Homemade dog food recipes, including plant-based dog food recipes, are becoming popular amongst dog owners. A dog’s diet is important for their overall health, well-being, and longevity. If you take a look at most commercial dog food, you may notice that you can’t even pronounce some of the ingredients. Dog parents often seek out food alternatives so that they can be sure that their furry family members are getting the best food possible. Homemade dog food, like our vegan dog food recipe below, gives dog parents the ability to customize ingredients and cater to their dog’s dietary and nutritional needs.
In this article, we’ll also talk about the health benefits of each ingredient so that you can feel good about feeding this to your pup.
Vegan Dog Food Recipe
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Yields: 5 cups
Servings: 10
Recipe Ingredients:
- 1 cup red lentils
- 1 cup rolled oats
- ¼ tsp chlorella powder (optional)
- 1 cup frozen broccoli florets
- 1 cup frozen peas and carrots
Cooking Utensils Needed:
- Large spoon
- Large mixing bowl
- 2 Stainless steel pots with lids
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoon
Vegan Dog Food Recipe Instructions:
- Measure 1 cup of dry rolled oats and cook it in a large stainless-steel pot as directed on the package of oats. Set aside to cool.
- Measure 1 cup of dry red lentils and cook it in a large stainless-steel pot as directed on the package.
- Once the lentils are done, add 1 cup of frozen broccoli florets and 1 cup of frozen peas and carrots. Stir well and put the burner on low so the frozen veggies can defrost. This should just take a few minutes. After they are defrosted, remove the pot from the burner and set it aside.
- Add the cooked oats to a large mixing bowl.
- Add the lentils and vegetables to the oats. Mix well until combined.
- If adding chlorella powder, measure 1⁄4 teaspoon and add it to the mixing bowl to give this vegan dog food recipe an extra boost of nutrition. Lightly stir the mixture until well combined.
Be sure to let your pup taste test the finished product!
You can store the food in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 5 days. You can also freeze this food in smaller portions, in a Ziplock bag or other airtight container.
This plant-based, vegan dog food recipe makes 5 cups of cooked food.
Recipe Notes:
- Chlorella powder is optional but adds nutrition and minerals to your dog’s diet. We will explain more below.
- Depending on your dog’s weight, you can feed ¼ – ½ cups 2x a day.
- If you have a larger dog and want to make a larger batch, you can double or even triple the recipe.
Vegan Dog Food Recipe Ingredient Benefits:
Lentils
Protein is a crucial element in a dog’s daily diet. Lentils can help provide some of that needed protein. Lentils can also provide your dog with necessary nutrients including B-vitamins, zinc, iron, carotenoids, phosphorus, and calcium.
For this vegan dog food recipe, we chose to use red lentils. There are different varieties of lentils to choose from and they all have health benefits.
Red lentils are naturally softer and don’t need to be soaked prior to cooking. Their soft texture makes them easy to chew and digest. Red lentils can be a great source of protein for dogs with dental issues or missing teeth.
Chlorella
Chlorella is an optional ingredient in this plant-based dog food recipe, but adding it will provide your dog with extra nutrition and positive health benefits.
Derived from microalgae, chlorella powder is a beautiful dark green color. Supplementing with chlorella will benefit your dog because it is high in Vitamin C, beta-carotene, all nine essential amino acids (protein), and beneficial minerals.
Benefits of chlorella for dogs:
- Anti-inflammatory
- Balances blood sugar levels
- Boosts digestion
- Nutrient rich
- Naturally detoxifying
- Boosts immune system
Vegetables
Vegetables are an important part of this plant-based dog food recipe because they provide your dog with essential nutrition and even some protein.
For this recipe, we chose vegetables that are not only nutritious but are also easy for most dogs to digest. If your dog has food allergies or other dietary needs, you can substitute for other vegetables as needed.
Now let’s talk about the health benefits of the vegetables that we chose for this recipe.
Peas have protein, minerals, vitamins, dietary fiber, plus they are low in fat and low in calories.
Carrots have antioxidants including beta carotene. Antioxidants help to protect your dog from oxidative stress and they boost the immune system. Orange carrots are the most common variety of carrots, but there are also different colored carrots including yellow, red, and purple carrots. Because of their pigments, they have different types of antioxidants in them.
If you want to add a pop of color and additional nutrition to this recipe, you can steam rainbow carrots and add them in.
Just like humans, dogs need adequate sources of vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, and protein in their diet. Broccoli is a great source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, dietary fiber, and potassium.
Other vegetables that are safe and healthy for dogs include winter squash, sweet potato, zucchini, summer squash, green beans, kale, beets, Swiss chard, and more.
Other things you could add to this vegan dog food recipe:
- High-quality protein (quinoa, barley, chickpeas)
- Fat (healthy oil like coconut oil)
- Carbohydrates (grains, lentils and/or vegetables)
- Calcium (kale, spinach, green beans, or a supplement)
- Essential fatty acids (flaxseed oil, hemp seed oil, or a supplement)
In our experience
When creating your own plant-based dog food recipes, just be sure that each ingredient you are using is safe for dogs to consume. It’s important for dogs to have balanced nutrition and variety in their diet.
If you are switching your dog to a home cooked diet, be sure to gradually transition your dog off of their current food to avoid digestive upset. You can go slow, adding a bit more of the new food each time so that your dog’s digestive system can acclimate to the dietary change.
We hope your dog loves this vegan dog food recipe. Keep checking back for more healthy recipes.
