Homemade Salmon and Pumpkin Healthy Coat Kibbles 150 Cals

If you look at your dog’s coat and think, “It’s just not shiny enough,” trust me, I totally get it! We want the softest, shiniest fur possible, right? That’s exactly why I started making my Homemade Salmon and Pumpkin Healthy Coat Kibbles. Honestly, I got so tired trying to decipher those ingredient labels at the pet store, filled with fillers I couldn’t pronounce.

Making your own kibble is actually way simpler than you think! This recipe is my shortcut to making sure my furry best friend gets exactly what they need, focusing heavily on salmon for those incredible Omega-3s and sweet pumpkin for healthy digestion. It’s a fantastic, wholesome backup or alternative to commercial food, all baked right in my own kitchen. You’re going to love how easy this is, and your dog will certainly love the taste!

I really hope you try mixing up a batch soon. You can find the full guide on optimizing the omega intake with this other great recipe, salmon and spinach omega jerky, if you want more coat boosters, but for everyday nutrition, these homemade kibbles are the bomb!

Why This Homemade Salmon and Pumpkin Healthy Coat Kibbles Recipe Stands Out

When you’re making food for your best friend, you want zero mystery ingredients, right? That’s the biggest win here! Commercial kibbles are fine, sure, but this recipe lets you control every single component that goes into that bowl. Seriously, ditching the mystery additives for simple, recognizable goodness is worth the tiny bit of effort.

Here’s why I think this recipe beats the bagged stuff:

• Total control over sodium and preservatives.
• You know exactly where the protein is coming from!
• It’s budget-friendly when you buy salmon on sale.
• It smells way better than that dusty stuff from the bottom of the bag.

If you’re really looking to boost the joint support alongside the coat magic, you’ll want to check out my recipe for salmon pumpkin omega meal too—it’s a powerhouse!

Coat Health Benefits of Homemade Salmon and Pumpkin Healthy Coat Kibbles

Let’s talk about shine! The star here is definitely the salmon. Those Omega-3 fatty acids work wonders to banish dry, flaky skin and give that beautiful, glossy sheen we all want. It’s internal conditioning, if you ask me!

And don’t forget the pumpkin! Pumpkin isn’t just for holiday pies, folks; it’s full of fiber that keeps the whole digestive system running smoothly. When digestion is happy, guess what? The skin reflects that health. It’s all connected, and these two ingredients are working overtime for your dog’s exterior health.

Essential Ingredients for Homemade Salmon and Pumpkin Healthy Coat Kibbles

Okay, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty. When you’re baking dog food, precision matters more than maybe any other recipe I share! If you mess up the flour ratio, you get something rock-hard, and nobody—dog or human—wants that.

I’ve listed everything below exactly how I measure it. Don’t eyeball these amounts; this is serious cooking for your pup!

• Two full cups of good quality whole wheat flour.
• One cup of oat flour—oats are so gentle on the tummy.
• Half a cup of ground flaxseed—this is another huge boost for that shiny coat, plus it acts as a nice binder.
• Half a cup of canned pumpkin puree. Pay attention here: I mean the straight pumpkin, not that spiced-up pie filling!
• Half a cup of cooked, lightly flaked salmon. Make sure it’s flaked really well and you’ve yanked out every last tiny bone. Safety first!
• Two large eggs, lightly whisked.
• Just a tiny splash, one-quarter cup, of water to bring it all together.

If you want to check out how I make my golden, anti-inflammatory turmeric paste to add as an extra booster, you can find that recipe here. It goes great with these kibbles, just don’t mix it into the main dough!

Ingredient Substitutions for Your Homemade Salmon and Pumpkin Healthy Coat Kibbles

I totally understand that sometimes we need to swap things out, maybe because of allergies or just what’s in the pantry. The biggest swap you might make is with the flour, and that’s okay! If your dog, for whatever reason, can’t handle gluten, you can swap the whole wheat flour completely for brown rice flour.

But a word of warning: if you swap out the whole wheat for brown rice flour, you might need to add just one more tablespoon of water because rice flour can sometimes be thirstier than wheat flour. Keep mixing until you get that stiff dough we talked about; don’t stop just because it looks a little drier than expected. You want it stiff enough to roll out without sticking everywhere!

Step-by-Step Instructions for Perfect Homemade Salmon and Pumpkin Healthy Coat Kibbles

Alright, time to put on your apron! This is where we turn those wonderful ingredients into actual, real, crunchy kibble. You need to move fairly quickly once the dough is mixed, so get your pans ready beforehand. You don’t want that dough sitting around getting sticky while you hunt for parchment paper!

First things first: Get that oven cranked up to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, or 175 Celsius if you use the metric system. I always line two baking sheets with parchment paper—it saves the biggest cleanup headache later, trust me. You want everything prepped before you start combining dry and wet!

In the biggest bowl you own, mix up all your dry stuff: the whole wheat flour, the oat flour, and that magical ground flaxseed. Give it a good whisk until it looks uniform. In a separate, smaller bowl, beat those two eggs, then stir in the pumpkin puree and the water until it’s nice and smooth.

