Portugal's most-loved soup is potato, kale and good olive oil. Take out the onion, the garlic, the salt and the cured sausage, and what remains is almost perfectly suited to a dog's bowl.
Four ingredients come out. The three that carry the character of the dish stay exactly where they are.
Kale is unusually dense in vitamin K1, plus lutein and zeaxanthin for eye health
Pork is the single best meat source of vitamin B1, which supports nerve and brain function
Blended potato is highly digestible and easy on a sensitive or recovering stomach
Extra virgin olive oil brings oleic acid and polyphenols alongside vitamin E
A broth-based meal adds real hydration, useful for dogs who drink too little
Pork carries almost no EPA or DHA, so fish oil fills a genuine gap here
This is a gentle, low-fat, high-moisture meal that suits most healthy adult dogs. The kale is the ingredient that needs a second thought for a small number of dogs.
Most healthy adult dogs. Portuguese Water Dogs, Labradors, Golden Retrievers, Border Collies, German Shepherds, Poodles, Spaniels, Beagles, Shih Tzus, Dachshunds and mixed breeds all do well with this as written.
Older dogs. The soft texture and high moisture make it easy to eat and easy to digest, which matters more as teeth and appetite change with age.
Dogs coming off a bland diet. Low in fat and gentle on the stomach, so it works well as a step back toward normal food after an upset.
Dogs that barely drink. A broth-based meal gets real fluid into them.
Dogs with a confirmed pork sensitivity. Less common than beef or chicken allergy, but it exists. Turkey thigh works well as a substitute and keeps the fat profile similar.
Puppies under 6 months. Growing dogs need tightly controlled calcium, phosphorus and energy ratios that this recipe is not formulated to meet.
Dogs on a prescription renal or low-protein diet. Talk to your vet before introducing any homemade meal.
Any version made with chouriço, bacon or ham. Cured pork is a different ingredient entirely. Fresh lean loin only.
Based on roughly 2 to 2.5 percent of body weight per day. Adjust for activity and body condition. If you feed twice a day, halve these amounts per meal. All weights shown are cooked weights.
| Ingredient | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 🐖 Protein | ||
| Pork loin (cooked, lean, diced small) | 65g | Trim all visible fat, cook through completely |
| 🥔 Carbohydrate | ||
| Potato (cooked and blended into the broth) | 50g | Floury varieties blend smoothest, no salt or butter |
| 🥬 Greens | ||
| Kale (finely shredded, simmered soft) | 20g | Vitamin K1, lutein, shred as fine as you can |
| 🫒 Fat & Liquid | ||
| Extra virgin olive oil | ½ tsp | Stir through at the end, oleic acid and polyphenols |
| Unsalted broth (in the bowl) | 3 tbsp | Hydration and collagen, keep it loose not soupy |
| 💊 Supplements (add cold) | ||
| Eggshell calcium powder | ¼ tsp | Stir in cold, corrects the calcium to phosphorus ratio |
| Salmon or sardine oil COLD | ½ tsp | Add after fully cooled, never heat it |
| Kelp powder COLD | ¼ tsp | Stir in cold, iodine for thyroid function |
| Wheat germ oil COLD | ¼ tsp | Stir in cold, vitamin E for immune function and coat |
| Raw pumpkin seeds | 1 tsp | Zinc, manganese and magnesium, lightly ground |
Total: roughly 150 to 160g per day. Small dogs generally do better with this split into two meals of 75 to 80g.
| Ingredient | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 🐖 Protein | ||
| Pork loin (cooked, lean, diced) | 140g | Thiamine, selenium, complete protein |
| 🥔 Carbohydrate | ||
| Potato (cooked and blended into the broth) | 110g | Potassium, vitamin C, easy on the stomach |
| 🥬 Greens | ||
| Kale (finely shredded, simmered soft) | 50g | Fine shred plus cooking makes it far more digestible |
| 🫒 Fat & Liquid | ||
| Extra virgin olive oil | 1 tsp | Helps absorb the fat-soluble vitamin K from the kale |
| Unsalted broth (in the bowl) | 5 tbsp | Hydration, especially useful for dogs who rarely drink |
| 💊 Supplements (add cold) | ||
| Eggshell calcium powder | ¼ tsp | Stir in cold, corrects the calcium to phosphorus ratio |
| Salmon or sardine oil COLD | 1 tsp | Add after fully cooled, never heat it |
| Kelp powder COLD | ¼ tsp | Stir in cold, iodine for thyroid function |
| Wheat germ oil COLD | ¼ tsp | Stir in cold, vitamin E for immune function and coat |
| Raw pumpkin seeds | 1 tsp | Zinc, manganese and magnesium, lightly ground |
Total: roughly 300 to 320g per day, around 425 kcal. Split into two meals if your dog eats fast.
