healthy homemade dog food recipes grain free
9 Homemade Grain-Free Dog Food Recipes Every Dog Will Love
Have you ever wanted to cook homemade treats for your dog but had no idea how to do so? If this is you, youre in the right place. Making homemade treats for your dog is an excellent way in controlling what exact ingredients your dog is eating, and its also an excellent way to save money. In this post, well list 9 grain-free recipes you can make at home that your dog will surely love.
Grain-free diets are not for every dogthey are only needed if your dog has a grain allergy. Also, the recipes listed below are not meant to substitute your dogs regular diet; they are intended for treats only.
Note:
The FDA conducted a study regarding any correlation between grain-free dog foods and the risk of canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) due to peas, lentils, legumes, and/or potatoes.
As of December 2022, the FDA announced they do not intend to release public updates until there is meaningful new scientific information to share. That said, we recommend consulting your veterinarian before feeding your dog a grain-free diet.1
Without further ado, here is a list of grain-free recipes that are easy to make.
The 9 Homemade Grain-Free Dog Food Recipes
1. Our Favorite Homemade Grain-Free Dog Food Recipe
Chicken and Apple Grain-Free Dog Food Recipe
I developed this homemade grain-free dog food because my dog is getting older and his health has become more of a priority. I worry about how many nutrients kibble may lose through the cooking process. This food includes all of the vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids that my dog needs. It took me a bit of research to figure out what foods to use and in what proportions. The protein ingredients include liver and poultry (dark meat poultry is best), sunflower oil for linoleic acid, and 10 other essential amino acids that dogs need in their diet.
Prep Time 25 minutes mins
Cook Time 25 minutes mins
Total Time 50 minutes mins
Course Main Course
Cuisine Dogs
Servings 10 cups
Calories 291 kcal
1 oven
1 Cooking pot
2 Bowl
1 Baking sheet
1 Grinder
1 skillet
1 Potato masher
- 4 medium carrots peeled and chopped
- 2 apples - peeled cored, and chopped (make sure seeds are removed)
- cup water
- 6 eggs
- 3 pounds ground chicken
- 6 ounces chicken livers chopped
- 3 tablespoons sunflower seed oil
- 4 cups baby spinach leaves
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Place carrots, apples, and water into a pot. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until soft, 10 to 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, crack eggs into a bowl and set aside. Place eggshells onto a baking sheet.
Bake eggshells in the preheated oven until dry, 5 to 7 minutes.
Remove eggshells from the oven and pulverize using a mortar and pestle or a coffee grinder.
Combine ground chicken, chicken livers, reserved eggs, ground eggshells, and sunflower oil in a large skillet. Heat over medium heat, mixing occasionally, until chicken is browned and crumbly and livers are no longer pink, 5 to 7 minutes.
Place spinach on top of meat mixture, then cover with a lid and steam until soft, about 5 minutes.
Mash softened carrots and apples in a bowl with a potato masher and add to meat mixture. Mix until well combined.
Calories: 291kcalCarbohydrates: 7gProtein: 37gFat: 12g
Keyword Homemade grain-free dog food with chicken and apple
2. Grain-Free Turkey Dog Food Recipe by Pawsome Recipes
This recipe is nutritious and easy to make. It contains all-natural ingredients and is low-carb, which is beneficial to doggies with diabetes. Low-carb diets help regulate blood sugar levels and may even aid with weight loss.
This is a turkey-based dish that provides excellent protein while providing essential vitamins and minerals. You can prepare this dish in 35 minutes, and its super easy to make. It calls for quite a bit of ingredients, but all the ingredients are beneficial to your dogs health. You can access the recipe here.
3. Venison Grain-Free Dog Food Recipe by Azestfor
For doggies that love the taste of venison, this recipe is sure to be a hit. Prep time is only 10 minutes, and cook time is only 30 minutes, so you wont be cooking away in the kitchen all day to make this delicious meal. You only need 7 ounces of venison, potatoes, kale, sunflower oil, and added vitamins.1 This recipe is excellent for dogs needing a low-fat diet.
4. Grain-Free Homemade Dog Recipe Chicken or Turkey by Pawsome Recipes
This homemade recipe gives you the option of chicken or turkey, whichever your doggie prefers. It holds a nutritional balance of easy-to-find ingredients consisting of carrots, sweet potato, chicken or turkey, spinach, lentils, and water. Its low-fat, grain-free, and can be made in 30 minutes. This recipe includes healthy protein, fats, carbs, fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
5. Slow Cooker Grain Free Chicken Recipe by Top Dog Tips
For those who love to use a slow cooker for convenience, youll love making this dish for your doggie. All you need is chicken, sweet potato, apple, carrots, kidney beans, frozen peas, and olive oil. This meal is ready in 8 hours; just add it all in, program your slow cooker, and youre set!
