Homemade dog food recipes — how to cook for your dog safely. Cooking for your dog can be a good way to control exactly what it eats, to avoid ingredients it cannot tolerate, and to make meals it enjoys. It can also go wrong, quietly and slowly: a home-made diet that is not complete and balanced can cause deficiencies that take months to show, and a recipe from the internet is not a guarantee of balance. This guide gives home-made dog food recipes as frameworks — example meals with rough proportions — and explains how to make them complete, how much to feed, and when to get a veterinary nutritionist to check the recipe. Every recipe in this guide is a starting point, not a finished diet, and the check is part of the recipe.
The rule for home-made dog food is simple: the recipe must be complete and balanced, and the amount must be measured. Complete and balanced means it supplies all the nutrients a dog needs, in the right proportions — protein, fat, vitamins, and minerals — not just the ingredients that sound healthy. Measured means the daily amount is weighed, not guessed, and adjusted by body condition. A home-made diet that meets both rules can be as good as any commercial food. One that meets neither is worse than the cheapest complete food on the shelf.
The framework: what a balanced homemade dog meal looks like
A balanced home-made dog meal follows a framework, not a fixed recipe: a third cooked lean protein, a third cooked carbohydrate, and a third cooked vegetables, plus a calcium source and a veterinary balancer. The protein is the base — cooked lean meat, poultry, or fish, with the fat trimmed. The carbohydrate is cooked rice, potato, sweet potato, or oats. The vegetables are cooked carrots, green beans, peas, or pumpkin. The calcium source is a veterinary calcium supplement or a commercial balancer, because meat alone is far too low in calcium — a home-made diet without a calcium source will damage bones over time. The balancer is a commercial vitamin and mineral mix formulated for home-made diets, or a recipe formulated by a veterinary nutritionist.
As a rough starting framework for a typical neutered adult dog of 20 kg, which needs about 1060 calories a day, a day's food might be roughly 318 g of cooked lean protein, 285 g of cooked carbohydrate, and 424 g of cooked vegetables, split into two meals — but those are rough proportions for illustration, not a complete recipe, and they must be checked against a formulated recipe for your dog's weight and life stage. The homemade diet portion calculator works out the daily amount in grams for your dog's weight, and the dog food calculator gives the calorie target it should meet.
Three example homemade dog meals
Example 1 — chicken and rice. Cooked chicken breast, cooked rice, and cooked carrots and green beans, with a calcium source and a veterinary balancer, split into two meals. This is the simplest home-made meal, and the one most vets suggest as a starting point for a dog that needs a plain diet. It is bland, easy to digest, and easy to adjust: more chicken for a more active dog, more vegetables for one that needs to lose weight.
Example 2 — beef and potato. Cooked lean beef mince, cooked potato, and cooked pumpkin, with a calcium source and a veterinary balancer. This is a richer meal, and it suits a dog that needs more calories — an active dog, or one that is underweight. Keep the fat trimmed, because fatty meat upsets digestion and adds calories fast, and do not add salt, seasoning, or gravy.
Example 3 — fish and sweet potato. Cooked white fish, cooked sweet potato, and cooked peas, with a calcium source and a veterinary balancer. This is a lighter meal, and it suits a dog that needs a lower-fat diet, or one that does not tolerate chicken or beef. Use white fish, not oily fish, for the base, and remove all bones. All three examples are frameworks to be checked by a veterinary nutritionist, not finished recipes — the balancer and the calcium source are what make them complete, and the amounts must be worked out for your dog's weight.
How much homemade food to feed
The amount follows the same RER formula as any other diet: a typical neutered adult dog of 20 kg needs about 1060 calories a day. Weigh the cooked food with scales, split it into two meals, and weigh the dog monthly, because the right amount is the one that keeps weight steady. Home-made food is often less calorie-dense than kibble, so the amount in grams is larger than owners expect — a dog that needs 1060 calories may need 400 to 500 g of cooked home-made food a day, against 150 to 200 g of dry food, because cooked food contains water. That is normal, not a sign that the dog is being overfed, but it is a reason to weigh food rather than guess.
Adjust the amount by body condition: you should be able to feel the ribs easily under a thin layer of fat and see a waist from above and from the side. If weight drifts up, cut food by about 10% and re-weigh in a month. Keep treats under 10% of daily calories, and count the treats in the daily total — a home-made diet plus a handful of treats is no longer the diet you formulated. The how many calories should a dog eat per day guide gives the full calorie tables by weight, and the dog feeding chart by weight guide gives the same numbers in chart form.
