About The Honest Kitchen
The Honest Kitchen produces nutritious meals, supplements and treats for your pets. The human-grade dog and cat food is gently steamed, dehydrated and delivered straight to your door.
The Honest Kitchen has been shaking up the world for some time now. As one of the pioneers in the fresh dog food industry, the company has been celebrated in various pet publications such as Tree Hugger, Green Matters, Pet Age and The Bark.
Stay tuned as we take a closer look at the brand and its products in this The Honest Kitchen dog food review. We delve into ingredients, customer reviews, promotions and more to help you decide if pet-safe meals are the right choice for your furry friend.
Overview of The Honest Kitchen
Lucy Postins founded The Honest Kitchen in 2002 in the kitchen of her beach house. After questioning whether her dog’s (Mosi) diet was causing skin and ear problems, she wondered why his food was made from such poor quality and processed ingredients. So she set out to shake up the market.
After 15 years of research, The Honest Kitchen brand developed a range of cat and dog food that is fully customised for humans. Healthy, human-grade food for pets means that it is free from additives, preservatives and fillers. Instead, they are filled with ingredients such as chicken, potatoes, carrots and pumpkin.
The Honest Kitchen sources its ingredients from all over the world, but the majority, around 84%, comes from North America. On the Food Source Map on the company’s website, you can see exactly where each natural ingredient comes from. The brand is now headquartered in San Diego, California.
The brand also offers a helpful blog for dog and cat owners, covering a wide range of topics including recipes, tips and DIYs. For example, if you have a pet that prefers to gobble up their food in one go, check out The Honest Kitchen snuffle mat DIY blog post to slow down their eating and keep their brain occupied.
Now that you know a little more about the brand’s roots, find out more about the pros and cons of The Honest Kitchen dog food1 in this review:
Pros
- A wide range of dog and cat meals, treats, toppings and more
- 100% human grade food
- Made in the USA
- Completely natural, healthy ingredients
- Transparent about what’s in the food
- No need to fortify the food with vitamins, it contains everything your pet needs to thrive
- Food Source Map shows you exactly where the brand sources its ingredients
- Eco-friendly packaging
- Subscription option for regular deliveries and 5% discount
- Several ongoing promotions
- 30-day return policy (rare with pet food, but shows the company wants your pets to be happy)
Cons
- Shipping only within the US
Is The Honest Kitchen raw?
The Honest Kitchen uses wholefood ingredients in all recipes. Whilst the meals are not raw, they are dehydrated to lock in key nutrients and allow for longer shelf life and more convenient storage.
Ingredients such as meat, eggs, leafy vegetables and fish are steamed, while the starch is briefly heated so that it can be better digested. All these processes take place before the ingredients are dehydrated, packaged and dispatched to you.
Is The Honest Kitchen organic?
Although The Honest Kitchen is not 100% organic, it only uses organic grains in its range. The meat is free from hormones and antibiotics, vegetables and fruit are GMO-free and quinoa is fairly traded.
On The Honest Kitchen’s website you will find a breakdown of all the ingredients, where they come from and why they are used.
Do vets recommend The Honest Kitchen?
The Honest Kitchen is recommended by vets, but apart from that, there is not much explanation about the balance and nutrition of the brand’s products and why they are suitable for dogs and cats.
In her blog, veterinarian Dr Justine Lee questions the trace elements in The Honest Kitchen’s foods. She expressed concern about this aspect and ultimately recommended the products only for ‘healthy adult dogs and cats’, not for those with health problems or puppies.
The company cooks healthy and delicious meals and treats for dogs and cats (and technically humans too, since the brand is FDA approved). In the next section of this The Honest Kitchen dog food review, we’ll look specifically at the dog food and supplements.
The Honest Kitchen Dog Food Review
The company’s dog food recipes are packed with nutrition. You have the option to choose from different sizes for each of The Honest Kitchen’s human grade dog food recipes. These sizes include: 2lbs, 4lbs, 7lbs, 10lbs, 12×1.75 cups or 4x10lbs boxes. For each product, we will list the price range for these sizes.
This review of The Honest Kitchen’s dog food will feature the brand’s best-selling dog food, probiotics and supplements to keep your pup happy and healthy.
