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
- Place the ground chicken, egg, and yogurt in a large bowl.
- Mix until well combined.
- Add all of the remaining ingredients and then combine well.
- Roll the mixture into balls (heaping tablespoon for each meatball).
- Place the balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- 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
- Prepare the raw meatballs like you would for the oven method.
- Preheat the air fryer to 400°F and line the air fryer basket with parchment paper.
- 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.
- 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:
Not in the mood for making homemade dog treats? Check out my favorite dog treats on my Amazon dog treats list.
Find lots of easy dog treats recipes here on Spoiled Hounds!
Meatballs For Dogs
Ingredients
- 1 pound Ground Chicken
- 1 Egg
- 2 tablespoons Plain Yogurt
- ½ cup Quick Oats
- ½ cup Grated Carrot
- ½ cup Grated Zucchini
- 1 tablespoon Dried Parsley
- 1 teaspoon Dried Rosemary
- 1 teaspoon Fresh Mint
Instructions
Oven Method
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine ground chicken, egg and yogurt in a large bowl.
- Add the remaining ingredients and combine well.
- Roll a heaping tablespoon of the mixture into a ball. You can use a small cookie scoop for portioning.
- Repeat making balls with the remaining meat mixture.
- Place the balls on the parchment paper lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until browned and the internal temperature is 165°F.
Air Fryer Method
- Prepare the raw meatballs as stated for the oven method.
- Preheat air fryer to 400°F. Line the air fryer basket with parchment paper.
- Place the raw meatballs in the air fryer basket with space between them. You will need to cook the meatballs in batches.
- Air fry for 10 minutes or until browned and the internal temperature is 165°F.
Sherry Soderholm says
while I have not tried making them yet, they look easy and yummy. As soon as I go to the store, i will get some coconut milk and plain greek yogurt for her and make her a banana pnut butter treats either the shake or the frozen cubes and will also try so meatballs. glad to see I can use lamb as she cant have chicken (allergy) or beef (too much fat for her). I give her a little lamb from the can but would love to go home made and organic for her. While it wont help damage that has been done, it may give her a better quality of life (she’s now 13). She is a mixed beagle hound. Thank you for your recipes!
Deinna says
Thank you so much for this recipe. It’s the fourth time I have made them, and it won’t be the last. Love your “no nonsense,” easy to understand and absolutely spot on approach to health-wise ingredients used, and instructions to bake. All questions answered before anyone need ask. Dog and I both love the taste (I’ve tried them too). It’s the only dog meatball recipe I will ever make.