Guide · 4 min read
What vegetables can dogs eat? A yes, in moderation and no chart
Key points
- Safe: pumpkin, carrots, zucchini, green beans, peas, cucumber, lettuce, celery, sweet potato, asparagus and corn off the cob.
- In moderation: cabbage and its relatives, broccoli, spinach, beets, bell peppers, ripe tomatoes, cooked potatoes, legumes like chickpeas and lentils, and others.
- Never: onions, garlic, leeks or chives, in any form, including powders and broths.
- No salt, not too much oil and nothing sautéed with onion or garlic: the vegetables from our dinner don't count.
- In homemade food, vegetables make up roughly 15-25% of the bowl.
Dogs can eat lots of vegetables: pumpkin, carrots, zucchini, green beans, peas and cucumber are safe and provide fiber, water and vitamins with very few calories. Others, like broccoli, spinach or cabbage, are fine in small amounts. And there are three they should never eat: onions, garlic and leeks.
In this guide you'll find all the everyday kitchen vegetables in a chart of yes, in moderation and no, with a link to each one's page. We also cover which can be served raw and which must always be cooked, how to prepare them so they don't cause harm, and how much vegetable makes sense in a bowl of homemade food.
Vegetable chart for dogs
Tap any vegetable to see its page: what it provides, how much to give based on weight, and what risks it carries.
Vegetables dogs can eat
| Food | Can they eat it? | How and why |
|---|---|---|
| Pumpkin | Yes | Cooked, with no skin or seeds. Very useful for digestion. |
| Carrots | Yes | Raw in sticks or cooked; grated for small dogs. |
| Zucchini | Yes | Raw or cooked. Very light. |
| Green beans | Yes | Boiled or steamed, with no salt. Never salted canned beans. |
| Peas | Yes | Fresh or frozen, cooked. Not canned. |
| Cucumber | Yes | Raw, in slices. Pickles, no. |
| Lettuce | Yes | Washed and chopped. Not very nutritious, but refreshing. |
| Celery | Yes | In small pieces, with the strings removed, since they can get tangled. |
| Sweet potato | Yes | Always boiled or baked, with no salt or sugar. |
| Asparagus | Yes | Cooked, with the woody base trimmed and cut into small pieces. Jarred asparagus contains salt. |
| Corn | Yes | Only the cooked kernels, with no salt or butter. Never the cob: it blocks the intestine. |
Vegetables dogs can eat in moderation
| Food | Can they eat it? | How and why |
|---|---|---|
| Broccoli | In moderation | Cooked, and no more than 10% of what they eat in a day. |
| Cauliflower | In moderation | Cooked and in small amounts: it causes gas. |
| Cabbage | In moderation | Cooked and in small amounts, because of the gas. |
| Brussels sprouts | In moderation | Cooked, cut up and only a few: lots of gas. |
| Spinach | In moderation | Cooked and not every day: high in oxalates. |
| Beets | In moderation | Cooked and only a little: oxalates and sugar. They can tint urine and stool. |
| Bell pepper | In moderation | Sweet peppers only, red is best, without seeds or stem. |
| Tomato | In moderation | Only red and ripe. Never green, and never the leaves or stems. |
| Eggplant | In moderation | Cooked, without the stem and in small amounts. |
| Potato | In moderation | Always cooked and peeled. Never raw or with green parts. |
| Artichoke | In moderation | Cooked, only the tender heart, without the tough leaves. |
| Mushrooms | In moderation | Only store-bought, cooked and with no garlic. Wild mushrooms, never. |
| Chickpeas | In moderation | A legume: well cooked, unsalted and mashed. Never raw, as hummus or from a stew. |
| Lentils | In moderation | A legume: cooked in plain water only. Never lentil stew with sausage, onion or garlic. |
Vegetables dogs should not eat
| Food | Can they eat it? | How and why |
|---|---|---|
| Onion | No | Toxic in any form: it damages red blood cells. |
| Garlic | No | From the same family as onion, and even more potent. |
| Leek | No | Onion family: the same toxic compounds. |
Add chives, shallots and green garlic, all from the same family, to the off-limits list, along with wild mushrooms, which can be fatal. If you're looking for another food, use our Can my dog eat it? search tool.
Raw or cooked
Dogs don't digest plant cell walls well, so they get more out of most vegetables when they're boiled, steamed, or finely grated or blended. Some are also only safe when cooked.
| Can be served raw | Better cooked | Always cooked |
|---|---|---|
| Carrots, cucumber, zucchini, celery, lettuce | Green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, pumpkin, peas, spinach, beets, asparagus, artichoke, corn kernels | Potato, sweet potato and eggplant |
Boil vegetables in unsalted water or steam them until tender. The cooking water from safe vegetables is handy for moistening their food.
How to prepare them so they don't cause harm
- No salt, and no boxed broth or bouillon cubes, which usually contain salt and onion.
- Nothing sautéed, no sauces: the vegetables on our dinner plate almost always come with onion, garlic, too much oil or spices.
- No salty canned vegetables, pickles or vegetables in vinegar. Plain frozen vegetables, on the other hand, are very practical.
- Well washed and with tough parts removed: very fibrous broccoli stalks, the outer leaves of artichokes, celery strings. And corn cobs, never: they don't digest and are a classic cause of intestinal blockage.
- Pieces suited to their size or grated, so they don't choke.
How many vegetables to give
In a bowl of homemade food, vegetables make up roughly 15-25% of the weight, alongside animal protein and a carbohydrate. More vegetables isn't better: they add bulk and fiber, but if they crowd out the protein, the meal falls short. As a stand-alone treat, carrot sticks or cucumber slices count toward the 10% of calories for extras, and since they have so few, they're very handy for dogs on a diet.
Cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower cause gas; introduce them gradually. And if your dog has had oxalate stones, limit spinach and beets and talk to your vet: we explain this in our recipe for dogs with urinary problems.
Recipes with vegetables
- Chicken with rice and vegetables: carrot, zucchini and green beans.
- Summer bowl with turkey, quinoa and cucumber, with grated raw vegetables.
- Ground beef with rice and spinach.
- Sweet potato chews as a treat.
If you have vegetables in the fridge and aren't sure what to do with them, try our what to cook for my dog tool.
Frequently asked questions
What vegetables can dogs not eat?
Onions, garlic, leeks, chives and the rest of the Allium family, in any form: raw, cooked, powdered or in broths. They damage red blood cells and can cause anemia. Also avoid wild mushrooms, green tomatoes and tomato plant leaves and stems, and raw potatoes or potatoes with green parts.
What vegetables are good for dogs?
The safest and most useful are pumpkin, carrots, zucchini, green beans, peas, cucumber, celery and cooked sweet potato. They provide fiber, water and vitamins with few calories. Serve them with no salt or seasoning, cooked or grated, and in a homemade meal keep them to 15-25% of the total.
Is it better to give dogs vegetables raw or cooked?
In general, cooked or blended, because dogs don't digest whole raw vegetables well and get little of their nutrients. Some, like carrots, cucumber or zucchini, can be given raw as a treat. Others must always be cooked: potatoes, sweet potatoes and eggplant. Always with no salt and not too much oil.
Can dogs eat vegetables every day?
Yes. In a homemade diet, vegetables are part of every meal at around 15-25%, and as a treat, a few carrot sticks or cucumber slices every day aren't a problem. Vary the vegetables, introduce new ones gradually and go easy on those that cause gas or are high in oxalates, like cabbage or spinach.
The fridge list
The foods your dog can eat, can have in moderation and must never eat, on a single printable page.