Homemade dog food is such an easy way to spoil your dog and feel great about doing it. All you need is a stove and a large pot to make a yummy and healthy meal for your dog. 

This recipe is the stovetop directions to make my Instant Pot Dog Food Recipe. I know not everyone has an Instant Pot (though I totally recommend using one to make life easier 😉 ) so I decided to make directions that everyone can use.

These recipes came about because the commercial dog food options that were available to us didn’t provide exactly what we were looking for in terms of optimal nutrition and we wanted something that didn’t come with unnecessary additives, so we talked to our vet and decided that homemade dog food would be a great option for us.

Two glass containers of homemade dog food on a marble background with three dog toys.
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🥘 Ingredients Needed

This recipe is pretty comparable to what you would get from the grocery store from Fresh Pet (I think Costco sells it in big tubes), except you can control what goes in it, and it’s fun to make it yourself!

The nice thing about making your own DIY dog food is that you can think about your dog’s needs and any food allergies that they might have. Instead of having to read a million labels, you are in control of what goes in the food. If your dog is a picky eater, you can also feed them what you know that they like:

A picture of the ingredients in homemade dog food, labeled. Frozen vegetables, bone broth, ground beef, oats, and coconut oil.
  • Meat – I alternate between ground beef, chicken (chicken breast, chicken thighs, or ground chicken – choose organic for ground chicken), turkey or ground turkey, venison, or even fish. We love to share our fish when we have fresh fish that we’ve recently caught. (You can also cook a whole chicken and shred it up if you are feeling really adventurous, but that’s a lot more work. If you cook a whole chicken, be sure that all bones are removed.) 
  • Healthy Carbohydrates – There’s a lot of conflicting information about whether or not dogs should eat a grain-free diet. When we fed Melly a completely grain-free diet, it actually made her sick. We found that meeting her complex carbohydrate needs in the form of whole grain – rice, oats, rinsed quinoa, or barley – works really well for her. Do what works best for your dog! (See my notes below about bio-individuality.) We also add sweet potatoes, butternut squash, real corn (off the cob), or purple potatoes to her food. (I changed out the picture of this recipe because I was getting sick of explaining to people that corn IS safe for dogs to eat. It provides the same vitamins and minerals to dogs as it does to people – the confusion comes from people recommending against foods where corn is the main ingredient in the food. Corn should be used to supplement a diet, not be the main ingredient in the food, which is the problem with many commercial dog foods. If a human ate only corn, they would have nutritional deficiencies as well!)
  • Frozen or Fresh Vegetables that are chopped into bite-size pieces – Our dog loves green beans, carrots, peas, broccoli, spinach, squash, corn, and potatoes.
  • Chicken or Beef Bone Broth – I use homemade bone broth, but you can use any kind of none broth or stock that does not have onions in it. 
  • Coconut Oil – Our dog LOVES the taste of coconut, so we use unrefined coconut oil. You can use whatever you have! You can also leave this out and squirt fish oil into the food when serving instead.

Optional (Add after cooking/when serving)

  • Fruit – So many fruits are great for dogs – we love feeding blueberries, strawberries, apples, bananas, avocados, and tomatoes. (With apples, avoid the seeds, and with avocado, avoid the skin and pit.)
  • Kefir
  • Supplements – We give our dog food-grade bone meal, organic kelpParamount Pet Health Fish OilParamount Pet Health Multivitamin, and Paramount Pet Health Hip & Joint. (The Parament Pet Health Supplements provide fat-soluble vitamins that are easy to digest and absorb. If your pet is young, the joint supplement might not be necessary, but if they are a breed prone to hip and joint issues, it could be worth looking into.)
  • Eggs and Egg Shells – Eggs are such an amazing source of nutrients for dogs (and people!), and organic egg shells are an excellent source of calcium for dogs. If you have your own chickens, be sure to wash the eggs before feeding them to your dogs and make sure that they can’t get to your nesting boxes if you start feeding them eggs – they might start wanting to help themselves to a tasty treat 😉
  • Spirulina – Spirulina is seen as a “nutritional powerhouse” and is an antioxidant that can help with digestion. Check with your vet if your dog takes any medications as it can interact with some medicines.

Dogs are just like people in that there’s no “one size fits all” solution when it comes to nutrition – this is called bio-individuality. All dogs are omnivores, where they thrive eating both animals and plants – as opposed to cats who are strict carnivores – but the types of animals and plants that they thrive on will vary from dog to dog.

Some dogs are allergic to chicken, some are allergic to salmon. Some can only eat venison. Find what works for your dog and they will thrive! Just like people – I can end up in the hospital if I eat poblano peppers and I have good friends who can die from eating peanuts. Bodies are wild.

