Grain Free Dog Food: 108 Recipes Whose Makers Say So
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If you are looking through grain free dog food, the word "grain free" shows up on plenty of bags. We keep our freeze-dried treats on hand as a single ingredient add-on, so before you treat "grain free" as a requirement, here is what the word actually means on a label and how many recipes in our library carry it.
What "Grain Free" means on a bag
The phrase "Grain Free" means the recipe's ingredient panel does not list wheat, corn, rice, oats, barley or any other grain. The starch in a grain free recipe usually comes from potatoes, peas, chickpeas or a similar ingredient instead. The phrase describes what a maker left out of that particular bag, not a rating of the recipe.
How many recipes carry this label
Our library holds 958 foods pulled from maker pages. Of those, 108 carry the "Grain Free" label in the recipe name today, by our own case-insensitive reading of each maker's product name. See all 108 in the comparison tool, filtered to just that label.
Recipes that carry the "Grain Free" label
Here are 15 of the 108, by brand and recipe name, each linking to its full record in our dog food library.
- Addiction Pet Foods, Viva LA Venison Grain Free Small Breed Recipe All Life Stages Dry
- Blue Buffalo, Blue Buffalo Basics Adult Grain Free Duck Potato Recipe Adult Dry
- Canidae, Canidae All Life Stages Grain Free Real Chicken Potato Recipe All Life Stages Dry
- Earthborn Holistic, Earthborn Holistic Coastal Catch Grain Free All Life Stages Dry
- Freshpet, Freshpet Vital Grain Free Beef And Lamb Recipe All Life Stages Fresh
- Grandma Mae's Country Naturals, Grandma Maes Country Naturals Grain Free Chicken Meal All Life Stages Dry Kibble
- Instinct, Instinct Original Real Chicken Grain Free Recipe All Life Stages Dry
- Member's Mark, Members Mark High Protein Grain Free Chicken Vegetable Recipe All Life Stages Dry
- Merrick, Merrick Backcountry Grain Free Puppy Recipe
- Nature's Recipe, Natures Recipe Grain Free Salmon Sweet Potato Pumpkin All Life Stages
- Open Farm, Open Farm Grain Free Catch OF The Season Whitefish Recipe All Life Stages Dry
- Purina Beyond, Purina Beyond Grain Free White Meat Chicken Egg Recipe Adult Dry
- Purina Pro Plan, Purina Pro Plan Complete Essentials Grain Free Chicken Carrots Entree Classic Adult Wet
- Simply Nourish, Simply Nourish Grain Free Chicken Tuna Stew Adult Wet
- The Honest Kitchen, The Honest Kitchen Grain Free Beef Whole Food Clusters All Life Stages Dry Kibble
Protein and fat, as published
Among the 108 recipes, published protein ranges from 7 to 47, and published fat ranges from 1.4 to 22, as printed on each maker's own label. The spread is wide because "Grain Free" describes one label claim, not one formula, so two recipes carrying the same phrase can differ a great deal in what else is on the panel.
Comparing two of them
To compare two grain free dog food recipes side by side, start with the numbers each maker actually prints: published protein, fat and kcal content, plus the order ingredients are listed in. Our library by brand lists every recipe we have on file under its own maker, and our page on how we compare dog foods explains where each number in the tool comes from and what it does not tell you.
Reading the rest of the bag
The "Grain Free" phrase is one line on a busy label. The rest of the bag is worth a look too: the ingredient list in order, the life stage statement, and the published protein, fat and kcal figures near the feeding chart. Reading those four things together tells you more about a recipe than any single phrase on the front of the bag.
In the Treats aisle
Freeze-Dried Beef Heart, 100% beef heart, single ingredient, freeze-dried in small batches, sized at 1.5, 3 or 6 ounces from $15 to $25. Freeze-Dried Cheddar Cheese Bites, 100% cheddar cheese, single ingredient, freeze-dried in small batches, one size at $15.
How it ships
Our freeze-dried treats are made in Malvern, Pennsylvania and ship separately from us.
Related guides
Questions
Does "Grain Free" on a bag mean a dog needs that recipe?
No. It is the maker's own label choice, printed on the bag the maker chose to print it on. Plenty of recipes without the phrase publish similar numbers.
How did you count 108 recipes?
Our library holds 958 foods pulled from maker pages. We read each maker's own product name for the phrase "grain free," case-insensitive and hyphen tolerant, and counted a match wherever it appeared.
Where do the protein and fat numbers come from?
Every number in our library comes from the maker's own product page or the label itself, sourced the way we describe on our how we compare page.
Browse our full single ingredient lineup, filtered by protein, life stage and format, on our Explore page.
