Dog Foods that Contain Lamb and Rice: A Perfect Blend for Balanced Canine Nutrition

Protein is the most important nutritional component of a high-quality dog food formula, but not all proteins are created equal. Some proteins are high in fat and cholesterol while others are lean and nutrient-rich. The same can be said for carbohydrates – some are better than others in terms of their digestibility and nutrition.

Keep reading to learn more about the nutritional benefits of lamb and rice and to receive recommendations for high-quality dog foods that contain lamb and rice.

 

Top Dog Foods that Contain Lamb and Rice

Any high-quality pet food formula that lists lamb in the name should also list lamb (or lamb meal) as the main ingredient – you should never buy a dog food that doesn’t have some kind of protein as the first ingredient.

Though rice is a healthy ingredient for dogs, as a carbohydrate it is secondary to protein but should still appear somewhere near the top of the list if it is named in the title.

If you are thinking about switching your dog to a lamb and rice dog food, consider one of our top choices displayed below:

1. Nutro Natural Choice Lamb & Brown Rice Recipe

The first ingredient here is whole, deboned lamb, providing plenty of wholesome protein while rice supports all-day energy.

It’s a clean recipe and easy to digest, containing plenty of vitamins and antioxidants as well as essential fatty acids. It uses only the best ingredients from trusted partners of Nutro.

Now that Nutro is widely available outside specialty stores, you have the chance to provide your best friend with unparalleled nutrition. All their ingredients are premium, non-GMO foods that come from only trusted providers. You know that every bag provides your pets with a lifetime of nutrition.

It helps promote healthy skin and a soft coat with omega fatty acids, and it’s made with GMO-free ingredients—absolutely no by-products, corn, wheat, soy protein, or artificial flavors allowed.

And with natural fiber for healthy digestion and essential antioxidants for immunity, it’s food that you’ll love feeding your dog as much as he’ll love eating it.

2. Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula Lamb & Brown Rice Recipe

This is a dry dog food for adult dogs that is made with real deboned lamb. You can be assured that your pup gets only high-quality protein from this food.

This Life Protection formula has the brand’s exclusive LifeSource Bits. LifeSource Bits contains a blend of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals that support immune system health, life stage requirements, and healthy oxidative balance.

Like all Blue Buffalo products, this one has no chicken or poultry by-product meals. It also has no corn, wheat, or soy. This dry dog food is free from artificial enhancers such as colors, flavors, or preservatives.

According to reviews from dog parents, this lamb and rice recipe is quite popular among pooches. They love the rich lamb flavor, and are always excited for mealtimes.

Pet parents love the good value they get with this product. They are able to feed their dogs highly-nutritious food for a good price.

3. American Journey Lamb, Brown Rice & Vegetables Recipe

This kibble provides complete and balanced nutrition for dogs of all life stages. With real deboned lamb and lamb meal as the first and second ingredient respectively, your dog gets a high-quality meal that is rich in protein.

Highly nutritious vegetables such as carrots, sweet potatoes, blueberries, and cranberries are added to help support your dog’s overall health and boost the immune system.

Fiber-rich grains such as brown rice, barley, rice bran, and oat meal make this food highly-digestible and easy on dogs’ stomachs. A balanced blend of omega fatty acids promotes healthy skin and coat.

Free from wheat, corn, soy, and poultry by-product meals. It contains no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives.

Reviews for this food says that dogs love the tasty kibbles of this rich lamb and brown rice recipe. It has also been great for dogs who previously had skin issues due to allergies.

Many have commented on how their dogs’ itchy skin and paws have significantly improved since being switched to this formula from American Journey.

4. Iams ProActive Health Lamb & Rice Formula

This is specially made for doggie fans of lamb. Made with real lamb, this dry dog food is not only tasty, it is also rich in protein.

It is formulated with high-quality protein, a unique fiber blend, and a customized mix of carbs and protein.

The fiber blend in this Iams formula includes prebiotics and beet pulp to help support digestive health. This dry food also has omega fatty acids for healthy skin and coat.

L-carnitine helps burn fat and maintain a healthy metabolism. Every serving of this Iams ProActive Health recipe provides complete and balanced nutrition.

Iams actually encourages pet parents to look for visible differences that their food has made on pets’ health. Reviews for this product state that it has been great for dogs with sensitive stomachs. Many of the dogs have healthier, shinier coats since switching to this Iams formula.

