11 Best Fresh Dog Food Brands in 2022 Is your pup eating too much processed foods?
It’s time to try something “fresh.”
It’s time to take a closer look at their diet.
If you’re ready to trade preservatives for nutrients, then you’re in the right place!
We’ve dug up 11 of the best fresh dog food brands to give your pooch the wholesome diet
they deserve.
Whether you’re concerned about the ingredients, your budget, or the preparation method, you’ll
find one that’s just right for your dog.
But before we chow down on the good stuff, subscribe to our channel and click the notification
bell.
You’ll get more tasty bites just like this.
Now, let’s dig in: Best Overall - The Farmer’s Dog
We’ve picked The Farmer’s Dog as the overall best in fresh dog food brands because it’s
the absolute best alternative to most commercial dog foods.
All their meals are custom-created for each dog’s specific needs.
Has your pup put on a few pounds lately?
Got a dog that’s allergic to grains or gluten?
Or maybe your fur baby’s just a picky eater.
Whatever your dog’s needs, The Farmer’s Dog will take care of it and deliver ready-to-serve
meals that are good enough for the dining table.
They’re made purely from human-grade ingredients and are approved by a veterinary nutritionist.
Not only that, the meals are freshly cooked in a USDA-approved kitchen.
The beef with lentil, pork with sweet potato, and turkey with parsnip recipes are a big
hit with dogs.
Want a sneak preview?
The Farmer’s Dog offers small trial quantities before you subscribe.
One downside is that you can’t get the ingredients list without filling out their meal plan questionnaire,
but it’s a good idea to do that anyway!
You want to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth.
Best Fresh & Baked Recipe - Ollie Ollie is great for your dog because it has
the best fresh and baked dog food recipes with multiple options.
It’s great for owners because the meals arrive in resealable tray packaging so leftovers
can be stored.
It’s also great for the planet because the packaging materials are recyclable.
You get to choose the ingredients and the meal plans based on your dog’s health, dietary
preferences, weight goals, and allergies.
Once they have your information, the meals are cooked in a USDA-approved kitchen with
high-quality ingredients.
Ollie then sends two weeks’ worth of yummies to your home in a starter box.
Although Ollie is great in many ways, it’s not super convenient if you’re in a hurry.
You’ll have to measure each meal with a portion-size scooper that comes with the packaging
and there’s slightly more prep involved.
Best Slow-Cooked Option for Fresh Dog Food - A Pup Above
This brand is our pick for best slow-cooked fresh dog food because they use a unique sous
vide cooking method.
This preserves the nutrients and enhances the flavor of the food that dogs just love.
The recipes are created by a veterinary nutritionist and cooked in a USDA-approved kitchen with
pesticide-free vegetables and USDA-approved meats.
Another upside of A Pup Above is that it allows your dog’s diet to be more flexible.
First, you can order meals on-demand without committing to a subscription.
Second, if you choose the subscription plan, it allows you a half and half option to mix
fresh and dry food.
Although it has 100% sustainable packaging, the meals don’t come in pre-portioned packets,
which can be inconvenient for some.
Restaurant-Quality Fresh Dog Food - Nom Nom Nom Nom comes in single-serve packages that
can be poured directly into your dog’s bowl.
No scooping, measuring, or repacking is needed.
The subscription plans offer you several options.
You can: feed your pup purely with Nom Nom food
mix it with their dry food use the meal as a topper, or
serve it as an occasional treat.
You’re also free to choose from Nom Nom’s recipes or customize your dog’s meals based
on their physical condition, weight, age, and other requirements.
Nom Nom foods are solely prepared in US facilities and never mass-produced.
To give your dog the best, they only use the choicest human-grade ingredients.
Although the recipes are created by board-certified veterinary nutritionists, they are not as
easy to customize as some other brands.
Best Small-Batch Flash Frozen Dog Food - PetPlate PetPlate flash frozen foods are made to stay
fresh for a long time.
Kept in the refrigerator, the meals will last for five days but if you store them in a freezer,
they can last for up to a year.
Since the meals come in reusable and recyclable containers, storing leftovers is easy.
You can also customize the meal plans to meet your dog’s nutritional needs.
PetPlate’s recipes are vet-designed and made with USDA-certified, human-grade ingredients.
The ground-up texture is yummy and easy to swallow for your pup.
The topper plan is an economical option if you’re cost-conscious.
It costs about one-fourth of the full meal price, although it also depends on your dog’s
size.
A full subscription is necessary but this can be a good option for those looking to
store more dog food.
