Instant Pot Dog Food Recipe

This Instant Pot dog food recipe makes a big batch of homemade dog food with chicken, rice, sweet potatoes, spinach, and coconut oil—all cooked together in the pressure cooker. I originally started making it for Bailey Mae and Jeb when I wanted more control over what was going into their bowls. They knew exactly what was happening every time the Instant Pot came out.

It is simple, freezer-friendly, and easy to portion. We used this homemade dog food alongside their regular food rather than treating it as a nutritionally complete replacement diet.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I may also earn from other affiliate programs for clicks, purchases, or sign-ups made through links in this post. Thank you for supporting Mommy’s Memorandum!

Why You’ll Love This Instant Pot Dog Food Recipe

Making dog food in the Instant Pot takes most of the hands-on work out of batch cooking. Everything cooks in one pot, the chicken becomes tender enough to shred easily, and you can portion the finished mixture for the refrigerator or freezer.

• One-pot prep: The chicken, rice, sweet potatoes, spinach, broth, and coconut oil cook together.
• Batch-friendly: Make enough to portion for several days and freeze the rest.
• Simple ingredients: You know exactly what went into the pot.
• Easy to portion: Refrigerate individual portions or freeze them for later.
• Dog-approved: Bailey Mae and Jeb were enthusiastic members of the testing department.

I make this in a 6-quart Instant Pot, which gives the ingredients enough room to pressure cook without overcrowding the pot.

Bailey Mae and Jeb Were My Original Taste Testers

Bailey Mae and Jeb were the reason this Instant Pot dog food became a regular recipe in my kitchen. I liked knowing what I was adding to their bowls, and they liked the part where chicken appeared.

We still fed kibble and used this homemade mixture as part of their meals. That distinction matters. Chicken, rice, and vegetables may look like a perfectly complete dinner to us, but a dog’s nutritional requirements are much more specific.

Think of this recipe as an easy homemade addition to your dog’s regular diet unless your veterinarian has advised you otherwise.

Ingredients for Homemade Dog Food in the Instant Pot

You’ll need just six ingredients:

• 1 whole chicken: Use plain, unseasoned chicken. Every cooked bone must be removed before serving.
• 3 cups chicken broth: Read the label carefully and choose one without onion or garlic. Plain water can be used if your veterinarian prefers it.
• 2 sweet potatoes: Peel and dice them into reasonably even pieces.
• 2 cups baby spinach: Fresh spinach cooks down considerably in the pressure cooker.
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil: This adds fat to the mixture; skip or adjust it if your veterinarian has recommended a lower-fat diet.
• 2 cups rice: Rinse the rice before adding it to the pot.

Dog Food Ingredients to Avoid

Homemade does not automatically mean dog-safe. Before adding leftovers, broth, sauces, seasonings, or other ingredients to your dog’s food, check every label.

Foods and ingredients that should not be added to this recipe include:

• Onions, leeks, chives, and garlic
• Grapes and raisins
• Chocolate, cocoa, coffee, and caffeine
• Xylitol, which may also appear on labels as birch sugar
• Macadamia nuts
• Alcohol
• Raw yeast dough
• Cooked chicken bones

Broth deserves special attention because onion and garlic are common ingredients in products made for people. Always read the full ingredient list rather than relying on a “natural” or “healthy” label.

See How to Make Instant Pot Dog Food

Watch the recipe from pot to pup bowl. The video shows how the ingredients go into the Instant Pot, how tender the chicken becomes after pressure cooking, how to remove the chicken and bones safely, and how I portion the finished homemade dog food for storage.

How to Make Dog Food in the Instant Pot

This is where the Instant Pot earns its keep. There is very little active cooking once everything is in the pressure cooker.

1. Prepare the Ingredients

Peel and dice the sweet potatoes, rinse the rice, and check the chicken broth ingredient label carefully. Do not use broth containing onion or garlic.

2. Add Everything to the Instant Pot

Add the whole chicken, chicken broth, sweet potatoes, spinach, coconut oil, and rinsed rice to the Instant Pot. Do not exceed your pressure cooker’s maximum fill line.

3. Pressure Cook for 30 Minutes

Secure the lid and set the Instant Pot to Manual or Pressure Cook on High for 30 minutes.

When the cooking cycle finishes, carefully perform a quick pressure release according to your Instant Pot manufacturer’s instructions.

4. Remove the Chicken and Every Bone

Transfer the cooked chicken to a large plate or cutting board. The meat should be very tender.

This step deserves your full attention: remove and discard every bone before any chicken goes back into the dog food. Cooked bones should never be fed to dogs.

