Rating: 
Stella and Chewy’s Raw Frozen Dog Food gets the Advisor’s top rating of 5 stars.
The Stella and Chewy’s product line includes four raw frozen dog foods… each meeting AAFCO nutrient profiles for all life stages.
The following is a list of recipes available at the time of this review.
- Chewy’s Chicken Frozen Dinner
- Stella’s Super Beef Frozen Dinner
- Stella and Chewy’s Surf and Turf Dinner
- Stella and Chewy’s Dandy Lamb Frozen Dinner
- Stella and Chewy’s Duck Duck Goose Frozen Dinner
Stella’s Super Beef Frozen Dog Food was selected to represent the others in the line for this review.
Stella's Super Beef Frozen
Raw Dog Food
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Ingredients: Beef, beef liver, beef kidney, beef heart, beef tripe, beef bone, calcium carbonate, pumpkin seed, potassium chloride, organic cranberries, organic spinach, organic broccoli, organic beets, sodium phosphate monobasic, organic carrots, organic squash, organic apples, organic blueberries, choline chloride, dried Pediococcus acidilactici fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried Bifidobacterium longum fermentation product, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product, taurine, tocopherols (preservative), zinc proteinate, zinc sulfate, iron sulfate, iron proteinate, vitamin E supplement, niacin, copper sulfate, copper proteinate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, manganese proteinate, thiamine monohydrate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, vitamin D3 supplement, calcium iodate, vitamin B12 supplement
Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 6.7%
Red items when present indicate controversial ingredients
The first item in this food is beef. Beef is defined as “the clean flesh derived from slaughtered cattle” and includes skeletal muscle or the muscle tissues of the tongue, diaphragm, heart or esophagus.1
Beef is naturally rich in all ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.
The second ingredient is beef liver. This is an organ meat sourced from a named animal. So long as it’s not over-weighted in a dog food, beef liver is a beneficial component.
The third ingredient is beef kidney… a natural organ meat low in fat and rich in essential minerals.
The fourth item lists beef heart. Although it doesn’t sound very appetizing to us humans, heart tissue is pure muscle… all meat. It’s naturally rich in quality protein, minerals and complex B vitamins, too.
The fifth ingredient is beef tripe. Tripe usually consists of the first three chambers of a cow’s stomach. As repulsive as it may seem to us humans, tripe is favored by dogs and frequently includes the contents of the stomach, too.
The sixth ingredient is ground beef bone… an excellent source of natural calcium.
From here, the list goes on to include a number of nutrient-rich organic fruits and vegetables…
- Pumpkin seed
- Cranberries
- Spinach
- Broccoli
- Beets
- Carrots
- Squash
- Apples
- Blueberries
Also, this food also contains chelated minerals… minerals that have been chemically attached to protein. This makes them easier to absorb. Chelated minerals are usually found in better dog foods.
The manufacturer appears to have applied friendly bacteria to the surface of the food after cooking. These special probiotics are used to enhance a dog’s digestive and immune functions.
Stella and Chewy’s Raw Frozen Dog Food
The Bottom Line
If you’re into raw feeding, the ingredients used to make Stella and Chewy’s Raw Frozen Dog Food are of notable quality.
But ingredient quality alone can’t tell the whole story. We still need to estimate the amount of meat before determining a final rating.
The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 43%, a fat level of 37% and an estimated carbohydrate content of 12%.
As a group, the brand features an average protein level of 44% and a fat reading of 35%. These figures suggest an overall carb content of about 13% for the full product line.
Average protein. Above-average fat. And below-average carbs… as compared to a typical raw dog food.
Free of any plant-based protein boosters, this is the profile of a raw food containing an abundance of meat.
Although raw meats can contain bacteria that can be hazardous to humans, Stella and Chewy’s reassures consumers its products “are made with an exclusive high pressure process that safely eliminates the threat of harmful bacteria.”
Bottom line?
Stella and Chewy’s is a meat-based raw frozen dog food using a generous amount of species-specific meats and organs as its main sources of animal protein… thus earning the brand five stars.
Enthusiastically recommended.
To read about another raw food from the same company be sure to see our review of Stella and Chewy’s Freeze-Dried Raw Dinners.
For more suggestions, be sure to visit the Advisor’s Recommended Raw Dog Foods summary page.
A Final Word
This review is designed to help you make a more informed decision when buying dog food. However, our rating system is not intended to suggest feeding a particular product will result in specific health benefits for your pet.
For a better understanding of how we analyzed this product, please be sure to read our article, “The Problem with Dog Food Reviews”
Remember, no dog food can possibly be appropriate for every life stage, lifestyle or health condition. So, choose wisely. And when in doubt consult a veterinarian for help.
Have an opinion about this dog food brand… or maybe the review itself? Please know… we welcome your comments.
Notes and Updates
06/14/2010 Original review
01/13/2011 Review updated
03/14/2011 Review updated (chelated minerals)
- Association of American Feed Control Officials ↩
The Dog Food Advisor publishes independent reviews to help pet owners make better choices when shopping for dog food.