What’s actually in Stella & Chewy's Freeze-Dried Raw Chicken?
We analyzed the Chewy’s Chicken Freeze-Dried Raw Dinner Patties — Stella & Chewy’s flagship single-protein freeze-dried raw product. The ingredient panel reads: chicken (with ground bone), chicken liver, chicken gizzard, pumpkin seed, organic cranberries, organic spinach, organic broccoli, organic beets, organic carrots, organic squash, organic blueberries, fenugreek seed, potassium chloride, dried kelp, sodium phosphate, tocopherols (preservative), choline chloride, salt, four probiotic fermentation products (pediococcus acidilactici, lactobacillus acidophilus, bifidobacterium longum, bacillus coagulans), zinc and copper and manganese proteinates, taurine, calcium carbonate, and a complete vitamin tail.
Stella & Chewy’s freeze-dries the recipe after the SecureByNature HPP step, which removes water while preserving nutrient structure. Feeding requires rehydration with warm water — the patties roughly triple in volume. AAFCO substantiation is formulation-based: formulated to meet the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for all life stages. Shop on Amazon →
The good stuff
The animal-ingredient concentration is the headline: 95% chicken, chicken liver, and chicken gizzard, with ground bone as the natural calcium source. Chicken muscle at position one, liver at position two, gizzard at position three — three named poultry ingredients in the first three slots is extraordinarily rare outside raw and freeze-dried-raw products. Liver contributes vitamin A, B12, iron, and copper in bioavailable forms; gizzard adds additional B-vitamins and selenium.
The pathogen-control story is what separates this product from the existing A/90 fresh-format tier. Stella & Chewy’s SecureByNature process is explicitly a high-pressure processing (HPP) step, and the company documents it on its product pages, marketing copy, and sustainability reports. Under our Fresh Food Rubric v1.0, raw-format products earn a +5 bonus when HPP or test-and-hold protocols are documented (versus "unknown" pathogen control). This is the first product in our catalog to clear that bar — Open Farm (A/90) and other freeze-dried raw competitors earn the same score but without the explicit HPP documentation.
The probiotic stack is substantial: four distinct bacterial strains at a guaranteed 50M CFU/oz minimum. Most dry kibbles that claim "probiotics" add a single strain post-extrusion with unverified survival rates; Stella & Chewy’s adds four strains to a freeze-dried matrix that preserves viability much better. Choline chloride, taurine, and proteinate-form trace minerals cover the supplementation well. The organic fruit and vegetable layer (cranberries, spinach, broccoli, beets, carrots, squash, blueberries) provides real phytonutrients rather than synthetic antioxidants. No peas, no lentils, no potatoes — an exceptionally clean legume-free and nightshade-light panel for DCM-predisposed breeds.
The not-so-good stuff
AAFCO substantiation is formulation-only. The label says the recipe is formulated to meet AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for all life stages rather than validated through AAFCO feeding trials. Formulation-only is the industry default; competitors like JustFoodForDogs earn an explicit feeding-trial credit on some recipes.
Rehydration is a practical constraint. Freeze-dried raw is concentrated, so feeding a 50-lb dog requires 3–5 patties per meal rehydrated with warm water for 3–5 minutes. The patties store shelf-stable until rehydration, which is an advantage over frozen raw, but the prep step is a real daily cost compared to scooping kibble.
Raw-format pathogen risk is reduced but not eliminated. HPP substantially lowers Salmonella, Listeria, and E. coli load, but CDC and AVMA guidance continues to recommend caution with any raw pet food in households with infants, immunocompromised adults, or adults over 65. If your household fits that profile, a cooked-fresh alternative with zero raw-pathogen risk may be the better fit.
Cost is typical for premium freeze-dried raw: roughly $5–10 per day for a medium dog fed as a complete diet, dropping to $2–4 per day when used as a topper on a kibble base. As a complete diet this is one of the more expensive per-calorie options in our catalog.
How it compares
At A/90, Stella & Chewy’s Freeze-Dried Raw matches Open Farm (A/90), The Farmer’s Dog (A/90), Ollie (A/90), JustFoodForDogs (A/90), and Sundays (A/90). Against the cooked-fresh subscriptions it delivers far higher animal-ingredient concentration but requires rehydration. Against Open Farm (A/90), it’s the HPP-documented alternative at the same rubric ceiling. Against the frozen-raw Primal Pronto (A/90), it’s shelf-stable without freezer commitment.
See the head-to-heads: Stella & Chewy's Freeze-Dried vs Primal Pronto and Stella & Chewy's Freeze-Dried vs Open Farm.
Buying guides featuring Stella & Chewy’s: Best Fresh Dog Food and Best Pantry-Stable Fresh Dog Food.
The bottom line
Stella & Chewy’s Chewy’s Chicken Freeze-Dried Raw Dinner Patties earn an A grade (90/100) under the Fresh Food Rubric v1.0. The 95% chicken-plus-organs-plus-bone panel, documented SecureByNature HPP pathogen control, four-strain probiotic stack, and clean legume-free formulation make this the benchmark A-tier raw product in our catalog. If freezer space and rehydration prep aren’t practical for your household, The Farmer’s Dog (A/90) is the cooked-fresh A-tier alternative without raw-pathogen risk. If you want the same HPP-documented raw approach in frozen-raw format, Primal Pronto (A/90) is the sibling option. Shop on Amazon →