Name: Homemade Dog Food
Prep time: 90 min
Cook time: 30 min
Ingredients: 3 pounds ground beef (7 cups cooked crumbled ground beef); 2 cups uncooked rice; 1 teaspoon sea salt; 1 tablespoon butter; 28 ounces beef stock (optional) + 1/2 cup water (28 oz = 3.5 cups, add 1/2 cup water for proper ratio to make rice); 1 1/2 cups fresh broccoli, shredded or cut finely (or a 12 oz frozen bag); 2 cups fresh carrots, shredded or cut into small coins (2 large carrots); 2 cups sweet potato, small cubes or shredded (1 large sweet potato); 2 cups fresh spinach

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Last Updated October 25th, 2020 at 09:47 am by Lisa

Homemade dog food can be custom-made for your dog, is healthy, and a freezer meal all in one. It’s chock full of fresh veggies and a great way to use up ingredients! Skip all the junk in traditional store-bought pet food, your dog is going lick the bowl clean…

I warm it up for about 30 seconds in the microwave, and Sassy just loves it!!

A white dog food bowl with homemade dog food inside.

Links in this post are Amazon Affiliate Links to products I use and love.

Ingredients:

3 pounds ground beef (7 cups cooked crumbled ground beef)
2 cups uncooked rice
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 tablespoon butter
28 ounces beef stock (optional) + 1/2 cup water 28 oz = 3.5 cups, add 1/2 cup water for the proper ratio to make rice
1 1/2 cups fresh broccoli, shredded or cut finely or a 12 oz frozen bag
2 cups fresh carrots, shredded or cut into small coins 2 large carrots
2 cups sweet potato, small cubes or shredded 1 large sweet potato
2 cups fresh spinach

How To Make Homemade Dog Food:

Make Rice
1. Rinse the rice in a fine-mesh strainer for about 30 seconds under cold water. It removes starches that makes rice sticky.
2. Use a ratio of 1 cup rice to 2 cups water, which you can scale up or down. (check your rice package instructions.) Feel free to swap in beef, chicken, or vegetable broth for better flavor.
3. Bring the stock/water to a boil, add rice and salt. 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)
4. 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
1. Brown and crumble 3 lbs of ground beef in a large skillet. Place in a large bowl with the drippings.

2. 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.

3. In a large 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.

Mix and Pack Dog Food:
1. Into the large bowl with ground beef, add warm rice, warm sauteed veggies, and fresh spinach. Mix well with a large spatula.
2. Portion 4-5 cups of Homemade Dog Food per zip lock bag, and store in an airtight container or larger zip-top bag in the freezer. Pull out one small bag per week, and reheat a serving for your dog in the microwave for 30 seconds.

Try different textures of veggies and see what your dog likes!

Dog Food Feeding – Pro Tips:

Cost of Homemade vs. Store-Bought:

$20 of ingredients made 40 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 way before dog food was manufactured!

This serving size is for my 10-pound dog, she is small. So you would need to calculate the number of calories your dog needs and the amount of ingredients for your particular doggie.

Do Your Portion Research:

You will need to do some research on how many calories your dog needs per day, and this can vary due to the breed, size, age, and activity of your pet. My dog needs about 400 calories a day, and the recipe below will calculate the serving size and calories for you!

Sprinkle Dry Kibble:

I sometimes sprinkle some dry dog food into the homemade food to stretch out my homemade dog food batch.

Try Different Veggies:

Each time I make a new batch of homemade dog food, I use up and try out different veggies. 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:

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 rechopped the food and that did the trick to get her to eat it all. I think she loves the rice mixed in with the beef stock.

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, ham, or pork I have on hand for homemade dog food. Nothing goes to waste around here!

Veggie Variations For Dog Food:

butternut squash
brussel sprouts
fennel
peas
zucchini
cooked potato
pumpkin
celery
green beans
kale

Don’t feed your dog onions, mushrooms, or tomatoes. Again, do your own research on what is best for your dogs’ diet!