Common mistakes with homemade dog food
The most common mistake is leaving out the calcium source or the balancer. Meat alone is far too low in calcium, and a home-made diet without calcium will damage bones over time — slowly, and without obvious signs until the damage is done. The second is using a recipe from the internet without checking it: most online recipes have never been analysed, and many are deficient in calcium, zinc, iodine, or vitamin E. The third is feeding the same meal every day without variety or review: a home-made diet should be reviewed by a vet or a veterinary nutritionist at least once a year, and whenever the dog's weight, age, or health changes. The fourth is adding salt, seasoning, gravy, or table scraps, which add calories and sodium the dog does not need. The fifth is guessing the amount: home-made food must be weighed, because the amounts in grams are larger than owners expect and a guessed portion is usually wrong.
Foods a dog should never eat include chocolate, cocoa, and coffee; grapes and raisins; onions, garlic, leeks, and chives; xylitol (birch sugar, found in some sugar-free gum, sweets, and peanut butter); macadamia nuts; alcohol; and cooked bones, which can splinter. If your dog eats any of these, call your vet or an animal poison line straight away. And a home-made diet is not a treatment: if your dog has a health condition, ask your vet or a veterinary nutritionist before cooking for it — therapeutic diets are medicines in food form and should not be chosen by guesswork. The how to switch dog food safely guide explains how to move from a commercial food to a home-made diet gradually, over a week.
When homemade food is — and is not — a good idea
Home-made food is a good idea when you can commit to it: formulating the recipe with a veterinary nutritionist, buying and cooking the ingredients, weighing every meal, and reviewing the diet at least once a year. It is a good idea for a dog with a food intolerance that commercial foods cannot solve, for an owner who wants to know exactly what the dog eats, and for a dog that will not eat commercial food. It is not a good idea when it is done casually — a recipe from the internet, no balancer, no calcium source, and guessed portions — because that is how deficiencies happen. And it is not a good idea for puppies, seniors, or dogs with health conditions without veterinary agreement, because those animals are less forgiving of nutritional gaps.
If home-made food is not right for your household, there are safer ways to feed the way you want to feed: a complete commercial food fed in measured amounts, a commercial fresh food made by a company that employs veterinary nutritionists, or a home-made diet formulated by a veterinary nutritionist and reviewed every year. None of those is a compromise on quality — they are different ways of reaching the same goal, which is a complete, balanced diet that your dog enjoys and that keeps it healthy. The raw feeding guide for dogs covers the raw alternative, and the homemade diet portion calculator works out portions for any home-made diet.
For related reading, see the homemade diet portion calculator, the dog food calculator, the raw feeding guide for dogs, the how to switch dog food safely guide, the how many calories should a dog eat per day guide, the homemade cat food recipes guide.
Frequently asked questions
Is homemade dog food better than commercial food?
Not automatically. A home-made diet that is complete and balanced, formulated with a veterinary nutritionist, and fed in measured amounts can be as good as any commercial food. A home-made diet put together by guesswork, without a calcium source or a balancer, is worse than the cheapest complete food on the shelf. What matters is balance and measurement, not whether the food was cooked at home.
How much homemade food should a dog eat per day?
The same calories as any other diet: a typical neutered adult dog of 20 kg needs about 1060 calories a day, worked out from the RER formula. Home-made food is less calorie-dense than kibble, so the amount in grams is larger — often 400 to 500 g of cooked food a day for a dog of that size. Weigh the food with scales and weigh the dog monthly.
Do I need to add supplements to homemade dog food?
Yes — a home-made diet needs a calcium source and a veterinary balancer, or a recipe formulated by a veterinary nutritionist that includes them. Meat alone is far too low in calcium, and a diet without it will damage bones over time. Do not add supplements by guesswork: use a commercial balancer formulated for home-made diets, or a recipe from a veterinary nutritionist, and review the diet at least once a year.
Can I feed my dog the same homemade meal every day?
Yes, if the meal is complete and balanced and the amount is measured — a single balanced recipe, fed every day, is better than a different unbalanced recipe every day. But the diet should be reviewed by a vet or a veterinary nutritionist at least once a year, and whenever the dog's weight, age, or health changes, because a diet that was right last year may not be right this year.
What homemade foods are toxic to dogs?
Chocolate, cocoa, and coffee; grapes and raisins; onions, garlic, leeks, and chives; xylitol (birch sugar, found in some sugar-free gum, sweets, and peanut butter); macadamia nuts; alcohol; and cooked bones, which can splinter. If your dog eats any of them, call your vet or an animal poison line immediately and tell them what was eaten, how much, and when.
Can puppies eat homemade food?
Only with veterinary agreement. Puppies are less forgiving of nutritional gaps, and an unbalanced home-made diet can damage growth. If you want to cook for a young animal, use a recipe formulated by a veterinary nutritionist for that life stage, and ask your vet first.
Results on this page are estimates for general information only and are not veterinary advice. If your pet is ill, underweight, overweight, pregnant, or has a health condition, consult your veterinarian before changing diet or care.