This past January, we shared a post highlighting thirty days of homemade dog food that we made for our pup, Indie, during the month of December 2022.

As much a photo collage as a visual guide on the types of food that Indie has been eating throughout her life here with us, I wanted to dispel the myth that cooking for your pup is difficult, time-consuming and complicated. It was a piece that worked in tandem with a 2018 post about the history of dog food where we also introduced how to make your own balanced meals for your dog regardless of size, age or breed.

Both posts shared details about a large majority of the types of food Indie (and all dogs) can eat but neither contained a specific recipe. So in today’s post, as requested recently by our canine-loving readers, I’m sharing one of Indie’s most favorite meals complete with an ingredient list, step-by-step instructions and notes on scaling proportions depending on the size of your dog.

On the menu today it’s Steamed Chicken, Carrots & Sweet Potatoes – a one-pot stovetop meal that takes five minutes to prepare and one hour to cook. You can amend the recipe to make a large batch that will make up to eight meals or you can make a small batch that will provide a fresh homecooked meal for one to two days worth of dinners and breakfasts. Fridge-friendly, freezer-friendly and on-the-go-approved, if packed in an air-tight container and kept cold, this recipe can tag along on your all summer outings including picnicking, hiking, and overnight vacations. It can be reheated in the microwave or the oven if your dog likes warm food, or it can be enjoyed cold right from the fridge. You can toss in additional grains or vegetables if your pal has a big appetite, or serve it as is – a simple meat and two.

This is also a good starter recipe if you are new to the world of making homemade dog food or are introducing your pup to this new way of eating. It’s simple to make, requires just a handful of ingredients, and is easily digestible for all dogs. And just like all of Indie’s other meals, it’s 100% human friendly too. That’s the key to homemade dog food. There is not one ingredient in this recipe that you wouldn’t want to eat yourself. Let’s look…

Homemade Dog Food: Steamed Chicken with Carrots & Sweet Potatoes

This recipe makes 4-5 servings for a medium-sized dog weighing 45-50 lbs. Please see note regarding portion sizes following the recipe.

One 2-3lb package of chicken thighs, containing 4-6 thighs (Bone-in and skin-on preferred, but you can also use skinless/boneless thighs, chicken breasts or chicken tenders. We do not recommend bone-in-chicken breasts or wings though as these contain too many small bones. Please see note below.)

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 lb baby carrots

3 large sweet potatoes, skin-on and roughly chopped into large 3″ inch cubes

1 healthy pinch of sea salt

Optional: a handful of roughly chopped fresh parsley

Rinse chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Set aside. In a large stock pot, over medium-high heat, add the olive oil, making sure it coats the entire bottom of the pot. Let the oil warm up for about one minute. Add the carrots in a flat layer.

Next, add the chicken (skin side down if using bone-in thighs) …

Sprinkle the chicken with a generous pinch of sea salt. Then add the chopped sweet potatoes on top of the chicken and the fresh parsley on top of the potatoes.

Turn the heat down to medium. Cover the pot and cook for 60 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and let it rest for 15 minutes on a cooling rack. Dinner is done!

With stew-like consistency, this dog-friendly recipe is full of comfort food flavors all bathed in a natural broth that forms when the water in the carrots and sweet potatoes mixes with the olive oil and the chicken fat. The hour-long steam makes the chicken fall off the bone and makes the vegetables so tender you can slice them with a butter knife.

After the chicken has rested, remove one thigh, one cup of sweet potatoes, 1/2 cup of carrots, and 1/3 cup of broth to your dog’s bowl. Pull the chicken from the bone with a fork and then discard the bone. Because they splinter easily and can cause internal damage to organs, you never want to feed your pup any chicken bones. This is why we don’t recommend using bone-in chicken breasts which usually come with the ribs attached. The same goes for chicken wings which are made up of many small bones that can be easily missed when cutting the chicken up after it cooks.

Once you have transferred the chicken and vegetables to your pup’s bowl, slice everything into bite-sized pieces, mix it all together and let it cool to room temperature before serving.

Hands down one of Indie’s most favorite meals, Steamed Chicken with Carrots & Sweet Potatoes is a year-round pup-pleaser of a recipe and contains all sorts of nutritious vitamins and minerals. Collagen (chicken skin), beta-carotene (sweet potatoes, carrots), magnesium (sea salt), healthy fat and vitamins E & K (olive oil), and lean protein (chicken) are just a few of the beneficial vitamins and minerals wrapped up in this recipe that will help keep your dog happy and healthy.

Over the 4th of July weekend, Indie celebrated her 10th birthday. Of course, we surprised her with her favorite chicken dinner. This time, in addition to the sweet potatoes and carrots we added in some chopped-up cucumbers, another summer love of hers.

That is just a little example of how carefree this chicken recipe can be. The carrots, olive oil, and the chicken itself are mainstays, but the sweet potatoes can be swapped out for butternut squash, red potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, pumpkin, celery, beets. Just avoid adding any onions, garlic, or citrus fruits – three types of food that also seem like they might be natural companions to this meal, but are actually toxic to dogs. If you are interested in more possibilities to add in or swap out be sure to check the lists of other approved dog-friendly foods in the previous two posts here and here.

Leftovers can be stored in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to four days. When the broth cools it transforms into a jelly-like consistency similar to aspic. Don’t be put off by its wiggly jiggly nature. It’s just the coagulation of the olive oil, broth, vegetable juices and chicken fat. Your dog will love it, so be sure to include a little bit of it with each additional serving. If you decide to make some rice or lentils to augment the chicken and vegetables that jelly will add extra flavor to the new additions.

And two final notes on year-round enjoyment of this recipe and portion sizes …

In the summer, Indie tends to eat a little less food if it’s particularly hot, so when it comes to this recipe, she’s happy most of the warm-weather months with just the chicken, sweet potato and carrot combo. But in fall, winter and spring when she is at her most active, we usually add in a few other foods too for both variety and an extra dose of go-power. Other accompaniments you might like to include are the following…

• 3/4 cup of cooked rice, 1/2 cup of cooked lentils or 1/4 cup oatmeal

• 1 cup of additional cooked and chopped green vegetables (broccoli, collard greens, kale, spinach, zucchini, celery, green beans or peas)

All the proportions discussed so far are based on Indie’s medium 55lb. frame. If you are making this recipe for a small breed dog like a chihuahua or a bichon, you can certainly swap out the thighs for smaller cuts like chicken tenders or thin-cut chicken breasts. If you decide to use either of those, simply adjust the cooking process by starting with the layer of carrots first after you add the olive oil, then add the chicken, salt and sweet potato layers. That way the chicken won’t get stuck to the bottom of the pot.

And on the opposite spectrum, if you have a large breed dog over 60 lbs. I’d recommend doubling the portion size of the recipe above. The nice thing about using a big stock pot is that you can fit quite a bit of food in it. I’ve made this recipe using all types of chicken cuts, and all types of quantities from 4 to 8 thighs with 2lbs of carrots and six sweet potatoes, and it still comes out great every time.

Recently I discovered the 1910 story of Bum, a stray dog in St. Joseph, Missouri who frequented the back door of several restaurants in town each day. He was such a polite and enthusiastic eater, the kitchen cooks and wait staff couldn’t help but spoil him with the finest menu selections of the day. After Bum enjoyed a delicious meal at his favorite luncheonettes, he’d trot down the street and wait patiently for his next favorite set of restaurants to open up for dinner service. Bum so charmed all the restaurant workers that he became the most beloved (and well-fed) fixture in the neighborhood.

This story reminds of Indie, who was also a stray who trotted into our backyard during our Fourth of July barbecue in 2014. Once she had her first bite of grilled chicken, she never left. And so began a now nine-year adventure of cooking for Indie, our most enthusiastic taste-tester here in the Vintage Kitchen. Julia Child was famous for saying ” People who love to eat are always the best people.” Around here, we could say the same about dogs too.

I hope this post is helpful to the readers who requested it. We are always here to answer any questions you might have so feel free to ask away should you run into any troubles. In the meantime, happy eating to your pups. I hope they love this recipe as much as Indie does!

Cheers to all the dogs out there who inspire a wealth of joy and creativity in the kitchen. And to Indie, our delight of a dinner eater from day one.