Turkey Dog Food Recipe
Make your pup easy homemade dog food with this Turkey Dog Food Recipe! This simple recipe is made in just one pot for a homemade meal your dog will love!
If you love cooking for your dog as much as I do, be sure to check out more homemade dog food recipe ideas like Chicken Dinner Recipe for Dogs, Slow Cooker Beef Dog Food, Chicken and Pumpkin Dinner for Dogs, How to Cook Sweet Potatoes for Dogs, or Dog Friendly Whipped Cream!
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Turkey Dog Food Recipe
- Ready In: 2 hours 10 minutes
- Makes: 10 servings (depending on your dog's size)
- Main Ingredients: ground turkey, sweet potato, carrots
- Dietary Info: gluten free, eggless, no seed oils
- Difficulty: Easy!
- Why You’ll Love It: takes 10 minutes to prep homemade dog food for the week!
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Why Your Dog Will Love This Organic Homemade Dog Food
- One Pot: This homemade turkey dog food cooks in your Dutch oven, making this a one pot meal. You can also make this in your slow cooker if you prefer.
- Easy Recipe: Insanely easy, this Turkey Dog Food Recipe has minimal prep time. And it cooks low and slow so you’re free to do other things. If you're looking for more super easy homemade dog food, try our Salmon Dinner Recipe for Dogs or Beef Liver Dinner Recipe for Dogs too!
- Fresh Vegetables: Give your dog the best health with this easy homemade dog food! You can also check out How to Cook a Whole Chicken for Dog Food or How to Cook Ground Turkey For Dogs if you meal prep often, this is another great way to make fresh food with real ingredients.
- Dog Lovers Delight: Your dog will go nuts for this homemade turkey dog food! Fresh ingredients will taste so much better to your dog and they will feel the amazing benefits that come with fresh food!
We believe that fresh food is better than processed, for you and for your dog! Any time you can give your dog a fresh made meal it's going to be better than store bought, and they'll love it so much!
If you're cooking homemade food for your dog all the time, like we do, try adding beef liver on top of this meal and learn How to Make Beef Liver for Dogs! And, if you are serious about learning more about homemade dog food and how to make this recipe a complete meal, make sure to check out our course How to Cook Homemade Dog Food (Vet-Approved, Balanced and Simple).
Ingredients
- Ground Turkey: I’m using organic ground turkey for the protein in this meal. Lean meat is best for dogs to eat daily and turkey is a great choice.
- Coconut Oil: I use a little organic coconut oil to cook the turkey so it doesn't stick to the pan as coconut oil is a dog safe oil. You can also use EVOO if you prefer too.
- Sweet Potatoes: Organic sweet potatoes are a great healthy carb your dog can enjoy daily. They have vitamin A, fiber, and more. Be sure to peel sweet potatoes as the skin is not good for dogs and can cause GI upset.
- Bell Pepper: I’m using organic red bell pepper as this is John John’s favorite color as it has a sweet flavor.
- Carrots: Organic carrots are a great daily veggie for your dog (John John eats these every day). They have beta carotene, vitamin A and more!
- Green Beans: Green beans are a dog safe veggie that round out this meal!
*For a full list of ingredients and measurements, visit the recipe card below.
Easy Substitutions
- Protein: Feel free to swap the protein for another one such as ground beef, ground lamb, or ground chicken.
- Veggies: You can swap veggies for other dog friendly vegetables your pup may like. Other dog safe veggies include broccoli, zucchini, celery, peas, beets, or Brussels sprouts.
- Carbs: You can skip potatoes and make How to Cook Rice For Dogs or quinoa and serve the meat and veggies over this instead if your dog prefers.
Tips for Homemade Turkey Dog Food Recipe
- Make sure peel the sweet potatoes completely. While skins can be beneficial for humans, they can cause GI upset for your dog.
- If you don’t have sweet potatoes you can use Russet potatoes, sweet potatoes are just have more benefits.
- You can also skip the potatoes and serve this over Jasmine rice. I don't recommend brown rice or wild rice for dogs as much as these have more fiber, which can be harder on digestion.
- If you don’t have a Dutch oven, you can use your slow cooker or a large pot.
- Feel free to use another type of ground meat — chicken, beef, or lamb are also great options.
- If your dog is small, you should chop the veggies more before serving.
- I always add beef liver on top of all of John John’s meals to make them complete. Learn How to Cook Beef Liver for Dogs with our easy tutorial!
How to Make Turkey Dog Food Recipe
- Peel the sweet potato, it’s important to peel completely because the skin can cause GI upset for dogs. Cut into 1-inch cubes. Trim off the ends and cut the green beans into 1-inch pieces.
- Slice the carrots and chop the bell pepper into 1-inch pieces.
- Add the coconut oil to a Dutch oven and put over medium heat. Add the ground turkey and stir to cook the turkey though, about 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to low.
- Add the sweet potatoes, green beans, carrots, and peppers on top. Add in 2 cups of water, don’t stir.
- Add the lid and cook for 2 hours, stirring halfway through. Ensure the potatoes are soft when poked with a fork before serving.
- Then it's ready to serve to your dog!
Food Topper Ideas
- Eggs: Scrambled eggs (cooked in olive oil or coconut oil) make a great food topper with additional protein! Your dog will love this addition.
- Blueberries: These are a tasty fruit and your dog will love these!
- Apples: Chop into small pieces (leave the skin on) and ensure to not give your dog the seed or core.
- Nutritional Yeast: This is a wonderful food topper that will enhance food with a “cheesy” flavor, without dairy! John John loves this as a food topper!
