The scores
Freshpet: B (78/100) — Above average. A fresh, refrigerated formula with whole food ingredients, minimal processing, and a short, recognizable ingredient list.
Stella & Chewy’s: A (90/100) — Excellent. A raw-infused kibble with freeze-dried chicken, liver, and heart pieces plus a 4-strain probiotic blend.
A 12-point gap crosses the B-to-A grade threshold — and that boundary is one of the hardest to cross in our scoring system. Moving into the 90s requires genuinely exceptional ingredient quality, and Stella & Chewy’s earns it through organ meats and raw nutrition that very few brands provide.
How the ingredients compare
The top five ingredients show two very different premium philosophies:
Freshpet: Chicken, Eggs, Cranberries, Carrots, Ground Oats
Stella & Chewy’s: Chicken, Chicken Meal, Peas, Lentils, Pea Protein
Freshpet’s formula reads like a home-cooked meal: chicken, eggs, cranberries, carrots, and oats. Every ingredient is something you’d recognize in your own kitchen. The food is gently cooked and sold refrigerated, which means less processing and better nutrient retention than traditional kibble. The ingredient list is short — often under 20 items — which appeals to owners who want simplicity and transparency.
Stella & Chewy’s takes a different approach. It starts with chicken and chicken meal (a concentrated protein source with roughly 3x the protein density of whole chicken), then uses peas and lentils as carbohydrate sources. But the real differentiator isn’t in the top five — it’s the freeze-dried raw pieces mixed into the kibble. Those pieces include chicken liver and chicken heart, which are organ meats that provide a concentrated burst of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids that muscle meat alone cannot deliver.
Both brands avoid the cheap fillers, by-products, and artificial preservatives that plague lower-grade foods. The question isn’t whether either food is good — both are solidly premium. The question is which premium approach delivers more nutritional value per serving.
Where Stella & Chewy’s pulls ahead
Organ meat nutrition: This is the single biggest differentiator. Stella & Chewy’s includes freeze-dried raw chicken liver and chicken heart in its formula. Liver is nature’s multivitamin — it’s the most nutrient-dense food on the planet, packed with vitamin A, B12, riboflavin, iron, and copper at concentrations that no synthetic supplement can replicate. Heart is one of the best natural sources of taurine, an amino acid critical for cardiac function. Most commercial dog foods, including Freshpet, don’t include organ meats at all. This is what pushes Stella & Chewy’s into A territory.
Protein concentration: The combination of whole chicken and chicken meal in Stella & Chewy’s top two positions delivers more concentrated protein than Freshpet’s whole chicken alone. Chicken meal has already had the water removed, so pound for pound, it contains roughly three times more protein than fresh chicken (which is about 70% water). Freshpet’s eggs contribute additional protein, but the overall protein density per calorie is higher in Stella & Chewy’s formula.
Probiotics: Stella & Chewy’s includes a 4-strain probiotic blend (Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Enterococcus faecium, and Bacillus coagulans) designed to support digestive health. These are added after cooking to preserve viability. Freshpet does not include added probiotics, relying instead on the natural digestibility of its whole food ingredients. For dogs with sensitive stomachs or digestive issues, the added probiotic support is a meaningful advantage.
Shelf stability and convenience: Freshpet must be refrigerated at all times and has a short shelf life once opened. This creates real logistical challenges — it takes up fridge space, can’t be left out during travel, and goes bad quickly if not used within the recommended window. Stella & Chewy’s is shelf-stable kibble that stores like any dry food. For multi-dog households, travelers, or anyone who doesn’t want to dedicate refrigerator real estate to dog food, this is a practical advantage that matters in daily life. Shop on Amazon →
Where Freshpet holds its own
Freshpet’s biggest strength is ingredient transparency and minimal processing. When you look at the ingredient list — chicken, eggs, cranberries, carrots, oats — you can picture exactly what’s in the food. There’s no meal, no concentrate, no isolate. Every ingredient is a recognizable whole food. For owners who value simplicity and want to know exactly what their dog is eating, Freshpet delivers a level of transparency that even Stella & Chewy’s can’t quite match.
The gentle cooking process also preserves more natural nutrients than traditional kibble extrusion. Freshpet is steam-cooked at lower temperatures than conventional dry food, which means less heat damage to proteins, fats, and vitamins. Stella & Chewy’s kibble base goes through standard extrusion before the freeze-dried raw pieces are added. The raw pieces themselves retain excellent nutrition, but the kibble portion is processed like any other dry food.
Freshpet also tends to be more palatable for picky eaters. The soft, moist texture and fresh aroma appeal to dogs who turn their noses up at dry kibble. If your dog is a reluctant eater, Freshpet’s form factor may solve a problem that no amount of nutritional superiority in Stella & Chewy’s can address — because the best food in the world is worthless if your dog won’t eat it. Shop on Amazon →
The bottom line
Both Freshpet and Stella & Chewy’s are genuinely premium dog foods that outperform the vast majority of what’s on store shelves. You won’t go wrong with either one. But if you’re choosing between them purely on nutritional merit, Stella & Chewy’s earns the edge — and the A grade — through organ meats and probiotics that deliver nutrient density Freshpet’s simpler formula doesn’t match.
The choice may come down to your priorities. If you want the closest thing to a home-cooked meal with maximum ingredient transparency and your dog prefers soft food, Freshpet at B/78 is an excellent choice. If you want the highest possible nutrient density with the convenience of shelf-stable kibble plus the nutritional benefits of raw organ meats, Stella & Chewy’s at A/90 is the stronger pick.
Either way, you’re in the top tier of commercial dog food. That’s a good place to be. Read our full reviews of Freshpet and Stella & Chewy’s for the complete ingredient breakdowns.