diff --git a/docs/docs/documentation/getting-started/installation/backend-config.md b/docs/docs/documentation/getting-started/installation/backend-config.md
index 0f5c27d7a882..e9e8ce26ceaf 100644
--- a/docs/docs/documentation/getting-started/installation/backend-config.md
+++ b/docs/docs/documentation/getting-started/installation/backend-config.md
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@
 | POSTGRES_SERVER   | postgres | Postgres database server address |
 | POSTGRES_PORT     |   5432   | Postgres database port           |
 | POSTGRES_DB       |  mealie  | Postgres database name           |
+| POSTGRES_URL_OVERRIDE |   None   | Optional Postgres URL override to use instead of POSTGRES_* variables |
 
 ### Email
 
diff --git a/docs/docs/documentation/getting-started/installation/postgres.md b/docs/docs/documentation/getting-started/installation/postgres.md
index 30ba1e86a3bd..0b9d1b1a2dbc 100644
--- a/docs/docs/documentation/getting-started/installation/postgres.md
+++ b/docs/docs/documentation/getting-started/installation/postgres.md
@@ -5,40 +5,39 @@ PostgreSQL might be considered if you need to support many concurrent users. In
 **For Environment Variable Configuration, see** [Backend Configuration](./backend-config.md)
 
 ```yaml
----
-version: "3.7"
 services:
   mealie:
     image: ghcr.io/mealie-recipes/mealie:v1.4.0 # (3)
     container_name: mealie
+    restart: always
     ports:
         - "9925:9000" # (1)
     deploy:
       resources:
         limits:
           memory: 1000M # (2)
-    depends_on:
-      - postgres
     volumes:
       - mealie-data:/app/data/
     environment:
-    # Set Backend ENV Variables Here
-      - ALLOW_SIGNUP=true
-      - PUID=1000
-      - PGID=1000
-      - TZ=America/Anchorage
-      - MAX_WORKERS=1
-      - WEB_CONCURRENCY=1
-      - BASE_URL=https://mealie.yourdomain.com
+      # Set Backend ENV Variables Here
+      ALLOW_SIGNUP: true
+      PUID: 1000
+      PGID: 1000
+      TZ: America/Anchorage
+      MAX_WORKERS: 1
+      WEB_CONCURRENCY: 1
+      BASE_URL: https://mealie.yourdomain.com
+      # Database Settings
+      DB_ENGINE: postgres
+      POSTGRES_USER: mealie
+      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: mealie
+      POSTGRES_SERVER: postgres
+      POSTGRES_PORT: 5432
+      POSTGRES_DB: mealie
+    depends_on:
+      postgres:
+        condition: service_healthy
 
-    # Database Settings
-      - DB_ENGINE=postgres
-      - POSTGRES_USER=mealie
-      - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=mealie
-      - POSTGRES_SERVER=postgres
-      - POSTGRES_PORT=5432
-      - POSTGRES_DB=mealie
-    restart: always
   postgres:
     container_name: postgres
     image: postgres:15
@@ -48,12 +47,15 @@ services:
     environment:
       POSTGRES_PASSWORD: mealie
       POSTGRES_USER: mealie
+    healthcheck:
+      test: ["CMD", "pg_isready"]
+      interval: 30s
+      timeout: 20s
+      retries: 3
 
 volumes:
   mealie-data:
-    driver: local
   mealie-pgdata:
-    driver: local
 ```
 
 <!-- Updating This? Be Sure to also update the SQLite Annotations -->
diff --git a/docs/docs/documentation/getting-started/installation/sqlite.md b/docs/docs/documentation/getting-started/installation/sqlite.md
index 057e8743684c..d9ff176309cb 100644
--- a/docs/docs/documentation/getting-started/installation/sqlite.md
+++ b/docs/docs/documentation/getting-started/installation/sqlite.md
@@ -9,12 +9,11 @@ SQLite is a popular, open source, self-contained, zero-configuration database th
 **For Environment Variable Configuration, see** [Backend Configuration](./backend-config.md)
 
 ```yaml
----
-version: "3.7"
 services:
   mealie:
     image: ghcr.io/mealie-recipes/mealie:v1.4.0 # (3)
     container_name: mealie
+    restart: always
     ports:
         - "9925:9000" # (1)
     deploy:
@@ -24,19 +23,17 @@ services:
     volumes:
       - mealie-data:/app/data/
     environment:
-    # Set Backend ENV Variables Here
-      - ALLOW_SIGNUP=true
-      - PUID=1000
-      - PGID=1000
-      - TZ=America/Anchorage
-      - MAX_WORKERS=1
-      - WEB_CONCURRENCY=1
-      - BASE_URL=https://mealie.yourdomain.com
-    restart: always
+      # Set Backend ENV Variables Here
+      ALLOW_SIGNUP: true
+      PUID: 1000
+      PGID: 1000
+      TZ: America/Anchorage
+      MAX_WORKERS: 1
+      WEB_CONCURRENCY: 1
+      BASE_URL: https://mealie.yourdomain.com
 
 volumes:
   mealie-data:
-    driver: local
 ```
 
 <!-- Updating This? Be Sure to also update the Postgres Annotations -->
diff --git a/mealie/core/settings/db_providers.py b/mealie/core/settings/db_providers.py
index 9cd1a5aea101..383ac50dc3bf 100644
--- a/mealie/core/settings/db_providers.py
+++ b/mealie/core/settings/db_providers.py
@@ -39,18 +39,25 @@ class PostgresProvider(AbstractDBProvider, BaseSettings):
     POSTGRES_SERVER: str = "postgres"
     POSTGRES_PORT: str = "5432"
     POSTGRES_DB: str = "mealie"
+    POSTGRES_URL_OVERRIDE: str | None = None
 
     model_config = SettingsConfigDict(arbitrary_types_allowed=True, extra="allow")
 
     @property
     def db_url(self) -> str:
-        host = f"{self.POSTGRES_SERVER}:{self.POSTGRES_PORT}"
+        if self.POSTGRES_URL_OVERRIDE:
+            url = PostgresDsn(url=self.POSTGRES_URL_OVERRIDE)
+            if not url.scheme == ("postgresql"):
+                raise ValueError("POSTGRES_URL_OVERRIDE scheme must be postgresql")
+
+            return str(url)
+
         return str(
             PostgresDsn.build(
                 scheme="postgresql",
                 username=self.POSTGRES_USER,
                 password=urlparse.quote_plus(self.POSTGRES_PASSWORD),
-                host=host,
+                host=f"{self.POSTGRES_SERVER}:{self.POSTGRES_PORT}",
                 path=f"{self.POSTGRES_DB or ''}",
             )
         )