A white Shih Tzu looking up at the camera while eating a bowl of homemade dog food. — Sassy girl, is happy.

A white dog staring down into a bowl of homemade dog food. — Sassy girl, is happy.

Homemade Dog Biscuits!!

These are super fun to make and you can even personalize them for your pup! Again, I use a lot of fresh veggies in them, and Sassy just LOVES these! (I also share how to order the super cute biscuit cutter in the recipe post) 🐶🐾

Homemade Dog Treats

Your doggy will love these homemade DOG TREATS (dog biscuit recipe) packed with nutritious pumpkin, peanut butter, spinach, zucchini, carrots, and oats.

Check out this recipe

A wooden bowl with homemade dog treats and the name of the dog Sassy stamped in each of them in a pile.

A Few More Awesome Dog Food Recipes

Homemade Dog Food by All Recipes
Top 20 Healthy Dog Food Recipes Your Dog Will Love by The Dog Bakery
Homemade Dog Food by Food.com

More Dog-Friendly Vegetable Ideas:

10 Dog-Friendly Vegetables For A Healthy Pup by Raw Bistro
Fruits and Vegetables Dogs Can and Can’t Eat by AKC Staff
The Facts About Dog Nutrition by PetWeb MD
Dog Nutrition Tips by ASPCA

A small zip-top bag with homemade dog food and a label on it packed and going into a freezer container.

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Homemade Dog Food

Homemade dog food can be custom-made for your dog, is healthy, and freezer friendly. It's chock full of fresh veggies and a great way to use up ingredients!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword dog food, homemade recipe

Prep Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Servings 1 cup dog servings

Calories 338kcal

Author Lisa Hatfield

Ingredients

3 pounds ground beef 7 cups cooked crumbled ground beef
2 cups uncooked rice
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon butter
28 ounces beef stock (optional) + 1/2 cup water 28 oz = 3.5 cups, add 1/2 cup water for proper ratio to make rice
1 1/2 cups fresh broccoli, shredded or cut finely or a 12 oz frozen bag
2 cups fresh carrots, shredded or cut into small coins 2 large carrots
2 cups sweet potato, small cubes or shredded 1 large sweet potato
2 cups fresh spinach

Instructions

Make Rice

Rinse the rice in a fine mesh strainer for about 30 seconds under cold water. It removes starches that makes rice sticky.
Use a ratio of 1 cup rice to 2 cups water, which you can scale up or down. (check your rice package instructions.) Feel free to swap in beef, chicken, or vegetable broth for better flavor.
Bring the stock/water to a boil, add rice and salt. And if you want to add a tab of butter, too, go for it — your rice will taste 10x 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 saucepan. Use a fork to fluff it up!
Chop, shread, or process in a food processor all the veggies. My dog is a small dog and prefers the veggies finely shredded in a food processor.

Make Ground Beef and Veggies

Brown and crumble 3 lbs of ground beef in a large skillet. Place in a large bowl.
In a large cast iron pan or skillet, briefly saute carrots, broccoli, and sweet potato until just soft for a few minutes on medium.

Mix Dog Food

Into the large bowl with ground beef, add warm rice, warm sauted veggies, and fresh spinach. Mix well with a large spatula.
Portion 4-5 cups of Homemade Dog Food per zip lock back, and store in an airtight container or larger zip top bag in the freezer. Pull our one small bag per week, and reheat a serving for your dog in the microwave for 30 seconds. I sometimes sprinkle some dry dog food into the homemade food to stretch out my homemade dog food batch.

Notes

Please consult with a veterinarian and use your good judgment of what is best for your dog’s diet! My dog happens to be allergic to chicken (her eyes constantly watered, were itchy, and were stained plus she threw up her store-bought food!), so that is why I use beef stock and ground beef-and oh does she love it!

Veggie Variations For Homemade Dog Food:

butternut squash, Brussel sprouts, fennel, peas, zucchini, cooked potato pumpkin, celery, green beans, spinach, or kale.