The Honest Kitchen Dehydrated – Grain-Free Beef Recipe Review
Like humans, some pups have difficulty digesting grains. This grain-free beef recipe uses nutrient-rich sweet potatoes and pumpkin to add fiber and carbohydrates to this delicious recipe.
A 10-pound pack of puppy food from The Honest Kitchen is suitable for puppies, adults and active adults and contains 16 pounds of ranch-raised beef – a potent protein that meets your pup’s active needs. The dehydrated, grain-free beef recipe is priced from $25-$410.
The Honest Kitchen Dehydrated – Whole Grain Turkey Recipe Review
Like a dehydrated Thanksgiving meal, the Dehydrated – Whole Grain Turkey Recipe contains a spectrum of proteins, healthy fats and vitamin-rich vegetables like carrots.
Recommended for less active adults and older dogs, this recipe has fewer calories than others but is still packed with delicious flavor. 12 pounds of cage-free turkey is included in this delicious recipe, which costs between $23 and $270.
The Honest Kitchen Dehydrated – Whole Grain Chicken Recipe Review
Home cooking at its finest. The ingredients in a 10-pound bag of this recipe look like the ones in your mom’s famous soup, well, a really, really big batch! With 15 pounds of free-range chicken, 6 tablespoons of oats, 7 tablespoons of barley, 4 potatoes, 5 cups of green peas and much more, the Dehydrated Whole Grain Chicken recipe sounds comforting.
Watch your pup devour this meal the way you used to eat your mom’s meals. Available for $23-$250, another homemade favorite is The Honest Kitchen’s Zeal Fish Recipe.
The Honest Kitchen Instant Bone Broth – Beef & Turmeric Review
Bone broth is rich in minerals that are important for your dog’s health. Instant Bone Broth – Beef & Turmeric is the perfect solution to boost the nutritional content of your dog’s food. You can even cook up a batch and mix it with a tasty dry food recipe.
Other key ingredients include turmeric and pumpkin to keep your pup’s tummy full of nutrients. The Instant Bone Broth – Beef & Turmeric powder is available in either a 3.6 oz canister or 12 x 3.5 gram pouches for $7-10.
The Honest Kitchen Instant Goat’s Milk with Probiotics Review
Conventional dog food can lead to stomach problems. Just like us, our pup’s digestion can become slow or problematic over the years or due to too much “X, Y or Z”. Every dog is different, but probiotics can help.
Warm up some of the Instant Goat’s Milk with Probiotics, which contains 5 billion live cultures that will help your puppy or kitten’s gut. Available in 5.2-ounce canisters or 12 x 5-gram pouches, you can serve it yourself or jazz it up with goat milk from The Honest Kitchen for $11-$15.
The Honest Kitchen Instant Bone Broth – Turkey & Turmeric Review
This broth is the ideal addition to a diet that needs a little extra oomph. Instant Bone Broth – Turkey & Turmeric is a tasty addition to your pet’s meals and contains stomach-soothing ingredients and nutritional boosters such as turmeric.
Add this delicious broth to your pet’s dry food or whole grain mash, or let them enjoy it on its own as a warm soup. A 3.6 oz canister costs $10.
The Honest Kitchen Reviews: What Do Customers Think?
No review of The Honest Kitchen dog food would be complete without hearing from customers. That’s why we’ve scoured the internet for helpful reviews. Below you’ll find testimonials from the brand’s website, Dog Food Advisor and Labrador Training HQ that shed light on some important information about the company.
On the brand’s website, we’ve started by compiling a range of products and their star ratings to give you an overview of how The Honest Kitchen’s dog food is received:
- Dehydrated Grain-Free Beef Recipe: averaging 4.8/5 stars out of 622 reviews
- Herbal Digestive Supplement: average 4.8/5 stars from 260 reviews
- Instant Goat Milk with Probiotics: 4.8/5 stars on average from 309 reviews
- Whole Food Clusters – Grain Free Chicken: 4.8/4 stars on average with 293 reviews
- Instant Bone Broth – Beef & Turmeric: 4.8/5 stars on average with 129 reviews
We decided to take a closer look at the grain-free Dehydrated Beef Recipe. Among the many cute and friendly photos of happy customer dogs, there is also critical information about the quality, taste and effectiveness of The Honest Kitchen dog food.
