Healthy Dog Stew Recipes Your Pup Will Love

Easy, healthy dog stew recipes using a slow cooker with real ingredients you can trust

If you’ve ever looked at canned dog food and wondered what was really inside, you’re not alone. That’s what inspired me to start making homemade dog food for our pit bull, Zoe. She’s about 10 years old now, and while she’s still active and happy, she has some mobility issues in her back legs and could stand to lose a few pounds. I wanted to create something healthy, affordable, and satisfying—something that would feel more like a treat than a chore to eat.

These easy and cheap homemade dog food recipes are balanced with lean protein, dog-safe vegetables, and wholesome grains. They’re cooked in the slow cooker for convenience and make enough for a full week of meals. Whether you’re feeding homemade full-time or just mixing things up, this is a great place to start.

Why Make Your Own Healthy Dog Stew at Home?

There are plenty of reasons to try it:

• Whole food ingredients with no fillers, preservatives, or mystery by-products
• Budget-friendly, especially when bought in bulk or on sale
• Customizable for your dog’s preferences, weight, or sensitivities
• Dogs love the moist texture, especially if they’re used to wet food

And the best part? It’s a natural fit if you’re already prepping meals for yourself and want to include your pup in the routine.

Ingredients to Use (and What to Avoid)

The stews below use a mix of:

• Lean proteins: chicken thighs, ground beef, or beef shanks
• Grains: brown rice, barley, oats
• Vegetables: carrots, green beans, sweet potatoes, zucchini, and pumpkin
• Flavor boosters: turmeric, ginger, parsley, basil (all dog-safe in small amounts)

⚠️ Avoid: onions, garlic, leeks, chives, and excessive salt—they’re toxic to dogs.

Easy Slow Cooker Dog Stew Recipes

Each of these makes about 14–16 cups—enough to feed a 60-pound dog like Zoe 2 cups per day for one week. You can refrigerate what you need and freeze the rest for later.

Chicken & Brown Rice Veggie Healthy Dog Stew

This is our go-to weekly recipe for Zoe. It’s simple, budget-friendly, and easy to customize.

In the image below, you can see that I used ground chicken, frozen green beans, frozen peas, sliced carrots, brown rice, and some partially thawed chicken bone broth that I had in the freezer.

Let me know in the comments if you’d like my slow cooker bone broth recipe. Using the slow cooker allows me to cook the bone broth on low day and night without worry, and I can get multiple batches of broth from a single set of bones.

I love using my slow cooker for easy batch meals—both for us and for Zoe. If you’re looking for low-effort weeknight ideas, check out my One-Week Dinner Plan for Busy People.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts
• 1.5 cups brown rice, uncooked
• 2 cups chopped carrots
• 2 cups chopped green beans
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 tsp turmeric (optional)
• 6–7 cups water or low-sodium chicken broth
• Optional: 1/2 tsp dried parsley, 1/4 tsp dried thyme

How to Make It:

1. Add all ingredients to your slow cooker.
2. Stir to combine.
3. Cover and cook on low for 6–7 hours, or until the chicken is cooked through and the rice is tender.
4. Remove the chicken and shred it with a fork.
5. Return shredded chicken to the stew and stir everything together.
6. Let cool completely before portioning into containers for the fridge or freezer.

Want to Switch Things Up? Try These Easy Variations on the Healthy Dog Stew

Once you’ve made the base recipe, it’s easy to adjust the ingredients for variety or to use what you already have on hand. Here are two of Zoe’s favorite versions:

Beef & Pumpkin Stew

• Use 2 lbs lean ground beef instead of chicken
• Swap brown rice for ¾ cup pearled barley
• Use 2 cups pumpkin purée instead of peas
• Use low-sodium beef broth instead of chicken broth (or water)
  This one has a smooth, cozy texture and is great for digestion.

Beef & Sweet Potato Stew

• Use 2 lbs ground beef or beef shank (trimmed)
• Swap brown rice for ¾ cup pearled barley
• Replace peas with 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
• Use homemade beef bone broth or water
• Optional: Mash some sweet potato at the end to thicken the texture
  This version is a little chunkier and closer to canned wet dog food—Zoe’s personal favorite!

Here I used beef shank cut into bite sized pieces, zucchini, carrots, sweet potatoes, rolled oats, and beef bone broth that I made from the beef shank bones in the slow cooker before straining it off to add to this recipe. I got 16 cups of bone broth from one batch in my large slow cooker! I used 6 cups in this recipe and froze the rest in 2-cup portions to use in future recipes, either for Zoe or for my family.

A note on the rolled oats: This didn’t work out as well as I hoped. I ended up adding brown rice to the recipe to soak up more of the broth. I thought it was too soupy, otherwise. Therefore, I modified the recipe to use pearled barley with the beef, as they’re a natural pairing, and the barley should soak up the broth much better than the rolled oats did.

If you love simple, homemade solutions like this, you might also enjoy my sweet tea recipe—another reader favorite.

Don’t Skip This If You’re Feeding Homemade Regularly

Even with variety, most homemade dog food recipes (including these) are not considered nutritionally complete by veterinary standards. That’s because a few key nutrients—like calcium, vitamin D, zinc, and omega-3s—are hard to consistently provide without a supplement.

If you’re using these meals as a vet approved homemade dog food topper, you’re likely fine. But if they’re becoming your dog’s daily food, I recommend adding a dog-specific multivitamin or balancer powder to ensure your pup is getting everything they need to thrive.

I aim to give Zoe plenty of variety, but I’ll be adding a supplement for peace of mind going forward.

How Much Dog Stew to Feed

Every dog is different, but here’s a rough daily guideline for adult dogs:

Dog Weight	Daily Amount
30 lbs	~1 to 1.5 cups
60 lbs	~2 to 2.5 cups
90 lbs	~3 to 3.5 cups

Always adjust based on your dog’s activity level, metabolism, and weight goals. And as always, check with your vet before making major changes to your dog’s diet.

Storage & Prep Tips

• Refrigerator: Keeps for 4 days
• Freezer: Store in portions for up to 3 months
• Tip: Silicone muffin trays make portioning and freezing easy

FAQ

Do vets recommend homemade dog food?
Some vets do—especially if your dog has allergies or specific needs. But most recommend working with a vet nutritionist or using a trusted supplement to ensure your recipe is nutritionally complete.

What are the best ingredients for homemade dog food?

The best ingredients are:

• Lean proteins (chicken, beef, turkey)
• Dog-safe veggies (carrots, green beans, sweet potatoes, pumpkin)
• Whole grains (brown rice, oats, barley)

These offer a good balance of protein, fiber, and vitamins.

What should the top 3 ingredients be in dog food?

Ideally:

1. A named animal protein
2. A digestible grain or starch
3. Whole vegetables for added nutrition

Avoid unnamed meat by-products and heavy fillers like corn and soy.

How can I make homemade dog food nutritionally complete?
Variety helps, but for long-term feeding, add a dog-safe supplement or balancer powder to cover nutrients like calcium, vitamin D, and omega-3s. That way, your dog gets complete support—without complicated calculations.

Zoe eats her stew from a raised bowl to make meals more comfortable for her aging joints. She especially loves the beef and sweet potato version!

Want more ideas for safe and healthy homemade dog food? Check out this guide from the American Kennel Club for tips on choosing ingredients and building balanced meals.