The scores
Crave Grain-Free High Protein Chicken: B (78/100) — Good. Chicken + chicken meal + pork meal in the top five, 34% minimum crude protein, clean preservation, Mars Petcare manufacturing.
Rachael Ray Nutrish Real Chicken & Veggies: C (65/100) — Fair. Chicken as primary ingredient, but followed by chicken meal then corn gluten meal, with lower overall protein density and corn as the main carbohydrate source.
How the ingredients compare
The top five ingredients:
Crave: Chicken, Chicken Meal, Split Peas, Lentils, Pork Meal
Rachael Ray Nutrish: Chicken, Chicken Meal, Corn Meal, Whole Grain Wheat, Soybean Meal
Both brands lead with fresh chicken + chicken meal — the same opening move. The formulas diverge immediately after. Crave continues with split peas, lentils (legume carbohydrates with moderate protein contribution), and pork meal as a second named meat source — three named animal proteins or protein-contributing whole-food carbs in the top five. Rachael Ray Nutrish moves to cornmeal, whole grain wheat, and soybean meal at positions three, four, and five — three plant-based fillers with one (soybean meal) being a plant protein concentrate that boosts crude protein percentage without delivering the amino acid profile of animal protein.
Further down, Crave adds chicken fat, pea starch, beet pulp, flaxseed, natural flavor, alfalfa meal, and a mineral premix. Rachael Ray Nutrish adds chicken fat, natural flavors, beet pulp, dried peas, dried carrots, and a generic vitamin/mineral premix. The Nutrish ingredient list also includes caramel color — purely cosmetic and commonly avoided in premium formulations.
Where Crave pulls ahead
Higher protein density with better amino acid profile: Crave’s 34% minimum crude protein comes substantially from animal sources (chicken + chicken meal + pork meal). Rachael Ray Nutrish’s lower declared protein percentage is padded with soybean meal, a plant-protein concentrate that provides lower bioavailability per gram of protein than animal sources. For dogs, animal-source amino acids are closer to what their metabolism evolved to use.
No corn or wheat: Crave is grain-free, with legume-based carbohydrates. Whether grain-free matters depends on the dog, but for dogs with suspected corn or wheat sensitivities, Crave sidesteps those ingredients entirely. Nutrish relies on corn as its primary carbohydrate source plus wheat as a secondary grain.
No caramel color or cosmetic additives: Nutrish’s inclusion of caramel color is purely cosmetic — it exists to make kibble look browner, not to deliver any nutritional or functional benefit. Crave’s formulation skips cosmetic additives. Shop on Amazon →
Where Rachael Ray Nutrish holds its own
Grain-inclusive for DCM-predisposed breeds: One legitimate advantage to the grain-inclusive formulation — for Goldens, Dobermans, Cocker Spaniels, and other breeds the FDA has flagged as DCM-predisposed, grain-inclusive kibble is the cardiology-recommended default over legume-heavy grain-free formulas. Nutrish’s grain-inclusive approach is the right category for these breeds, even if the specific execution (corn-heavy vs whole-grain-heavy) is weaker.
Lower price point: Rachael Ray Nutrish typically costs meaningfully less per pound than Crave at most retail outlets. For households on a tight food budget who still want a mainstream national brand, Nutrish delivers an adequate feeding option at a price Crave can’t match.
Broader line with grain-free and limited-ingredient options: The Nutrish PEAK line (which scored B/78 in our review) is a genuinely competitive grain-free premium option, and Nutrish also offers limited-ingredient, weight-management, and senior variants. If you like the Nutrish retail footprint but want a stronger formulation, step up to the PEAK line. Shop on Amazon →
The bottom line
Standard-line Rachael Ray Nutrish is a grocery-tier C-grade formulation; Crave is a grocery-tier B-grade formulation. At roughly comparable retail accessibility, Crave delivers a meaningfully better ingredient profile and should be the default pick for most dogs in this price range. The exception is a DCM-predisposed breed, where the grain-inclusive approach matters and you should lean toward a better-executed grain-inclusive option (see Kirkland Signature or Purina Pro Plan). If you’re Nutrish-loyal for brand reasons and want to stay in-line, Rachael Ray Nutrish PEAK is the upgrade path that puts Nutrish back on even footing with Crave.