on the stove in water. Once cooked thoroughly, add the rice to the rest of the mixture.

Make-Ahead Doggie Stew Recipe by SkinnyMs.

Includes fast and slow methods for the recipe.

• 3 pounds (boneless and skinless)
• 2 to 3 cups water
• 1 cup frozen green beans
• 2 medium carrots
• 1 apple with core and seeds removed
• 1 cup of frozen peas
• 1/4 cup chicken liver
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 handful of fresh parsley chopped

Method 1:  Slow Cooker

Toss all ingredients into your slow cooker except for peas, parsley, and olive oil. After that add just enough water to cover ingredients and then cook covered on low for 6 to 8 hours or high for 4 to 5 hours. At 15 minutes before turning off the cooker add the parsley and peas.

Method 2:  Stovetop

Place all ingredients except for peas, parsley, and olive oil in a large pot. Fill up the pot with water just enough to cover the mixture. Once brought to a boil place put to simmer. For 1-hour cook this mixture or until carrots are tender and chicken properly cooked. 15 minutes before finishing cooking, place peas and parsley into the pot. Once slightly cooled use slotted spoon to add ingredients and olive oil into mixing bowl and then mash.

DIY Homemade Dog Food by Damn Delicious

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 pounds ground turkey
• 2 shredded carrots
• 1 shredded zucchini
• 1/2 cup peas
• 1 1/2 cups brown rice
• 3 cups chopped baby spinach

Take a large saucepan of 3 cups of water and cook rice, then subsequently set aside. Heat large olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven on medium. Add ground turkey and cook until browned; this browning should take 3 to 5 minutes. Additionally, crumble the turkey as it cooks. Stir in carrots, zucchini, spinach, peas, and brown rice. Stop cooking when spinach becomes wilted and the mixture is thoroughly cooked. This also should take 3 to 5 minutes. Once cooled it is ready to be served.

Get to Cookin’

Now that you have standard recipes and concepts around homemade dog recipes, go free and cook your pooch a delicious meal. There are plenty of benefits to taking the time to make them some homemade dog food. However, remember the basic staples of nutritional homemade dog food if you’re going to create your own recipe. Above all, research your canine’s tolerance to any ingredient you wish to add. Trust me, your dog and your vet will thank you.