ChefPaw Review (2026): Pros, Cons & Is This Dog Food Maker Worth It?

Last Updated on August 5, 2026 by Kieran Beckles

Do you prefer the idea of making your dog’s food at home rather than signing up for a subscription with a dog food delivery company?

If you’ve traditionally cooked your pup’s food yourself, or you’ve been considering doing it, ChefPaw has created a dog food maker to make your life even easier.

Created by Innovet Pet, ChefPaw is the first countertop pet food maker to help dog owners simplify the process of creating healthy homemade meals for their pets.

With dozens of recipes in the ChefPaw app, you have plenty of choice when it comes to creating different recipes, even if you’ve got a picky dog.

While we’ve previously fed our Alaskan Klee Kai dogs fresh dog food, we’ve never cooked Skye and Copper’s food from scratch until we tested ChefPaw.

In this review, we’re going to share our experience using ChefPaw to create balanced and complete meals for our picky Klee Kai in our kitchen.

Key Features At-A-Glance

My Experience Using ChefPaw

Unboxing and initial setup

It was easy to get ChefPaw set up. It takes less than 10 minutes once you’ve received your box. We received salmon oil and a nutrient mix in the box.

Once you’ve put the components together, plugged it in, and switched it on, we had to decide the recipe we were going to make for our Klee Kai.

You do have to register your ChefPaw serial number to access over 75 recipes in the ChefPaw app.

We ultimately decided to go for Yum Yum Now (a nice play on the name of the first fresh dog food brand we ever used).

Cooking process and app experience

I would recommend preparing your vegetables and fruit before starting to cook. The app took us through step-by-step of the recipe.

The app has a decent design, but I would say the user interface and user experience could be smoother. But it does get the job done.

The directions were easy to follow, the device itself was easy to use, and the cooking process took less than an hour start to finish.

Taste test and storage

Once we finished cooking, we had plenty of homemade dog food for Copper and Skye. I was surprised by how many portions we got.

Of course, we had to let Copper and Skye try it out to see their verdict. They tested it and enjoyed it.

I put the rest in storage containers. We filled three containers and put them in the fridge, ready to serve to our Alaskan Klee Kai.

Discover our top picks for dog food subscriptions.

Pros

Hands-off cooking

When I previously considered cooking Copper and Skye’s meals, I was dissuaded by the sheer mess it would create.

However, ChefPaw allows for a truly hands-off cooking experience. It has integrated scales to ensure accurate measurements.

ChefPaw acts like a blender and a pressure cooker all in one, combining the best features of low-temperature cooking.

It mixes, chops and heats simultaneously, with all three features working smoothly when we made their Yum Yum Now recipe.

Nutrient control and transparency

One of the biggest cons associated with dog food companies is the lack of true transparency. You’re left wondering: what exactly goes into my dog’s food?

This isn’t the case with ChefPaw because we buy all the ingredients, do all the prep work, and add them to the bowl as they are gently cooked.

If you like having 100% control over your dog’s diet, you’ll appreciate ChefPaw, as there’s no uncertainty about ingredient quality.

App calculates a balanced and complete meal

One common criticism of pet owners who make their own food for their dogs or cats is that the meals won’t be truly balanced and complete.

However, ChefPaw helps pet parents strike a nutritional balance with the recipes on their app. They state online that they go “beyond AAFCO and NRC standards”.

The app tracks 68 distinct nutrients and customizes recipes based on our Alaskan Klee Kai’s size, weight, age, activity level, food intolerances, and health conditions.

It gave me confidence to learn that Innovet Pet works with licensed vets, veterinary nutritionists, and Certified Veterinary Food Therapists (CVFTs).

Ideal for smaller dogs

Copper and Skye weigh around 15-16lbs so they’re small dogs. ChefPaw works great for toy, small and medium breeds.

The ChefPaw has a max yield of around 6.4lbs (according to their website). That’s enough food for two weeks for one Klee Kai dog.

What is an Alaskan Klee Kai? Learn about the breed here.

This means that you don’t have to cook every week, either. While it is a smooth process, I wouldn’t want the added burden of making meals every Sunday for the week ahead.

Cost savings over time

ChefPaw can allow pet owners to make savings on dog food over time, especially if you’re someone who has typically relied on a dog food delivery company.

For instance, my price for a month’s supply of fresh dog food from The Farmer’s Dog is $251. I paid $40 for the ingredients required to make the Yum Yum Now recipe.

You can read my dedicated Farmer's Dog review.

