Healthy InstantPot Dog Food Recipe
Healthy InstantPot Dog Food Recipe
I am a lucky girl. My mom bought me an InstantPot for my birthday, and I love it. One thing I really wanted to do with it was create healthy dog food. I googled all over for a healthy InstantPot dog food recipe, but couldn’t find anything. There is one dog food recipe on the InstantPot site, but it’s not very healthy. At the same time I was doing all this searching, my friend Jodi from Heart Like a Dog sent me a pet food recipe book that was created by a holistic veterinarian. The book explains the best ingredients, proper ratio of meat and carbs, and everything else you need to know about pet nutrition.
Knowing that I would need a pretty simple recipe if I was actually going to cook it, I took all the knowledge I had learned, and came up with this recipe. I don’t like cooking, and barely cook for us, but this is really easy.
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Ok lets get to the recipe.
Vegetables. I peeled and chopped up one sweet potato that was about 6 inches long. I ended up with 2 cups. 2 whole carrots that were around 7 inches long when chopped gave me 1 1/2 cups. I then shredded some spinach until my one cup measuring cup was full. You could also use peas.
Throw that in the InstantPot.
Added 1 cup of brown rice. Brown rice is important because it still has all the good fiber that white rice does not. And dogs need fiber to stay healthy.
Put the rice in the pot, then add 2 1/2 cups water.
Take two fresh chicken thighs and lay them on top. I left the skin on while it cooked for added fat and moisture.
The pet cook book mentioned that dogs need calcium. This can either be given in a supplement, or finely ground egg shells. Grinding my own egg shells in my Mr. Coffee grinder seemed way easier, and cheaper to me. Note…I have never ground coffee in my coffee grinder, only flax seed. Caffeine is not good for dogs, so be sure your grinder is clean of any coffee grounds.
I added 1/2 teaspoon of the ground shells.
Hit the manual button on your InstantPot and set it for 23 minutes. When done, turn it off and let it natural release.
Everything was cooked to perfection.
I took the skin off the chicken, and the chicken off the bones. I shredded this all really fine with my fingers. Roxy tends to be a gulper, so I made sure that everything was well mashed, and small. While the mixture was warm, I added coconut oil.
The dogs knew I was making something for them, they supervised the whole time.
Verdict, it’s delicious.
The total calorie count for this recipe is 1271, that does not include the coconut oil. 1 TBLS of coconut oil adds 117 calories.
The recipe makes about 4 1/2 cups total. I had to break it down so I knew how much each dog would get based on their calorie needs. 1 cup of food is 282 calories. But I added coconut oil bringing the per cup calorie total to 308. Roxy gets 1/2 plus 1/8 cup per day, and Torrey gets 1 3/4 cups. I just divided any remainder between all the servings. This batch of food will feed them for two days.
Use these calculations from PetMD to determine what to feed your dog.
Healthy InstantPot Dog Food Recipe
2 whole chicken thighs
1 cup brown rice
1 – 6 inch sweet potato peeled and chopped
2 – 7 inch carrots chopped unpeeled
1 cup shredded spinach, or peas (check with your vet before giving your dog spinach)
2 1/2 cups water
1/2 tsp finely ground egg shell, or calcium supplement
Coconut oil if you choose
Throw all the ingredients except coconut oil in the InstantPot. Cook on manual for 23 minutes, turn off and let natural release. Take chicken off bone, shred, and stir all ingredients well. Add coconut oil if desired while the mixture is warm.
That’s it, easy. Will I cook this every two days for them? Probably, it depends. When we are in one place for a little while then yes. Obviously travel days it’s impossible to cook for us, never mind the dogs. Am I excited to give them healthy natural food, you bet! Am I all about saving money, ya that too.
This recipe could easily be doubled, even tripled, but I don’t have space in my freezer for anything other than people food.
And it goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway…when feeding your dog new food, take it slow. Mix part of the old with the new to avoid any upset tummy issues. And don’t be alarmed, the sweet potatoes and carrots make a nice orange poop. Easy to find in the lawn actually.
Be sure to save and share this recipe with all your dog loving friends.
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that’s a super tatsy recipe… sadly the mama is not allowed to use apressure cooker again after a food-plosion in our kitchen (after putting the base of the pot in cold water) :o)
Uh Oh….This electric pressure cooker is different though.