5. Solid Gold Hund-N-Flocken Lamb, Brown Rice & Pearled Barley Recipe

Pasture-raised lamb is the base ingredient for this recipe. It blends with brown rice and barley for an excellent balance of carbohydrates and proteins, giving your beloved pet an all day energy and strength. The recipe is free of all unnatural ingredients (artificial flavors, coloring, etc…) and cheap fillers like corn or soy.

It uses healthy fats for coat health and to support skin rebuilding. Oils also help your dog maintain energy throughout the day and support joints. This diet is formulated to enhance your canine’s coat, sharpen his mind and boost his energy levels.

This food also has a unique blend of functional superfoods, living probiotics and rich omegas to help build strong muscles and provide your furbaby with gut health and overall immune system support.

6. Rachael Ray Nutrish Limited Ingredient Lamb Meal & Brown Rice (formerly Just 6)

Rachael Ray Nutrish was founded by celebrity cook and cooking show host Rachael Ray, who joined up with pet nutrition experts to create high-quality pet food for both dogs and cats. Nutrish focuses on simple recipes with real ingredients, that results in food that is ‘real good’.

Nutrish is also connected with Rachael Ray’s animal rescue organization, Rachael’s Rescue. The proceeds of sales from Nutrish have gone to medical supplies, food, and treatments for animals in need since 2008.

If your dog is a fan of lamb meal, this recipe is worth a look. It used to be sold as Just 6 Natural Lamb Meal & Brown Rice and is now called Nutrish Limited Ingredient Lamb Meal & Brown Rice. Note that it is not pea-free: the current label lists peas as the fourth ingredient.

The top six ingredients are wholesome and natural, and the food does not contain corn, wheat, soy or gluten, as well as no artificial colors, flavors, preservatives or poultry by-product meal.

Everything that is contained within this kibble is in there for a reason – not ‘just because’. The lamb meal provides vitamin B and amino acids, as well as natural glucosamine and chondroitin to assist with joint health.

The ground and brown rice provide carbohydrates and fiber for a quick energy boost and the beet pulp offers prebiotic benefits by feeding the healthy bacteria in a dog’s gut.

And let’s not forget the poultry fat, which offers omegas for healthy skin as well as a yummy taste. It is also all cooked in the USA!

7. Natural Balance L.I.D. Lamb Meal & Brown Rice Formula

Natural Balance is a premium pet food company that is dedicated to providing pets and their owners with “Food for a Lifetime”.

This brand of pet food offers the ideal combination of quality and affordability. This company uses premium ingredients like real meat, whole vegetables, and healthy fats to formulate their recipes because they believe in the power of a healthy diet for pets.

None of their recipes are made with fillers like corn, wheat, or soy, and they don’t use any artificial additives as well. In terms of their product selection, they offer a wide selection of products, both dry food and wet food. Not only do they offer an assortment of original and grain-free recipes, but they also offer formulas for different life stages and breed sizes.

If you’re in the market for a lamb and rice dog food formula, consider this food. It features lamb and lamb meal as its first two ingredients.

The fact that both of these ingredients are included speaks to the high protein content of this formula – fresh lamb contains as much as 70% moisture by volume but lamb meal is highly concentrated at a moisture level closer to 10%.

Brown rice is the third ingredient on the list and brewers rice appears just after. This recipe is specially formulated for adult dogs, made with the ideal ratio of protein and fat to maintain your dog’s lean muscle mass. With brown rice as the primary carbohydrate, it also offers good digestibility.

8. Purina Pro Plan Savor Shredded Blend Lamb & Rice Formula

This product has a mixture of tender shredded pieces and crunchy kibbles. It is enriched with vitamins and minerals for complete and balanced nutrition. Furry fans of lamb will love this dry dog food with two different textures.

Natural prebiotic fiber from wheat bran and guaranteed live probiotics support good bacteria in the intestinal tract. This promotes healthy digestion and absorption of nutrients.

It has vitamin A and omega fatty acids to help support healthy skin and coat. Glucosamine is beneficial to your dog’s joint health. Also, it is free from artificial enhancers such as flavors, colors, or preservatives.

This recipe from Pro Plan has received numerous reviews on how much dogs love its taste. They enjoy their meals and always get excited for feeding time. It has passed the standards of a lot of picky pups.

