Do you want your dog to experience the benefits of a raw diet without having to handle and store raw meat? Consider freeze-dried dog foods. Freeze-drying is a simple process that removes raw meat’s moisture content and bad bacteria without cooking it, so your dog can enjoy the benefits of a raw diet, without the drawbacks.
With so many on the market claiming to be the best, it’s hard to know which ones will truly give your dog the best diet and get their tails wagging. That’s where we come in! We’ve tested the top contenders to bring you a list of the best freeze-dried dog foods out there, with something for every need and preference.
If you’re interested in a more convenient way to feed your dog, check out our list of the best dog food delivery services, too!
Quick disclaimer: This is not a sponsored review, but if you decide to purchase one of these products, we would love you to use our referral links within the article.
Why Choose Freeze-Dried?
Something that is often overlooked when it comes to dog food is the cooking method of the food. Standard dry kibble, for example, is most often made through an extrusion process which strips it of most of its nutrients and flavor and can be hard to digest. Over time, poor nutrition can lead to low energy and poor health, especially in dogs with sensitive systems.
Wet foods can be super hit-and-miss with their nutritional value, and while cooked/baked fresh foods are excellent nutritionally, they expire quickly and take up room in the fridge and freezer. Freeze-dried foods, on the other hand, keep all of the taste and nutritional value of raw food whilst maintaining a longer shelf-life, and without the need for a fridge or freezer. They also have a lighter, airier texture than standard dry food, which is much easier to digest.
Standard raw vs freeze-dried dog food
As mentioned above, freeze-dried dog food contains raw meat. So why choose freeze-dried over standard raw foods? While safe for your dog when chosen & prepared correctly, standard raw food can still carry a risk for the person handling it. They’re also quick to expire, have to be stored in the fridge or freezer, and can be messy and unpleasant to handle.
That said, raw diets have shown to have fantastic benefits for dogs, both in terms of nutrition and digestibility. Nothing is closer to their ancestral diet than raw meat! That’s why freeze-dried foods are such a great option for dogs, as they contain all of the delicious benefits of raw ingredients, but the freeze-drying process removes most of the harmful bacteria and ensures a longer shelf-life without needing to be stored anywhere cold.
However, we still recommend washing your hands after handling freeze-dried dog food. So, now you know the benefits, let’s get into our top product picks!
Top Picks
Top Pick: Dr. Marty Nature’s Blend
Dr. Marty Nature’s Blend is an all-natural blend of turkey, beef, salmon & duck. Its high quality, fantastic reviews, and flexible buying options are what make it our top pick! It’s suitable for adult dogs of all breeds and sizes and customers can make one-time buys or sign up for a regular subscription, with four bag sizes & packs to choose from.
Key features:
- All-natural
- Freeze-dried raw food
- One-time buys & subscription options
- Multiple bag sizes & packs
- For adult dogs & all breeds
- Contains turkey, beef, salmon & duck
- Ranch-raised meats
- No fillers or synthetics
- Whole-body health
- 90-day money-back guarantee
What we like:
Their protein-packed formula contains four meats including ranch-raised beef and duck and absolutely no fillers or synthetics. It’s made with whole-body health and wellness in mind, with superfoods like liver, pumpkin seed, carrots, and apples to support healthy energy levels, digestion, and immunity.
In fact, they’re so confident in their product that they offer a 90-day money-back guarantee if you’re not happy with it.
What to consider:
It’s a little on the pricey side, but there are multiple options, including a trial-sized bag so you can try it before committing to a bigger buy.
Dr. Marty Nature’s Blend Freeze-Dried Dog Food
This formula combines premium-quality raw meat with hand-selected fruits and vegetables — to give your dog the nutrition they need to live a full, healthy life. Because of its unique freeze-drying process, Dr. Marty Nature’s Blend is the most effective formula for canine longevity.
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Runner-Up: INSTINCT Raw Meals Real Beef Freeze-Dried Dog Food
Our runner-up pick, INSTINCT Raw Meals Real Beef Freeze-Dried Dog Food, comes from a well-loved brand. It’s available to buy in a range of bag sizes and contains three times more beef than regular kibble.
Key features:
- Complete & balanced
- 85% beef
- 15% fruits & veggies
- No additives or fillers
- Grain-free
- Supports whole-body health
- Made in the USA
What we like:
It provides complete and balanced nutrition for whole meals with a mix of 85% beef and 15% vitamin and mineral-rich fruits and veggies. There are no artificial preservatives or colors, grains, legumes, or fillers like soy. It’s designed to support lean muscles and strong bones, healthy skin, a more vibrant coat, and increased energy levels.
What to consider:
A small handful of reviews claim the food upset their dog’s sensitive stomach.
Instinct Raw Meals Real Beef Recipe
- This recipe features animal-based protein and vitamin-rich fruits and veggies to give your best bud’s bowl a total upgrade.
