Nature’s Recipe Dog Food: Review

Nature’s Recipe is a corporate, big-brand dog food company that produces a large variety of wet and dry products. While their recipes tend to use standard ingredient lists that aren’t particularly healthy, they do have a couple of stand-out features, such as commitment to being grain-free, and never using meat by-product meals.

This brand is one of several that are owned and operated by parent-brand Big Heart, which is itself owned by food sector giant J. M. Smuckers. As a result, any claims about ‘small-batch’ or ‘sustainable’ made by Nature’s Recipe need to be taken with a good deal of skepticism.

Made for adult dogs, this dry dog food will help your pup maintain quality lean muscle. Its first ingredient is chicken meal, which is highly concentrated in protein. Wholesome rice provides a nice source of easily digestible carbs that will support energy levels. You obviously care about your dog’s digestion, so you’ll be happy to know that there are two ingredients that are packed full of fiber and will help with your dog’s bowels: barley and oatmeal.

This food has slightly lower protein, fat, and fiber percentages than top competitors. This is a solid product, but there are better ones available. Check the best dog foods for dogs to find better alternatives.

Customer reviews:

“We have found the easy to digest food is the best food we could feed our Standard Poodle. I have detoured and bought other foods, but always had tummy issues. So that is why we recommend Natures Recipe.”

“My dog loves Nature’s Recipe! He gets all the nutrition he needs with this quality food.”

Guaranteed analysis:

• Protein (min): 21.0%
• Fat (min): 12.0%
• Fiber (max): 4.0%
• Moisture (max): 10.0%

Nutritional Info
Ingredients: Chicken Meal, Barley, Oatmeal, Brewers Rice, Poultry Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Natural Flavor, Tomato Pomace, Sodium Tripolyphosphate, Flaxseed, Potassium Chloride, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbly-2-Polyphosphate (Source Of Vitamin C), Inositol, Niacin, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Beta-Carotene, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Biotin), Taurine, Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), Lactic Acid, Choline Chloride, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Citric Acid (Used As A Preservative), Rosemary Extract.

Caloric Content

3610 kcal/kg, 322 kcal/cup

Annamaet Original Puppy Food is a kibble specifically formulated for your new family member, and no, I don’t mean a human baby if you just had one! Although with the wholesome ingredients that this recipe employs, I wouldn’t mind trying it myself. It is full of wholesome ingredients, like chicken meal, brown rice, fish meal, carrots, spinach and more! Looking at the ingredients it is good to see no signs of corn, wheat, or soy, making it a good option for puppies with sensitive stomachs, or to avoid triggering sensitivities.

With 26% protein, and 14% fat content this recipe by Annamaet is suitable for all breeds and sizes. It has a nice middle ground of nutrition content, not too high, not too low! It is also enriched with prebiotics to support gut health.

Customer reviews:
“I started using Annamaet with my last Golden because of food sensitivities and it worked beautifully where so many others failed. The Company is awesome to deal with and will answer your questions to select the right dog food if you are not sure. We just got a new Golden puppy and he loves it and we love it because we know it is quality. Highly recommend.”

“Our now 10 month old puppy appears strong with great muscle definition and posture since using this food for several months now! Her breath is fresh and teeth clean..” 

Guaranteed analysis: 

• Protein (min): 26.0%
• Fat (min): 14.0%
• Fiber (max): 4.0%
• Moisture (max): 10.0%

Nutritional Info
Ingredients: Chicken Meal, Brown Rice, Millet, Pearled Barley, Rolled Oats, Chicken Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Menhaden Fish Meal, Dried Beet Pulp, Flax Seed Meal, Dried Apples, Natural Flavor, Menhaden Oil (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Brewers Dried Yeast, Lecithin, Dried Chicory Root, Dried Blueberries, Dried Cranberries, Salt, DL Methionine, L-Lysine, Taurine, Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product Dehydrated, Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Calcium Carbonate, Niacin Supplement, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate, L-Carnitine, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Choline Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Zinc Proteinate, Betaine Anhydrous, Iron Proteinate, Selenium Yeast, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Calcium Iodate, Yucca Schidigera Extract.

Caloric Content
3887 kcal/kg = 1767 kcal/lb = 414 kcal/cup

Despite relying heavily on meat meals, Nature’s Recipe dry foods mostly hit the industry average levels of protein, fat, and fiber. Unfortunately, that’s where the nutritional benefit stops, with the brand packing their formulas full of low-value ingredients such as barley, feeding oatmeal, and brewers rice.

While most dogs can digest a small number of grains and starches—and may benefit from the fiber—they don’t provide significant dietary benefit and can lead to health complications when regularly consumed.

Seeing the inclusion of real whole meat as the first or second ingredient in the majority of Nature’s Recipe Wet Foods is a great sign, as it means that dogs will have access to many of the essential amino acids and minerals they’d receive in a natural diet. However, the brand’s wet food range uses too many filler ingredients to be considered genuinely healthy. The heavy use of soybean meal is a particular downer, as it’s often included as a cheap and inferior protein replacer, which may cause bloating and gastric distress in pups.

The FDA has no record of any Nature’s Recipe dog food products being recalled. A look at other sources, however, seems to suggest that Nature’s Recipe issued a voluntary recall of some of their treats in 2012, due to possible salmonella contamination.

Big Heart Pet Brands (the brand that owns and manufactures Nature’s Recipe) has seen some more recent—and potentially more serious—recalls involving three of their other brands. In 2018, over 20 products from the Skippy, Kibbles n’ Bits, and Gravy Train product ranges were ordered to be destroyed due to the presence of low levels of the euthanizing drug sodium pentobarbital. As a result, Big Heart Pets is currency undergoing a class action lawsuit.