Aside from being tasty, this dry food has guaranteed live probiotics that not only help with digestion but also with absorption of nutrients.

9. Canidae Life Stages Lamb Meal & Rice Formula

Update (October 2026): Canidae no longer lists this Lamb Meal & Rice dry recipe on its website, so stores may be selling off old stock. Canidae’s current All Life Stages lamb kibble is Real Lamb & Ancient Grains (lamb, chicken meal, oatmeal, barley and whole grain sorghum; 24% protein, 10% fat). It has no rice and contains chicken meal, so it is not a match if you are avoiding chicken.

Canidae is an independent and family-owned company that has been producing premium pet foods for more than two decades.

This brand originally set out to make pet foods that made a difference in the life of pets, and that is exactly what they did. Canidae dog food is loaded with premium-quality ingredients in ideal ratios to support the nutritional needs of dogs in all life stages.

This brand offers a wide selection of products divided into several product lines. The Limited Ingredient Diet line features simple recipes made with fresh meat and whole foods, designed for dogs with food allergies and sensitivities.

The Under the Sun line offers the ideal combination of quality and affordability and the PURE line features grain-free recipes.

The Life Stages line of Canidae dog foods is designed for multi-dog households and includes recipes formulates for dogs in all life stages, all breeds, and all sizes. This one right here is a great example of a product from this lineup.

Featuring protein-rich lamb meal as the first ingredient, followed by brown rice. With lamb meal as the main source of protein, you can be assured that this recipe is meat-rich – it also doesn’t hurt that fresh lamb is listed as well.

The brown rice is complemented by cracked pearled barley, rice bran, peas, and millet to ensure excellent digestibility as well as plenty of carbohydrate energy.

All in all, this recipe is designed as a nutritionally-dense formula for all dogs and it is full of natural flavor as well.

10. ProPac Ultimates Lamb Meal & Brown Rice Formula

The ProPac Ultimates brand is so-named because they claim to be “the ultimate in pet nutrition”. This company understands that different pets have different nutritional needs, so they design their formulas to meet those needs.

ProPac offers a variety of formulas including original, grain-free, and gluten-free varieties. This company also understands the importance of meat as the primary ingredient with a balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids for immune support and healthy skin and coat. They also load up their formulas with antioxidants and healthy supplements.

Though this brand may not offer as much variety as other pet food companies, the recipes they do offer are of high quality. There are original and grain-free recipes to choose from, each featuring a premium protein and digestible carbohydrate option.

This formula is a great recipe because it is nutrient-rich and highly digestible. This formula was developed to provide the ultimate in canine nutrition, loaded with protein and healthy fats but free from corn, wheat, and soy.

It features premium-quality lamb meal as the main ingredient with both brown rice and white rice not far behind. The lamb provides your dog with essential amino acids to maintain strong, healthy muscles while the rice supports his energy needs as well as his digestion.

This recipe is also supplemented with essential fatty acids for healthy skin and coat plus beneficial supplements for nutritional balance. All in all, it is a great recipe for adult dogs.

The Nutritional Benefits of Lamb and Rice

Many limited ingredient diets for dogs are made with lamb and rice because these two ingredients offer excellent nutritional quality.

Lamb is the meat of a young sheep and it is rich in protein and omega-3 fatty acids – it is also an excellent source for key nutrients like zinc, selenium, and Vitamin B12. Rice – brown rice, in particular – is a healthy and digestible carbohydrate for dogs.

It offers excellent digestibility and nutrition, not to mention dietary fiber. These two ingredients in combination tend to make for a nutrient-rich, highly digestible diet for most dogs – as long as they aren’t sensitive to grains.

As a source of protein, lamb is a great ingredient for dogs. It is not a low-fat meat, though: many cuts of lamb carry more fat than chicken breast, so check the fat percentage on the bag if your dog needs to watch its weight.

What matters most is the finished food: the protein and fat minimums in the guaranteed analysis, and the AAFCO nutritional adequacy statement for your dog’s life stage.

Lamb also contains other beneficial nutrients including zinc, phosphorus, selenium, vitamin B3 and vitamin B12.

