Highly Recommended
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Our Verdict
Vital Essentials Frozen Raw product range is made up of five recipes with ratings varying from 4.5 to 5 stars.
A premium range made with limited ingredients and naturally occurring vitamins and minerals from high-quality raw protein.
Pros
- Responsibly sourced ingredients
- Minimally processed to maintain nutrients
- Without additives, fillers, dyes, artificial preservatives, legumes, grains, or rendered by-products
Cons
- Expensive
The table below shows each recipe in this range including our rating and the AAFCO nutrient profile: Growth (puppy), Maintenance (adult), All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.
| Product line | Rating | AAFCO |
|---|---|---|
| Vital Essentials Frozen Raw Beef Entree | 5 | A |
| Vital Essentials Frozen Raw Chicken Entree | 5 | A |
| Vital Essentials Frozen Raw Duck Entree | 4.5 | A |
| Vital Essentials Frozen Raw Rabbit Entree | 5 | A |
| Vital Essentials Frozen Raw Turkey Entree | 5 | A |
Recipe and Label Analysis
Vital Essentials Frozen Raw Beef Entree was selected to represent the other products in the line for detailed recipe and nutrient analysis.
Vital Essentials Frozen Raw Beef Entree
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Protein
Fat
CarbsCarbohydrates
Beef, beef liver, beef heart, beef lung, beef kidney, beef fat, beef tripe, herring oil, vitamin E supplement, zinc amino acid complex, iron amino acid complex, copper amino acid complex, manganese amino acid complex
Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 2%
Red denotes any controversial items
| Estimated Nutrient Content | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Method | Protein | Fat | Carbs |
| Guaranteed Analysis | 14% | 8% | NA |
| Dry Matter Basis | 54% | 31% | 7% |
| Calorie Weighted Basis | 40% | 55% | 5% |
Ingredients Analysis
The first ingredient in this dog 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 10 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 and thus considered a beneficial component.
The third ingredient is 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 fourth ingredient is beef lung, a protein-rich organ meat that’s also low in fat.
The next ingredient is beef kidney, an organ meat low in fat and rich in protein and essential minerals.
The sixth ingredient is beef fat. Beef fat (or tallow) is most likely obtained from rendering, a process similar to making soup in which the fat itself is skimmed from the surface of the liquid.
Although it may not sound very appetizing, beef fat is actually a quality ingredient.
The seventh ingredient is beef tripe. Tripe usually consists of the first three chambers of a cud-chewing animal’s stomach. As unappetizing as it may seem to us humans, tripe is favored by dogs. The meat itself can sometimes includes the stomach’s contents, too.
The eighth ingredient is herring oil, which is naturally rich in the prized EPA and DHA type of omega-3 fatty acids. These two high quality fats boast the highest bio-availability to dogs and humans.
Depending on its level of freshness and purity, herring oil should be considered a commendable addition.
From here, the list goes on to include a few other items.
But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to affect the overall rating of this Vital Essentials product.
Nutrient Analysis
Based on its ingredients alone, Vital Essentials Frozen Raw Beef Entree looks like an above-average raw product.
The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 51.7%, a fat level of 30% and estimated carbohydrates of about 7.3%.
As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 52.6% and a mean fat level of 27.2%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 11.7% for the overall product line.
And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 53%.
Which means this Vital Essentials product line contains…
Above-average protein. Above-average fat. And below-average carbs when compared to a typical raw dog food.
Free of any plant-based protein boosters, this looks like the profile of a raw product containing an abundance of meat.
Vital Essentials Dog Food Recall History
The following automated list (if present) includes all dog food recalls related to Vital Essentials through December 2025.
You can view a complete list of all dog food recalls since 2009 here.
Our Rating of Vital Essentials Frozen Raw Dog Food
Vital Essentials is a grain-free raw dog food using a generous amount of named meats and organs as its source of animal protein, thus receiving 5 stars.
Please note certain recipes are sometimes given a higher or lower rating based upon our estimate of their total meat content and (when appropriate) their fat-to-protein ratios.
About
Vital Essentials was founded in 1968 and is based in Green Bay (USA); they began commercialising freeze-dried and frozen raw pet food in 2009.
Compare Vital Essentials Frozen Raw Dog Food
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A Final Word
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