Instant Pot Dog Food
So why do I do this? My dogs have been eating an organic grain-free kibble their entire life. Nothing is more frustrating than to learn experts have determined a grain-free diet is not good for dogs, and in some cases, dangerous. Where were those experts when the kibble was first introduced?! Add to that the constant recalls, and it becomes an exercise in frustration to figure out what is safe for my “kids” to eat. Everyone has an opinion on their particular brand of kibble, whether or not to feed “raw”, etc. Once I got my first instant pot, I started noticing recipes for dog food and it intrigued me.
I quickly decided I was not going to totally switch their diet to homemade. I just don’t have enough freezer space to accommodate two standard poodles and two adults. Not to mention, I would spend more time cooking for them than for myself. So this is my compromise. I have always free fed them their kibble and when they are hungry they eat. And, yes, they still eat their kibble.
My female used to have constant eye goobers that I cleaned out each morning. This is common with standards. Her vet diagnosed dry eye and gave me drops for it. The drops made no difference and it was a battle every morning to put them in her eyes (I think the drops stung). Since I have been feeding her this recipe, the eye goobers are a thing of the past. Clearly there is something in this recipe her body needed and wasn’t getting from the kibble. Nice surprise.
So every five days, one of my pots is devoted to Jack and Chloe. They LOVE their instant pot! 🙂
This is one of those recipes that, rescued by some seasonings, would actually be good enough for humans. And it’s quite easy. You will be dumping the ingredients into the pot in the order listed.
First, the rice. I normally use Lundberg organic short grain brown rice. Costco was out of it so I bought a bag of organic regular grain rice this time around.
Next, peel the sweet potato and cut up into bite-sized chunks and dump into the pot.
Wash the carrots and trim off the ends. Slice into half-inch chunks and add to the pot.
Next dump in the peas or green beans. Again, I buy the frozen large organic bags at Costco. This particular month I am using green beans but the kids also love the peas.
Add your meat to the top. Spread out the pieces so that they are in a single layer. I typically use chicken. But turkey or beef is also an option. I have used a combination of ground beef and ground turkey as well (a pound of each). I just break it up into chunks.
Next pour the quart of chicken broth over the ingredients in the pot. It is certainly not necessary to use broth. Water is just fine. I am actually using a chicken bone broth I made in the instant pot using leftover whole chicken bones. When I make the broth, I use NO seasonings, which is why I prefer it for my dogs. In addition to the broth, I usually add another cup or so of water (I just refill that quart jar about a third of the way).
Now it’s time to close the lid, make sure the valve is sealed, and program the pot. Set it for 1 hour. I use the meat setting. Once the pot has timed down to zero and beeped, let it naturally pressure release for at least 30 minutes (longer is okay too). Then carefully open the valve to release the rest of the pressure.
Remove the lid. With two forks shred the chicken; with a large spoon mix it all together. You’ll be tempted to taste test it. Go ahead. You’ll find it’s quite bland but with some seasonings wouldn’t be half bad.
I use small Rubbermaid containers that hold a little over a cup of the food. I get 10 servings from a batch. I have two standard poodles so this lasts for five days. I use this as a supplement to their kibble. They don’t hesitate to remind me when it’s dinner time….like almost to the minute.
- 1½ cups brown rice
- 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut up
- 6 large carrots, washed, trimmed and sliced
- 2 cups frozen peas or green beans
- 1 - 1½ lbs boneless chicken thighs
- 32 oz no seasonings chicken broth
- 8 oz water
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Add ingredients to the instant pot in the order listed.
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Place the lid on the instant pot. Set the pressure valve to seal. Set the "Meat" setting to 1 hour.
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Once the hour has passed. Hit the cancel button to turn off instant pot. Let in naturally pressure release (NPR) for 30-45 minutes. Open the pressure valve to release any remaining pressure. Open the pot and stir.
Typically if I am adding meat that has already been cooked, I will add it to the pot after I'm done cooking the other ingredients. I did that when I had left over Turkey from Thanksgiving. No need to cook it twice. I've also done that when I've oven roasted or IP cooked a whole chicken.
Update: October 18, 2019
Here are some pics of the ground turkey/ground beef combination I made today after reading a comment that someone had tried the ground turkey and it burned.
This is the batch just before I put the top on. First I broke the ground turkey into chunks and distributed it over the top. Then I broke the ground beef into chunks and distributed it over the ground turkey. Finally, I poured a 32 oz jar of homemade chicken broth (the yellow is the congealed fat from the broth) and another 16 oz of water (about half of the broth jar).
