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The short answer: Effectively tied (B/79 vs B/78 — one point within rubric noise). Same Stella & Chewy’s brand, same cage-free chicken lead, same grain-free legume structure. The structural difference is how the freeze-dried raw component integrates with the kibble: Raw Coated fuses a raw layer ONTO each kibble pellet during production (uniform coating across every bite); Raw Blend Baked mixes loose freeze-dried raw pieces INTO the kibble bag (separate, visually distinct pieces). The choice is structural — not score-driven.

The scores

Stella & Chewy's Raw Coated Raw Coated Kibble Cage-Free Chicken: B (79/100) — Cage-Free Chicken, Chicken Meal, Peas, Lentils, Chicken Fat.

Stella & Chewy's Raw Blend Baked Raw Blend Baked Kibble Cage-Free Chicken: B (78/100) — Chicken, Chicken Meal, Peas, Lentils, Pea Protein.

How the ingredients compare

The top-five ingredients reveal the formulation split between these two products:

Stella & Chewy's Raw Coated: Cage-Free Chicken, Chicken Meal, Peas, Lentils, Chicken Fat

Stella & Chewy's Raw Blend Baked: Chicken, Chicken Meal, Peas, Lentils, Pea Protein

Both products earn effectively the same v15 score, but the ingredient lineups tell different stories about how they got there — that is where the actual pick decision lives.

Where Stella & Chewy's Raw Coated pulls ahead

Uniform raw coating across every kibble pellet: Every bite carries the raw-coating layer at consistent concentration. No selective-eating workaround — dogs can’t cherry-pick freeze-dried pieces and leave the kibble behind because the raw is fused to each pellet. Shop on Amazon →

Compatible with slow-feeder bowls and puzzle toys: Loose freeze-dried pieces (from Raw Blend) fall through slow-feeder bowl slots and puzzle-toy holes. Raw Coated kibble pellets don’t separate — structurally simpler for enrichment-feeding use cases.

Multi-dog household consistency: In multi-dog households where bags get shuffled and dogs eat at different rates, Raw Blend’s loose freeze-dried pieces tend to redistribute unevenly — some dogs get more, some get less. Raw Coated’s uniform integration eliminates this variance.

Where Stella & Chewy's Raw Blend Baked holds its own

Visible freeze-dried pieces signal product authenticity: Raw Blend’s loose freeze-dried pieces are visibly distinct from the kibble — owners can see the raw component they’re paying for. Raw Coated’s coating is fused at the pellet surface; the freeze-dried portion isn’t visually distinct from the underlying kibble. Shop on Amazon →

Portionable freeze-dried bites as training rewards: The loose freeze-dried pieces in Raw Blend can be picked out and saved for training-treat use separately from regular feeding. Raw Coated’s integrated coating can’t be portioned the same way.

Slightly cheaper at retail: Raw Blend Baked typically prices a few percent below Raw Coated per pound at major retailers — the loose-freeze-dried-piece production process is slightly less expensive than the coating-fusion method.

The bottom line

Stella & Chewy’s Raw Coated and Raw Blend Baked are siblings in the same product family, with the score difference (79 vs 78) falling within rubric noise. The structural choice is: do you want uniform raw integration across every kibble pellet (Raw Coated — better for selective eaters, slow-feeder bowls, multi-dog households), or do you want visually distinct freeze-dried pieces that can be portioned separately (Raw Blend — better for visible authenticity, training-treat portioning, slight cost savings). The underlying ingredient and nutrition profiles are effectively identical.