Are you getting fed up with processed foods and commercial kibbles in the market? Or do you simply have no time to prepare your pet’s serving for each meal?
If that’s the case, DIY freeze dried dog food can be the perfect choice!
Not only can you ensure that your pup will be provided with decent nutrients, but the dish’s taste is also designed to suit your baby best!
Wait no longer, but jump right into our instructions below to discover how to make the upcoming delicious treat for your pet dog!
What Is Freeze-Dried Dog Food?

As its name refers, freeze-dried dog food is a shelf-stable, safe, slight product made from raw components like fresh meat using the freeze-drying method.
In a technical sense, this food is undeniably uncooked yet nutrient-rich for your pet’s health.
The best thing about freeze-dried food is that several of them have a year-lasting due date as long as their packaging remains untouched.
This can be explained by the fact that no water is included in the production.
Thus, this kind of box stuff will lack the utmost necessity for microorganisms to stay alive, thus halting the rotting process.
All you may do is simply open the container whenever you want to feed your canine friend, pour in some warm water or milk to rehydrate the food, and there you go to have a flavorful serving for the buddy!
I know many may also get concerned hearing you may feed your dog with such unprocessed raw meat.
On certain sides, there is a heads-up if you have a puppy or parent dog with a medical history of allergies, immunocompromised, or stomach diseases.
In essence, I only recommend this kind of product when you have already had a deal with your vet to pack the pet with a raw diet.
Also, it will not be redundant to always thoroughly wash your hands before and after preparing the food for your dog.
And be sure to clean any surfaces the serving may come into touch with.
But can I freeze-dry my own dog food? The answer is yes! Imagine making your baby’s favorite dish without costing dollars on commercial products out there!
How To Make DIY Freeze Dried Dog Food?
You can make DIY freeze-dried food for canines by cooking meat (chicken, beef), rice, veggies, and fruits to your liking.
Then, mix them up in a blender and dry them in a freeze-dryer for about 40-50 hours.
Ingredients
- 6-pounds of dark and white flesh chicken
- 2-pounds of beef
- 2 broccoli heads
- 4-pounds of rice, either white or brown, will do the job.
- 2 pure pumpkin cans
- 1 corn can
- 6 apples
- 3.3 pounds of carrots
- 2 dozen eggs
- 2 cottage cheese or yogurt containers (optional)
- 7 to 10 sweet potatoes
How Do You Make Homemade Freeze-Dry Pets?
Step 1: How do you freeze dry meat for dogs?
First, get the chicken and ground beef cooked under extreme pressure conditions for around 20 to 25 minutes.At the same time, you can also begin processing with the vegetables, rice, or any ingredients required for cooking that you wish to add.
Step 2: The rest of the above task is to wait until the food is ready. This will be the best break to set up the components you don’t need to cook. Wash and chop the sweet potatoes, maize, carrots, and broccoli before placing them on the freeze-drying trays.
Step 3: Some items will demand another step of processing. As such, soft vegetables like apples could go to the blenders and then get diced up to be frozen.
Step 4: Once you’re done with the cooking part, it’s time to get it out and get the rice cooked in the previously stewed broth.
Step 5: There are always things for you to do while waiting. Before the rice can be cooked, let’s devise another vegetable-preparing task. Now, it’s the turn of the sweet potatoes, carrots, corn, and broccoli to be in the pot.
Remember that the broccoli should also be diced before getting placed in the trays.
Step 6: The next step is to cook two dozen eggs in a scramble.
Step 7: Once everything is ready, cut the meat into bite-sized pieces and then mix all of them together (the scrambled eggs, cooked rice, and meat) in the blender.
Step 8: Set them out in the trays equally, then place the food in the freeze-dryer. Be aware that the freeze-drying process can take up to 40 to 50 hours, so do not take it out before the time has come.
The food that has been freeze-dried should next be placed in sealed bags appropriate for dehydration or freeze-drying. Otherwise, there are chances that your newly made dry dog food will get spoiled.
How Is Freeze-Dried Dog Food Made?

