Sardine and Sweet Potato Dog Food Bake
This sardine and sweet potato dog food bake is an easy homemade fish dinner packed with sardines, beef heart, liver, and vegetables. Everything is mixed together and oven-baked until firm, making it easy to slice into portions for your dog.
Sardines are one of my favorite fish to use in homemade dog food. They’re small, oily fish naturally rich in protein and omega-3 fatty acids, and when you use canned sardines with their soft edible bones, they provide calcium too. Our dogs loved this bake as fish is one of their favorites.
For this recipe, we’ve paired sardines with sweet potato, beef heart, a small amount of liver, egg, vegetables, hemp hearts and ground flaxseed. The result is a hearty fish-based meal that’s a little like a dog-friendly meatloaf — except sardines are the star of the show.
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Why Your Dog Will Love This Recipe
This sardine and sweet potato bake is packed with rich, savoury flavours that most dogs find hard to resist. The sardines give it a strong fishy aroma, while the sweet potato adds a soft texture and mild sweetness.
The addition of beef heart, liver and egg makes the bake especially meaty and satisfying, while the vegetables blend easily into each slice. Because the mixture is baked until firm, it is also easy to cut into portions and serve as a meal or topper.
If your dog already loves fish, this is a great way to add a little more variety to their homemade menu.
Are Sardines Good for Dogs?
Yes, plain sardines can be a nutritious addition to a dog’s diet.
They’re an excellent source of animal protein and are particularly valued for their omega-3 fatty acids, including EPA and DHA. These fatty acids support normal skin and coat health and have roles in the body’s inflammatory response.
Sardines also provide vitamin B12, selenium and vitamin D. When canned with their soft bones intact, they supply calcium and phosphorus as well.
One advantage of sardines is their position low in the marine food chain. Because they’re small, short-lived fish, they generally accumulate less mercury than larger predatory fish such as tuna.
Choose sardines packed in spring water rather than oil, preferably without added flavors or sauces. Always check the label for added ingredients.
Why You’ll Love This Sardine Dog Food Recipe
There are plenty of reasons to keep a few tins of sardines in the cupboard when you cook for your dog.
- Sardines are the main protein. This is a useful alternative to the chicken, turkey and beef found in so many homemade dog food recipes.
- Rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Oily fish such as sardines provide EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids.
- Easy to portion. Baking the mixture until firm means you can cool it, slice it and divide it into individual meals.
- Freezer-friendly. Make a batch and freeze portions for another day.
- Plenty of variety. Sardines are combined with organ meat, egg, vegetables and seeds rather than relying on fish and sweet potato alone.
Is This Sardine Dog Food Nutritionally Complete?
Although this recipe contains a wide variety of nutrient-rich ingredients, it should not automatically be considered complete and balanced for long-term feeding.
Dogs require specific amounts and ratios of essential nutrients, including calcium, phosphorus, zinc, copper, manganese, iodine, vitamins D and E and others. Simply adding several nutritious whole foods doesn’t guarantee that all of those requirements are met.
For occasional meals, rotation feeding or use as a topper alongside a nutritionally complete diet, this recipe provides a tasty way to introduce more whole-food variety.
Ingredients
Gather your ingredients and get ready to bake a tasty treat!
Sardines – Sardines provide the main protein in this homemade dog food bake. We used tinned sardines in water. The soft sardine bones provide valuable calcium.
Sweet Potato – Cooked sweet potato adds fibre, carbohydrate and beta-carotene. Cooking and mashing it before making the bake also helps bind everything together.
Beef Heart – Although we often think of heart as organ meat, nutritionally it behaves much more like muscle meat. It’s an excellent source of protein and supplies nutrients including iron, zinc and B vitamins.
Beef Liver – A relatively small amount of liver adds a lot nutritionally. Liver is particularly rich in vitamin A and copper as well as iron and B vitamins.
Egg – Egg provides high-quality protein, fat, choline and several vitamins and minerals. It also helps bind the sardine mixture together as it bakes.
Carrots – Carrots are rich in several vitamins, including vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K and various B vitamins and are an excellent source of dietary fiber.
Zucchini – Zucchini, (or courgette in the UK) is a mild, dog-friendly vegetable with a high water content. Chop or grate it finely so it distributes throughout the mixture.
Hemp Hearts – Hemp hearts provide healthy fats, protein, magnesium and manganese.
Ground Flaxseed – Ground flaxseed contributes fibre and plant-based alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). Use ground rather than whole flaxseed so the nutrients are more readily available.
How To Make Sardine Sweet Potato Dog Food Bake
Cook and mash sweet potato.
Cook beef hearts and liver.
Blend the cooked liver and heart.