6. Grain-Free Beef Stew by Life at Clover Hill
This grain-free beef stew recipe only involves a few ingredients: beef, potato or sweet potato, carrot, and frozen peas. You can substitute beef for chicken or turkey if your doggie prefers. This recipe is cheap to make and will last in your fridge for 56 days.
7. Beef and Salmon Dog Food Recipe by The Canine Health Nut
To prepare this dish, you will need to add BalanceIT, a canine supplement that includes necessary riboflavin, copper, calcium, iodine, and manganese to make it complete and balanced; however, you may omit this ingredient for serving only as a treat.
This recipe is also high in protein and fat, so keep this in mind if your dog requires a low-protein, low-fat diet. Otherwise, if you have a high-energy doggie, this dish will be a hit with lean ground beef, salmon, pumpkin puree, carrots, broccoli, and walnut oil.
8. Turkey Vegetable Mash by SkinnyMS
This turkey and veggie recipe is made with 100% human-grade ingredients and no added fillers. It only takes 20 minutes total to make and calls for only a few healthy ingredients, such as lean ground turkey, chicken, carrots, green beans, cauliflower, and olive oil.
9. Organic Stew for Dogs Recipe by Happy and Yummy
This is another slow cooker recipe your doggie will love. This recipe includes chicken, sweet potato, and 2 pounds of mixed veggies you can buy in a bag. It does call for brown rice, but in order to make it grain-free, you can substitute brown rice for cauliflower. You can cook for 5 hours on high or 8 hours on low, whichever works best for you.
Conclusion
These recipes are all super easy to make and only call for a few ingredients. We highly recommend consulting your veterinarian before feeding any of these recipes to ensure its safe for your dog, as all dogs have specific nutrient requirements, especially those with health issues. If you get the go-ahead from your vet, get cooking!
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Featured Image Credit: Pixel-Shot, Shutterstock
17 Homemade Grain-Free Dog Treat Recipes
Looking to spoil your dog in the healthiest way possible? We got you covered. My biggest problem with store bought treats are: #1 I dont know if I can trust them, and #2 The good ones are so expensive!
So that brings us here these are 16 easy-to-make treats that only take a few minutes, and have no more than 5 or 6 ingredients.
And not to mention homemade treats are much easier on the wallet. Your dog will go nuts for these recipes, and are ideal for training or spoiling as theyre healthy, grain-free, and guilt free.
If youre really looking to spoil your dog, maybe check out our best pupcake recipes.
Made from just 5 wholesome ingredients, such as sweet potato and coconut flour, the healthy maven has created some very cute little doggie treats that I think your fur-baby will appreciate. The best part being thats easy to make, affordable, and you can make a big batch so you can keep spoiling your dog!
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups almond meal
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 2 tsp poultry seasoning
- 1 cup sweet potato, cooked and mashed (about 1 large)
- 1/41/2 cup water (or other dog-safe liquid)
- Bone-shaped cookie cutters, if desired
- Coconut oil, for greasing pan
See The Full Recipe Here
You cant go wrong with salmon. Its protein rich and full of healthy omega fatty acids. Along with the added benefits of coconut oil, pumpkin, and eggs youre getting a one-two punch of the super healthy stuff for maximum energy.
Ingredients:
- 1 cups coconut flour
- 1 cup canned wild caught salmon, drained*
- cup coconut oil, melted, but not hot
- cup pumpkin puree (you can also use pureed sweet potato or squash)
- 4 pasture raised eggs
See The Full Recipe Here
Growing up Popsicles were my absolute favorite summer treat, I feel like my dogs need to share my childhood experience (because why not?)
Well They have just the thing. Randi over at Dukes & Duchesses has created a carrot and beef broth popsicle, maybe not exactly the treats from your own childhood (I hope), but your dog will certainly appreciate it. And with only two ingredients and a little bit of freezer time, theyre a perfect quick summer treat.
See The Full Recipe Here
If youve followed along the coconut craze as of lately, then I have no doubt you want to share all the health benefits with your dog. And why not? Coconut oil has amazing benefits for both humans and canines, so might as well make them into some cute little treats. As a side note, these make your house smell absolutely amazing.
Ingredients:
- 1 15-ounce can Meijer 100% Pure Pumpkin
- 1/2 cup True Goodness Creamy Just Peanuts Peanut Butter
- 1/2 cup True Goodness Pure Coconut Oil, melted
- 4 True Goodness Organic Cage-Free Eggs
- 1 teaspoon True Goodness Organic Turmeric
- 1 teaspoon True Goodness Organic Cinnamon
- 1 2/3 cups coconut flour
See The Full Recipe Here
Peanut butter is a pretty common (and tasty) dog treat, but the real secret ingredient here is chickpea flour. Chickpeas contain protein, magnesium, folate, potassium, fiber, vitamin A, vitamin B, and vitamin C.
Youll often find chickpeas in high-end dog food. So its a great addition for yummy treats.
