The Honest Kitchen Dog Food: Review

Pup parent Lucy Postins founded The Honest Kitchen in 2002 from her own kitchen, as a small-batch company producing truly nutritious wet and dry foods for her and other’s dogs. Consistently FDA approved to use the label ‘human-grade’, this brand makes a welcome change from the many more corporate dog food manufacturers out there, with an ingredient list that’s packed full of easily recognizable whole foods and meat products. In fact, The Honest Kitchen is so confident in their formulas that they released their own pet recipe book.

The Honest Kitchen uses a dehydration method to retain nutrients in their meat and fish ingredients, helping them achieve equal or higher levels of protein and fat than the industry averages for wet and dry foods—an impressive feat considering the brand doesn’t rely on concentrated meat meals.

The Honest Kitchen’s top dry dog food is a nicely put together recipe. It is so well done that it meets the rigorous standards for human consumption by the FDA. So if it’s good enough for you to eat, it’s surely good enough to give your dog. It is made using minimal processing and provides whole food clusters that don’t look like your typical kibble. But don’t worry, this is a good thing as they are made in small batches and have been cold-pressed, slow-roasted, and dehydrated. Sounds pretty gourmet to me!

With 26% protein and 14.5% fat it fits right in with industry standards to adequately fuel your pup. What sets this recipe apart are the ingredients and the cooking methods. So if you want a well-sourced, nutritious formula, then don’t hesitate in purchasing this dry food by The Honest Kitchen, because honestly, it’s awesome!

Customer reviews:

“My small dog has been having tummy issues for months, been on a bland diet. Tried his old food a few times and he got sick each time. This seems to have done the trick. He eats regular bite sized food (shihtzu) however these pieces seem a bit too large and quite difficult for him to chew. I’ve ordered the small breed size and so far it seems to be better. I recommend, just be aware the pieces are a little larger than some dog food brands. Order bite size down from normal, unless you have a large dog. Just so glad I can feed him dog food again.”

“My service dog is super picky about his food. We have tried all the regular foods the stores have to offer. As soon as we started feeding peewee this food he would eat it all and not beg for more food from us. Maybe tmi but poops have been great since we started this food. No upset tummy no gas.”

Guaranteed analysis:

• Protein (min): 26.0%
• Fat (min): 14.5%
• Fiber (max): 5.0%
• Moisture (max): 12.0%

Nutritional Info
Ingredients: Chicken, potatoes, peas, lentils, chicken liver, carrots, ground flaxseed, eggs, coconut oil, broccoli, pumpkin, apples, natural chicken flavor, chia seed, salmon oil, kale, minerals [tricalcium phosphate, sodium chloride, iron amino acid chelate, copper amino acid chelate, manganese amino acid chelate, zinc amino acid chelate, sodium selenite], fenugreek seed, dried kelp, taurine, L-carnitine, vitamins [vitamin A supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, niacin supplement, folic acid, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), calcium pantothenate (vitamin B5), pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, choline chloride], mixed tocopherols (a natural preservative), turmeric, dried bacillus coagulans fermentation product, rosemary extract.

Caloric Content
3,836 kcal/kg, 422 kcal/cup

Another human-grade food by The Honest Kitchen, which we love to see. This food is not as well known as their dry food formula, but is that for good reason? Well no, it is the equivalent of their dry formula. It is made using healthy ingredients such as ranch-raised beef, kale, sweet potatoes, carrots, and even a little bit of rosemary for good measure. Gordon Ramsey eat your heart out! Cooked in small batches there is plenty of quality control in the preparation of this formula.

With 8% protein and 5% fat this product covers the nutritional needs of most dogs, we recommend a mix of The Honest Kitchens dry and wet foods, to keep costs down, and provide optimal nutrition along with hydration to your pup. There are no meat meals, by-products, fillers, artificial flavors, GMOs, or preservatives in this recipe, making it delightful on your dog’s stomach. Special note: it has a lot of gravy!

Customer reviews:

“It didn’t look like what I expected but wowow my senior pup gobbled it up and left the plate so clean I could have put it away.”

“No complaints! – they gobble it all up! Thanks Honest Kitchen for making this so delicious!” 

Guaranteed analysis: 

• Protein (min): 8.0%
• Fat (min): 5.0%
• Fiber (max): 1.0%
• Moisture (max): 82.0%

Nutritional Info
Ingredients: Beef, beef bone broth, kale, sweet potatoes, carrots, tapioca, sunflower oil, minerals [copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, selenium yeast, zinc proteinate, calcium carbonate, potassium chloride, magnesium proteinate], tricalcium phosphate, vitamins [vitamin E supplement, vitamin A supplement, niacin supplement, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), folic acid, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, choline chloride], salmon oil, dried kelp, rosemary.

Caloric Content
1100 kcal/kg, 328 kcal/box

The dry dog food market is awash with sketchy suppliers and subpar formulas, as the uniform appearance of kibbles can mean it’s hard for owners to determine product quality. Fortunately, there are no such quality concerns with The Honest Kitchen, who guarantee their dry range is made without the use of by-products, fillers, corn, wheat, soy, or ingredients imported from China.

One thing to point out about The Honest Kitchen is that their recipes do feature plant proteins like peas and lentils, within the first five ingredients. This means that some degree of protein content isn’t coming from nutrient-rich meat sources. Overall, however, every dry food from this brand lines up favorably against industry average nutritional levels, with an optimal 5 percent fiber, using ingredients that are well above average quality.

For an off-the-shelf pet product, it doesn’t get much better than The Honest Kitchen’s wet food range. Using whole meat cuts and bone broths, these formulas offer a great balance of protein and fats with moisture and essential nutrients. Added to the mix are fibrous vegetables such as kale, sweet potatoes, and carrots. This is a brand that’s genuinely passionate about providing dogs with the next best thing to homemade dinners.

They do use some tapioca, which is generally considered a low-value source of calories. However, the inclusion of tapioca is preferable to white flours, rice, or potatoes, and helps create an appetizing texture and shape in formulas.

Despite their impressive production methods and small batches, The Honest Kitchen did issue a recall for five runs of their Zeal, Verve, and Thrive products in February 2013. This was due to concerns about salmonella contamination from a batch of parsley used in the affected products. 

Salmonella infection in dogs can be serious, causing a variety of symptoms from lethargy and fever to abdominal pain, diarrhea, and vomiting. While this is obviously unacceptable, it is encouraging to see that The Honest Kitchen was quickly able to identify the specific contaminated ingredient and batch and that no other recalls have been issued in relation to The Honest Kitchen.