Stella & Chewy's Dog Food Review 2024

Stella & Chewy is a raw pet food brand that creates recipes made with organic and sustainably-sourced ingredients. 

Among the wide range, you’ll find food suitable for small to extra large breed puppies, as well as adult and senior dogs. Alongside catering for all life stages and sizes, you can also find food for specific needs such as picky eaters, digestive health as well as allergies and sensitivities. 

Read on to find out exactly what we think about Stella & Chewy dog food, including what we like and what you need to consider. This will help you decide whether it’s the right brand for your pup. 

The Stella & Chewy dog food range is split into four main categories: frozen and freeze-fried raw, dry dog food, wet dog food as well as dog treats, mixers and toppers. Alongside this they also have a range of food for cats. 

Stella & Chewy Frozen and Freeze-Dried Raw 

Stella & Chewy freeze-dried raw, frozen raw, and frozen gently cooked dog foods offers complete and balanced meals made with high-quality and safe ingredients. 

The gently cooked range provides a home cooked meal without you having to do any of the cooking. Recipes are made with 100% human grade ingredients, including nutrient-rich meats, fruit and vegetables as well as superfoods.

The frozen raw and freeze-dried raw dinner patties are made with 90 - 95% meat, organs and bones. Alongside this are vitamins, minerals, probiotics and antioxidants. 

There are plenty of tasty flavors to choose from across this range including rabbit, chicken, lamb, duck, beef and pork.  

We really like that meat is the first ingredient in all the recipes. This is responsibly-sourced and has no by-products. 

You can choose from: 

• Freeze-Dried Raw Dinner Patties
• Frozen Raw Dinner Patties 
  
• Frozen Raw Dinner Morsels 
• Frozen Gently Cooked Dog Food 

Stella & Chewy Dry Dog Food

Do you want to feed your dog kibble with the added benefits of a raw food diet? Stella & Chewy raw coated kibble will enable you to do just that. After being gently oven-baked in small batches, this dry dog food is raw coated. As well as animal proteins, the kibble features fiber-rich pumpkin and wholesome quinoa.  

There is grain-inclusive dog food, including the Stella & Chewy Wholesome Grains Superblends Raw Blend. This is made with bone broth, then coated and blended with freeze-dried raw as well as highly digestible wholesome grains. Plus, antioxidant-rich superfoods and omega-rich ingredients.

If your dog has a grain-allergy, or can’t eat grains for any other reason, Stella & Chewy’s kibble comes in a grain-free option too. This is also raw-coated. 

Again, meat is the first ingredient, although we should note that meat meal is the second ingredient. The meat is grass-fed and cage-free.

Your options for dry dog food include: 

• Raw Coated Kibble and Raw Bits 
• Raw Coated Kibble 
• Whole Grain Kibble
• Grain-Free Kibble

Stella & Chewy Wet Dog Food 

In the wet food range is slowly-simmered bone broth, which is made with grass-fed beef or cage-free chicken. This topper is 100% human grade, contains anti-inflammatory superfoods such as turmeric as well as collagen, gelatin and amino acids for gut and joint health. 

The pate can be a complete and balanced meal or used as a topper. It’s made with 95% protein from animal sources. There are three flavors suitable for adults and seniors but only one flavor for puppies. 

The shreds are made with real shredded muscle meat and diced meat, slowly simmered in broth. Again, it can be a complete and balanced meal or a topper. The stews are human-grade and nutritious — real cage-free meat is the first ingredient and bone broth is the second ingredient. There’s also a ‘Lil’ Bites’ option specifically formulated for small breeds. 

Choose from: 

• Broth 
• Stews 
• Shreds 
• Pates 

Stella & Chewy Dog Treats, Mixers and Toppers  

There are wet and dry food toppers which can be added to your dog's food for variety and are ideal for picky eaters. Among the options are Magical Dinner Dust, which can be sprinkled on their food and is made with 95% meat, organ and bones.

The freeze-dried raw treats have all the benefits of the food. There’s also the crunchy treats which are coated in freeze-dried raw and again, made from grass-fed and cage-free meat. 

But, if you don’t want to feed them raw, then there’s the training treats — which are soft, chewy and bacon flavored. There’s also the jerky treats which are available in five tasty flavors, made with 90-95% organ meat and no fillers. 

• Freeze-Dried Raw Mixers & Dog Food Toppers
• Wet Mixers & Toppers
• Freeze-Dried Raw Treats
• Training Treats
• Jerky Treats
• Crunchy Treats

There’s a lot to like about Stella & Chewy. Here are a few of the top things that stand out to us.

