Beneful is one of Nestlé Purina's best-selling dog food brands, delivering complete and balanced wet and dry foods made with whole cuts of meat and no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. But is Purina Beneful a good dog food?

We rate Purina Beneful 3.5 out of 5. All its recipes list a whole cut of meat as the main protein source, and it has slightly better-than-average protein and fat levels. It misses out on a higher score due to its use of unspecified meat by-products and a few filler ingredients. Overall, Purina Beneful is a good option if you're on a budget.

Read on for Wag!'s full Purina Beneful dog food review, where we deep dive into its product ranges, pros, cons, and recalls.

Purina Beneful produces over 30 wet and dry dog foods, with formulas for small breeds, puppies, and weight management.

All Purina Beneful dog foods are 100% complete and balanced, meeting the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) nutrient profile guidelines for all life stages, adult maintenance, or growth.

The quality of Purina Beneful dry dog foods is pretty average — they list whole cuts of meat as the top ingredient, but include several lower-quality fillers. Aside from meat, common top five ingredients across the range include whole grain corn, whole grain wheat, barley, soybean meal, and chicken by-product meal. All Purina Beneful kibbles are grain-inclusive.

Whole grain corn appears in most recipes. Corn does have some benefits for dogs — it's a source of fiber, energy, and omega-6 fatty acids, but it doesn't have a high nutritional value. We'd prefer to see another cut of meat or a more nutritious grain, like brown rice, as the second ingredient. It's a similar story with wheat and barley — they offer some nutrients, but aren't the best.

Soybean meal is a manufacturing by-product that's rich in plant-based proteins. Plant-based proteins aren't complete proteins for dogs as they don't include all essential amino acids found in meat. Plant-based proteins are sometimes used as an inexpensive way to inflate protein percentages in pet food. Another top ten ingredient, corn gluten meal, is also high in plant-based protein.

These formulas do include some fruits and veggies as minor ingredients, like green beans, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and carrots, which provide natural sources of vitamins and minerals.

Purina Beneful dry dog foods don't feature probiotics, which support digestion and immunity — probiotics are usually only seen in premium kibbles.

The protein and fat levels in Purina Beneful dry foods are pretty standard — the Originals with Farm-Raised Beef contains slightly above-average protein (26.1% as dry matter) and average fat (13.6% as dry matter) compared to other kibbles.

Prepared Meals is Purina Beneful's largest wet dog food range, with eight varieties packaged in easy-serve resealable tubs. As is the case of most brands, Prepared Meals are better quality than Purina Beneful kibbles, but there's plenty of room for improvement compared to other wet foods on the market.

Water or broth is the most ingredient in the Prepared Meals range, which adds flavor and moisture, followed by a mixture of real meat, wheat gluten, liver, carrots, peas, and/or meat by-products.

The worst ingredients here are wheat gluten and meat by-products. Wheat gluten adds texture but consists of 80% plant-based protein, which could be used as a cheap way to boost the protein percentages.

Meat by-products are discarded parts of an animal unfit for human consumption, including anything from intestines to hooves. Purina Beneful doesn't name which animal these by-products come from, which can cause issues for pups with specific meat allergies.

It's good to see fresh produce like carrots, peas, and sweet potatoes as primary ingredients in Purina Beneful Prepared Meals. Carrots are rich in antioxidants and vitamin A, while sweet potatoes are high in fiber.

Another positive is that Purina Beneful Prepared Meals have pretty good protein-to-fat ratios — the Beef Stew recipe contains 45.4% protein as dry matter and only 9% fat as dry matter.

Purina Beneful Chopped Blends are near-identical to the Prepared Meals ranges — they're packaged in resealable tubs and include most of the same primary ingredients. Broth, whole cuts of meat, wheat gluten, carrots, peas, and meat by-products are all present in these formulas. 

The main difference between the Chopped Blends and Prepared Meals ranges is their textures. Chopped Blends have a slightly saucy, flaky paté consistency, which makes them easier to chew, while Prepared Meals resemble chunky stews.

They also have very similar macronutrient levels — the Beef, Carrots, Peas and Barley recipe contains 50% protein as dry matter and 9% fat as dry matter.

Medleys is one of three canned wet food ranges from Purina Beneful. Despite being canned and having Mediterranean-inspired names, Beneful Medleys are made from largely the same ingredients as Beneful's tubbed wet dog foods.

Broth, whole cuts of meat, liver, wheat gluten, carrots, and meat by-products frequently feature in the top five ingredients across the range. Rice, tomatoes, egg whites, modified corn starch, spinach, and soy flour are among the most common secondary ingredients.

Overall, these Beneful Medleys are slightly better quality than Prepared Meal and Chopped Blends, due to the use of nutritious produce like spinach and tomatoes. That said, they still suffer from the same issues as the other ranges, like the use of meat by-products and wheat gluten.

Macronutrient levels in the Medley range are similar to Purina Beneful's other offerings — the Romana Style With Chicken, Carrots, Pasta and Spinach in Sauce recipe contains 50% protein as dry matter and 11.1% fat as dry matter.