🥣 How to Make It

Here’s how to make homemade dog food on the stove. (To make homemade dog food in your Instant Pot, you can check out my recipe for Homemade Dog Food in an Instant Pot. )

First, heat up a medium or large-sized pot on the stove and cook your ground meat. (Pictures 1 – 3) Drain off any fat and once cooled, discard it. (Picture 4)

Next, add your drained meat back to your pot and add your coconut oil and frozen vegetables. (I add a bag or two, aiming for 20-24 ounces, of frozen vegetables. If using a 12-ounce bag, use two. If using a 16-ounce bag, use one and a half.) (Picture 5) Stir to combine and let the coconut oil melt.

A process collage of images for making homemade dog food, steps 1 - 5.

Mix well (Picture 6) then add your bone broth and oats. (Picture 7)

Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer until most of the liquid cooks off and the oats soften. (Picture 8)

A process collage of images for making homemade dog food, steps 8 - 9.

Remove your pot from heat and let your dog food cool before serving or storing. You can divide the food into portions depending on your needs –  I usually split it in half and freeze one batch. I use a measuring cup when I serve the food, so I don’t take the time to split it into individual portions.

Two glass containers of homemade dog food on a marble background with three dog toys.

📖 Options

🥕 What Kinds of Vegetables Should You Use?

I like the mixed vegetable mix from either Walmart or Aldi that is peas or green beans, carrots, and corn. (Do not use anything with onions!) The last mix I bought had lima beans as well. You can also use a bag of just carrots mixed with a bag of cut green beans. (You know your dog so feed them what they like – this is such an easy recipe to use what you can get in the store/what is available!)

A bag of frozen mixed vegetables for making dog food.

🍓 Can You Add Fruit?

Absolutely! Fruit has a lot of nutrients that are great for dogs. Just don’t go overboard with it. We often use what is in season or what we have in the freezer. We like to use some kind of berries – strawberries or blueberries are best. Do NOT use grapes as they are very bad for dogs. You can add fruit before or after cooking, just beware that if you cook with blueberries, your dog food will turn purple 😉

🌾 What Grains Can You Use?

The easiest grains to use in your homemade dog food are oats and leftover cooked rice. (Brown or white both work – obviously don’t use leftover takeout fried rice with onions!) If your dog has an allergy to grains, you can substitute diced sweet potatoes.

🥘 What Else Can You Add?

We like to add little bits of leftovers from all kinds of things: cooked duck(we don’t like to use this as the main source of protein because it is a little fatty, greasy, and heavy), roast beef, pot roast, grilled chicken.. even pork. We also sometimes add eggs, beef broth, duck broth, or sometimes even some wild game (she loves venison backstrap and some of those tough cuts that we don’t love!)

We supplement her diet with raw shank bones (frozen with marrow still in them) and raw pig’s feet. She loves them in all their disgusting, sloppiness.

🍲 Serving Size

The most important thing is to be sure and discuss serving sizes and ingredients with your vet before switching your dog to a new diet.

Here’s our personal experience: I give Melly 1 heaping cup of the food two times a day (with a small scoop of homemade yogurt on top) and she averages her weight somewhere between 40 and 45 pounds. She absolutely loves it! (In dry kibble, she eats 1 cup two times a day as well so you can start with the same amount and see if you need to increase or decrease it after a few days.)

If Melly has had an extremely active day, running around like the border collie she is and chasing squirrels up trees or patrolling the fence, I will give her a little extra at dinner. Our vet likes that we rotate different meats, veggies, and fruits – it gives her a variety of nutrients like a dog would find in the wild.

✏️ Helpful Tips

  • Make sure that you don’t abruptly change your dog’s food – mix with their regular food or kibble for a few days until they are used to the new food. Your dog’s belly will thank you. And again, remember to always discuss with your vet before feeding your pet something new. (If your dog is coming off of already having some digestive issues, I would try using rice before oats as the grain source.)
  • Top your dog food with a scoop of homemade or plain greek yogurt. It helps them get some good probiotics that aid in digestion.
  • Rotate different meats, fruits, and vegetables to make sure your dog gets different nutrients. If your dog has a sensitive stomach, you might be best sticking to one combination that you know works 🙂

How to Transition to Homemade Dog Food

If your dog has spent their entire life eating kibble, make this transition slowly as they could end up with diarrhea. For dogs that eat a lot of table scraps, you could get away with replacing about ¼ of their food with this food for 3 – 4 days, then switch to half and half for 3 – 4 days, then ¾ new food + ¼ old food for 3 – 4 days, then 100% new food! 