Here’s what the batch looked like when I opened the lid after letting it set for 30 minutes after the buzzer went off. You can see there is a lot of liquid.
And this it was how looked after I’d broken up the meat chunks and thoroughly stirred. It’s still a little watery, but honestly, my dogs love it that way. Every morsel and drop of liquid is consumed. If you get batches where the rice is burning to the bottom of the pot, consider adding more liquid to the recipe. Every pot cooks slightly different. My 8-quart constantly gives me “burn” messages, which drives me nuts. I only make this recipe in my 6-quart now.
Do heat it back up before you give it to the dogs? Thanks I am going to try this today maybe..
Yes. I remove the container lid and microwave on high for 1 minute….basically just enough to bring it to room temperature.
What about cooking entire discount chickens until they are fully, for lack of a better term, mush? That is, the bones crumble to the touch, etc? We can often get $3 or $4 dollar roasters and I wouldn’t mind cooking one a week (with beans, carrots, sweet potatoes, etc). I’ve cooked some drumsticks for myself (bone broth) to the point where the bone would simply disintegrate between my fingers – is there any problem doing the same for the dogs?
I personally would not recommend adding bone-in chicken (whole or in parts) to this recipe. My dogs tend to wolf their food down and would swallow any un-disintegrated bones whole, possibly damaging their intestines. And, I’m not sure how long you would have to cook the recipe to actually disintegrate those bones. When I make bone broth, I’ve cooked the bones without meat for 2 hours in the Instant Pot and still had to sift out the remaining bones from the broth.
But, since I personally enjoy chicken quite frequently, I usually have a “bag of bones” in the fridge or freezer waiting to be used for bone broth. It’s not unusual for me to be using one IP for broth while I making dog food in the other with the last remaining broth from a previous batch.
Is it okay to freeze this for later use?
Absolutely.
Thank you for the recipe! We have 3 standards and adding another ton 2 weeks. We have an 8 dog home. We are always looking for the best food for our fur kids. They are going to love this recipe! Can I ask what kibble you use?
I use Merrick’s grain-free chicken and sweet potato.
I used ground turkey and what a disaster. I had to throw the pot away it burned so badly. lol
Oh no, I’m so sorry. I’ve posted an update just below the recipe that shows the batch I made today using 1 lb. ground turkey and 1 lb. ground beef. Hope this helps.
You should be fine with all the supplemental stuff, but worth knowing this about grain-free kibble (Merrick is specifically mentioned): https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/news-events/fda-investigation-potential-link-between-certain-diets-and-canine-dilated-cardiomyopathy
Thanks so much for sharing! I’ve just ordered a small bag of NOT grain-free Royal Canin to try out. Keeping my fingers crossed they will accept it.
I have a 10 year old German Shepherd/Mastif, Brodie, who has never had grain. I spoke with my vet about some of the new findings and she said as healthy as Brodie is and at his age I shouldn’t worry or change anything. Bro does not do well with grain so i was glad to hear this. Also keep in mind that there is a lot of research to be done to figure out what is going on.
It isn’t grain free that is the issue it is the peas and legumes in the grain free. I would not feed Royal Canin to my dog it is junk food. Merrick is a way better product.
As it turns out, my pups preferred the Merrick brand and I ended up switching back to it.
I’ve used ground turkey twice and Its worked perfectly. Now I’m trying the chicken thighs.
Turned out fantastic! Yes, I tried it. Added a little salt and pepper to my tasting, but I would eat this as a meal lol doggies loved it too. Didn’t have any plain chicken broth, just used water. Used chicken breasts and added peeled and cored apples, along with a deseeded and chopped bell pepper. Put some on top of their kibble and there ya go! Delicious and nutritious for my girls! Thanks for the recipe 😊
LOL…that DOES sound yummy. I’ll need to pick some apples up for the kids. 😉
Is there a quick calorie count for the whole batch or per serving if you make ten? I have a very small dog, so I just wanted to check before I calculate it on my own! Thank you!
I plugged the ingredients into an online calculator and came up with 273 calories per serving. The vast majority of calories are in the rice and chicken.
I am using the Rubbermaid 1.25 cup containers for storage.
Doesn’t seem too balanced, what do you use for zinc, calcium, manganese, magnesium, iodine??
The homemade bone broth I use contains many of the minerals you mentioned although I have not had it professionally analyzed by a dietician or veterinarian.