The Purina Beneful Infused recipe has the same main ingredients as its other wet foods, but with a few key differences. Each recipe is "infused" with bone broth, which is rich in glucosamine and chondroitin, reducing joint inflammation and symptoms associated with arthritis. It's also rich in collagen, which supports skin and coat health.

Beneful has infused two of these formulas with an added extra — sunflower oil and fish oil, which are high in omega fatty acids, to help keep your pup's fur and skin in prime condition.

Their paté-texture and the use of ingredients that support joint, skin, and coat health mean Purina Beneful Infused recipes are a good choice for senior dogs.

One downside for senior pups is that these recipes are a bit high in fat. For example, the Real Beef, Carrots and Spinach, With Bone Broth variety contains 40.9% protein and 27.2% fat as dry matter.

Purina Beneful has a decent range of small breed wet foods, available in two textures: gravy stew or paté. The main ingredients in these foods are largely the same, but they're formulated slightly differently to support the needs of your pint-sized pooch. Plus, they're processed into smaller pieces, making it easier for small canines to chow down.

These formulas have slightly elevated protein percentages and calories compared to standard wet foods to support a small breed's higher metabolism. For example, IncrediBites Gravy with Real Chicken contains slightly more protein and 58 more calories per kg than the Prepared Meals Chicken Stew.

All Purina Beneful dog foods - including its kibbles - list a whole cut of meat as the primary source of protein. Plus, liver is a secondary ingredient, which is rich in protein and nutrients like iron, vitamin A, and B vitamins.

Many inexpensive dog foods list cereal as the top ingredient, meaning Purina Beneful is better quality than many other budget-friendly options. Dogs benefit greatly from a meat-rich diet, as it contains all the essential amino acids they need to stay healthy.

Purina Beneful used artificial colors in its recipes in the past, but not anymore! It's ditched potentially harmful additives like iron oxide coloring in favor of an all-natural approach. So, you can rest easy knowing your canine companion won't be eating any harmful chemicals for the sake of flavor or appearance.

Purina Beneful is very affordable considering its overall quality. At the time of writing, a 36-lb bag of Purina Beneful Originals with Farm-Raised Beef dry dog food has a list price of $40.98 on Chewy, at $1.13 per lb. By comparison, a 30lb bag of Iams Minichunks Proactive Health Beef & Rice dry dog food costs $46.98, at $1.51 per lb.

One of the biggest downsides to Purina Beneful is its use of several fillers at the top of its ingredient lists.

Its dry foods include corn, whole grain wheat, and barley, all of which are inexpensive ingredients that don't have high nutritional value. They also include soybean meal and corn gluten meal, which are high in plant-based protein and are used to inflate protein percentages without providing all the essential amino acids your dog needs.

Purina Beneful wet foods also feature some fillers. Wheat gluten is a common top-five ingredient that adds texture, but it's made from 80% plant-based protein. Barley and wheat flour are other ingredients that are highly digestible and offer some health benefits, but only have modest nutritional value.

Another big drawback of Purina Beneful is its inclusion of meat by-products. Meat by-products are made from offal that's unfit for human consumption.

The worst part about this ingredient is that Purina Beneful doesn't state which animal it comes from — it could be from lamb, beef, chicken, or even fish. As a result, you should avoid buying Purina Beneful if your dog has a meat allergy or sensitivity.

"These meals look like real food. The dogs love them. They have both lost weight since eating these. They are happier with their food."

"My dog loves these! I like how convenient they are, you don't have to scoop the food out with a spoon. Just take the lid off, dump [it] on a plate and it's mealtime!"

"My dog is a 15lb Boston terrier, and he loves wet food. His favorite is the lamb, but he likes them all. A good option for dogs who protest plain kibbles!"

Nestlé Purina PetCare introduced Purina Beneful in 2001, marketing it as a brand focused on producing nutritious meals that resemble human foods, like stews. By 2006, Beneful was generating over $300 million in revenue. It introduced its IncrediBites range in 2010.

Purina Beneful has been the subject of multi-million dollar advertising campaigns over the years, helping it become Purina's fourth most popular brand by 2012.

Nestlé Purina PetCare is the second-largest pet food company worldwide after Mars Petcare. It operates numerous other pet food brands including Purina Pro Plan, Purina One, and Fancy Feast.

Purina's US headquarters is located in St. Louis, MO, USA. Purina sources most of its ingredients from the US and manufactures its foods at Purina-owned US-based facilities.

There have been no official Purina Beneful dog food recalls recorded by the FDA as of May 2025.

On March 9, 2016, Purina Beneful voluntarily recalled batches of 10-oz tubs of Beneful Prepared Meals and Beneful Chopped Blends with best-by dates between June 2017 and August 2017. This voluntary recall was because they might not contain the correct levels of added vitamins and minerals.

While Purina stated that most of these foods will have the correct mineral and vitamin levels, it recommended discarding the food and contacting its customer service department for a full refund.