If you’ve ever wanted to make homemade dog food but weren’t sure where to start, we have a simple instant pot dog food recipe that will ease you into the basics of making homemade dog food. There are many different benefits to making your own dog food including the ability to customize the ingredients to fit your dog’s specific health needs. Some dogs have food allergies or certain health conditions that can require a special diet. We created a very nutritious crockpot dog food recipe that is tasty and the ingredients are full of nutrition for your pup. It’s simple to make and can also be frozen in individual portions so you can take it out and thaw it as needed.
Crockpot Dog Food Recipe: Turkey, Lentils & Veggies
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Yields: 4 cups
Servings: 8
Recipe Ingredients:
- 1 lb. ground turkey
- ½ cup red lentils
- ¾ cup bone broth + water to equal 1 ¼ cup of liquid
- 1 cup frozen broccoli florets
- 1 cup frozen carrots and peas
Recipe Tools Needed:
- Crockpot or Instant Pot
- Measuring cups
- Glass measuring cup
- Large spoon
Crockpot Dog Food Recipe Instructions:
- Prep your crockpot or instant pot.
- Add ¾ cup of bone broth to a glass measuring cup and then add water until you reach 1 ¼ cup of liquid.
- Add the one pound of ground turkey, ½ cup of dry red lentils, and 1 ¼ cup of liquid to your instant pot.
- Choose the manual pressure-cooking setting and adjust it to 10 minutes. Select high pressure and begin cooking.
- Once the timer is done, let it depressurize for 10 minutes.
- Remove the lid and use a large spoon to break the cooked turkey into smaller pieces if needed.
- Add 1 cup of broccoli florets and 1 cup of peas and carrots. Place the lid back on and use the keep warm function on the instant pot. Let it sit for about 10 minutes or until the frozen vegetables are defrosted.
- Remove the lid and use a spoon to stir everything together to make sure it’s well combined.
This crockpot dog food recipe makes 4 cups of cooked food.
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.
Recipe Notes:
- We chose ground turkey for this recipe because it’s high in protein and easily digestible. You can replace the turkey with another protein source if needed.
- Depending on your dog’s weight, you can feed ¼ – ½ cups 2x a day. Check with your vet on how much to feed your dog daily.
- If you have a larger dog and want to make a larger batch, you can double or even triple the recipe.
Homemade dog food is becoming more and more popular among dog lovers because it’s easy to make once you get the hang of it and it is so much healthier than commercial dog food.
Unfortunately, much of the commercial dog food on the market is overprocessed and filled with unhealthy additives and fillers. It can seem daunting at first to figure out how to make homemade dog food, but trying out recipes like our crockpot dog food recipe can help you see that it doesn’t have to be hard or overly time consuming.
Let’s talk about the ingredients we chose for this instant pot dog food recipe and their health benefits.
Info on Recipe Ingredients Used
Turkey
Ground turkey is a lean protein that’s easy on the digestive tract and a great alternative for dogs who are allergic to other proteins such as chicken or beef.
Turkey is filled with nutrients that your dog needs like iron, zinc, potassium, magnesium, B-vitamins, and more. Turkey is low in fat but still has omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids that your dog needs for joint, heart and brain health as well as healthy skin and coat. Turkey is also a good choice for dogs who need to maintain a healthy weight.
Lentils
We added lentils to this recipe since they are a good source of complex carbohydrates, fiber, and protein. Lentils are easy for most dogs to digest and add both flavor and nutrition to the recipe.
Benefits of lentils for dogs:
- High in protein
- Great source of fiber
- Low in fat
- Nutrient rich
Lentils provide your dog with numerous nutrients including B-vitamins, zinc, iron, carotenoids, phosphorus, and calcium.
For this crockpot dog food recipe, we chose to use red lentils. Red lentils do not need to be soaked prior to cooking. Once cooked, they have a soft texture which makes them easy to chew and digest.
Vegetables
Vegetables add even more nutrition to this crockpot dog food recipe. You can use a variety of vegetables as long as they are safe for dogs.
For this recipe, we chose to use broccoli, peas, and carrots. Broccoli is a great source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, dietary fiber, and potassium. Carrots are also a great option for dogs and provide them with a healthy dose of antioxidants and fiber. Peas have a lot of nutrients including minerals, vitamins, fibers, and are low calorie.
If your dog loves this crockpot dog food recipe and you make it often, you can add variety by using different vegetables like zucchini, beets, and sweet potato.
Homemade Dog Food Recipe Nutrient Profile
In some of our previous homemade dog food recipe articles, we have gone into detail about the essential nutrients needed to make a wholesome recipe. Here they are again so that you can reference them if you want to change the recipe.
When adding or removing any ingredients, just make sure that the essential nutrients your dog needs are included in the ingredients. You can also use a supplement if needed.
Essential Nutrients for a Homemade Dog Food Recipe:
- High-quality protein (meat, seafood, dairy, eggs)
- Fat (meat, fish, eggs, or a healthy oil)
- Carbohydrates (grains, lentils and/or vegetables)
- Calcium (bone broth, dairy, eggshell, or a supplement)
- Essential fatty acids (bone broth, egg yolks, oats)
You and your dog will take one sniff of this crockpot dog food recipe and fall in love. First and foremost, you’ll appreciate how easy it is to make! Keep checking back and stay tuned for our next tasty dog food recipe.
