Highly Recommended
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Our Verdict
The Honest Kitchen Wholemade Grain Free dehydrated product range is made up of eight recipes which each receive the Dog Food Advisor’s rating, 5 stars.
Dehydrated options that use high-quality protein sources, with some recipes fortified with fish oils and essential nutrients such as taurine, replacing grains with dehydrated potatoes, lentils, and peas as the main carbohydrate and fibre sources.
Pros
- Human-grade
- No artificial preservatives, feed-grade by-products, fillers, GMO ingredients, corn, wheat or soy
- Minimally processed to maintain nutrients
Cons
- Pricey than other brands
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.
Recipe and Label Analysis
The Honest Kitchen Wholemade Grain Free Chicken was selected to represent the other products in the line for detailed recipe and nutrient analysis.
The Honest Kitchen Wholemade Grain Free Chicken
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Protein
Fat
CarbsCarbohydrates
Chicken, flaxseed, potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, cabbage, apples, honey, tricalcium phosphate, bananas, green beans, papayas, celery, minerals [potassium chloride, iron amino acid chelate, zinc amino acid chelate, copper amino acid chelate, potassium iodide, sodium selenite], taurine, vitamins [vitamin E supplement, vitamin B12 supplement, calcium pantothenate (vitamin B5), vitamin D3 supplement, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2)], dried kelp, garlic, choline chloride
Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 6.5%
Red denotes any controversial items
| Estimated Nutrient Content | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Method | Protein | Fat | Carbs |
| Guaranteed Analysis | 24% | 14% | NA |
| Dry Matter Basis | 26% | 15% | 51% |
| Calorie Weighted Basis | 23% | 33% | 44% |
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 flaxseed, one of the best plant sources of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Provided they’ve first been ground into a meal, flax seeds are also rich in soluble fiber.
However, flaxseed contains about 19% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this dog food.
The third ingredient is potatoes. Potatoes can be considered a gluten-free source of digestible carbohydrates. Yet with the exception of perhaps their caloric content, potatoes are of only modest nutritional value to a dog.
The fourth ingredient is sweet potato. Sweet potatoes are a gluten-free source of complex carbohydrates in a dog food. They are naturally rich in dietary fiber and beta carotene.
The fifth item includes pumpkin. Pumpkin is a nutritious addition high in complex carbohydrates, beta-carotene and dietary fiber.
The sixth ingredient is cabbage. Like broccoli and cauliflower, cabbage is a cruciferous vegetable rich in protective anti-oxidants and fiber.
The seventh ingredient is apple, a nutrient-rich fruit that’s also high in fiber.
The eighth ingredient is honey. Even though honey gets its sweetness naturally from the monosaccharides fructose and glucose, it must still be considered a form of sugar.
From here, the list goes on to include a number of other ingredients.
But realistically, items located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to affect the overall rating of this Honest Kitchen product.
With four notable exceptions…
First, garlic can be a controversial item. Although many favor the ingredient for its claimed health benefits, garlic has been linked to Heinz body anemia in dogs.2
So, one must weigh the potential benefits of feeding garlic against its proven tendency to cause subclinical damage to the red blood cells of the animal.
Next, we find no mention of probiotics, friendly bacteria applied to the surface of the kibble after processing to help with digestion.
In addition, taurine is an important amino acid associated with the healthy function of heart muscle. Although taurine is not typically considered essential in canines, some dogs have been shown to be deficient in this critical nutrient.
Since taurine deficiency appears to be more common in pets consuming grain-free diets, we view its presence in this recipe as a positive addition.
And lastly, this food 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.
Nutrient Analysis
Before we conclude, it’s worth noting The Honest Kitchen has taken the rather unusual step of applying for (and actually receiving) FDA approval to label its pet foods “human grade“.
The company only uses human-edible components and produces all its products in a human food manufacturing facility.
So, based on its ingredients alone, The Honest Kitchen Wholemade Grain Free Chicken appears to be a superior dog food.
The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 27.7%, a fat level of 16.3% and estimated carbohydrates of about 41.7%.
As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 32% and a mean fat level of 15.8%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 37.4% for the overall product line.
And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 50%.
Which means Tthis Honest Kitchen product line contains…
Near-average protein. Below-average fat. And above-average carbs when compared to a typical dry dog food.
Even when you consider the protein-boosting effect of the flaxseed in this recipe and the chickpeas or navy beans contained in a few others, this still looks like the profile of a product containing a notable amount of meat.
The Honest Kitchen Dog Food Recall History
The following automated list (if present) includes all dog food recalls related to The Honest Kitchen through December 2025.
No recalls noted.
You can view a complete list of all dog food recalls since 2009 here.
Our Rating of The Honest Kitchen Wholemade Grain Free Grain Free Dog Food
The Honest Kitchen Wholemade Grain Free is a dehydrated dog food using a notable to significant amounts of named meats as its dominant source of animal protein, thus earning the brand 5 stars.
About
Lucy Postins is the founder of The Honest Kitchen, a pet food company that specializes in human-grade food. The company has its headquarters in San Diego, California. All the products are manufactured in the U.S. using ingredients sourced from around the world.
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