Ingredients:
- 1 medium banana
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup chickpea flour
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
See The Full Recipe Here
These are similar to sweet potato bites, but with one key difference Peanut Butter! Which adds some extra essential fatty acids (along with some coconut oil) to the mix. These are fantastic little treats for keeping your dogs coat healthy and shiny.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 cup peanut butter or nut butter of choice, no added ingredients
- 4 organic eggs
- 1/2 cup coconut oil
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp sweet potato puree or pumpkin puree**
Optional add-ins
- 1/3 cup shredded carrots
- 2 tsp dried parsley
See The Full Recipe Here
Theres beauty in simplicity here. Using nothing but frozen coconut oil, blueberries, and almond butter you get these wonderful treats that are loaded with healthy fats and the antioxidants from blueberries. It left me wondering why I never thought of this before.
Ingredients:
- Coconut oil
- Almond butter
- Blueberries
See The Full Recipe Here
Simply use the freezer with a little natural peanut butter and coconut oil, and in minutes youll have wonderfully healthy treats that your dogs will love. But can we take a minute to appreciate how awesome these look? The real star of the show here is the silicon tray used to make these cookies! I need this in my life.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup all-natural peanut butter
- 1 cup pure, unprocessed coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
See The Full Recipe Here
Instead of biscuits or frozen treats, maybe your dog needs something a little more chewy? This is a simple as it gets, with just 1 ingredient Sweet Potato! Simple shave off some pieces and put them in the oven for about a few hours. These are a great healthy and budget friendly alternative to store bought chews.
Ingredients:
- 2 Sweet Potatoes (or Yams)
See The Full Recipe Here
Staying on the same page with jerky, why not banana jerky? Yeah, thats a thing. And dogs love it. I can attest to that as my dogs goes absolutely bananas over these (see what I did there?) Cut some bananas length-wise and lay them in the oven for few hours and youre done!
Ingredients:
- Bananas
- Optional: Lemon and Honey
See The Full Recipe Here
What better way to show your dog some love than through heart shaped healthy treats, filled with coconut oil and natural peanut butter. With all those healthy oils, your dog show you some love with their shiny coat.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup Golden Barrel Coconut Oil
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
See The Full Recipe Here
When the holidays are upon us its time to celebrate with your fur-babbies with ginger snaps. These are really easy and festive treats using a bit of almond flour, coconut flour, peanut butter, and a touch of ginger.
Ingredients:
- 2 Cups Almond Flour
- 1/2 Cup Coconut Flour
- 1/2 3/4 Cup Natural Peanut Butter
- 3 Tablespoons Ground Ginger
- 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
- 1/4 Cup Water
See The Full Recipe Here
Another baked biscuit, but with a small twist Black Beans. I thought with was a clever alternative to flour or grains in cookies, so I included it in this list. Not only that, but these homemade treats are very budget friendly, using only some beans, peanut butter, a banana, and an egg not bad!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup cooked black beans (rinsed and drained)
- 1/4 cup natural peanut butter
- 1/2 very ripe banana, mashed
- 1 egg, whipped
See The Full Recipe Here
This very happy Corgi is enjoying some simple banana, peanut butter, and bean flour cookies. Bean flour is a lot more budget-friendly alternative to coconut flour (which can be very expensive). Furthermore, Garbanzo flour has the highest protein level out of all the flours! Win-Win.
Ingredients:
- 1 medium banana, mashed
- 3 tablespoons creamy, natural peanut butter
- 1 large egg
- 1 3/4 cup garbanzo bean flour
See The Full Recipe Here
Maybe your dog likes soft chewy treats over crunchy? Sounds crazy but my dog is often very picky, and yes, texture can be the difference. The other huge advantage: you can tear these treats into small pieces to feed in smaller portions, perfect for training.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup sweet potato, mashed (approx. 1 small or 1/2 large)
- 2 eggs
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened apple sauce
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1 teaspoon raw honey (optional)
- 6 tablespoons coconut flour, sifted
- pinch unrefined salt
See The Full Recipe Here
Got a freezer and an ice cube tray? Then were in business! Take some peanut butter, pumpkin puree, and yogurt, and make some frozen fall treats for your dog. 15 Minutes and youre done. Now, a word of warning: these can get messy so make sure they dont chew them on the couch for dogs sake!
Ingredients:
- 1 can 100% pure pumpkin puree
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
See The Full Recipe Here
Feeling adventurous? This is certainly a more unique dog treat, using liver as its primary ingredient. That being said, liver has excellent nutritional value to dogs, being packed full of animal protein, fat, and vitamin A.
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. liver
- 1 egg
- 1 1/4 cup potato flakes
- beef or chicken broth
See The Full Recipe Here
Homemade Grain-Free Dog Food?
Go beyond just making treats and look at ways to prepare your dogs daily food with our list of homemade dog food recipes. Making your dogs food at home is not only easier on the wallet, but you have full control over the ingredients, which means no surprises! This is especially important for dogs with allergies and sensitivies.