When I decided to add grains to my dogs’ diet, I made the decision to try this, after several different brands of kibble with grains were rejected by my dogs. Cost and brand name had no factor to them..they just preferred their old brand. Since I had no intention of switching totally to this diet, I didn’t worry too much about vitamins and minerals. They still eat their grain-free kibble. I would recommend consulting with your veterinarian if you plan to feed a totally homemade diet to determine which supplements you need to add and how much. The same goes for size portions and how many calories your dogs need.
When I discussed their kibble with the vet during their last visit, I was cautioned about grain-free kibble and when I mentioned the homemade recipe to supplement it, she was fine with it and very intrigued with making it in the Instant Pot. Again, I recommend consulting a professional before switching to a totally homemade diet.
I add raw chicken livers and gizzards to the food and the dogs love them. Vet was amazed at how well our 2 year old pit mix looked. And we’ve had both our dogs on this food only for 3 months now. No problems at all
If you go to the Bucher and get liver, kidneys, spleen, etc and add them in you will get the natural minerals that’s the animal took in.
This is how people eating a true carnivore diet get their vitamins and minerals. (Don’t take this as me promoting a carnivore diet, I’ve just done a bunch of research into it)
Do you keep it in refrigerator for 5 days or do you freeze some
I generally keep 3 days in the refrigerator and freeze the rest. I automatically pull servings out of the freezer to replace the ones I’m pulling out of the refrigerator at dinner time. 🙂
I’ve made two batches now and my 60 lb and 50 lb dog LOVE it – thank you! I refrigerate 3 days worth and freeze 2 days worth. I’m super new to the Instant Pot, and frankly, currently only make dog food in it right now. So – do you happen to know how I could double the recipe so I don’t have to do it every 5 days? I have an 8-quart so I believe there’s plenty of room, but I don’t know that I should double the liquid amount – that seems a lot. It’s always the rice that’s problematic when working out the cooking time. I’d even settle for 1 1/2 times the recipe, but again, not sure if it would be a straight increase of everything, including the liquid. Any tips or knowledge on this is appreciated!
I’m not sure you can double the recipe and not surpass the MAX line inside your instant pot. Once you have tweaked and found the proportion of rice and water that avoids the aggravating “BURN” beep on your pot, try to keep those proportions the same. You have more leeway with the veggies…your choice to increase of decrease. Bottom line don’t exceed the MAX line with your liquid.
I totally get wanting to double the batch. It seems like those 5 days fly by! It’s also why I have more than one instant pot…I can make multiple batches of dog food the same day without it taking all day. I know that argument is not valid for many. I managed to make it work for me….ha! 🙂
Okay-thanks. One day I’ll play around with trying to make a 1 1/2 batch. But for today, I just prepped it all and made one batch, and then the next right after. Fortunately I’m home all day today 🙂
Have you tried doubling the recipe yet? I’m looking to feed 3 dogs with this recipe & would love any tips for doubling the original recipe. Thanks for any advice.
No-I’ve been too nervous to do so. So I prep twice as much so that the 2nd batch is ready to just throw it all in. I either cook the 2nd batch immediately afterwards, or pop it all in the refrigerator until the next morning. I’ve also adjusted the recipe – I actually combine this food with equal part Diamond Naturals Extreme Athlete Dry food, which does have grain in it – so I reduce the rice to 1 cup. I increase the chicken to ~1 3/4 lbs. I only use water, no chicken broth, but the total liquid quantity is the same – 40oz. It’s just all about them loving/eating this combination (plus saving some $$ because dog food is expensive) – so for my dogs, this seems to be the winning combo!
Hi Laurie,
How much are you feeding your dogs and are you supplementing it with kibble? I’m asking because I make this for my 85 and 45lb dogs and barely get 2.5 days. They eat 1/2 and 1 lb each twice a day.
Hi Marilyn- Yes-I mix one cup of this wet food with 2 cups of Diamond Naturals Adult Dog food. Normally they eat just once a day, but if we’re hiking etc they get a breakfast of a cup of dry food.
I have been using a version of this recipe for the last 25 years. Used both grain and grain free. Because the rice is a grain, I am not sure it matters whether the kibble used is grain free or not. I usually end up making a large pot and freezing a few weeks worth. My vet credits the long lives of my pets and their healthy condition on the homemade food, treats I make for them. The cost savings can’t be beat either.