If your dog is really sensitive, I would do a week to two weeks at each stage. Melly has no problem with these transitions because I constantly add weird new things to her homemade food, but if your dog has eaten the same kibble their entire life, you should go slowly.

🍳 Serving Suggestions & Uses

I serve Melly’s food both hot or cold – she’s not very picky. I often top it with 1/4 cup of plain yogurt (with no sweeteners added) when serving. Yogurt is not necessary but provides probiotics and helps with healthy digestion. I like to make plain Greek yogurt in my Instant Pot.

Have You Tried This Recipe?

Please rate it and leave a comment below. I would love to hear what you think!

Two glass containers of homemade dog food on a marble background with three dog toys.

Easy Homemade Dog Food on the Stove

4.95 from 17 votes
Homemade dog food is such an easy way to spoil your dog and feel great about doing it. All you need is a stove and a large pot to make a yummy and healthy meal for your dog.
Author: Kari
Servings: 14 1 cup servings
Cook: 25 minutes
Total: 25 minutes

Ingredients 
 

  • 2 – 3 lbs ground beef or: ground chicken, turkey, or fresh fish – shredded chicken breasts work well too.
  • 24 ounces frozen vegetables peas, green beans, carrot, and corn
  • 1 cup frozen fruit I like to use blueberries and strawberries. (Optional)
  • 1 – 2 cups leftover cooked rice or oats
  • 1.5 cups bone broth
  • 2 – 3 tbsp coconut oil refined or unrefined – whatever you have

Topping

  • ¼ cup plain yogurt optional for serving

Instructions 

  • Cook 2 1/2 to 3 pounds of your choice of ground meat in a large pot on the stove.
  • Drain off the cooking grease and discard once cooled. Return the cooked meat to your pot.
  • First, add your frozen vegetables, fruit, and coconut oil.
  • Once the coconut oil melts, add bone broth and oats.
  • Mix well to combine everything.
  • Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 10 – 15 minutes until the broth is absorbed and the oats are soft.
  • Remove your dog food from the heat and let the mixture cool. Divide into two portions – one for the next few days and one to freeze. (You can also portion the food into single servings if you feel so motivated.)

Notes

To supplement calcium in this food, I will also add bone meal or broccoli stalks as the vegetable portion. You can save them in the freezer and use them as needed. You can also add a tin of sardines packed in water. Fair warning, both broccoli stalks and sardines make this food smell… kind of like a fart.
This recipe is really flexible. You can use ground beef, turkey, fresh fish, or chicken. You can use shredded chicken breast as well. The only thing I would not recommend is canned fish, as it can be very fatty and too much can lead to pancreatitis.
I switch between oats and rice and vary the vegetables and fruits based on what we have and what is in season. Melly is a former street mutt and will eat almost anything, especially if you cook it all together, so we give her all kinds of fun veggies!

Special Equipment Needeed

Nutrition

Serving: 1cupCalories: 542kcalCarbohydrates: 18gProtein: 31gFat: 38gSaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 116mgSodium: 143mgPotassium: 565mgFiber: 2gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 2477IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 51mgIron: 4mg

Nutrition information is approximate and is automatically calculated, so should only be used as a guide.

Course: Pet Food
Cuisine: Dog Food
Keyword: dogfood, dogs, homemade dog food, petfood
Did you make this recipe?Mention @southernbytes or tag #southernbytes!

Filed Under: ,

Hi, I'm Kari!

I am a newlywed, food blogger, health coach, and mama to a hot mess of a border collie. I love to put a new spin on old family recipes and I try to make as many meals as possible with an Instant Pot.

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4.95 from 17 votes (12 ratings without comment)

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Comments

  1. Brandy says:

    Instead of using bone broth I wonder if you can use collagen instead? Just wondering.

    1. Kari says:

      You absolutely could. I would dissolve it in water first (if you are using the powder kind) and mix it in. I’ve had issues with clumps of collagen when I just dump it into things.

  2. Josette K. says:

    This is a great recipe. Thank you for the share.

  3. Cathy says:

    This is the best recipe. My 2 dogs inhale it. Before when I gave them a good brand of kibble, they would eat a little and walk away. I knew I had to make a change. Now I know how much they are eating and getting healthy food, and I love getting creative with it. They are so excited when it’s time to eat, which makes me as happy as they are! Thank you Kari!

    1. Kari says:

      This is so wonderful to hear! I hope your dogs continue to thrive 🙂

  4. Jamie says:

    5 stars
    Hi Kari! It was my dog’s 4th birthday this past week and we celebrated by making her a fancy layered dinner using your recipe. We added in a bit of mashed potato and chunks of steak and she loved it! I wish I could show you a photo of it. Thanks for the recipe!