- Compared to traditional processed kibble, this raw recipe was freeze-dried to allow for better digestion and nutrient absorption.
- Designed to be a complete and balanced meal for your furry friend.
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Best Pure Protein: Wysong Pure Meats
Wysong Pure Meats are 100% diced freeze-dried meat – a pack of pure protein. Ideal for active pets and working dogs!
Key features:
- Four flavor options
- 100% diced meat
- Used as toppers or treats
- Eco-friendly packaging
What we like:
With beef heart & liver, salmon, chicken, and pollock options, they can be used as toppers, occasional meals, or treats and they come in eco-friendly bags with seed-paper tags that are 100% compostable and biodegradable.
What to consider:
The bag sizes aren’t huge and they’re quite expensive, but the brand recommends they’re only used as whole meals on occasion and are more of a topper/treat.
Wysong Pure Meats Freeze-Dried Dog Foods
For the occasional meal, reward, or treat, why not the best that nature has to offer? That’s the Wysong Pure Meats™ concept. No added ingredients, just 100% diced meats in a convenient freezedried form.
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Best Tasting: Sundays for Dogs
Sundays for Dogs nabs our best-tasting pick because it comes picky-eater-approved; customer research found that dogs were 40% more excited to eat this food than others, winning a third-party taste test 39-0.
Key Features:
- Created by vets
- All-natural
- Beef, chicken & turkey flavors
- Human grade ingredients
- Free from fillers & additives
- Noticeably improves health
- Easy to store & serve
- Picky-eater approved
- 36% cheaper
- Made in the USA
- Subscription service
What we like:
All of their foods are designed by vets for whole and complete nutrition and are made in the USA with 100% natural, human-grade ingredients and no fillers or additives. There are three flavors to choose from and the brand’s customer survey found that dogs who ate their food regularly saw improved overall health and well-being, including 40% softer coat, 41% more energy, and 30% improved weight.
What to consider:
It’s a subscription-only service, which won’t suit everyone. However, they offer tailored and customized plans at almost 40% cheaper than services offering similar products.
Sundays for Dogs All-Natural Turkey Dog Food
- Air-dried shelf-stable recipe.
- Sundays is only 1 of 2 foods available in the US that offers complete and balanced nutrition with zero synthetics.
- No fridge, prep, or clean-up required.
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Best Ethical Pick: Open Farm Freeze-Dried
The Open Farm Freeze-Dried options are plentiful if you’re looking for some ethical options, including a wild-caught salmon topper and grass-fed beef food.
Key features:
- Complete & balanced foods
- Humanely-raised meats & wild-caught fish
- Non-GMO fruits & veggies
- Antibiotic & growth hormone-free
- Ethically & sustainably sourced
- One-off buys & subscriptions
What we like:
All of Open Farm’s products are sourced following strict animal welfare standards and in line with their climate strategy commitment, which includes a ten-year journey to minimize their carbon footprint and reduce emissions. Anyone can buy from them, but they also offer subscription plans.
What to consider:
Some of the products have limited size options and are pricey because of their quality.
Best For Small Mouths: VITAL ESSENTIALS Freeze-Dried Raw Chicken Entree
VITAL ESSENTIALS Freeze-Dried Raw Chicken Entree is designed for small and extra small breeds and comes in a range of sizes.
Key features:
- Mini bites
- Super fresh meat
- Cage-free & butcher-cut
- Complete & balanced
- Promotes whole-body health
- No fillers, grains, or additives
What we like:
It’s chock full of fresh, premium quality, butcher-cut, and cage-free chicken that’s responsibly sourced in the USA and frozen within 45 minutes of harvesting. Their food promotes energetic play, strong muscles and teeth, healthy skin, shiny coats, and good gut health.
It’s also free from artificial additives like preservatives, dyes, and flavorings, and fillers like legumes, grains, and rendered by-products.
What to consider:
It seems to be a relatively new product as it doesn’t have many reviews online, but of the ones there are, almost all of them are 5-star and there are no bad ones.
Best Variety: STELLA & CHEWY’S Dinner Patties
STELLA & CHEWY’S Dinner Patties are our top pick for dogs who get bored easily, with a bunch of different flavors and combinations to choose from, including more unique recipes like rabbit and surf & turf, all of which are premium quality and made in the USA.
Key features:
- Whole nutrition
- Variety of flavors
- Responsibly sourced meats & fish
- Organic-certified fruits & veggies
- Added probiotics
- No grains, fillers, or additives
- Serve dry or rehydrate
- Made in the USA
What we like:
Their tasty dinner patties contain either single-source proteins (such as the beef recipe) or tasty blends (such as surf & turf). All of them contain responsibly sourced animal products free from hormones & antibiotics, such as grass-fed beef, farm-raised rabbit, and ocean-caught fish, with organic-certified fruits and vegetables and no fillers, grains, or additives. You can serve them dry or rehydrate them with water for a softer texture, and they provide complete nutrition with added probiotics for healthy digestion.
