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What’s actually in Steve’s Real Food Chicken Nuggets?
We pulled the current ingredient panel for Steve’s Real Food Freeze-Dried Raw Chicken Nuggets from stevesrealfood.com (verified 2026-05-17). The complete list, in order: ground chicken, raw ground chicken bone, chicken livers, chicken gizzards, broccoli, carrots, romaine lettuce, cantaloupe, raw goat’s milk, flaxseed, dried kelp, salmon oil, coconut oil, inulin, taurine, mixed tocopherols, eggshell membrane, dicalcium phosphate. Eighteen ingredients total — the shortest panel of any freeze-dried raw brand in the KibbleIQ catalog. No synthetic vitamin / mineral premix — the formula derives vitamins and minerals from whole-food sources (organ meat, raw goat’s milk, kelp, eggshell membrane, produce) plus targeted taurine and dicalcium phosphate supplementation.
The structural model is BARF-style with a unique whole-food supplementation strategy. Roughly 90% of the panel is muscle meat + bone + organs + raw goat’s milk (positions #1-4 and #9). The produce contribution is short and intentional — broccoli, carrots, romaine lettuce, cantaloupe at positions #5-8. The supplement tail (positions #10-18) supplies plant omega-3 (flaxseed), trace iodine and minerals (kelp), direct marine omega-3 (salmon oil), medium-chain fats (coconut oil), prebiotic fiber (inulin), supplemental taurine, natural preservation (mixed tocopherols), naturally-occurring glycosaminoglycans (eggshell membrane), and supplemental calcium-phosphorus (dicalcium phosphate).
Steve’s Real Food is privately owned and based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The brand has been making raw pet food since 1998 and is independent of the major pet-food conglomerates. The product line includes frozen-raw patties, freeze-dried nuggets (this product), freeze-dried sliders, and a line of raw goat’s milk supplements. The Chicken Diet is AAFCO-substantiated as complete and balanced for adult maintenance. Shop on Amazon →
The good stuff (raw goat’s milk, USDA-inspected meats, eggshell membrane)
The structural standout is the raw goat’s milk inclusion at #9. No other freeze-dried raw brand in the KibbleIQ catalog uses raw goat’s milk as a primary supplement. The biology here is meaningful: goat’s milk fat globules are roughly one-third the size of cow’s milk fat globules, which significantly improves enzymatic fat digestion. Goat’s milk also lacks the agglutinin protein found in cow’s milk that triggers fat globule clustering — the absence of agglutinin is part of why many lactose-tolerant-only dogs digest goat’s milk substantially better than cow’s milk. The raw (unpasteurized) form is the key — raw goat’s milk retains naturally-occurring lipase, amylase, and lactase enzymes that pasteurization denatures. Naturally-occurring probiotic cultures (lactobacilli + bifidobacteria) populate raw goat’s milk; these survive freeze-drying substantially better than synthetic probiotic supplement strains survive kibble extrusion.
The protein lead is standard freeze-dried raw A-tier strong: ground chicken at #1, raw ground chicken bone at #2, chicken livers at #3, chicken gizzards at #4. The four-ingredient raw-prey opener delivers whole-prey calcium / phosphorus ratios, complete amino acid profile, and naturally-occurring organ-meat density of preformed vitamin A (retinol), B12, folate, heme iron, copper, and choline. Chicken gizzards supply natural taurine plus methionine and cysteine (taurine precursors). The bone is finely ground rather than left in chunks, eliminating choking and GI-perforation risk.
Other structural positives: salmon oil for direct marine omega-3 (EPA + DHA); coconut oil for medium-chain triglyceride energy (especially relevant for senior dogs whose ketone-pathway metabolism is helpful for cognitive function); flaxseed for plant omega-3 (ALA) stacked alongside marine omega-3; inulin for prebiotic fermentation in the hindgut; eggshell membrane for naturally-occurring glycosaminoglycans (chondroitin, hyaluronic acid, glucosamine precursors) supporting joint cartilage; supplemental taurine as belt-and-suspenders insurance over the organ-meat-derived natural taurine; and mixed tocopherols as the natural vitamin-E-based preservative rather than ethoxyquin or BHA / BHT.