High-quality ingredients 

Only organic, sustainable, and carefully selected ingredients feature in these recipes. The animal protein is responsibly sourced — so either grass-fed, cage-free, wild-caught or farm-raised. Each recipe includes 90 - 98% meat, organs and bone. Some of the food is 100% human grade while meat is always listed as the first ingredient. Alongside this is 100% organic fruits and vegetables. Plus, vitamins, minerals, probiotics and antioxidants. The manufacturing process helps preserve as many of the nutrients as possible.

No nasties 

Some high-quality recipes still contain ingredients you’d rather not see in your dog’s food. Stella & Chewy are committed to safe, quality nutrition. They guarantee their food contains no artificial preservatives or colorings and no corn, wheat or soy. There’s also no added hormones or antibiotics and no by-products. 

Wide range to choose from 

Stella & Chewy was once just a raw pet food brand. But, over the years they have expanded beyond this. Now, they provide high-protein diets with all the benefits of raw food. You can choose from frozen or freeze-dried raw food, raw-coated kibble, and freeze-dried raw treats and toppers. But, alongside this is also a selection of non-raw products including their wet food range. There are lots of tasty flavors to choose from and something to suit every life stage as well as specific requirements. Plus, you have the option of completed and balanced meals or toppers to add to the current diet. 

There are, however, a few things you should be aware of and consider before deciding whether this is the right food for your pup. 

Not that budget-friendly

Some pet parents say that this food is quite expensive, especially compared to other dog food. More recently they’ve said the price has gone up. However, it’s not surprising when it includes such high-quality ingredients. Plus, you can always save through bundles and deals on sites such as Chewy. 

Concerns about raw food diets

Both the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the FDA discourage pet parents from feeding their pups raw food.

This is because there are some concerns about how safe it is to feed dogs a raw food diet. There are health risks due to the lack of cooking and processing, raw food is more likely to be contaminated with bacteria listeria and salmonella.

It has been recalled in the past 

Obviously one of the concerns with raw food is that there is a higher chance of it being contaminated with listeria. Stella & Chewy has been recalled for that reason. However, this was back in 2015 and it hasn’t been recalled since. It’s also worth noting that Stella & Chewy’s raw dog food is freeze-dried to ensure safety.

“Freeze dried dog food {provides} the best source of nutrients for your dog. However, it can be too expensive to feed them solely a freeze-dried diet. These meal toppers are the perfect addition to my {dog's} kibble. He licks the bowl clean every time.”

“After much research over the years, I've tried a wide variety of high quality kibble, canned food, Rx food, and even subscription fresh food for my sensitive Yorkie who is prone to colitis. But nothing has consistently settled better with her system than Stella & Chewy's freeze dried raw. Transitioned without a hiccup (rare!), and no gas, no gurgly discomfort, and no diarrhea since starting this food months ago. Better energy, shinier coats, and less eye discharge too. I'm a bit concerned about the high fat content of freeze-dried raw, so I do feed about a 50/50 mix with premium kibble. This product pulls apart and rehydrates easily, and both my dogs attack their bowls with this mixed in. The duck is their favorite, but they find the turkey tasty too. Stella & Chewy's is SO worth it!”

“I have never seen my dog so excited for breakfast and dinner. He struggles with super bad skin allergies and after just about 2 weeks of slowly transitioning him into this food I have noticed the pigment of his skin has changed (less red) and his energy is up! I started with the 3.5 pound bag to start but this is definitely going to be a long time meal for my pup!”

Check out more Stella & Chewy dog food reviews on Chewy.

Stella & Chewy is named after the two dogs the founder, Marie Moody, adopted from a local animal shelter. Stella was adopted in 1997, followed by Chewy. When Chewy joined the family he was quite sick.

To help with health issues, Marie began to feed him a raw diet on the advice of a veterinarian. As he recovered so quickly and both dogs were thriving on their new, Marie decided to start her own business, pursuing her passion for pet nutrition and helping other dogs.

There have been two recalls of Stella & Chewy, these were both in 2015. It has not been recalled since. 

In December 2015, four products were recalled due to possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. The total was 990 cases, the majority were in the USA with 26 of those in Canada. The products recalled were 8.5oz and 4lb bags of Frozen Stella’s Super Beef Dinner Morsels for Dogs and 1.25lb bags of Frozen Duck Duck Goose Dinner Morsels for Cats. They also recalled 1.25lb bags of Frozen Chick Chick Chicken Dinner Morsels for Cats as there was a chance they had come into contact with the affected products.

In July 2015, the Maryland Department of Agriculture notified Stella & Chewy that they had issued a stop sale order on a single lot of Chewy’s Chicken Freeze-Dried Dinner Patties for Dogs. This was due to possible exposure to food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. The affected items were with wholesale distributors and retails stores across the USA for resale to consumers. The company voluntarily recalled all products from the lot and as a precautionary measure, recalled a number of frozen and freeze-dried products that may have been exposed to them. There were no reported illnesses associated with the recall.