Best Uncooked Dog Food - We Feed Raw According to experts, a raw food diet is the
most digestible for dogs.
It also improves their immune system and reduces allergy problems.
The pre-mixed meals by We Feed Raw are created with that in mind by Ph.D certified pet nutritionists.
A high-pressure processing method is used to ensure all meals are safe from food-borne
pathogens.
The 5-pound packages come as patties and include beef, chicken, duck, lamb, turkey, quail,
and venison options.
The meals are balanced, complete, and exceed the AAFCO standards.
If you’re just shifting your dog to a raw food diet, you’ll find directions for a
safe transition on the package.
Unfortunately, We Feed Raw meals only stay fresh for up to 4 days.
This is because all the food is raw, so it might be less convenient for some pet parents.
Recipes Tailored for Each Dog’s Individual Needs - Tailored Pet
The meals by Tailored Pet have high meat protein content and they’re formulated to be tasty,
even for picky eaters.
The balanced nutrition in the meals aids digestion, healthy heart function, mobility, and immune
systems.
It also promotes brain development and dental health while keeping your dog’s coat healthy.
A blend of crunchy kibble is designed for your dog based on their size, breed, age,
health conditions or allergies, wellness goals, and activity levels.
The meals include meats like chicken, lamb, salmon, and bison.
And other healthy ingredients like beans, peas, lentils, and chickpeas.
Although the kibbles are generally small, they can be too big for miniature dogs and
toy breeds.
Most Innovative Brand of Fresh Dog Food - Spot & Tango
Spot & Tango’s Unkibble is the only fresh, dry dog food on the market that doesn’t
require refrigeration.
It’s made from USDA-approved ingredients and goes through a low-temperature drying
process that makes it super tasty.
Aside from Unkibble, Spot & Tango also makes fresh meals for your dog and ships them to
your home, ready to serve.
They’re formulated by animal nutritionists and veterinarians to meet your dog’s specific
dietary needs.
All the recipes meet or exceed the guidelines set by AAFCO as it always uses high-quality
ingredients and human-grade meats.
Plus, none of their products contain preservatives.
Since the texture is ground-up, picky doggies won’t be able to avoid the healthy ingredients.
But we didn’t like that their storage containers are large and take up a lot of space in the
refrigerator.
Best Fresh Food Option with No Subscription - JustFoodforDogs
JustFoodforDogs is a leader in canine nutrition research and has one of the biggest dog food
varieties.
You can choose from a range of fresh-frozen meals, custom diets, do-it-yourself kits,
and pantry fresh foods.
If your dog has a health condition, there are also special veterinary prescription diets.
These include balanced remedy, critical care support, hepatic support low fat, joint health
and skin support, and metabolic support low fat.
Made by a team of canine nutritionists in kitchens in the US, only human-grade ingredients
are used minus the preservatives.
You don’t need to subscribe to purchase the meals, but they do provide a monthly auto-ship
option.
The non-custom-made foods also come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
What you can’t do though, is mix and match recipes or variety packs.
Above Average Product for Its Organic Ingredients - Evermore
This is another fresh dog food brand with generous meat protein content.
It has beef, chicken, grain-free lamb, and grain-free turkey recipes that are fully organic.
Healthy, fresh dog foods don’t get better than Evermore.
The recipes contain zero GMOs and the organic ingredients are strictly regulated by the
US government.
So the meals are free of antibiotics, herbicides, hormones, insecticides, and synthetic pesticides.
What you will find is a variety of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to give your dog
a wholesome and balanced diet.
Plus, the mouthwatering meals give your dog detoxifying benefits.
One thing that might put you off is that the company hasn’t undergone AAFCO feeding trials
as of our review.
Affordability and Availability - Freshpet Dog Food
Unlike some brands that must be ordered online, FreshPet can also be bought in retail stores.
The meals are made in much larger batches than most other pet food companies, so you
pay less for the food.
It has a wide range of formulas including grain and grain-free, and flavors that dogs
crave.
If you purchase FreshPet online, the online selector allows you to input your dog’s
age, breed, size, activity level, and dietary restrictions.
The selector then chooses what’s best for your pup based on the information you provide.
The foods are prepared in USDA-approved facilities in the US and arrive in single-serve containers
and vacuum-sealed bags.
However, since they’re produced in large batches, the foods are not customizable like
other brands on this list.
And there you have it, our picks for the best fresh dog food brands this year!
If you have questions about how to get started or fresh dog food in general, check out the
links in the description.
Got a favorite fresh dog food brand?
Let us know what your top picks are in the comments below.
And tune in next time for more great doggy details.