| Ingredient | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 🐖 Protein | ||
| Pork loin (cooked, lean, diced) | 230g | Trim all visible fat before cooking |
| 🥔 Carbohydrate | ||
| Potato (cooked and blended into the broth) | 180g | Good steady energy for working and active breeds |
| 🥬 Greens | ||
| Kale (finely shredded, simmered soft) | 80g | Increase further if you are managing weight |
| 🫒 Fat & Liquid | ||
| Extra virgin olive oil | 1½ tsp | Coat condition and anti-inflammatory support |
| Unsalted broth (in the bowl) | 7 tbsp | Hydration and collagen |
| 💊 Supplements (add cold) | ||
| Eggshell calcium powder | ½ tsp | Stir in cold, corrects the calcium to phosphorus ratio |
| Salmon or sardine oil COLD | 1½ tsp | Add after fully cooled, never heat it |
| Kelp powder COLD | ¼ tsp | Stir in cold, iodine for thyroid function |
| Wheat germ oil COLD | ¼ tsp | Stir in cold, vitamin E for immune function and coat |
| Raw pumpkin seeds | 1 tsp | Zinc, manganese and magnesium, lightly ground |
Total: roughly 490 to 510g per day. Two meals is strongly recommended for large breeds, with 45 minutes of rest after eating to reduce bloat risk.
| Ingredient | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 🐖 Protein | ||
| Pork loin (cooked, lean, diced) | 340g | Rotate with turkey or beef across the week |
| 🥔 Carbohydrate | ||
| Potato (cooked and blended into the broth) | 260g | Higher carbohydrate needs for larger frames |
| 🥬 Greens | ||
| Kale (finely shredded, simmered soft) | 120g | Volume with very few calories |
| 🫒 Fat & Liquid | ||
| Extra virgin olive oil | 2 tsp | Essential fatty acid support for large frames |
| Unsalted broth (in the bowl) | 10 tbsp | Hydration and collagen |
| 💊 Supplements (add cold) | ||
| Eggshell calcium powder | ½ tsp | Stir in cold, important for giant breed skeletal health |
| Salmon or sardine oil COLD | 2 tsp | Add after fully cooled, joint and heart support |
| Kelp powder COLD | ¼ tsp | Stir in cold, iodine for thyroid function |
| Wheat germ oil COLD | ¼ tsp | Stir in cold, vitamin E for immune function and coat |
| Raw pumpkin seeds | 1 tsp | Zinc, manganese and magnesium, lightly ground |
Total: roughly 720 to 740g per day. Always split into two meals for giant breeds. Never one large meal, and no vigorous exercise within an hour of eating.
The green in green broth. Traditional caldo verde uses couve galega, a tall Galician cabbage grown across northern Portugal. Curly kale or collard greens are the closest widely available substitutes. Kale is exceptionally dense in vitamin K1 for blood clotting and bone metabolism, and carries lutein and zeaxanthin, the two carotenoids that concentrate in the retina. Shred it finely and cook it soft.
⚠️ Moderate oxalate and mildly goitrogenic. Swap for cabbage or courgette if your dog forms calcium oxalate stones or has thyroid disease.
Chouriço is out, but pork stays, because pork is what this soup tastes of. Loin is the leanest common cut and it is the best natural source of thiamine (vitamin B1) of any meat, well ahead of beef or chicken. Thiamine matters for nerve function and carbohydrate metabolism, and dogs have no meaningful store of it. Pork also brings selenium and niacin.
⚠️ Always fully cooked. Never raw pork, and never cured pork such as bacon, ham or chouriço.
Blended potato is what gives caldo verde its body, and it is also one of the gentlest carbohydrate sources you can put in front of a dog with a delicate stomach. Potato supplies potassium for heart and muscle function plus vitamin C and B6. Cooked then cooled, it develops resistant starch, a prebiotic fibre that feeds beneficial gut bacteria.
⚠️ Cooked only. Raw and green-tinged potato contains solanine and should never be used.
Portuguese cooks are not shy with olive oil in this dish, and there is a nutritional reason to keep it. Oleic acid has well documented anti-inflammatory properties, and extra virgin oil carries polyphenols that refined oils lose in processing. Just as importantly, fat is what allows the fat-soluble vitamin K in the kale to be absorbed at all. Stir it in at the end rather than cooking it hard.
The broth does three jobs. It cooks the potato, it carries the flavour that salt would normally provide, and it adds real moisture to a meal. That last one matters more than people expect, because plenty of dogs simply do not drink enough. Homemade unsalted broth is ideal. If you buy it, read the label properly, since most commercial stocks contain onion, garlic or a great deal of salt.
Every meat-based homemade meal shares the same structural flaw. Meat is high in phosphorus and very low in calcium, and left uncorrected the body draws calcium out of bone to compensate. Eggshell powder supplies bioavailable calcium carbonate to bring the ratio back toward the roughly 1.2 to 1 that NRC guidance targets. Always added cold, after cooking.
Olive oil is a genuinely good fat, but it is omega-9. It contains no EPA and no DHA whatsoever, and neither does pork in any meaningful quantity. Fish oil is the only ingredient here that supplies them. EPA reduces systemic inflammation across joints, skin and gut, and DHA supports cognitive function throughout life. Refrigerate after opening and use within four to six weeks.
Worth naming, because these four are the whole reason a bowl of caldo verde off the stove is not safe to share. Onion and garlic damage canine red blood cells through thiosulfate compounds, in every form including powdered. Chouriço is cured, smoked, heavily salted and usually contains garlic and paprika. And the salt level in a traditional pot is far beyond anything a dog needs. Remove those four and the dish still tastes of Portugal.
Peel and cube the potatoes and put them into a large pot with the unsalted broth. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes, until the potato is completely soft and beginning to collapse at the edges. Nothing else goes into this pot. No salt, no onion, no garlic, no stock cube.
💡 Use floury potatoes such as Maris Piper, Russet or Agria. Waxy potatoes will not blend to the right silky texture.While the potatoes are going, trim every scrap of visible fat from the pork loin and dice it small. Cook in a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until there is no pink left anywhere in the centre. Pork must be fully cooked for dogs, without exception. Set it aside.
Blend the potato and broth together until completely smooth and creamy, or mash hard with a potato masher if you prefer a rougher texture. This is the step that turns it from soup with potato in it into caldo verde. Return the blended broth to the pot over low heat.
Strip out the tough central stems and discard them. Stack the leaves, roll them into a tight cigar, and slice across into ribbons barely two millimetres wide. In Portugal there are hand-cranked machines that exist purely for this. Fine shredding is the defining technique of the dish, and it also breaks down the cell walls that make raw brassicas hard for dogs to digest.
🥬 A food processor with the slicing disc gets you close in about ten seconds if you are short on patience.Stir the shredded kale into the hot blended broth and simmer gently for 5 to 7 minutes, until it turns soft and deep green. Do not overcook it into khaki. Return the cooked pork to the pot, stir through the remaining olive oil, and turn off the heat.
This version is dog-safe and pleasant but deliberately plain, so most people will want to finish their own. Scoop your dog's portion out first, before anything is seasoned. Then add sliced chouriço, softened onion, garlic, salt and black pepper to the remaining pot and simmer 10 minutes more. Serve yours with cornbread and a glass of vinho verde.
Wait until the portion has cooled fully to room temperature, not merely until it stops steaming. Then stir in the eggshell calcium, the salmon oil, the kelp, the wheat germ oil and the ground pumpkin seeds. Heat above roughly 40C oxidises omega-3 fatty acids and removes most of the benefit, which is why this step comes last and comes cold.
❄️ Add the fish oil fresh at every serving. Never store a batch with the oil already stirred through.This recipe provides a solid nutritional foundation and is designed with NRC guidelines in mind, but it has not been formally assessed by a board-certified veterinary nutritionist (DACVN). Adding calcium, iodine, vitamin E and fish oil corrects several specific and well understood gaps. It does not by itself make the meal complete across every amino acid, mineral and vitamin. Use it as part of a rotational diet rather than as a sole daily food for the long term. For long-term exclusive feeding, a professional nutritional review is recommended.
This is one of the better batch recipes on the site, because the blended potato base freezes cleanly and the kale holds its texture.
If any breed has earned a bowl of caldo verde, it is this one. The Portuguese Water Dog worked the Algarve coast alongside fishermen for centuries, herding fish into nets, diving after tackle that went over the side, and carrying messages between boats. Webbed feet, a dense waterproof single coat, and enough stamina to spend a whole working day in the Atlantic. When industrial fishing arrived the breed nearly disappeared, and it survives today largely because Vasco Bensaúde began a dedicated revival programme in the 1930s.
One country at a time, one dish at a time, adapted properly for a dog's bowl. Subscribe and get each new one as it lands.
Subscribe Free →