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Instant Pot Dog Food


Easy recipe and tips on how to make healthy, instant pot dog food. This human-grade real food recipe keeps our dogs happy and healthy.

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close up picture of the large pot filled with dog food with chicken, vegetables and buckwheat

Recipe Features

This homemade dog food recipe is gluten-free, grain-free, and protein-rich. Our dogs always looking forward to their next meal. Scroll down to check how to make dog food in Instant Pot with detailed step-by-step photos and tips.

Key Ingredients

tabletop with ingredients for making dog food: uncooked buckwheat groats, frozen mixed vegetables, raw chicken meat

Ingredient Notes

Frozen vegetables and meat. I am getting vegetables and meat in bulk at Costco or Aldi.

Buckwheat groats. Buckwheat is a gluten-free seed; it’s not wheat and not a grain. Therefore, buckwheat has more nutrients and is easily digestible. I like to use it since it’s also allergy-friendly and personally like eating it as breakfast kasha or as a side dish.

Step-by-step Instructions

Step 1. Place boneless chicken thighs in the instant pot. Add a cup of water. Cover, set your Instant Pot to “pressure cook” for 20 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally.

instant pot with raw chicken thighs

Step 2. At the same time, measure and rinse the buckwheat groats.

rinsed buckwheat groats inside the stock pot

Step 3. Place in the large pot, add the double amount of water, bring to boil on high heat. Once boiling skim the foam once, reduce the heat to the lowest setting, cover the pot so the groats will finish cooking and all the water evaporates.

cooked buckwheat inside large pot

Step 4. Once the chicken is cooked, safely release the pressure. Open the instant pot and using two large forks, shred the chicken into smaller pieces.

shredded cooked chicken inside instant pot

Step 5. Add all the vegetables to the pot while the chicken is still hot, mix well, and let it stand open while cooling. Once buckwheat groats are cooked, combine with the chicken and veggies mixture. Add oil, mix well. Store in the fridge or freeze in the portioned zip locks.

instant pot with cooked chicken and vegetables

Recipe Tips

  • As always, before changing your dog’s diet, consult your pet’s veterinarian.
  • When making food for our dogs, I occasionally change it up, making it with different proteins or veggies. They love this and always excitedly waiting for their next meal.
  • This recipe makes a large amount of food, enough to feed for 5 days, two dogs, the combined weight of 100 pounds. Reduce the amounts to make it work for your needs.
  • The recipe takes less than an hour to make; the cooling time is extra.
  • I used the largest pressure cooker, a 10-quart  size.
  • It saves time to buy meat on the same day as making this recipe. I usually do it on the regular weekend grocery shopping day. Making it on a day off (aka weekend) helps to leave enough time to cool.
  • Buying the biggest pot for mixing and cooling helps. If you are making enough amount to last the whole week, get the largest stockpot you can find, it will help mix everything evenly.
  • Use pre-sliced veggies. It will reduce the prep time.

Tips on Storing

Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.

If you need to freeze, measure the portions and store them in the ziplock bags. When you need to use it, place the ziplock night before in the fridge, and before serving, add a little bit of warm water.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What grains are best to use in this recipe?

I like to use buckwheat since it’s a grain-like seed that is more allergy-friendly and gluten-free.

large pot filled with homemade dog food

Related Recipes

Did you try this recipe? I love hearing from you! Don’t forget to rate and leave a comment below.

close up picture of the large pot filled with dog food with chicken, vegetables and buckwheat

Instant Pot Dog Food

Natalia-Flavorful Home
Easy recipe and tips on how to make healthy, instant pot dog food. This human-grade real food recipe keeps our dogs happy and healthy.
5 from 10 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Course Main Course
Cuisine American

Ingredients
  

  • 8 pounds chicken thighs boneless
  • 1 cup water for instant pot
  • 5 pounds vegetables
  • 4 cups buckwheat groats
  • 4 tbsp coconut oil
  • 8 cups water to cook buckwheat

Instructions
 

  • Place boneless chicken thighs in the instant pot. Add a cup of water. Cover, set your Instant Pot to “pressure cook” for 20 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally.
  • At the same time, measure and rinse the buckwheat groats.
  • Place in the large pot, add the double amount of water, and bring to boil on high heat. Once boiling skim the foam once, reduce the heat to the lowest setting, cover the pot so the groats will finish cooking and all the water evaporates.
  • Once the chicken is cooked, safely release the pressure. Open the instant pot and using two large forks, shred the chicken into smaller pieces.
  • Add all the vegetables to the pot while the chicken is still hot, mix well, and let it stand open while cooling. Once buckwheat groats are cooked, combine with the chicken and veggies mixture. Add oil, mix well. Store in the fridge or freeze in the portioned zip locks.

Notes

This recipe makes a large amount of food; reduce the amounts to make it work for your needs.
The recipe takes less than an hour to make; the cooling time is extra.
I used the largest pressure cooker, a 10-quart  size.
Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
If you need to freeze, measure the portions and store them in the ziplock bags. When you need to use it, place the ziplock night before in the fridge, and before serving, add a little bit of warm water.

Nutrition

Calories: 872kcalCarbohydrates: 57gProtein: 54gFat: 50gSaturated Fat: 16gPolyunsaturated Fat: 10gMonounsaturated Fat: 19gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 254mgSodium: 284mgPotassium: 1098mgFiber: 11gVitamin A: 8428IUVitamin C: 17mgCalcium: 75mgIron: 4mg
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Natalia | Flavorful home
Natalia is a recipe developer, food photographer, and home cook. She started Flavorful Home to document her recipes and share home cooking tips. She loves creating flavorful and nutritious meals while keeping the cooking process simple and joyful!
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Recipe Rating




2 Comments to Instant Pot Dog Food
Sarah Louisell

Thank you so very much for this recipe. I’ve been searching for a simple dog food recipe for a long time and this one is perfect! I will be trying (and possibly tweeking) this one pot stop this weekend. Hopefully my little girl will love it just as much as I love to make it for her. She’s allergic to chicken so I will most likely change it to turkey and probably add some salmon oil and a couple other things, but this recipe is a perfect base to start with. Again I thank you very much for this wonderful find! My baby girl “Unique” says thank you as well. ☺️🧑‍🍳🐾

12/17/21 @ 9:42 AMReply
Georgia

My dogs love lamb and liver. Is it good to use these products with maybe mixing one or the other of above with chicken

03/21/23 @ 7:19 PMReply

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