What to consider:
There’s not a lot to consider with this pick, but a few reviews say their dogs didn’t like the texture of the product.
Best Topper: ACANA Duck Recipe Morsels Grain-Free Freeze-Dried Dog Food
This ACANA Duck Recipe Morsels Grain-Free Freeze-Dried Dog Food is designed to be crumbled over regular food as a delicious, nutritious meal topper, or rehydrated with water for a full meal. However, considering the small bag sizes, we’ve chosen it as our favorite topper.
Key features:
- Can be crumbled or rehydrated
- Used alone or as a topper
- 90% animal ingredients
- Several meat sources
- Fruits & veggies
- Infused with bone broth
- Grain-free
- Made in the USA
What we like:
Made with raw duck, turkey, wild-caught herring, and nutrient-rich chicken organs, it’s 90% animal ingredients. The breakable, bite-sized morsels are deliciously balanced with yummy fruits and vegetables and infused with bone broth for a rich flavor.
What to consider:
Even though they’re nutritionally complete enough to be used as whole meals, the bag sizes don’t lend themselves to that for daily use long-term, unless you want to buy a bunch of them, which is inconvenient. We recommend it as a topper for owners of picky eaters those who are happy with their dog’s regular food but struggle getting them to eat it all.
Best Add Water: PRIMAL Lamb Nuggets
These PRIMAL Lamb Nuggets come with a recommendation that you add water. So if your dog prefers soft or wet food, this could be the one for you!
Key features:
- 80% lamb, organs & bone
- 20% produce & supplements
- Antibiotic, hormone, and steroid-free meat
- Certified organic produce
- Unrefined vitamin supplements
- Sustainably sourced ingredients
- Grain-free
- Made in the USA
What we like:
It’s made up of 80% lamb, including antibiotic, hormone, and steroid-free meat & organs, and ground fresh bone that is rich in calcium. The other 20% is certified organic produce & unrefined vitamin supplements for complete and balanced nutrition.
It’s designed to be very tasty and easy to serve, with optimum levels of amino acids, essential fatty acids, and naturally occurring enzymes. All of the ingredients are sustainably sourced and free from grains.
What to consider:
A few sensitive dogs reacted badly to the food according to reviews.
Best Budget Pick: BIXBI Rawbble Grain-Free Freeze-Dried Dog Food
This BIXBI Rawbble Grain-Free Freeze-Dried Dog Food comes in several flavors including pork and duck and is very good value for money.
Key features:
- Variety of flavors
- Limited ingredient formulas
- Balanced ratios of meat, organs, & bones
- Antibiotic & hormone-free meats
- Highly digestible
- No wheat, fillers, additives, or by-products
- Sourced & made in the USA
What we like:
Antibiotic/hormone-free meat is the first listed ingredient in each recipe. They’re all limited ingredient formulas with independently certified digestibility and no by-products, fillers, wheat, or additives. All of the products are sourced and made in the USA with a carefully balanced ratio of meat, organs, and bone to provide complete nutrition and support whole-body health.
What to consider:
There are not many reviews of this product online so far, but the ones there are are very positive.
FAQs
Can puppies eat freeze-dried dog foods?
Puppies over 3 months old can eat freeze-dried foods that are designed for their age group or cater to dogs of all life stages. Just make sure to stick to the feeding guidelines for your pup’s breed/size and age!
Is freeze-dried dog food okay for sensitive stomachs?
Freeze-dried foods contain raw meat, which may sound like a bad idea for sensitive tummies, but they’re actually one of the easiest things for dogs to digest. However, a food’s content is what is most important; if your dog is intolerant or allergic to something, always check the ingredients.
Is freeze-dried dog food safe to handle?
While the freeze-drying process removes most of the bacteria in raw meat that is harmful to humans, we still recommend washing your hands after preparing your dog’s meals.
Can senior dogs eat freeze-dried dog foods?
Yes! Senior dogs can eat freeze-dried foods that are made for senior dogs or inclusive of all ages. However, some freeze-dried foods are crunchier than others, so invest in one that is designed to add water if your senior dog has weak teeth.
Is freeze-dried the same as dehydrated dog food?
No, dehydrated dog food is cooked at a low heat to remove moisture from fresh ingredients, whereas freeze-dried food is dried at a cool temperature to remove moisture from raw ingredients, without cooking.
Is freeze-dried dog food expensive?
Freeze-dried dog food does tend to be pricier than regular dry dog food, but they are typically made with much higher quality ingredients and provide a better standard of nutrition.
Which freeze-dried dog food is your dog’s favorite? Let us know below!