Shred the boneless chicken and return the meat to the Instant Pot.

If there is any question about whether the chicken is completely cooked, an instant-read meat thermometer makes it easy to verify doneness before shredding.

5. Mix and Cool

Stir the shredded chicken back into the rice and vegetables until everything is evenly combined.

Allow the mixture to cool before serving. Your dog does not need dinner straight from the lava fields of the Instant Pot, no matter what those pleading eyes suggest.

How Much Homemade Dog Food Should I Feed My Dog?

There isn’t one serving size that works for every dog.

A Chihuahua, Labrador, senior dog, growing puppy, highly active dog, and dog trying to lose weight all have very different calorie and nutrient needs. That’s why I am intentionally not giving a universal “feed X cups per pound” recommendation.

Ask your veterinarian how much of this homemade dog food should be included in your dog’s daily intake and whether it should be used as a topper, treat, or larger portion of the meal.

Once you know the amount your dog should receive, a digital kitchen scale makes it much easier to portion each batch consistently.

How to Store Instant Pot Dog Food

Once the food has cooled, divide it into smaller containers rather than refrigerating one enormous pot of warm food.

I like wide-mouth half-pint Mason jars for individual refrigerated portions. They stack neatly, you can see what is inside, and one jar holds a convenient amount for portioning.

Store cooked dog food in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. Freeze anything you will not use within that period.

How to Freeze Homemade Dog Food

This recipe is particularly useful for freezer meal prep.

For grab-and-thaw portions, freeze the mixture in silicone freezer portion trays with lids. Once frozen, portions can stay in the covered tray or be transferred to an airtight freezer storage container.

Thaw the amount you need in the refrigerator. If your dog prefers the food slightly warm, warm it gently and stir well before serving so there are no hot spots.

Can I Substitute Turkey or Beef for the Chicken?

Different proteins change the calories, fat content, and nutritional profile of a recipe, so I don’t treat them as nutritionally interchangeable.

If your veterinarian says turkey, beef, pork, or another protein is appropriate for your dog, ask whether any other ingredients or portions should change along with it.

Can I Make This Instant Pot Dog Food Grain-Free?

I would not simply remove the rice because “grain-free” sounds healthier. A dog’s nutritional needs are individual, and removing ingredients changes the nutritional profile of the entire recipe.

If your dog has an allergy, digestive issue, or medical reason for avoiding a particular grain, ask your veterinarian what should replace it rather than improvising a complete diet.

Is This a Vet-Approved Instant Pot Dog Food Recipe?

No online recipe should be considered universally “vet-approved” for every dog.

This recipe is a homemade chicken, rice, and vegetable mixture that we used as part of Bailey Mae and Jeb’s diets. It is not formulated as a complete and balanced diet.

If you want to feed homemade dog food exclusively, the American Animal Hospital Association recommends working with a board-certified veterinary nutritionist who can formulate a recipe that provides the nutrients your individual dog needs.

That is especially important for puppies, pregnant or nursing dogs, senior dogs, and dogs with allergies, kidney disease, pancreatitis, diabetes, heart disease, digestive problems, or other medical conditions.

Can I Add Leftover Vegetables?

Sometimes I added dog-safe vegetables that needed to be used, but “leftover” does not automatically mean appropriate for a dog.

Avoid cooked vegetables prepared with onion, garlic, butter, sauces, heavy seasoning, or other ingredients your veterinarian has not approved. Plain is the goal here.

Tips for Better Instant Pot Dog Food

• Read the broth label. Onion and garlic can hide in products made for humans.
• Remove every bone. Check the shredded chicken carefully before returning it to the pot.
• Keep it plain. Your dog does not need the seasonings we add to human food.
• Cool before serving. Pressure-cooked food stays hot longer than it looks.
• Portion before freezing. It is much easier to thaw one serving than an entire frozen block.
• Introduce changes gradually. Ask your veterinarian how to transition if this is new to your dog’s diet.
• Know your dog’s portion. Serving size should be based on the individual dog, not a generic chart from the internet.

Why I Still Love Making Dog Food in the Instant Pot

The reason this recipe has stayed with me isn’t that homemade food is automatically better than every commercial dog food. It isn’t.

I love it because the Instant Pot makes batch prep ridiculously easy, I can see every ingredient going into the pot, and I have very fond memories of Bailey Mae and Jeb knowing exactly when something was being made for them.

If you’re looking for a straightforward Instant Pot dog food recipe to use as a homemade topper or supplement, this chicken, rice, sweet potato, and spinach version is an easy place to start—after checking with the person who knows your dog’s health best: your veterinarian.