These meatballs for dogs are made with only the best ingredients for your pup(s)! There are no fillers or preservatives, each ingredient contributes plenty of nutrition for your pets, but they are flexible enough to be substituted too.
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.
Another important note about the ingredients and feeding any food to your pup
Since, I want to make sure I calculate my dogs’ daily caloric needs, I like to weigh everything I add to their food to make sure I have an idea of how much calories are in 1 batch of food I make. Then I can calculate how much to serve my dogs without overfeeding them. I do the same with my homemade dog cake recipe too.
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.
How to make these dog-friendly meatballs
Making the meatballs for dogs
Weigh the ingredients, so that you can calculate the calories at the end.
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.
Roll each portion into a ball and place on a plate to cook (image 7). You can also place the meatballs on a shallow tray (in one layer), to freeze.
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).
Making dog-friendly pasta
If you don’t want to use whole grain or whole wheat pasta, then double the amount of zucchini. Since this was for a special occasion, I added just a little bit of pasta as a treat!
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.
Making zucchini noodles
If you have a vegetable spiralizer, then this will make your job so much easier! But if you don’t, then you can do what I did here.
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.
Making the dog-friendly “pasta sauce”
Measure all the ingredients, preferably by weight.
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).
Serving the dog-friendly meatballs and spaghetti (Lady and the Tramp style!)
In your dog bowl, place a small amount of cooked pasta and steamed zucchini noodles (images 19 – 20).
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).
Place the sauce coated meatballs over the pasta (how many will depend on the caloric intake for your dog), and spoon a little of the pasta sauce on top.
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!
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,
- 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
They can absolutely eat THESE meatballs, as they are made specifically for doggos and are packed with nutritious vegetables as well.
But pups should not be fed meatballs that we humans eat, because they contain ingredients toxic to them such as salt, onion, garlic, tomatoes, chili peppers, and they are also high in fat.
The answer to this question will greatly vary from dog to dog, because of their body weight, age, and health status.
With cooked meat, the rule of thumb is that cooked meat should be about 25 – 30% of their food intake. This includes treats, kibble and other things they eat.
With raw food, the feeding guideline is to feed 2 – 2.5% of the weight per day.
But with both options, it’s extremely important to consult your vet to find out how much meat is appropriate for your pup, and what type of diet is right for them as well.
Yes! They can eat wheat pasta and egg noodles. But these don’t have a lot of nutrition for dogs, so they should only be fed to pets occasionally.
When giving them pasta, I like to overcook the pasta so that it’s softer and easier to digest (and not al dente). Whole wheat or whole grain pasta is better than regular pasta as well, because it does have a slightly better nutritional profile.
But PLEASE do not feed them salted, or oiled pasta, or pasta with pasta sauce. Only plain, unsalted, cooked pasta.
They cannot eat pasta sauce that is meant for human consumption. Pasta sauce is mostly tomatoes, with onions, garlic and salt. All of these ingredients are not good for your dog and can cause digestive issues.
However, here I have shared a dog friendly pasta sauce recipe with healthy ingredients, that looks just like pasta sauce we eat, but is actually good for your dog AND they’ll love it!
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Dog Friendly Meatballs (with Spaghetti)
Yield: Makes 40 – 44 small meatballs for dogs
Cuisine: Worldwide
Prep: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours
Servings: servings
Prevent your screen from going dark
Instructions:
Meatballs
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Place the carrots and broccoli in a small food processor, and process until finely chopped. Alternatively, you can use the grater box and knife to finely grate / chop the vegetables.
60 g broccoli, 60 g carrots
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In a large bowl, place the ground beef, chopped vegetables, canned sardines, egg, turmeric, black pepper, and kelp powder.
450 g extra lean ground beef, 30 – 60 g canned sardines, 1 large egg, 1 tsp ground turmeric, 1 Pinch black pepper, 4 tsp kelp powder
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Mix the ingredients very well until all the ingredients are evenly mixed together.
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Using a spoon, divide the meatballs into portions. I weigh each portion at 30 g, and then split each in half, so that the meatballs are about 14 – 15 g each. You can also keep them at 30 g for larger meatballs.
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Roll each portion in the palm of your hand to form a smooth ball. You should end up with 40 – 44 small meatballs, or 20 – 22 large meatballs.
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Preheat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat.
