Cesar Wholesome Bowls Dog Food Review (Wet)

Cesar Wholesome Bowls wet product range consists of six recipes which each receive the Dog Food Advisor’s rating, 4.5 stars.

These wet recipes all have real meat as the first listed ingredient, plus nutritious vegetables, minerals and vitamins added, too. And no artificial color, flavor or preservatives.

The table below shows each recipe in the range, including our rating. The AAFCO nutrient profile is not included on the company website. Recipes state that they are complete and balanced for adult dogs, so this could potentially meet FEDIAF requirements. 

Recipe and Label Analysis

Cesar Wholesome Bowls Chicken, Apple and Sweet Potato was selected to represent the other products in the line for detailed recipe and nutrient analysis.

Ingredients Analysis

The first ingredient in this dog food is chicken. Chicken is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of chicken”.¹

Chicken is naturally rich in the 10 essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.

The second ingredient is water, which adds nothing but moisture to this food. Water is a routine finding in most canned dog foods.

The third ingredient is apple, a nutrient-rich fruit that’s also high in fiber.

The fourth ingredient includes sweet potato. Sweet potatoes are a gluten-free source of complex carbohydrates in dog food. They are naturally rich in dietary fiber and beta carotene.

The fifth ingredient is soybean oil. Soybean oil is red flagged here only due to its rumored (yet unlikely) link to canine food allergies.

However, since soybean oil is high in omega-6 fatty acids and contains no omega-3’s, it’s considered less nutritious than flaxseed oil or a named animal fat.

The sixth ingredient is tapioca starch, a gluten-free, starchy carbohydrate extract made from the root of the cassava plant.

The seventh ingredient is powdered cellulose, a non-digestible plant fiber usually made from the by-products of vegetable processing. Except for the usual benefits of fiber, powdered cellulose provides no nutritional value to a dog.

The eighth ingredient is beet fiber. Beet fiber is the refined by-product derived from sugar beet production. This item is most likely included here for the usual benefits of dietary fiber.

The ninth ingredient is tricalcium phosphate, a beneficial source of calcium and phosphorus. In addition, this additive is used in wet foods as an emulsifier – an agent designed to disperse a food’s fats more evenly in water.

From here, the list goes on to include a number of 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 product.

With one notable exception…

First, the minerals listed here do not appear to be chelated. And that can make them more difficult to absorb. Chelated minerals are usually associated with higher quality dog foods.

Nutrient Analysis

Based on its ingredients alone, Cesar Wholesome Bowls Chicken, Apple and Sweet Potato looks like an above-average wet dog food.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 62.5%, a fat level of 10% and estimated carbohydrates of about 2.5%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 61.5% and a mean fat level of 9.8%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 4.5% for the overall product line.

And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 16%.

Above-average protein. Below-average fat. And below-average carbs when compared to a typical wet dog food.

Free of any plant-based protein boosters, this looks like the profile of a moist dog food containing a significant amount of meat.

Cesar Dog Food Recall History

The following automated list (if present) includes all dog food recalls related to Cesar through August 2026.

You can view a complete list of all dog food recalls since 2009 here.

Our Rating of Cesar Wholesome Bowls Dog Food

Cesar Wholesome Bowls includes both grain-free and grain-inclusive wet dog foods using a significant amount of named meats as its dominant source of animal protein, thus earning the brand 4.5 stars.

Highly Recommended

About

Cesar dog food was launched in 1989 by Mars Incorporated, the family‑owned global company behind other well‑known pet‑care brands such as Royal Canin, Pedigree, Iams, and Whiskas.

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