Both white rice and brown rice are common ingredients in pet food, though brown rice is the healthier of the two options. Per cup of steamed rice, white rice contains about 206 calories and brown rice contains about 216 calories. Brown rice contains about 1.8 grams of fat, 45 grams carbohydrate, and 5 grams of protein per 1 cup serving (about 195 grams).

White rice contains just 0.4 grams of fat and also has 45 grams of carbohydrate, but just 4.3 grams of protein. One of the main differences between the two is in their fiber content – brown rice has 3.5 grams of fiber while white rice has just 0.6 grams.

Brown rice is richer in essential nutrients than white rice because it is the whole grain – white rice has had the nutrient-rich bran and germ removed. Both of these grains are considered highly digestible for dogs, with the exception of dogs who have grain allergies or sensitivities.

In terms of nutrient content, brown rice is rich in selenium, phosphorus, manganese, magnesium, copper, and vitamin B3. White rice contains many of these same nutrients, but in a lesser amount. It is, however, lower in fiber and quicker to digest, which is why vets often suggest plain white rice for a short bland diet.

Both brown rice and white rice come in short-grain and long-grain varieties, though most pet food manufacturers don’t distinguish between the two in their list of ingredients.

If you’re looking for a meat-rich diet for your dog that also offers good digestibility, a lamb and rice formula might be a good option to consider. When you start shopping for lamb and rice dog food, start with the picks in our quick take above.

Benefits & Drawbacks

Lamb and rice dog food remains a popular choice for pet parents looking for a straightforward combination of animal protein and an easily digestible carbohydrate source. Lamb provides high-quality animal protein and essential amino acids, while rice supplies carbohydrates that can provide readily available energy. However, the words “lamb and rice” on the bag don’t automatically mean the food is superior, hypoallergenic or suitable for every dog. The overall ingredient list, nutrient profile, calorie content, and nutritional adequacy statement matter much more.

Pros

• Lamb is a quality animal protein. It provides protein and essential amino acids needed for maintaining muscle and supporting normal body functions.
• Rice is a digestible carbohydrate. White and brown rice can provide energy, while brown rice also contributes some fiber.
• Can be a useful alternative protein. Dogs that have previously eaten chicken or beef may tolerate lamb well, although lamb is not automatically hypoallergenic.
• Often appealing to picky eaters. Lamb’s distinct flavor can make some formulas more attractive to dogs with selective appetites.
• Available for different life stages. Lamb-and-rice recipes range from puppy foods to adult-maintenance formulas, so owners can find options tailored to their dog’s nutritional needs. AAFCO emphasizes choosing food according to the dog’s species, life stage, and condition.
• Can provide complete nutrition. When properly formulated, lamb-and-rice food can supply all required nutrients rather than simply providing lamb and rice as individual ingredients.

Cons

• “Lamb and rice” doesn’t guarantee a high-quality formula. A product can feature lamb prominently on the front while containing other animal proteins, grains, or byproducts in significant amounts. Always check the complete ingredient list.
• Lamb isn’t necessarily better than other proteins. Chicken, turkey, beef, fish, and other animal proteins can also provide excellent nutrition when properly formulated.
• Not automatically suitable for dogs with allergies. A lamb recipe may still contain chicken, beef, egg, or other potential allergens. If a true food allergy is suspected, an elimination diet under veterinary guidance is more appropriate than simply switching to a lamb formula.
• Rice is a carbohydrate, not a major source of protein. Dogs need adequate animal or plant-derived protein and essential amino acids; rice primarily contributes energy.
• Some formulas can be grain-heavy. The quality of a lamb-and-rice food depends on the proportions and nutritional contribution of all ingredients, not just its first two named ingredients.
• Some dogs may not need a lamb-based diet. If a dog is thriving on another complete and balanced food, there is generally no nutritional reason to switch simply because lamb sounds more premium.

Takeaway

Lamb and rice can be an excellent foundation for a complete and balanced dog food, but the combination itself isn’t what makes a formula healthy. The best choices provide sufficient animal protein, appropriate fat and calories, essential vitamins and minerals, and nutrition specifically formulated for the dog’s life stage.

For most healthy dogs, lamb-and-rice food is best viewed as one good option among many, rather than a universally superior diet. And if you’re choosing it because your dog has allergies, digestive problems, or another health condition, don’t assume that “lamb and rice” alone will solve the problem. The right formula depends on the individual dog and, when necessary, veterinary guidance.