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When the pan is hot, place the meatballs in the pan. The heat should not be too high, as you don’t want the meat to caramelize or form a crust. It just needs to cook through. Move the meatballs around with a spatula to ensure they are cooking evenly from all sides. This can take between 5 – 10 minutes, depending on the shape of the meatballs.
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As soon as the meatballs are cooked through, place them all on a plate that is lined with paper towels to absorb excess fat, and to cool down.
Pasta sauce
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Place the pumpkin puree and red bell pepper in the food processor and process until the bell peppers have also pureed and mixed with the pumpkin puree. If needed, you can add the water to the processor as well.
226 g pumpkin puree, 115 g red bell pepper
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Add the pureed pepper and pumpkin into a small pot, along with the water (if you did not use it to puree the bell peppers above). Heat over medium heat while stirring until the mixture comes to a simmer.
226 g pumpkin puree, 115 g red bell pepper, 180 mL water
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Once the pasta sauce has simmered, remove the pot from the heat. You also have the option to let it simmer for longer if you want the sauce to be thicker.
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Let the sauce cool down slightly before adding the strawberries.
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Puree the strawberries and add them to the cooled sauce, and stir to mix. Alternatively, you can place the strawberries in a blender with the pumpkin base and blend it until smooth. A stick blender can also be used for this.
226 g strawberries
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ALTERNATIVELY, You can just blend the pumpkin, bell pepper, and strawberry together and add just enough water to get a sauce consistency and skip cooking altogether.
Pasta
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Pasta is optional. But can be given as a special treat, occasionally. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Break the pasta in half. Place the pasta in the boiling water and cook for about 12 – 15 minutes, or until the pasta is beyond the al dente stage and is soft. Do not add any salt or oil to the water or pasta.
60 g uncooked spaghetti
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Drain and let the pasta cool.
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While the pasta is cooking, slice the zucchini lengthwise, and then julienne the slices lengthwise to create “noodles”. You can also use a spiralizer, or a julienne peeler to create the noodles.
250 g zucchini
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Place the zucchini noodles on a microwave-safe plate and drizzle with a little water. Cover and microwave for about 1 – 2 minutes to steam the zucchini (the white part will start to look translucent). If you prefer, you can double the amount of zucchini instead of making regular pasta.
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Let the steamed zucchini cool down.
Assembly
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Place the cooled down meatballs with the cooled pasta sauce and toss to combine.
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In a dog food bowl, add about ¼ of the cooked pasta and ¼ of the steamed zucchini. Gently mix to combine.
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Then spoon over ¼ of the meatballs (about 10 – 11) and the pasta sauce. The amount you serve will depend on your dog (see recipe notes).
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Serve to your dogs.
Tips & Tricks
This meatballs recipe can be doubled or tripled easily.
This recipe makes 40 – 44 small meatballs with dog-friendly pasta sauce.
Each meatball is about 17 calories (without the sauce). This will serve approximately 4 meals for a dog that’s between 25 – 40 lbs and has no other health issues.
Please consult your vet, and serve this as an occasional meal, and not regularly as their daily meal.
Calculating calories
Each 15 g meatball has 17 calories (without the sauce).
This recipe as a whole approximately contains 1323 calories.
This recipe divided into 4 contains a total of 330 – 331 calories per meal.
My 40 lb Zuko can have one portion (or a little extra) of this (25 – 30%) as a meal.
My 50 lb Korra can have 35 – 40% of this recipe as a meal.
You can calculate your dog’s caloric needs here.
You can substitute the ingredients, or add more vegetables to the recipe if you like. See the recommendations in the post above. The caloric value will change with different additions.
Storage
This can be stored in the fridge or freezer.
Fridge – Airtight container for about 4 days.
Freezer – Airtight container for up to 1 month. Plain meatballs can be stored and taken out to thaw as needed. If you add the sauce as well, separate the meatballs and sauce into portions before freezing, so that it’s easy to thaw.
Nutrition Information:
Serving: 10mini meatballsCalories: 330kcal (17%)Carbohydrates: 27g (9%)Protein: 32g (64%)Fat: 9g (14%)Saturated Fat: 3g (19%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 119mg (40%)Sodium: 120mg (5%)Potassium: 992mg (28%)Fiber: 5g (21%)Sugar: 9g (10%)Vitamin A: 12503IU (250%)Vitamin C: 98mg (119%)Calcium: 91mg (9%)Iron: 5mg (28%)
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
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.