Now, pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Mix it until it just comes together into one stiff ball of dough. If you overmix here, you’re going to end up with bricks! Gently fold in the flaked salmon. Be careful not to mash it all up into mush; you want little pockets of fish distributed throughout.

This is the arms workout part! Flour up your counter space really lightly. Roll that dough out until it’s about 1/8 of an inch thick. It needs to be thin enough to dry out completely, so don’t go too thick! Then, use a small cookie cutter—or a knife if you’re feeling rustic, which I totally do sometimes—to cut out little kibble shapes.

Transfer those little guys onto your lined baking sheets. Pop them into the preheated oven for a good 20 to 25 minutes. But you aren’t done yet! Once that time is up, turn the oven OFF. Don’t open the door! Just crack it slightly ajar—like a tiny peek—and leave the kibbles inside for another solid 30 minutes. If you want to see a great recipe for chicken and pumpkin jerky that uses similar ingredients, check out this link!

Achieving the Right Texture in Your Homemade Salmon and Pumpkin Healthy Coat Kibbles

That second phase in the oven, when it’s turned off, is the absolute secret weapon for crunchy kibble! If you just take them out after 25 minutes, they feel dry, sure, but they still have residual steam and moisture trapped inside. That moisture is a breeding ground for mold later on, and nobody wants slimy kibble!

Leaving the door ajar lets all that steam escape slowly while the heat that’s trapped in the walls of your oven slowly pulls the last bits of dampness right out. When you grab one, it should snap cleanly—not bend—when you try to break it. That snap means you’ve eliminated the moisture, and your Homemade Salmon and Pumpkin Healthy Coat Kibbles are safe to store for up to two weeks.

If they still feel even slightly soft after that extra 30 minutes, just switch the oven back on to a very low temperature, maybe 200°F, and check them again in 10 minutes. It’s always better to over-dry them slightly than to have them spoil early!

Tips for Success When Making Homemade Salmon and Pumpkin Healthy Coat Kibbles

I’ve made this recipe so many times over the years—I think my dog, Gus, is personally responsible for about 80% of my practice runs! Because of all that trial and error (and a few failed, crumbly batches), I’ve picked up a few little tricks that I swear by to make sure everything comes out perfectly uniform and crunchy.

First off, let’s talk about the salmon prep again. I cannot stress this enough: Cook the salmon until it flakes off the bone easily, but then you need to dedicate a minute to feel through every single flake to make sure there are absolutely zero bones left. Even a tiny shard can cause trouble, and we are aiming for happy chewing here! Flake it coarsely, too; you want definite chunks of fish, not salmon dust.

Next is the rolling. The recipe says 1/8 of an inch thickness, and I mean it! If you roll it too thick—say, closer to 1/4 inch—the outside will burn before the inside dries out properly. Use a metal ruler next to your rolling pin to keep an eye on the thickness. Get it thin, get it consistent, and your baking results will be so much more even across the whole sheet!

My final tip is about cutting the shapes. Unless you have a special tiny kibble cutter, using a simple knife is totally fine. Just try to cut squares or rectangles that are roughly the same size. If you mix tiny little triangles with big squares, the small ones burn while you wait for the big ones to dry. Consistency in shape equals consistency in crunch! If you were looking for a lean meat alternative, this turkey and pumpkin recipe is fantastic, too.

Storage and Shelf Life for Homemade Salmon and Pumpkin Healthy Coat Kibbles

Okay, you’ve gone through the double-bake process, and you have these gorgeous, crunchy little nuggets! Now we need to talk about keeping them fresh so they actually stay healthy for your pup and stave off any mold growth. Since we baked out almost all the moisture—that’s the goal of the second bake—these store way better than soft treats.

The rule here is simple: Keep them dry and sealed up tight! You absolutely must store your finished Homemade Salmon and Pumpkin Healthy Coat Kibbles in an airtight container. I mean, really airtight—think Tupperware with a tight seal or a thick zip-top bag pressed almost completely empty of air.

If you keep them sealed up at room temperature, they should stay perfectly good for about two weeks. I know, that doesn’t sound like a long time compared to store brands, but remember, we didn’t use any of those heavy chemical preservatives. This is real food, and that means a naturally shorter shelf life.

Why the airtight container is crucial? It’s all about humidity! If you leave them exposed to the open air in the kitchen, they’ll start sucking in moisture from the atmosphere. Once they get damp, they stop being safe, hardened kibble and start becoming a perfect environment for fuzzy green friends to show up. Yuck! We worked way too hard for that.

If you make a huge batch—and since this recipe yields about 4 cups, you might—you can always freeze some! Portion out what you think you’ll use over the next week into freezer bags, push the air out, and toss them in the back of the freezer. They’ll last months that way, and you can just thaw one baggie at room temperature overnight. You might want to check out my beef pumpkin spice jerky storage advice too, as it shares similar dryness needs!

Serving Suggestions for Homemade Salmon and Pumpkin Healthy Coat Kibbles

So, now you have four solid cups of nutritious, homemade kibble sitting on your counter! That’s fantastic. But the big question is: how do you actually feed this to your dog? This recipe is flexible, which is another reason I love it so much. It’s not just a treat; it can definitely work as a base for their meals, depending on your dog’s needs!