Mash sardines in a bowl.
Add the other ingredients and mix.
Press the mixture into a loaf tin and bake.
Recipe Tips
Make sure the sweet potato is drained thoroughly before mashing. Too much water can make the finished bake soft rather than sliceable.
Don’t remove the soft bones from canned sardines. They’re safe to eat and contribute calcium to the recipe.
Finely chop the heart, liver and vegetables. Smaller pieces help everything hold together and stop your dog from expertly extracting only the sardine pieces — a skill some dogs appear to develop remarkably quickly.
Let the bake cool completely before slicing. It firms as it cools and will be much easier to portion.
Storage
Allow the sardine and sweet potato bake to cool completely before storing it.
Keep portions in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
For longer storage, cut the bake into meal-sized portions and freeze them in freezer-safe containers for up to 3 months. Individual slices can also be separated with parchment paper before freezing so you can remove one at a time.
Defrost frozen portions overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
Approximate Serving Guide Based on Calories
The total cooked amount of this sardine bake is 809 g (about 1.78 lbs / 28.5 oz). With 1,218 calories in the full 809 g batch, the bake works out at about 1.51 calories per gram (or roughly 43 calories per ounce). We have listed the nutritional information in the recipe card as 6 slices with the information per slice given.
Using a typical maintenance estimate for a healthy, neutered adult dog, the serving guide would be:
| Dog’s Weight | Est. Daily Calories | Approx. Bake Per Day | Approx. Batch Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 kg / 11 lb | 375 kcal | 250 g / 8.8 oz | 3.3 days |
| 10 kg / 22 lb | 630 kcal | 420 g / 14.8 oz | 1.9 days |
| 15 kg / 33 lb | 855 kcal | 565 g / 20 oz | 1.4 days |
| 20 kg / 44 lb | 1,060 kcal | 705 g / 24.9 oz | 1.1 days |
| 25 kg / 55 lb | 1,250 kcal | 830 g / 29.3 oz | Just under 1 day |
| 30 kg / 66 lb | 1,435 kcal | 955 g / 33.6 oz | Less than 1 day |
| 40 kg / 88 lb | 1,780 kcal | 1,180 g / 41.7 oz | Less than 1 day |
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FAQs
Drain canned sardines before using them in this recipe. Sardines packed in spring water are preferable to those packed in oil. Check the ingredients and avoid flavored or seasoned varieties.
Yes, but the nutritional profile will be different from canned bone-in sardines. Fresh sardines should be thoroughly cooked and any hard or potentially hazardous bones removed before serving. If you’re relying on canned sardine bones as the recipe’s calcium source, don’t assume fresh fillets provide the same amount.
Yes. One of the nice things about this sardine dog food bake is that the vegetables can be adjusted according to what you have available.
Instead of broccoli, try green beans or carrots. You could also simply increase the zucchini.
Yes. This recipe freezes very well. Slice the completely cooled bake into individual portions and freeze for up to three months. Thaw the amount you need overnight in the refrigerator.
Sardine and Sweet Potato Dog Food Bake
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Ingredients
- 11.9 oz tinned sardines in water We used 4 tins
- 2.6 oz beef heart chopped
- 1 oz beef liver chopped
- 1 large egg
- 7 oz sweet potato
- 1.75 oz carrots grated
- 1.75 oz zucchini grated
- 1 tablespoon hemp hearts
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line a loaf pan or small baking dish with parchment paper.
- Peel and dice the sweet potato. Place it in a saucepan of water and simmer for approximately 10–12 minutes, or until completely tender. Drain well and mash.
- Cook the beef liver and hearts in a skillet over medium heat for approximately 5–7 minutes, stirring frequently, until cooked through. No oil is necessary. Set aside to cool slightly.
- Place the cooked meats into a blender and chop finely.
- Drain the sardines and place them in a large mixing bowl. Mash them with a fork, leaving the soft edible bones in the mixture.
- Add the mashed sweet potato, cooked beef heart, liver, carrot, zucchini, hemp hearts and ground flaxseed.
- Beat the egg and add it to the bowl along with the thyme, if using.
- Mix thoroughly until all the ingredients are evenly distributed.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish. Press it down firmly and smooth the surface with the back of a spoon.
- Bake for 30–40 minutes, or until the mixture is firm and completely cooked through.
- Remove from the oven and allow the sardine bake to cool completely before slicing and serving.
Notes
10 lbs (4.5 kg) ~113 g ~7 days
25 lbs (11 kg) ~283 g ~2.9 days
50 lbs (22.7 kg) ~567 g ~1.4 days
70 lbs (31.8 kg) ~795 g ~1 day
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator.