Best Homemade Meatballs For Dogs Recipe - Spoiled Hounds (2024)

Homemade meatballs for dogs with chicken, vegetables, and herbs are a healthy treat for your furry friend!

Serve them as a DIY dog treat, or put it on their plate for a special or holiday meal. Either way, doggy meatballs are a tasty treat made with lean protein that is good for your dog’s health.

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Why Make Dog Meatballs

Dog owners are always looking for healthy treats for their dogs. We love them, so we want them to have yummy snacks.

Thankfully, this is one of the easiest and healthiest meatballs you can share with your dog. It’s made with real meat and you can give it to your pet instead of a holiday turkey.

Human meatballs in Italian dishes have harmful ingredients such as garlic, onion powder, and tomato sauce. That’s why the best thing is to make food and treats for dogs instead of giving them human foods.

Store-bought meatballs like Milos Meatballs and Rachel Ray Dog Meatballs have extra ingredients like sugar, soy grits, vegetable glycerin, artificial flavors, artificial colors, and preservatives.

Why This is the Best Meatballs for Dogs Recipe

This will be one of your favorite dog meatball recipes because it’s basically a good homemade meatball made with dog-safe ingredients.

One meatball has only 2 grams of carbohydrates and 0.2 grams of sugar so it is good for diabetic dogs. The full nutritional value can be found in the recipe card below.

You can use them as pill pockets too. Just push the pill into the cooked meatball. Your pup won’t know they are eating their medicine, they will just enjoy the delicious treat!

Dog Meatball Ingredients

The entire ingredient list, quantities of each, and the step-by-step directions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

These meatballs are made with common ingredients you can find at any grocery store. If you want to make organic meatballs you’ll need to use organic ingredients.

First, I want to share some additional information about the ingredients I used in these dog-friendly meatballs:

• Ground Chicken is a great source of protein
• Egg is a binder for meatballs and adds extra protein
• Plain Yogurt adds moisture and has healthy fatty acids
• Quick Oats are full of healthy nutrients and vitamins
• Carrots are a healthy vegetable loaded with beta-carotene
• Zucchini adds lots of fiber for gut health
• Parsley adds flavor and is a natural breath freshener
• Rosemary has an aromatic punch
• Fresh Mint is easy on your dog’s belly and also freshens breath

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

• You can make quick oats by pulsing old-fashioned rolled oats in a blender or food processor for a few seconds just to chop them up into smaller pieces.
• You can substitute quick oats with almond flour or brown rice flour.
• You can substitute yogurt with unsweetened coconut milk.
• You can substitute or add any dog-safe herbs.
• You can substitute any dog-safe fresh vegetables for carrots and zucchini. Red bell pepper is recommended over green bell pepper.
• You can use other lean meats such as ground turkey, ground lamb, ground venison, or extra lean ground beef (95/5 or 90/10) instead of ground chicken. Lean meat is best, especially for dogs with certain health issues such as pancreatitis or gastrointestinal problems.

Equipment Needed

You probably have all the equipment needed for making this dog meatball recipe. Just in case, here are a few of the important ones:

• Measuring Cups and Spoons
• Large Mixing Bowl
• Baking Sheet
• Parchment Paper

How to Make Meatballs for Dogs

These are the recipe steps and photos of the process of making the meatballs. You can bake them in the oven or air fry them. I hope they help you make this healthy chicken meatballs for dogs recipe!

You can scroll down to the bottom of this article for a printable recipe card.

Oven Method

1. Place the ground chicken, egg, and yogurt in a large bowl.

2. Mix until well combined.

3. Add all of the remaining ingredients and then combine well.

4. Roll the mixture into balls (heaping tablespoon for each meatball).
5. Place the balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

6. Bake the meatballs at 350°F for 30 minutes or until browned and the internal temperature is 165°F.

You can change the size of your meatballs to make large or mini meatballs. The cooking time will have to be adjusted as smaller ones will cook faster and large ones will take longer.

Air Fryer Method

1. Prepare the raw meatballs like you would for the oven method.
2. Preheat the air fryer to 400°F and line the air fryer basket with parchment paper.
3. Place the raw meatballs in the air fryer basket. Be sure to leave space between them. You’ll have to cook the meatballs in batches.
4. Air fry the meatballs for 10 minutes or until browned and the internal temperature is 165°F.

Pan Fried Method

• Prepare the raw meatballs like you would for the oven method.
• Heat a tablespoon or two of coconut oil or olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
• Fry the meatballs in batches until browned and done (internal temp is 165°F).

Serving Size

How many meatballs should you give your dog? A serving would be from 1 to 3 meatballs based on your dog’s size. One for small dogs, two for medium-sized, and three for larger dogs.

Always start with small quantities when giving your dog any new foods or treats.

Maintaining a dog’s healthy weight is very important. Keep that in mind when feeding dogs anything in addition to their regular dog food.

Are you looking for meatballs to help with weight gain? Check out my Satin Balls recipe to make meatballs for dogs to gain weight.

How to Store

Store these chicken and veggie meatballs in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Extra meatballs will last up to 5 days.

You can freeze them for longer storage. Place the meatballs on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet with space between them. Freeze them, then transfer the frozen meatballs to a plastic freezer bag.

Frozen meatballs will last up to 3 months. Thaw them in the refrigerator overnight.

Can humans eat homemade meatballs for dogs?

Yes, absolutely! They are yummy. Just note that folks would want them seasoned a bit with salt and pepper.

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More Dog Treat Recipes

Want to make more goodies for your dog? Check these out:

• Air Fryer Dog Treats
• Bacon Dog Treats
• Liver Dog Treats
• Meatloaf for Dogs
• Pizza for Dogs
• Waffles for Dogs

Not in the mood for making homemade dog treats? Check out myfavorite dog treatson myAmazon dog treatslist.

Find lots ofeasy dog treats recipeshere on Spoiled Hounds!