Best Baked Dog Food: 6 Oven-Baked Kibbles Compared (Plus Treats)

Oven-baked dog food has become increasingly popular among pet owners looking for an alternative to traditional kibble.

Instead of cooking ingredients quickly under high heat and pressure, baked recipes are prepared more slowly in an oven, often in smaller batches. Many manufacturers say this gentler process helps preserve more of the ingredients’ natural flavor and nutritional value, although the exact benefits depend on the recipe and how it’s made.

Most dry dog food is produced using extrusion, which remains the industry’s standard manufacturing method. Baking is simply a different approach, and while fewer brands use it, interest in oven-baked recipes continues to grow as owners seek a wider range of dry food options.

In this guide, we’ll explain how oven-baked dog food compares with traditional kibble, discuss its potential advantages and drawbacks, and review some of the best baked dog food brands currently available.

Looking for oven baked dog treats instead? Jump to our baked treats picks.

 

Oven Baked Dog Food Products

1. Lotus Oven-Baked Grain-Free Sardine & Herring

Lotus is a family-owned and operated company that makes food for pets, specifically cats and dogs. It specializes in making oven-baked kibble and canned meals that use wild-caught fish or farm-raised meats.

While it offers chicken and other traditional meat  sources, the brand also utilizes novel ones like rabbit, venison, pork, and various fish species.

This specific recipe for adult dogs uses two types of fish — sardines and herring — to supply a healthy amount of protein for your dog. Two other types of fish supply the fat — catfish and salmon. These last two (as fish oil) provide guaranteed levels of omega-3 fatty acids for your pup.

The grain-free formulation as well as the fish protein sources make this recipe suitable for pups with food sensitivities. There are few ingredients in here and all are recognizable.

According to dog food reviews left by pet owners, this is one product that’s worked wonderfully for dogs who are prone to skin conditions and allergies. Coats have become thicker, pups are more alert, and the horrible itching has gone.

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2. Darford Zero G Wild Caught Pacific Salmon

Darford is a small company that started out with creating natural baked treats for canines that are healthy and delicious. It has since expanded to offer dog food too using the same cooking method, although the number of recipes is still limited as of this moment.

The brand’s products are carefully sourced and never contain byproduct meals,  added salt, soy, corn, or anything artificial. 

This specific dog food formula is grain-free; packed with superfoods like blueberries and cranberries; boosted with carbs like sweet potato and potato for quick energy; and filled with all the essential vitamins and minerals your pup will need, like choline chloride, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin E supplement, folic acid, calcium carbonate, and more.

Transitioning to this dog food is easy for many pet owners. It has helped some dogs with their allergies and several pooches seem to enjoy the taste. 

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3. PetPlate FreshBaked Beef

PetPlate is a subscription-based fresh dog food brand that offers human-grade meals prepared in USDA-approved kitchens. They provide both grain-free and grain-inclusive options in a variety of flavors for dogs to enjoy.

Founded in 2016 by MIT physics graduate Renaldo Webb, PetPlate was inspired by his Tibetan Terrier, Winston, who struggled with digestive issues and refused to eat his food.

To launch the company, Webb appeared on Shark Tank, seeking $100,000 for a 10% stake. Although none of the investors took the offer, he later secured $19 million in Series B funding by 2022.

Today, PetPlate has delivered millions of meals to dogs across the contiguous United States, with production taking place in USDA-inspected facilities in the Midwest and Upstate New York.

Crafted with premium, human-grade ingredients such as protein-rich beef and a vibrant mix of superfoods like carrots, chia seeds and spinach, this nutritious meal is gently baked and air-dried in small batches to retain essential nutrients.

Formulated by veterinary nutritionists, it offers a complete and balanced diet with added prebiotics and postbiotics to support healthy digestion. Additionally, it is produced in human-grade kitchens in the USA.

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4. I and Love and You Baked and Saucy Chicken and Sweet Potato

I and Love and You is a maker of foods for dogs and cats. It’s a Boulder, Colorado company whose vision is to make healthy food accessible to all. Its foods are designed for all life stages, wheat- and gluten-free, and filled with recognizable ingredients only. 

Its Baked and Saucy line feature farm-raised meats that are slow-cooked in small batches and coated with a savory bone broth. It can be fed as is or mixed with some water to create a gravy-filled dinner that doggos will love.

This particular recipe features farm-raised chicken as the leading protein to fuel your dog’s muscles. But it also has turkey meal to raise the protein level even more. Because it’s grain-free, the dinner takes its fiber and carbohydrate content from pea flour, sweet potato, and tapioca starch.

There aren’t many vegetables here, although the brand did add in vitamin and mineral supplements for a boost of nutrition. It also has prebiotics and guaranteed levels of probiotics to keep your fur bud’s digestive system working properly.

According to reviews, this dinner is something that puppers are quite eager to get into. The gravy consistency when water is added makes it more palatable. No more need for toppers because the gravy keeps them asking for more. Plus, adding water keeps it suitable for the teeth of older dogs.

The product also has a great smell and offers the bonus of keeping dogs’ poops solid and regular. The only downside is that it is high on calorie content.

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5. Tiki Dog Born Carnivore Duck, Peas & Lentils

Tiki Pets is a company that specializes in creating meat-forward products using real and purposeful ingredients. There’s nothing artificial in any of the brand’s foods, and nothing you can’t pronounce.

This product line is composed of baked and bite-sized kibbles for little breed doggies. And this specific recipe uses real duck as the main protein with flavorful turkey liver adding extra crave-worthiness to the food.

The formulation is grain-free and uses easily digestible carbohydrates such as tapioca, lentils and chickpeas to provide the fiber your pup needs to keep his digestive system moving.

Since there are only a few ingredients used to make this recipe, this may be ideal for sensitive pups who can tolerate duck and turkey.

Paw parents gave this food mostly positive ratings. The bites are the perfect size for little mouths and are not hard. The bits crumble and are easy on the gums and teeth of older dogs. 

Pet parents like the quality of the food. Several have reported that their finicky eaters have no problem licking their bowls clean if it’s filled with it. 

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6. Ollie Baked Beef with Sweet Potatoes

Ollie is a specialized pet food brand that makes customized meals for pups. It offers fresh, baked, and mixed meals for pups of all breeds and life stages.

All formulations are 100% human-grade and expertly balanced for nutrition. They’re the closest thing to human food that you can give to your pup.

The ingredients that Ollie use are responsibly-sourced. Recipes do not include added hormones, fillers, or by-products. And there are never corn, wheat, or soy ingredients.

Ollie Baked Beef uses a single animal protein source. Fresh beef is used for most of the protein supply with beef liver adding some more, not to mention enhanced palatability. (Dogs love organ meats, especially liver!) 

Sweet potatoes in the food provide dietary fiber and a slow-burning supply of carbohydrates. Carrots, spinach, blueberries, lentils, and oats provide most of the vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids that your pup needs for a complete and balanced diet.

According to pet owners who’ve fed this to their pups, the baked kibbles have made their dogs’ poops smaller and less stinky. Dogs who’ve been on the diet longer have also shown much improvement in their coats, which are now shinier and more lustrous. 

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Baked Treats

1. Caru Soft ‘n Tasty Baked Bites Lamb