The freeze-drying process involves numerous processes and has been around since the Incas began to freeze-dry their potatoes about 1200 A.D.
The detailed steps can be referred to as follows:
Place The Food In The Dryer
First, the fresh food is frozen solid and arranged on shelves inside a low-temperature dryer. In this process, the molecules are separated.
Yet, this doesn’t mean the moisture can be totally evaporated.
Let The Unit Work Things Out
A small quantity of heat will be released from the device while it activates a vacuum pump to remove the chamber’s air pressure.
The ice is instantly converted to gas or water vapor when the proper temperature and pressure are in the vacuum chamber.
There will be no such thing as a liquid phase. This process is known as sublimation. The solid ice-forming mist then compresses into a thawing coil.
In this step, since the food gets frozen, the water also freezes as a result. It can take you a couple of days to complete such a lengthy process.
Seal The Product
The result is then coated with an oxygen-absorbing substance as the last step to protect it from deterioration.
Little did you know, the food sealed in a package can be stored on a shelf without a due date yet still retain its tasty sense.
As explained, this is because microbes require water to survive; your food that has been freeze-dried has a longer shelf life without going bad.
Freeze-Dried Dog Food’s Benefits
There are several things to say when it comes to freeze-dried raw dog food’s benefits, ranging from being lightweight, easy to store, nutritious, strong flavors, convenient, mess-free, grain-free, and including highly digestible ingredients.
Especially for those who wish to rest assured their pet is fed with a raw yet balanced diet, freeze-dried products are sure to be the option you cannot miss out on.
As it is easily absorbed and devoid of prospective sensitivities like additives, preservatives, and synthetic flavors, such a dried pet food diet is also a fantastic choice for dogs who are fussy eaters or those who have allergies.
Additionally, freeze-drying is also a splendid way to guarantee that your pet is able to gain enough substances he requires to keep fit and be as healthy as he can.
This is because it has excluded water while maintaining all the vital nutrients in raw ingredients.
Such processed food is also a wonderful alternative for those who worry about sourcing, handling, and cooking fresh raw meat themselves.
Better yet, even picky eaters frequently enjoy the formulations because processing and chemicals are typically minimal!
Freeze-Dried Dog Food’s Potential Downsides
Since freeze-dried dog food is made from raw meat, there will be one problem with such products, which is bacterial food-borne disease.
Although, unlike humans, these canine animals can eat uncooked flesh, this doesn’t mean they are not vulnerable to the bacteria or viruses from the meal.
And because freeze-dried foods don’t get cooked like other dishes, it will be ideal for bacteria to thrive on, putting your little furry friend at risk for illnesses.
Another drawback of freeze-dried dog food is the price; they can be extremely expensive due to the detailed and complicated process of sterilizing and freezing the meal.
The equipment is also not cheap at all.
Still, the main reason to blame is the freeze-drying procedure itself.
Freeze-drying is a time-consuming (a batch of meals like that can be freeze-dried in about two days) and tedious technique.
It contributes significantly to the price of freeze-dried goods. The process has to be done without any rush. Otherwise, the meal may get some moisture back and get totally ruined.
Difference Between Dehydrating And Freezing

What are the differences between the two seemingly similar methods – freezing and dehydrating?
They are comparable in that both methods are without dried pet food, use homemade dog food to extract moisture, and can be preserved simultaneously.
So, what are the distinctions? Which one should you lean on when buying and preparing your dog’s dish? Let’s find out!
The Shelf Life
The shelf life and uniformity of the end result are the key distinctions between dehydrating and freeze-drying.
Unlike dehydrated products, whose shelf life is about 5 to 15 years, freeze-dried goods can gain up to 20 years of preservation.
This is due to the fact that with freeze drying, the moisture content is reduced to only around 5 percent, whereas with dehydrating, it is typically inclined to 10 to 15 percent.
Size of The Final Product
Another area where the two techniques diverge is in the size of the end product.
While dehydration offers greater size reduction, freeze-drying comes with a lesser seizing effect on the finished result.
As such, dehydrated food can be smaller than its original shape, up to 50 percent, which is fantastic to store in your refrigerator.
So if you want to save more supplements while using up less room, hesitate no more but go for the dehydrating pet food.
Compared to it, freeze-dried food is a much less preferable choice, with the end product size being nothing different than the initial ingredient.
The Texture
The texture is the following fundamental difference.
With dehydration, your pet can still have a certain range of textures from crispy to chewy, given whether the removed moisture is high or not.
This is adjustable depending on how long you keep the food dehydrated.
Things do not go the same way with freeze-drying. With this method, the only serving the little buddy can have is nothing but an extremely crunchy texture.
One more thing to keep in mind is that by freeze-drying the meat, you are essentially stopping the process of deterioration.
Dehydration, however, results in the production of a new substance.
Therefore, going with freeze-drying, the final product will still be raw, unlike ready-to-eat jerky meat or dehydrated meat.
Conclusion
Can you make freeze-dried meat at home? A big old yes it is!
Now you know how to prepare DIY freeze dried dog food yourself and whether it is a suitable alternative for your beloved furry buddy.
Why don’t you give it a try right now and see if your dog likes the meal you single-handedly make for them?
Hopefully, my article can be of great help to you. See then!