The girls look happy and healthy, Mary! It’s nice to know what is exactly in the food we eat AND in what our beloved ones eat. Great invention and recipe! They look like they love it! Have a creative and inspiring day!
Yum in their tum!!
That’s such a healthy recipe, I’m glad to hear a holistic vet put that book out (you KNOW we’re all about natural, organic and holistic here!). I’m sure the pups were VERY appreciative!
They love it. And It’s so easy, how can I not do it for them.
Wow, what a great recipe. What size Insta-Pot is that, 5 or 6 quart? Do you use it often for cooking your meals while on the road? How does higher altitudes effect cooking with a pressure cooker? Your post has my brain going a mile a minute. I have a 1,000 watt inverter in my trailer now. Dying to hook up the solar and test this pot out. My two Huskies can’t wait either!
Mine is the 6 quart Duo. I haven’t had it very long, only a few weeks. I plan on using it way more in the future as I have some pots coming from Amazon today. It makes the best hard boiled eggs, corn on the cob, rice, quinoa, and dog food. We have a 2000 watt inverter with 2 panels. I have tested power usage and this is what I know. When it comes to pressure, it uses about 100 watts. Once it reaches pressure, it uses almost nothing. If you start with boiling water, the time to come to pressure is less. I love that it doesn’t heat up my house, and is fast. I haven’t worried about altitude, we are currently at 5300, but when we head to Wyoming at 6200, that may change. There is a chart out there telling you how to adjust time. Your huskies would no doubt love this food.
Homemade dog food, that is awesome. I am sure your dogs are loving their homemade doggie food. Happy Monday, enjoy your new week!
I am not a dog owner myself, but this looks like a great way to make dog food. :-)
Do I’m guessing I could triple this and put it in my crock pot overnight? It wouldn’t heat the house and it looks super simple. Thanks!
Thanks for the shout out Mary! I’m glad you were able to learn enough to make your own dog food recipe! I’m interested in the Instapot. I see that it’s a pressure cooker, but can you actually put canning jars in it and process food for canning?
No you cannot do canning in a regular pressure cooker. You need a pressure canner to do that. from Mary’s mom.
Thanks mom!
Wow! Okay, now I want an InstaPot — and Beaumont is a finicky eater — so few foods he likes — I will have to try this recipe on him!
Thanks Mary for the inspiration
It sure looks good enough to eat! My mom isn’t quite ready to start cooking for us yet, but we can see it happening in the future. Pretty cool instant pot too. Never heard of one before. Reminds us of a crockpot at high speed.
WOW! This sounds great for the dogs, Mary!! Copper has a sensitive tummy…special food since he was a “young un”…LOL! However, I do make a gravy for them…:)
Thanks! Whats the name of tge let food recipe book? I woukd love to read it.
The book is called Dinner Pawsible.
I’ve been making some homemade dog food, but I love this recipe and the idea of the Instant Pot which I had never heard of before. I’ve got my hubby looking at them on amazon right now, and I’m pinning this recipe!
I love making the homemade food for the dogs, but when I do everything separately it takes more time and makes a ton of dirty dishes. So I’m not doing it as often as I’d like. Thanks for sharing this!
I’m not sure if I could make this and keep the humans away from it. :)
My dogs want to come over for dinner! I’m going to have to look into an InstantPot though more for me than the dogs. It looks like a great quick way to make a healthy meal rather than depend on freezer food like I do.
Thanks for joining the Pet Blogger Showcase!
I pinned this recipe immediately! First off this looks delicious and I was drooling while reading how to make it and the ingredients you recommend. The super foods look great and I haven’t used a Slow Cooker or InstantPot and I’m pretty sure I’ll be purchasing one this summer… great recipe and post.
Hi Mary! I have a regular pressure cooker- two of them in fact – that I use to make meals for us. One of them was my mom’s which she got as a wedding gift in – are you ready? – 1946! I use it more than I do the new one! I’ve never heard of the InstaPot though.
I used to make food for my fur kids, but with two Goldens and a Corgi/Lab mix, it got to be too expensive. Plus, their tummies are all super-sensitive to any changes in their diet. Now that Callie has her angel wings, it probably wouldn’t be as expensive, but I would still worry about the effect on the tummies. And I’d probably have too many leftovers to use up before they became freezer burned.