Honest Kitchen Dog Food Reviews: Dog Food Made Real

Located in sunny California, The Honest Kitchen is one of the top dog food brands that manufacture premium-quality pet foods in the country.  It’s known as much for the quality of its products as for their unique form. 

This brand offers a wide assortment of wet, dry, and dehydrated products for pets—complete and balanced meals made with wholesome ingredients and slowly cooked over low temperatures to remove moisture, thus preserving more of the nutritional integrity of the raw ingredients.

The team is made up of loving pet parents, animal nutritionists, veterinarians, and other animal lovers who all want the best for their pets and for yours.

This company produces healthy dog food recipes that deliver real, noticeable results including higher energy levels, silkier coat and skin, improved digestion, and a healthy body weight. (I should know. Some of the brand’s products are on my pet food rotation!) 

Your dog’s diet on Honest Kitchen’s products will be just as good as your own (or better), because these are made from human-grade and certified-organic ingredients.

Allow me to break it all down in my detailed Honest Kitchen dog food reviews below.

Who Manufactures The Products?

Their formulas are produced and manufactured by the company itself, which was founded in 2002 by Charles and Lucy Postins who sought to create a fresh, natural diet for their dog, Mosi.

What started as a single homemade recipe turned into an entire company offering high-quality, dehydrated dog food products for pets. 

By using 100% human-grade ingredients and producing formulas in human-grade facilities, the brand ensures that all of its recipes are made of only the good stuff—wholesome, natural, and quality food that focuses on high safety standards for your dog’s health.

Are The Recipes Made In The United States?

The company is headquartered in San Diego, California. The first product, the Verve recipe, hit shelves in 2002 and the first grain-free recipe (Force) was released a year later.

Since then, the brand has expanded its offerings to include over a dozen products using human-grade ingredients, both whole-grain and grain-free dog food, all of which are produced in local facilities here in the United States.

 

Honest Kitchen Dog Food Reviews

It is difficult to compare The Honest Kitchen’s products to those offered by other dog food brands for several reasons. For one thing, few other manufacturers offer dehydrated ingredients or foods.

Furthermore, few pet food manufacturers are as dedicated to quality as they are when it comes to sourcing their ingredients and manufacturing their recipes.

Their recipes use nothing but the best, including real meats, whole grains, fresh fruits and colorful veggies. Each and every one of the recipes is made with the bounty of the earth—you can tell just by looking at it and by reading the ingredients list on every package.

1. Grain-Free Turkey Recipe

This recipe is complete and balanced for all life stages, from puppies to adult dogs and seniors. This dehydrated formula is free from glutens and grains, which makes it a great option for dogs that suffer from food allergies and sensitivities. 

It is specifically designed to support the nutrition and energy needs of more active dogs, offering a low-carb source of protein-rich nutrition that is also packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

The first ingredient is turkey. Turkey is a meat-rich ingredient as well as a lean source of protein. It is supplemented by whole eggs and also gains some plant protein from the inclusion of flaxseed.

You have to consider, however, that the moisture content of this product is lower than that of regular kibble. Most kibbles are at 10% moisture, but this recipe is lower at 7.8%—that means that the true dry matter value of protein in this formula is closer to 31%.

After the main source of protein in this formula come several sources of healthy fats and carbohydrates, like organic flaxseed and potatoes.

Celery, spinach, carrots, apples, bananas, and cranberries all provide supplementary fiber and some carbohydrate energy, though they are more valuable as natural sources for key vitamins and minerals.

It is worth noting that the crude fiber content of this recipe is 6.5%, which is a bit high.  

Key Takeaways:

I highly recommend this dog food formula for puppies and adults. And of course, as I’ve mentioned at the beginning of this article, I have tried Honest Kitchen and am still using it on my own pups and on my fosters so I personally know that this recipe works.

I love, love dehydrated foods because they’re so easy to use and they last so long. It may look expensive at first glance, but after adding water to the dehydrated food, you get so much product. The longer shelf life and convenience offered by this dehydrated formula is also a big plus. 

If you love to give healthy food but can’t be bothered to make it from scratch, this is the next best thing.

However, while this says that it’s for all life stages, this is more for puppies and adult dogs. Seniors may need more supplementation, especially when it comes to joint pains and such.

Best for: Puppies and adult pups

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2. Grain-Free Base Mix

The base mix recipe is an ideal product for dogs that suffer from food allergies or sensitivities—just mix it with any type of meat or fish that your dog can tolerate to create a complete and balanced diet. Instead of grains, the base is made up of a combination of veggies and fruits to provide much of your dog’s nutritional needs.

It can be hard to find the perfect food for pups with extreme allergies or intolerances. And trial and error can be a lengthy process. This mix helps dog owners provide their dogs with the proper amount of nutrition with very minimal risk that it may trigger an allergy flare or stomach upset. 

Much of the base mix is made up of vegetables and fruits, which are carefully selected for their high antioxidant content. The sweet potatoes provide much of the carbohydrates your dog requires for energy, while the peas provide some protein. 

Key Takeaways:

I love this one because it does all the prep work for me. I have some pups who have allergies and cared for fosters with extreme ones. This mix does all the prep work for me, leaving me more time to just bond with these dogs. 

