And I serve these dog meatballs with dog-friendly pasta (mostly zucchini noodles) and pasta sauce! I share step by step instructions on how to make them, all the potentially toxic ingredients to avoid, and how to make the BEST homemade dog food or dog treats with these meatballs!
The love I have for my two fur babies is indescribable! Both my husband and I love our pups Zuko, Korra, and our sweet Kita who sadly passed away in ’22. As a food recipe developer, I make it a point to make sure my pups get to eat delicious meals often too.
Especially during special occasions, like this dog birthday cake! But I also like to make them special meals for no special reason at all.
And it’s super important to me that the food that I make for them is packed with ingredients that are good for them, and avoid their food sensitivities, while including their favorite flavors too.
This 100% dog-friendly spaghetti and meatballs meal is one of those “regular-special” meals I like to make for them. And it goes without saying that they absolutely love it! 🙂
Why make these dog meatballs for your pups
It’s absolutely crucial to be aware that meatballs (or sausages) made for human consumption contain toxic ingredients for dogs, especially in large amounts. They contain,
High levels of fat High levels of sodium Garlic (although some studies say that a small amount of garlic is OK, but I still prefer not to give it) Onion Chili or red pepper flakes And other spices and some preservatives
I also make my own pasta sauce to serve with these dog meatballs, because you ABSOLUTELY cannot serve store-bought pasta sauce to your pups.
Tomatoes in high amounts are not good for your pups. It also contains sugar, salt, garlic, and onion, which are also a no-go for them.
Store-bought dog meatballs can be a good alternative, but these meatballs are also recommended only as a dog treat because,
They can also contain more fat than your dog requires. Not nutritionally balanced to serve as a meal. If they are raw fed, then raw meat “meatballs” can be OK, but it’s not recommended that they be cooked, if your dog is not raw fed. If your dog has food sensitivities, then it also limits the type of meatballs you can give them.
This is why I like to make my own dog-friendly AND nutritious meatballs for my pups
I can choose the type of protein I use for the meatballs. And make sure it’s a very lean meat which is better for them. I can add vegetables that are good for them, for added nutrition. The pasta sauce contains ABSOLUTELY NO tomatoes! Instead, it’s made with pureed pumpkin, red bell peppers, and fresh pureed berries like strawberry or raspberry that add flavor, nutrition, AND the red color to make it look like pasta sauce! These doggy meatballs also contain other ingredients like turmeric and black pepper which are anti-inflammatory, and ginger that helps with blood circulation and digestion. The ingredients are flexible enough to include other beneficial ingredients for your dog as well, such as organ meat, spinach, green beans, and sweet potato. While pasta is a “sometimes” food for my pups, zucchini noodles can be eaten more frequently! So, serving steamed zucchini noodles also adds nutrition to your pups’ meals. Each ingredient has nutritional value for your dogs. No fillers. The meatballs can be made in ANY size you like! Make them extra small to use them as a tasty treat for training, or make them larger for meals. But, if you don’t want to make meatballs, the base of these meatballs can be cooked and served as is OR even as part of a burger!
Ingredients to make meatballs for dogs
Ingredients for meatballs
Extra lean ground beef – Beef is my dogs’ favorite protein, but you can use lean chicken or turkey as well. Sardines – I use spring water canned sardines with NO salt. Please read the ingredients before you use it to ensure that there is no oil or salt in the sardines. A source or protein with omega 3 fatty acids, vitamin D, and other minerals and vitamins, this is a fantastic addition! Carrots – Carrots have fiber, beta carotene, vitamins, magnesium, calcium and phosphorus, which are all very beneficial to your pup. Broccoli – Has loads of fiber, loads of vitamins, and even anti-inflammatory properties. Turmeric and black pepper – Turmeric contains anti-inflammatory properties, and black pepper helps to absorb beneficial compounds in turmeric. I add these to my homemade dog cake recipe as well. Ginger – Ginger (in small doses) can also help with their digestion. Kelp powder – This is an optional ingredient, but I like to add this to my dogs’ food. There are many nutritional benefits from kelp for dogs (from minerals, vitamins and amino acids)! But it also helps with regulating thyroid and adrenal gland function. One of my dogs has skin sensitivities, and kelp powder helps with skin allergies and inflammation too. While, the dose here is very small, I supplement my dogs’ regular food with the correct dose. Eggs – Source of protein with fatty acids and vitamins. I also like to purchase quail eggs from the pet store and use these in the recipe instead of hens eggs. When using quail eggs, I crush the egg shells and add this to the meatballs as well.