When you’re planning out servings, keep in mind that this batch yields roughly 4 cups. If you have a smaller pup, or if you’re using this as a topper, that amount will last quite a while. If you have a very large dog, you might want to double or triple the recipe next time because the prep is fast, but the baking takes up oven space!

For everyday serving, I usually mix about half kibble and half of their usual wet food. This gives them the crunch they like from the Homemade Salmon and Pumpkin Healthy Coat Kibbles but ensures they get extra hydration from the wet meal. If your dog is being picky, just pour a tiny bit of warm water or low-sodium chicken broth over the kibble and let it sit for five minutes. It softens it up just enough!

You can also use these kibbles as high-value training rewards instead of store-bought biscuits. Because they have zero weird additives, you know every single piece is a healthy little reward. They are perfectly sized for positive reinforcement training!

If you are looking to bulk up a meal base even further, especially if you need something to support gentle, sustained energy or promote cardiovascular health, you might want to look into adding some of my lamb and pumpkin meal powder to their bowls alongside these kibbles. You can find the details on that recipe here. But just on its own, these kibbles are a wonderful foundation for a healthy diet!

Frequently Asked Questions About Homemade Salmon and Pumpkin Healthy Coat Kibbles

I always get a ton of questions after people try a new recipe, especially when it comes to food safety and texture for the pups! It’s smart to ask; we need to make sure this is a perfect experience. Here are some of the things I hear most often about making these specialized Homemade Salmon and Pumpkin Healthy Coat Kibbles.

I’ll try to answer quickly so you can get back to baking! If you made a big batch and want to see how to add some weight support alongside the coat benefits, check out my beef pumpkin jerky recipe for ideas on bulking up the diet!

Can I use fresh salmon instead of cooked in the Homemade Salmon and Pumpkin Healthy Coat Kibbles?

Oh, absolutely not! I know it sounds convenient, but you must, must, *must* cook the salmon first. Raw fish carries risks, and honestly, trying to roll raw, oily fish into a stiff dough is going to be a complete disaster—it’ll just turn into a greasy mess. Cooking it first not only makes it safe but also allows it to flake apart so you can easily check for bones and mix it evenly into the dough. That cooked flakiness is what helps it distribute without messing up the structure of your kibble.

What is the estimated nutritional breakdown of Homemade Salmon and Pumpkin Healthy Coat Kibbles?

This is a great question for tracking your dog’s daily intake! Since we are using simple, whole ingredients, the nutrition is pretty straightforward, but keep in mind this is always an estimate because the exact fat content of your piece of salmon can shift things a bit. Based on the recipe amounts, when you serve up a 1/4 cup serving size, you are looking at right around 150 Calories.

For the macros per serving, you get a decent boost of 7 grams of Protein and about 5 grams of Fat. Since we aren’t adding any sugar other than what’s naturally in the pumpkin, that number is very low! It’s a wonderfully balanced, low-fat base that puts healthy ingredients—like that good protein—right up front. Remember, the focus here is the Omega-3s from the salmon, which are fantastic for that glorious coat shine!

How do I know for sure if the kibble is dry enough after baking?

Texture is everything here—if it’s not dry enough, it molds! Look, the 20-25 minute bake time gets them mostly dry, but that second 30-minute session in the turned-off oven is the *moisture puller*. The true test is tactile: Take a piece out after the whole process is done and give it a good snap. It needs to break cleanly with a crisp sound. If it bends even slightly under pressure, it still has water content and needs more drying time.

Can I use chicken or turkey instead of salmon sometimes?

That’s a great idea for variety! You absolutely can substitute the cooked, flaked salmon with cooked, finely shredded chicken or turkey breast. It’s smart to keep rotating proteins! But here’s my one crucial reminder: if you swap out the salmon, you lose that huge boost of Omega-3s specifically targeted for coat health. So, if you make the swap, maybe add a teaspoon of fish oil or flaxseed oil to the wet mixture to try and replace some of that incredible conditioning power!

Share Your Homemade Salmon and Pumpkin Healthy Coat Kibbles Results

We’ve made it to the end, and I’m so excited for you to try these simple, healthy kibbles! Making food for your dog is such a labor of love, and honestly, seeing my own dog Gus gobble these down makes every minute worth it.

Now, I really want to hear from you! Did you try these Homemade Salmon and Pumpkin Healthy Coat Kibbles? Did you notice a difference in your dog’s coat shine after a few weeks? Please, don’t be shy!

I built this little community so we can all share what works. Drop a star rating right below this section—let other home cooks know if you loved the texture or the smell. And if you made any little tweaks, like using brown rice flour instead of wheat, or maybe you used a special little bone-shaped cutter, please tell us about it in the comments!

If you managed to grab a quick picture of your happy dog enjoying their first bowl of homemade goodies, I would absolutely love to see it! You can always reach out to me directly through the contact page, but comments work great too. Sharing your success stories keeps me motivated to keep sharing these trusted family recipes.

Happy baking, and here’s to one healthy, shiny dog!

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