Once we finished cooking and fed our Klee Kai their first meal, we had a lot left. Enough to last us over a week, maybe even two.

As you can see, that’s $40 to make homemade dog food that lasts between 7 and 10 days. That’s a huge saving on $62.75 every week for The Farmer’s Dog.

Cons

Upfront investment

While you will save money in the long run, there’s a high upfront cost. The Chefpaw is priced at $549.

However, if you have a 15lb Alaskan Klee Kai dog like me, you can expect to pay $125 a month for The Farmer’s Dog.

I paid $40 for the ingredients required to make the Yum Yum Now recipe, and it made enough food for two weeks for one Klee Kai dog.

By the end of my first year using ChefPaw, I’d have saved the cost of the machine by making the food myself rather than using Farmer’s Dog.

Note: The Farmer’s Dog is the cheapest fresh dog food brand I’ve reviewed; most cost nearly $200 a month, so I’d make that saving much quicker.

Time

We have two dogs and a daughter. We run two businesses that are extremely time-consuming.

ChefPaw is easy to use, and it doesn’t take much time to set up, gather the ingredients, and start cooking.

Once it’s cooking, you don’t need to do much at all, apart from adding any heat-sensitive ingredients at the end.

However, I’m still on the fence about whether I’d make the switch permanently to making my Klee Kai’s food with ChefPaw, purely because of my time constraints.

Countertop footprint (or storage)

If you’re anything like my wife Yasmin, you’ll love a clear countertop. I had to battle to get my coffee machine on it (and lost the battle for the carbonater!).

The ChefPaw does take up space, and it’s not a small device. The dimensions of ChefPaw are: 15″ H x 10″ W x 15″ L (Takes up ~9″ x 12″ counter base).

Of course, you can store it in the cupboard or a location where it will stay dry, clean and safe from any wear and tear. That’s what we do.

Capacity

I was genuinely impressed by how much food I made from the Yum Yum Now recipe. It was easily enough to feed Copper and Skye for 7-10 days.

However, if you have a large or extra-large dog, you’ll need to take out the ChefPaw more often. Perhaps multiple times a week.

It was a max yield of around 6.4lbs, which means if you have a 65lb Golden Retriever, you might have to make 4-5 batches every month.

Clearly, I don’t have to worry about capacity, and cooking twice a month isn’t as time-consuming as making five batches a month.

Who Is ChefPaw Best For?

• Dog parents who want total ingredient control because of a picky eater, pup with food sensitivities, or special diets.
• Small to medium dog owners who are happy to cook homemade dog food every week or so.
• Pet owners already making homemade meals but want to save time with Chefpaw.
• Dog owners tired of pricey dog food subscriptions and want to save money over time.

Who Should Avoid It?

• Dog owners who aren’t willing to pay a hefty upfront price for Chefpaw.
• Pet parents with multiple large dogs such as Huskies, Great Danes, or German Shepherds.
• Busy pet owners who don’t have any time at all to spend creating dog food at home.

Is ChefPaw Worth It?

I was impressed by ChefPaw for many reasons.

It’s really easy to use, and you can get started right away, provided you have the right ingredients for the recipe you have in mind.

While there is some prep involved, once you add the ingredients to the bowl and select the correct setting, there’s not much else to do.

The Chefpaw is absolutely worth it if you’re already making homemade dog food and you want to save time on the cooking process.

If you’re someone who spends hundreds a month on a dog food delivery subscription, and you’re ready to make a saving by cooking at home, Chefpaw is great.

However, I believe the value you’ll get from Chefpaw and the savings you’ll make are impacted by the size and number of dogs you have.

If you work from home or you’re a stay-at-home dog parent, you may be happy to use Chefpaw to cook homemade dog food multiple times a week.

But for busy dog owners with a non-remote job, or parents with multiple children already cooking for the family, it may not be ideal.

ChefPaw Technical Specifications

Final Verdict

Chefpaw is a great product and a much-needed invention to give pet owners more options to elevate their dog’s diet.

My wife and I used Chefpaw multiple times to create dog food for our Alaskan Klee Kai dogs, and our experience was great.

Discover what we currently feed our Alaskan Klee Kai dogs.

I believe it’s worth the upfront cost if you’re already making homemade dog food and you want to save time or get better balanced meals.

There’s no doubt it’s a great option for saving money over the long term, regardless of your dog’s size.

If you’ve got a small or medium dog, you will only need to take the machine out a few times a month, but you might need to make batches multiple times a week if you’ve got larger breeds.

So you’ll have to weigh up all these factors in deciding whether Chefpaw is worth your money.