Sauce ingredients
Pureed pumpkin – Adds fiber and vitamins. Red bell pepper – Chock-full of vitamins and antioxidants. Strawberries – A low calorie treat on their own, but also contains antioxidants and nutrients like vitamin C and fiber.
Ingredients for the spaghetti
Zucchini – Range of vitamins and minerals such as copper, magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus. Whole grain or whole wheat spaghetti (optional) – This isn’t an essential ingredient for pups. But whole grain is a wonderful source of carbohydrates, fiber, and minerals.
Ingredients that can be toxic to dogs that should be avoided
Medium fat ground beef – While this is not toxic, many may purchase medium ground beef because it’s cheaper. Unfortunately, the issue with this is that once the meatballs are cooked, the fat is drained off and the meatballs will be much smaller. You must not serve the meatballs without draining the fat first. Onion – Onion is toxic to your dog. So do not add this to homemade dog treats. Garlic – Garlic is a little controversial in this context. While garlic toxicity is a thing, some studies say that garlic in small doses can be beneficial. Other sources say that garlic is toxic and should never be fed to your dog. Personally, I avoid garlic in homemade dog food. Tomatoes – Red and ripe tomatoes can be enjoyed by your puppy, but in very small doses, and only very occasionally. Green tomatoes are toxic to your dogs. But since tomatoes are a “sometimes” dog treat, I do not like to include tomatoes as part of my pups’ main meals or regular treats. Added oil, sugar, and salt – Do NOT add any of these to your pups’ diet! While they may be OK in small doses (like a pup cup that contains both fat and sugar), they should not be part of your pups’ regular, daily diet. Whereas these dog meatballs and spaghetti CAN be fed as a regular treat or meal for your dogs.
How to make these dog-friendly meatballs
Making the dog-friendly “pasta sauce”
Recipe tips
Ingredient substitutions and add-ins
Instead of beef, you can make this with chicken, turkey, kangaroo meat, lamb, elk, or pork. Just make sure the meat is lean. In addition to carrot and broccoli, you can add cabbage, sweet potatoes, celery, green beans, or spinach (not if your pet has kidney problems). Just make sure the meat is the main ingredient though. You can also add organ meat. I usually use this blend of beef organs that I purchase from the pet store, but sometimes I buy liver or hearts from the butcher as well. Instead of eggs, you can add apple sauce. To add more bulk to the meatballs, add over-cooked and mashed brown rice or oat flour (or cooked and blended oats). Hemp hearts are a great, nutritious addition to the meatballs as well. Instead of strawberries, you can use raspberries. The purpose of the berries is to add the red color to the sauce, so if you don’t mind changing the color of the pasta sauce, you can use blueberries too! Leave out the whole grain pasta, if you do not want to feed your pup pasta.
Healthy “pasta” options for homemade dog food include, Measure and weigh the ingredients needed. You can absolutely change the amount you add and substitute the ingredients. But, make sure you have a way to accurately calculate the calories in the recipe so you know how much to feed your pup. Also, if you’re unsure of which ingredients your dog is able to handle, please talk to your vet first! For instance, spinach and other leafy greens with lots of potassium are bad for a dog with kidney issues. One of my dogs, Zuko, is unable to eat more than a small amount of fish, while the other is currently unable to eat too much chicken. So, the recipe has been adjusted accordingly. My senior pup, Kita, had kidney issues, so I made sure none of the homemade treats had any high potassium ingredients. Prepare the vegetables. Finely grate the carrots OR slice them and blend in a processor until you have finely-chopped carrots. Blend the broccoli in the food processor so that it’s finely-chopped as well. Assemble the ingredients. In a large bowl, place the extra lean ground beef, or at least lean ground beef (image 1). Add the sardine to the the bowl. You don’t have to remove bones, as they will be very soft. But PLEASE make sure the sardines were in spring water, and contain no salt. Next, add the finely chopped vegetables, turmeric, black pepper, ginger, kelp powder, and the egg (image 2). If you don’t want to use an egg, you can add apple sauce instead. Mix the meatball mixture. This can also be done in the food processor for ease, but I just use my hands to mix all the ingredients together (image 3). If you’re using a food processor, then pulse the ingredients until well-mixed, while remembering to scrape down the sides and bottoms occasionally. Portion the meatballs. Once the mixture is mixed uniformly, it’s time to divide it. You can make the meatballs as small or as big as you like. I prefer to use 10 – 15 g per meatball, so that the meatballs are on the smaller side, but I also make meatballs that are even smaller, so they are bite-sized (images 5 – 7). This way I can use the meatballs as a meal OR use them as treats too. But you can also portion them larger, for bigger meatballs – around 20 – 30 g per portion. Cook the meatballs. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Do not add any oil to the pan. When the pan is fairly hot, add the homemade meatballs. DO NOT crowd the pan if possible, and cook them in batches. Cooking time will depend on the number and size of your meatballs. Cook the meatballs over medium heat for about 5 – 10 minutes, while moving them around with your spatula to evenly cook them until they’re cooked through (image 8). The smaller meatballs will only take about 5 minutes, while larger meatballs may take longer. Take care not to burn the meatballs. While it’s OK if there is a little caramelization, I try to avoid it. Your pups will likely not care for the “added flavor” from caramelized meatballs! Place the meatballs on paper towels to absorb the excess fat, and cool down (image 9). Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add the spaghetti to the boiling water and cook until the spaghetti is nice and soft. To help with digestion, I like to overcook the pasta when serving for dogs. So cook it longer than you would for al dente pasta. Remember NOT TO ADD SALT OR OIL to your pasta water! This is the only time I would advocate to not salt your water for pasta :). Let the pasta cool down completely. Use a knife to cut thin sheets of zucchini length-wise (image 10). Then julienne these sheets to get long, thin “noodles” (image 11). You can also use a mandoline to do this as well. Place the zucchini on a microwave-safe plate and microwave (covered) for about 2 – 5 minutes until the zucchini has just softened (image 12). You can add a little bit of water to help steam the zucchini. Let it cool. Process the bell pepper and pumpkin puree together until you have a smooth paste (images 13 – 14). Place this in a saucepan with water, and cook over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a simmer, and then set it aside to cool down slightly (image 15). Process the strawberries into a sauce (image 16), and add this to the slightly cooled down pumpkin mixture (image 17). Stir to combine, and then it’s ready to be used (image 18). Mix the meatballs and the pasta sauce together in a large bowl to coat the dog meatballs, in the dog-friendly pasta sauce (images 21 – 22). You absolutely can sprinkle a little unsalted mozzarella cheese on top if you like, but that’s optional. Serve their special, nutrition packed, veggie-packed, dog-friendly spaghetti and meatballs, and watch all your effort vanish in a matter of a few seconds!
Extra steamed zucchini Steamed carrot noodles Fresh, raw cucumber noodles Brown rice
Storage
The cooked meatballs will last in the fridge for about 4 days, in an airtight container. I also like to store them in the freezer for about 1 – 2 months. The sauce can be frozen with it, or separately. If you’re freezing the meatballs WITH the sauce, then store the sauce and meatballs in individual meal portions. To use these meatballs for dogs as a delicious treat, freeze them WITHOUT the sauce. The sauce will make them extremely messy to handle! I don’t really store the pasta long term, since it’s easy to make fresh. So I only make them as I need to, OR I purchase a bag of frozen zoodles for convenience.
Frequently asked questions
My pups!
Of course I can’t write about homemade dog food, without talking about my pups! My husband and I have two super adorable pups! Making sure they live as long and as healthily as possible with us is the most important thing in the world for us. So we make sure that everything we feed them is good for them, with no toxic ingredients. But we still manage to treat them with the occasional tasty snack that breaks the rules – like their birthday cakes or pup cups! Zuko is our extroverted beagle pup. He loves balls (both meatballs and the non-meatball variety), eating anything he can sniff out, and being one stubborn, mischievous little brat! He’s our independent boy, because he likes to have his space, and for us to not cuddle him too much. But he also loves to invade our space and for us to not complain about it. Also, cheese is life! Then we have our rescue, our sweet introverted girl Korra! She’s had a rough start to her life, so she doesn’t like strangers very much yet, but absolutely adores Zuko and us! She will curl up and sleep anywhere we are, and follow us around the house. We call her “Ms happy to be here”, because she really is just happy to be included in anything we do. We also lost our other senior boy a couple of years ago, and it’s safe to say he changed our lives forever! Kita came to us as a senior and we loved him with all our hearts. He was a very scared pup, completely shut down from the rest of the world, whose safe spaces were only his crate, the living room sofa, and our bed. Kita is also how we met Korra, and I’ll carry him in my heart everywhere I go. He hated vegetables and LOVED meat, and would not eat his kibble unless I sprinkled some cooked chicken on top! He loved eating these meatballs, and never knew about all the veggies we were sneaking into him! We are so very thankful that we had the chance to love him, and continue to love, and remember him.