I only have to add the meat a specific pup can tolerate, mix, and serve. Also, it lets my dogs have more of the good stuff, like veggies and fruits. 

While my mildly intolerant pups can do with canned food or kibble—provided that it doesn’t contain the meat protein they react to—I don’t want to have to go through many different products just to arrive at the right one for the extremely intolerant dogs. Because that would just prolong their suffering.

This mix lets me serve my dogs with gentle food that also includes all of their daily nutrient requirements.

Best For: Adult dogs and seniors with allergies 

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3. Chicken Whole Food Clusters

These are too good to be called kibble, according to the brand. This minimally-processed dog food is made with dehydrated chicken and other fresh ingredients to help in the maintenance needs of healthy adult dogs.

Instead of the usual process of extruding dog food, these clusters are cold-pressed in small batches using a unique method called MADEHONEST™. They are then slow-roasted and dehydrated to ensure the retention of nutrients.

This lightly cooked, free-from-grain chicken recipe is made with cage-free chicken and chicken liver. As it has no other animal protein sources, this food is ideal for dogs who are allergic to proteins other than chicken.

Live probiotics are included in the clusters to help support your dog’s digestive health, because good gut health is the key to better absorption of nutrients.

Key Takeaways:

I like the convenience of kibble, but this recipe takes it even further. It’s kibble, yes, but it’s human-grade and minimally processed. If you see the ‘human-grade’ label on dog food, that is almost synonymous with premium quality.

If you’re also easily turned off by the smell of dog food, that should not be a problem here. It smells good and well, like human food.

The amount of protein in this food is just right for puppies, adults, and seniors. However, it’s not enough for active adult canines. If your pup is too playful, he may need more protein in his diet.

I’ve found the dog food to be gentle enough for even sensitive stomachs or those with gastrointestinal issues.  My dogs  with digestive issues are able to keep this down without getting tummy aches. Sometimes, I feed it as is but other times, I use it as a topper and my pups eat the kibble greedily. 

Best for: All life stages except for very active adults

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4. Whole Grain Beef Recipe

According to Chewy, this is actually the recipe that started it all. A little goes a long way with this human-grade dog food. A 10 lb. box of this dog food recipe yields to 40 lbs. of food when rehydrated with water.

Made with ranch-raised beef, this recipe for adult dogs provides high-quality protein to help promote healthy and strong muscles. It does, however, have a moderate protein and lower fat content compared to other The Honest Kitchen variants. This makes it ideal for senior dogs or those who are under weight management diets.

Aside from 10 lbs. of beef, it also has apples, carrots, oats, rolled oats, potatoes, and eggs. These highly nutritious whole ingredients are naturally rich in vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients, which are all retained in the food through a dehydration process.

Grains are a fine thing to add to dog food. Aside from providing carbohydrates and fiber to a diet, grains also support heart health. And whole grains, which this brand uses, provide this food with all the important and digestible nutrients that your pup needs. 

Unless your pup is sensitive to grains, there really is no cause to stay away from it.

Key Takeaway:

We’re a team here in dogfood.guide, and some of my volunteers have tried this recipe on their pups. These are their feedback:

Most pups enjoyed the mixture of beef and veggies. It wasn’t rare to see a pup gobbling up his/her meal. Even the usually hard-to-please canines did well on this diet, many growing healthier fur even.

However, some of my researchers found the consistency of the prepared food to be too pasty. A few of the dogs in our study were not fans of the porridge-like consistency of the food once it has been rehydrated.

I also found the protein content to be too low. It is above the AAFCO recommended level, but still, it’s not at the level I would want to see in my dog’s diet. 

Best for: Adults and seniors who love beef and are not intolerant to grains

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5. Limited Ingredient Diet Fish Recipe

This is a dehydrated dog food with a  limited number of ingredients. In fact, it only has 6 key ingredients in it. It is specially made for dogs with food sensitivities whose foods need to be carefully monitored. 

This dehydrated food is made with 21 lbs. of wild-caught white fish, which is often an ideal animal protein alternative for dogs that have sensitive stomachs. At 34%, this dehydrated food provides all the protein an ever inquisitive and playful pup might need. 

This recipe is interesting because the second ingredient after fish is dried organic coconut. It’s not something that you often see in dog foods, and definitely not something you see right after the main protein. 

We did some research and apparently, coconut meat is just as good as coconut oil. It has major anti-inflammatory properties that helps aching joints feel better and speeds up wound healing. And since it is high in lauric acid, it can help your dog’s body to fight off viruses and treat yeast infections.

Key Takeaways:

Reviews from owners of dogs with allergies are mostly positive, from the Honest Kitchen review page to our very own volunteer pet owners. 

Many dogs are said to have finally found relief from symptoms like itchy skin, watery eyes, or constant licking when they were switched to this food. Their skin condition significantly improved and their furs have become much softer.

Pups with gastrointestinal are also doing quite well on this formula. No more gassy tummies or vomiting. Stool quality is also better, according to their owners.

As for me, I find it an excellent recipe for canines with sensitivities. There are no hidden egg or poultry products, unlike some LID diets by other brands. Poultry, especially chicken, is one of the most common triggers, and it’s always a shock to discover that what you thought was a single animal protein had this ingredient hidden in the food.

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