Recipe FAQ’s
Yes, ground turkey is a lean meat with protein and this meal also includes vegetables and sweet potatoes which make it balanced with vegetables and healthy carbs.
Yes, turkey is a lean meat, which many dogs do well on. All dogs are different, so always introduce new food slowly.
This recipe has lean protein, vegetables and healthy carbs. It has the foundation of a complete meal, but could use a few extra add ins if you are feeding solely homemade food. If you are cooking this as a treat meal for your dog then it's totally fine as is. But, if this is going to be a regular meal in your dog's homemade diet, then it should at least include organ meats and bone powder. I talk about this and more in my course, How to Cook Homemade Dog Food (Vet-Approved, Balanced and Simple). This course teaches you how to balance meals and add in supplements to make homemade complete meals for your dog.
I recommend adding organ meats, such as How to Make Beef Liver for Dogs or How to Cook Turkey Giblets for Dogs, as well as bone powder here to make this meal balanced.
Yes, dogs can eat turkey every day if it's part of a balanced diet.
Yes, sweet potatoes are a healthy carb for dogs. John John eats them every day and loves them!
You can make this in your slow cooker or even just a large pot.
Read my article, How Much Homemade Dog Food Should I Feed My Dog? for a simple formula to calculate how much food to feed your dog.
Yes, you totally can. As much homemade food as you can give your dog will only benefit them. So, if you can't cook homemade all the time, mixing in homemade with dog food will only benefit your dog. Just ensure that the total amount of food does not exceed what your dog needs in a day.
Yes, puppies can eat this too!
Homemade dog food will last up to a week in the refrigerator (just like people food)! Be sure to store in an airtight container in the fridge. You can also portion this out and freeze it as well.
Yes, this is a wonderful way to meal prep if you are making homemade food. You can portion out meals for your dog and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. I talk more about this and give lots of tips in my course, How to Cook Homemade Dog Food (Vet-Approved, Balanced and Simple).
More Homemade Dog Food Recipes
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Turkey Dog Food Recipe
Equipment
- Cutting Board
- Knife
- 4-Quart Dutch Oven
Ingredients
- 1 large sweet potato
- 2 large carrots
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 cup green beans
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 2 cups water
Instructions
- Peel the sweet potato, it’s important to peel completely because the skin can cause GI upset for dogs. Cut into 1-inch cubes.
- Slice the carrots and chop the bell pepper into 1-inch pieces.
- Trim off the ends and cut the green beans into 1-inch pieces.
- Add the coconut oil to a Dutch oven and put over medium heat. Add the ground turkey and stir to cook the turkey though, about 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to low.
- Add the sweet potatoes, green beans, carrots, and peppers on top. Add in 2 cups of water, don’t stir.
- Add the lid and cook for 2 hours, stirring halfway through. Ensure the potatoes are soft when poked with a fork before serving.
- If you have a small dog, you should chop up veggies a bit more before serving. (This is what I do for John John).
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Video
Notes
- Make sure peel the sweet potatoes completely. While skins can be beneficial for humans, they can cause GI upset for your dog.
- If you don’t have sweet potatoes you can use Russet potatoes, they just don’t have as many health benefits for your dog.
- You can also skip the potatoes and serve this over Jasmine rice. I don't recommend brown rice or wild rice for dogs as much as these have more fiber, which can be harder on digestion.
- If you don’t have a Dutch oven, you can use your slow cooker or a large pot.
- Feel free to use another type of ground meat — chicken, beef, or lamb are also great options.
- If your dog is small, you should chop the veggies more before serving.
- I always add beef liver on top of all of John John’s meals to make them complete. Learn How to Cook Beef Liver for Dogs with our easy tutorial!
- Serving Size – This makes about 10 meals for John John, about a week's worth of food. If you have a larger dog you can double or triple this recipe. If you have a smaller dog, you can half it as you shouldn't keep food for more than 5 days in the fridge. Use my chart How Much Homemade Food Should I Feed My Dog? for reference on how much to feed.
- High Altitude — Follow the recipe as noted.
Nutrition
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John John eats this almost daily! It’s a great go to meal that’s easy to make.
I’ve been using chickpea flower, brown rice, barley with 1lb chicken. I mix all the veggies together. Carrots, green peas, green beans, broccoli, spinach, frozen sweet potatoes.. turmeric, ginger, dried parsley, rosemary. I do a teaspoon of each. Flaxseed. Is this too much. She was recently diagnosed with Cushing and has a potbelly, insatiable appetite and thirst.
Hi Janet,
I would remove the chickpeas (dog’s don’t really digest beans well, so this is not ideal for them), the brown rice is also higher in carbs and much harder to digest, so I would ditch that too, I don’t recommend brown rice for dogs. Spinach is not ideal for daily feeding because it’s high in oxalates, which can cause issues in dogs such as kidney stones and stomach issues. I don’t feed John John any spinach or kale, they really just don’t need it. I would limit green beans, I wouldn’t do these daily, but sometimes is okay. Chicken and other veggies you mentioned, carrots, broccoli, sweet potatoes are all great. Just ensure your chicken is lower in fat (use white meat mainly, dark meat sometimes) and do not feed chicken skins. I would also recommend adding blueberries to your daily menu, they just need a small amount. Since your dog has Cushings, I would recommend getting in contact with a vet to ensure they are getting everything they need, such as medication. You could also try a holistic vet that can treat more naturally as well. If you want to learn more about specific foods that are safe for dogs daily, you should download our course, How to Cook Homemade Dog Food that’s vet-approved! You can find a link to it here, use code JOHNJOHN for 25% off: https://mimisorganiceats.com/product/how-to-cook-homemade-dog-food-vet-approved-balanced-and-simple/