Our lab/shephard just turned a yr old this month, and I cook for her and she is also free fed. I use a variety of meats and veggies,
I made enough the end of December and have not made anymore. I definitely am going to make this for our girl who is 70 pounds, lol.
Hey Debbie! how much of the insta food do you give your lab/sheperd a day?
just want to make sure i feed/dont overfeed my pooch! thanks so much
Hi Sorry to ask, but how much portion per day? i am going to try this as my dog has IBS and ive been reading that homemade dog food can really help with this, but my dog is 70lbs and wasnt sure how much of homemade he would need a day. Thanks in advance
I recommend consulting your veterinarian for the amount of calories your dog needs. There are just too many factors (age, health, activeness, etc.) for me to make a recommendation. My two standard poodles are 60 lb and I give them one serving (1.25 cup rubbermaid container) per day and allow them to free feed their kibble.
Linda, thank you so much for taking the time to post this and share your thorough thoughts on the matter, even regarding nutrition and supplementing. You clearly are a well-researched and thoughtful person. I and our dog are so grateful as I recently ran out of dog food and couldn’t get to the store. After using our Instapot for us humans, I got to wondering… Instapot dog food? Then I found your post and made a small batch last night. The dog loved it! So this morning I started a new batch after rummaging through our freezers. So much stuff we weren’t going to eat but I didn’t want going to waste. This is brilliant. My husband is celebrating that we can actually now use some of those old roasts, languishing in the back of the fridge. Come garden season, I also now know what to do with our excess carrots and beans. Can’t thank you enough for this!
I’ll add that I’m currently trying the recipe but with a frozen 3lb chuck roast. I’m adding 20 minutes to the cook time to make it an hour and 20. We’ve done this before for frozen roasts… anxious to see how this turns out. Looks like the dog will be eating better than us today.
Like the comment about adding apples, will have to try that too. I added two cups of blueberries to this batch.
Thanks for your kind comment. How did your chuck roast turn out? I’ve never tried frozen meat in my pot and am curious how it worked combined with the rice and veggies. What a time saver that would be!
Just made a barch, will be more than 10 days worth for my 15 pound Jack Russell. She really chowed down on her first serving!
Thank you for posting this. I have a Jack Russell and I was wondering about portion size. He’s been getting a little heavy since he’s less active (going on 11 years old) and I wanted a healthier diet for him. I’m curious if you are still feeding this recipe and if so, what is his portion size? Do you do and am/pm feeding? Thank you!
Hey there!
Any thoughts on how this recipe would adapt in a crockpot? I’m ready to go all in and dedicate a day to make as many batches as I can to freeze (three dogs at three servings a day goes quick). I have the instapot, but I thought adding in the crockpot might also help.
I use a crock pot exclusively because I like the idea of slow cooking better than pressure cooking, but I’ll probably try the IP at some point. The crock pot works great. I cook it on low for about 8 hours.
Hi! My dogs love this recipe, and same as you, my dogs tell me to the minute when it is time for dinner! I use peas and green beans and I also throw in a handful of frozen blueberries into the pot. Just wondering if you ever tried adding pumpkin puree? And would you add it before cooking, or add it after?
I have not tried adding pumpkin to the recipe. I understand it’s commonly used to treat diarrhea or loose stools. Since canned pumpkin is already cooked, I’d stir it into the batch after.
I was wondering if I could cook this in a slow cooker (crock pot?) I have a pressure cooker but only cook without the pressure.
My Abbey is so picky but I am going to try this.
Thank you for sharing!!
My pup absolutely loves this!
I made a batch last nite for my hungry hounds (Standard Poodle, Lhasa Apso & Shih Tzu) and it was a hit! We’re in the midst of the COVID19 crisis and I was so thankful to find your recipe—it’s healthier and more cost effective than the cans or freeze dried additions to the dogs’ kibble. I added 1T of turmeric to the batch and I could only find bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, but I removed the chicken thighs after cooking and the bone came right out and I simply hand-shredded the chicken back into the mixture. Thank you for sharing! I’ve sent your recipe and my pics to all my dog-parent friends!
PS. My Standard has a goopy-eye in the am, hoping this may help her too!
I rescued a senior Brussels Griffon 6 weeks ago and have been feeding her kibble while researching home cooked dog food. After reading your recipe, I’ve decided that we are ready to convert 🙂 I might replace the brown rice with quinoa, will be using a 3lb chop of ground turkey, and would like to add a lb package of hearts/gizzards. I’ve got carrots and a sweet potato, but no green beans. Could I substitute spinach or kale? Would adding celery be ok? I’ll add an apple as well. Oh yes, maybe a few hard boiled eggs? And how about some canned red beets?