    1. Kari says:

      Hey Jamie! Can you share it with me at kari@southern-bytes.com? I’m building a widget to share reader photos (it is just a lot more complicated than I thought it was going to be so it isn’t done yet 😉 ) I’m so glad your dog liked it!!

  5. ANAXILISSE DOLEO says:

    I really love this recipe! I will start preparing for my puppy; I did noticed that on the other recipe with the instant pot you added pumpkin; can it be added to the stove top recipe as well?

    1. Kari says:

      Yes! You absolutely can – you can either add a scoop when you serve it or just mix it right in.

      1. Anaxilisse D’Oleo says:

        5 stars
        Thank you! I prepared bone broth at home and today prepared your recipe…my dog loooooved it! I definitely like this better to canned wet food; I am using your recipe to mix with kibble instead of commercial canned food…thank you for sharing!!!

        1. Kari says:

          So glad your dog likes it – mine inhales it! 🙂

          1. Anna says:

            Do you add salt?

            1. Kari says:

              I don’t – the dogs will eat it without out and there isn’t really any nutritional benefit to the dog.

        2. Mollie says:

          Can I use chicken broth instead of bone broth?

          1. Kari says:

            Yes! Chicken or beef is fine!

          2. S Grant says:

            There is a difference between plain meat broth and bone broth. Bone broth contains the nutrients from the bone themselves such a lot of soluble calcium, and the nutrition from the bone marrow. Bone broth is much more nutritious than plain meat broth

            1. Kari says:

              Yes! Bone broth has more nutrients than regular beef or chicken broth – I like to include multiple options as some people can’t afford premade bone broth or don’t have the time or resources to make it. (I know it is easy to make – we make it often – but not everyone has that option!)

  6. Denise Herman says:

    My dog is epileptic and I have been researching making my own homemade dog food, do you know of any good recipes that would apply for epileptic dogs, I believe everything in here is ok for them with the exception of the rice, oats and yogurt.

    1. Kari says:

      Hey Denise, I haven’t done a ton of research into this but from what I have seen, it looks like epileptic dogs do well on high-protein/high-fat diets – much like humans with epilepsy would choose a keto diet. I would definitely leave out the grains and yogurt and maybe even change up the vegetables to just do leafy greens, broccoli or cauliflower, and green beans if your dog likes them. Maybe add high-quality eggs as well to add some extra DHA for healthy brain development 🙂 This article has some more information that might help! Good luck!

  7. Amber says:

    My husband has had his border collie since the late 90’s and he went 5 days without touching his normal food. We thought he was going to die. So i decided to try this recipe hoping he would like it. Well he gobbled it up and now acts like he’s 10 years younger again. “Buddie” loves this!

    1. Kari says:

      I love to hear that <3 I am so happy to hear that. I hope you have a lot more time with sweet Buddie! I have a soft spot for border collies <3

  8. AshleigH says:

    5 stars
    I cant thank you enough for sharing this recIpe! My parents standard poodle is 13 years old and she wOuldnt eat anything –
    We tried every food and as a Last resOrt, i thought i would try making homemade food. The situation Was getting so dire, we thought we may have to put her down because she refused to eat…

    Your dog food recipe quite literally saved her life. She has been eating it now for 2 weeks and enjoys every serving. Thank you a million times For sharing this recipe, i will always always always feel so grateful to you and this recipe.

    1. Kari says:

      Oh my gosh, you have no idea how happy comments like this make me. I hope your parents have a lot more time with their pup <3

  9. Janice S says:

    I first made this for my senior eskimo when he developed problems with his tummy and vomited FREQUENTLY. At that time he had gone 4 days without eating. He instantly dove face first into his bowl and devoured it like a puppy. I assumed He was just really hungry. Over the next several days each mealtime was met with the same gusto.
    I also noticed changes in his energy, alertness and enthusiasm for our day to day adventures. I wish i had done this 15 years ago. He is so much happier and alert. Your recipe was so simple and easy to follow. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

    1. Kari says:

      This just made me tear up! I am so happy to hear that it is working out for you guys <3

    2. Amy Bates says:

      Can I purée the food once it’s cooked to make the prices smaller for my dog? He’s a frenchie. Thanks so much. I’m making it as I write!

      1. Kari says:

        Absolutely! I bet he will love it! Frenchies are so cute 🥰

  10. Carmen says:

    Aren’t there SUPPLEMENTS I need to add to this homemade dog food?

    1. Kari says:

      Hey Carmen, I don’t add any supplements to the food but I do give my dog fish oil, a glucosamine supplement, and she gets collagen and bone marrow. So she gets her supplements in other ways 🙂 Her vet seemed happy with that. I would check with your vet as to what they recommend for your dog based on their size/age/activity level!