The concerns (2018 Salmonella recall, raw goat’s milk for lactose-sensitive dogs, AAFCO life-stage)
Three points of honest discussion. First: the 2018 Salmonella recall. In June 2018, Steve’s Real Food issued a voluntary recall of a single lot of Turkey Canine-Free Raw Frozen Dog Food (5 lb bags, best-by 6/1/2019) after FDA-coordinated testing identified Salmonella contamination. No pet illnesses were reported. The recall covered one production lot, not the freeze-dried chicken nuggets reviewed here. Salmonella detection in raw pet food is a structural category risk — raw poultry, beef, and pork carry a baseline Salmonella prevalence at the slaughterhouse level. Human-grade meat manages this risk through end-cook (the consumer cooks the meat). Raw-pet-food brands manage it through HPP (high-pressure processing) kill-step, test-and-release programs, or test-and-hold protocols. Steve’s disclosed the recall transparently, complied with the FDA process, and revised its lot-testing protocols. Per RISK_REGISTER R9, v15 does not formally deduct for prior recall history; we surface this for honest reader awareness. For the full timeline see Steve’s Real Food 2018 Salmonella recall.
Second: raw goat’s milk for lactose-sensitive dogs. The raw form retains lactase, which means it pre-digests its own lactose substantially better than pasteurized goat’s milk and far better than cow’s milk. Most lactose-tolerant dogs handle raw goat’s milk without issue. A small minority of severely lactose-intolerant dogs may still react — gut sensitivity, bloating, soft stool in the first 7-14 days of feeding. The clinical recommendation is to introduce Steve’s at a 25% portion ratio for the first 4-5 days, monitor GI tolerance, then ramp to full feeding over 10-14 days.
Third: the Chicken Diet is AAFCO-substantiated for adult maintenance only, not for all life stages. For puppy or large-breed-puppy feeding, Steve’s offers other formulas in the line that carry all-life-stages substantiation. Don’t default-feed the adult Chicken Diet to a growing puppy without cross-checking the substantiation statement on the bag — growing puppies have higher calcium, phosphorus, and DHA requirements than adult-maintenance formulas address.
Who Steve’s Real Food is for (whole-food raw feeders, goat’s milk philosophy)
Steve’s Real Food Freeze-Dried Raw Chicken Nuggets is structurally targeted at owners who want a whole-food raw recipe with a unique goat’s milk supplementation philosophy. The brand has been a leader in raw goat’s milk as a functional whole-food supplement since the late 1990s; owners who already feed raw goat’s milk as a topper will find Steve’s integrated approach efficient — everything is in one bag.
Owners specifically prioritizing short ingredient panels, independent (non-conglomerate) brand ownership, and raw enzyme + probiotic delivery via whole-food sources rather than synthetic supplements will weigh Steve’s favorably. The 18-ingredient panel is one of the tightest in the freeze-dried raw category, second only to a few ultra-minimalist competitors.
Steve’s is not the structurally right pick for owners with severely lactose-intolerant dogs (test with a small portion first), owners feeding growing puppies with the adult-maintenance Chicken Diet (verify life-stage substantiation), or owners who specifically want all-poultry-free protein options during H5N1 outbreak windows (beef, lamb, or venison variants are the cleaner pick during active surveillance).
How it compares
At A/90, Steve’s sits alongside Primal Pronto (A/90), Stella & Chewy’s Patties (A/90), Northwest Naturals (A/90), Open Farm Freeze-Dried Raw (A/90), and Instinct Original Grain-Free (A/90). The differentiators against those peers: Steve’s carries the raw goat’s milk inclusion as a brand-defining feature (no other freeze-dried raw brand in the catalog does this), the shortest ingredient panel in the category (18 ingredients), and eggshell membrane for naturally-occurring joint cartilage support.
Against The Honest Kitchen Wholemade (A/90) (dehydrated, not freeze-dried), the format and rehydration model differ. Honest Kitchen rehydrates from a loose powder into a stew-like texture; Steve’s rehydrates from intact nuggets into a moist raw texture. Both deliver whole-food nutrition; format preference depends on the dog’s texture preference and the owner’s prep workflow.
For head-to-head comparisons, see Primal vs Steve’s Real Food, Stella & Chewy’s vs Steve’s Real Food, and Smallbatch vs Steve’s Real Food.
The bottom line
Steve’s Real Food Freeze-Dried Raw Chicken Nuggets earns an A grade (90/100) from KibbleIQ. Ground chicken at #1, raw chicken bone at #2, livers and gizzards at #3-4, raw goat’s milk at #9 (unique whole-food enzyme + probiotic delivery), salmon oil for marine omega-3, eggshell membrane for joint support, and an 18-ingredient panel — the shortest in the freeze-dried raw A-tier. The 2018 Turkey lot Salmonella recall is real prior history; the brand handled disclosure and remediation transparently. For owners specifically interested in raw goat’s milk supplementation as part of their feeding philosophy, this is the structurally tightest integrated option on the US market. Shop on Amazon →