She’s only 10 lbs so I will be freezing this.
Is there anything I’ve listed that would be best to leave out?
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Leilla and Bridgette from eastern NC
I recommend consulting with your veterinarian on which vegetables are okay for your senior lass. I’m honestly not sure about the spinach, kale, celery, and beets. Quick check on the internet indicates some might cause digestive issues but in small quantities might be okay.
I should mention that I purchased several small bags of Avoderm dog food and will be feeding her that for one meal until it’s gone.
Hi Linda,
Do you think there is any value to using the Slow Cook setting on the Instant Pot for dog food? An article I read
suggested that the low temp and slow speed left more nutrients in the food. But her recipe left a lot of liquid after 6
hours of cooking. The girls loved it but that was after more simmering in a sauce pan. I am new to the Instant Pot thing and making my own dog food, and am just trying to find the best recipe to feed my 2 80lb Border / Lab mixes in an attempt to get them to loose some weight and be healthy, while also not having a lot of time for cooking. Thanks for your time. I will try your recipe this week.
Hi Jeff,
I personally don’t see an advantage to cooking low and slow over pressure cooking other than flavor. If you are going to slow cook, I’d forego using an Instant Pot. Although there is a slow cook function, it is dismal when compared to a traditional slow cooker. The one time I tried it on a “people” recipe, it was a failure. As for saving time, pressure cooking definitely wins the game over slow cooking. 🙂
Hi Linda,
So now I have made 3 batches of your recipe in the High Pressure mode and the girls love it!
It takes about 3 hours with prep, cooking, cooling and packaging but that is making 12 – 14 cups. I did boost the rice to 2 cups and am using organic brown rice. The 3rd batch I tried the ground turkey and got that dang “BURN” message, The manual says when that happens the IP automatically lowers its temp. Anyhow it took forever, I’m just gonna stick with chicken in the IP,. they get steak and salmon when I got my BBQ going. So I give them the fresh in the morning with a Multi Vite product from Shaklee sprinkled on top and then for dinner they get a cup of Whole Hearted Weight Management Kibble. I have also been giving them each 1 hard boiled egg 3-5 days a week. Thanks for your help.
Cooking my first batch now! I have a 6 month old 12 lb terrier mix – curious, do you feed only this “wet” food or add it to the kibble? She was fostered and from my understanding has never had dry food before.
Hi Kathleen, The first thing you need to know is that this fresh food we are cooking still needs a multi vite added to make it the complete package. I have been using a Shaklee Product called Citriboost. My girls are both 80 lbs each and I give them 1 cup of the Instant Pot food in the morning, with a teaspoon of the Citriboost sprinkled on top. In the evening I give them 1 cup of kibble with some fish oil. I’m not working now, but I’m trying to keep them on kibble to not have to do too much cooking when I do go back to work, and the kibble brushes their teeth somewhat. Each batch produces about 14 cups, and I put 1 cup each into tupperware containers. I keep 3 days worth in the fridge and the rest in the freezer. Have fun with the recipes, your baby will love it.
Hi Kathleen,
I do not combine my wet and dry food. My two 60 lb kids are fed the wet food in the evening and snack on the kibble throughout the day (free feed). If you are going with the homemade recipe only you should consult with your vet for supplement recommendations…particularly since she is still a puppy, and a tiny one at that.
My kids are finicky about kibble…they have rejected more brands than I can count. You may have to try several brands of a good quality puppy kibble before you find one she likes. It is certainly okay to mix wet and dry and is a good way to introduce it inter her diet. But like Jeff, I think the crunchiness of the dry helps clean their teeth so I continue to feed it separately.
Hey! I definitely am going to try your recipe and i think my chocolate lab will love it! But I don’t need to make as much as your original recipe, so if i were to half it, should I half the cooking time as well? Or how long would you recommend pressure cooking if I were to half the recipe?
I’ve never made half a batch. You can try going half the time, but you’ll need to check to see if the brown rice and the carrots are cooked through. If they aren’t, you can always put the lid back on and cook for additional time.
Do let me know how it turns out and I’ll add to the recipe notes. 🙂
My dog (pit) is having a slight reaction to something, what can I substitute for rice ??
I made the original recipe with chicken thighs and my two golden retrievers loved it! Have you tried salmon in this recipe and if so what was cook time?