Customers report that their pups’ health problems disappeared when they switched to this food. Allergies have been alleviated and fussy appetites have been suppressed. Take this example: “My puppies LOVE this food and can’t wait for me to put it on the floor. One of them has an allergy and this food made her stop chewing on her paws immediately. It’s important to know that the dogs enjoy the taste and that it’s good for them.
While there are many who have had good experiences, there are also dogs who simply don’t like the food. One review of The Honest Kitchen dog food says: “My dogs won’t eat it. They won’t even eat chicken when I put it on the plate”. This is not uncommon with whole pet food brands and can happen with any pet.
In another review on Dog Food Advisor, the brand is “enthusiastically” recommended and rated 5/5 stars. The dog food review website analyzes the ingredients of the food and rates the brand based on their findings.
Dog Food Advisor has rated the following products with 5 out of 5 stars:
Whole Grain Chicken: 5/5 stars
The Honest Kitchen Perfect Form Limited Ingredient Chicken: 5/5 stars
Whole Grain Beef: 4.5/5 stars
Wholemeal turkey: 4.5/5 stars
The review backs up the rating, stating that the Honest Kitchen dog food appears to be a superior product based on its ingredients alone. As for the meat content, something pet parents usually worry about, the review indicates that the food contains a “moderate amount of meat”. It seems like the ingredients are very solid.
Although nothing negative is mentioned in The Honest Kitchen dog food review, we have learned that the brand has had to issue a recall of “five batches of dog food.” This could pose too much of a risk for some pet owners, as certain recalls on other dog food brands have led to illnesses.
A review of dog food by The Honest Kitchen on Labrador Training HQ (labradortraininghq.com) also examines the ingredients in some of the brand’s dog foods. The recipes investigated were:
- Grain-Free Beef
- Whole grain chicken
- Grain-free fruit and vegetable base
The review highlights the brand’s “few ingredients” which are “mostly made up of good ingredients”. The article appreciates the types of ingredients included in the diet, namely the appropriate protein, vegetable and fruit sources, and notes that the clever inclusion of pumpkin “can also aid digestion”. It’s good to know that other nutritious foods are also in play to help your pup.
Honest Kitchen’s review mentions some ingredients that the reviewer is “not thrilled about.” These include honey, potatoes and sodium selenite, substances that either serve no nutritional purpose or can be toxic in large quantities. Regarding the latter, the review says: “There are better ways to supply selenium”.
Overall, The Honest Kitchen’s ingredients seem incredibly good for dogs, with the exception of a few. We’re leery of any brand that has had to issue recalls, but we also know that it happens to even the best companies. The recall involved a batch of parsley for humans that may have been contaminated with salmonella. Since then, the brand has begun steaming its vegetables and herbs to ensure that potential bacteria are killed.
Overall, these reviews show us that most pets and their owners are delighted with the taste, quality and nutritional content of The Honest Kitchen’s meals. The brand is also taking steps to correct any mistakes.
Is The Honest Kitchen Worth It?
So is The Honest Kitchen a good dog food? We think so, and we think it’s worth buying. The company really cares about the people it feeds. It also wants pet owners to see the product for what it is and provides information about where it comes from, how it’s prepared and why it’s in the food. All this information is available on The Honest Kitchen website in the form of press releases, visual cards and PDF files that explain all the details.
Dogs are fed – they don’t get to choose. That’s why it’s important that we make the right choices for them to keep them happy. It’s incredible what the right diet can do for our pets, and yet it stands to reason that it does. We’ve seen the effects a poor diet can have on humans, why shouldn’t the same be true for our fluffy friends?
So if you want to spoil your fluffy friend with nutritious and delicious food, we think The Honest Kitchen is worth a purchase.
The Honest Kitchen Promotions & Discounts
This review of The Honest Kitchen dog food discovered the following special offers that are currently active on the company’s website:
- Save 5% when you sign up
- Online Rewards Program
- Spend $10, get $10 The Honest Kitchen promo code (for you and a friend!)
- Buy 10, get 1 free
Where to Buy The Honest Kitchen
The best selection of products can be found directly at TheHonestKitchen.com. Products are also sold in pet stores across the country and by authorized retailers such as PetValu, Homes Alive, Pet Only, Pet Land, Amazon, Chewy and many more!
FAQ
Who is the owner of The Honest Kitchen?
Lucy Postins founded The Honest Kitchen in 2002 and is still the owner today.
Does The Honest Kitchen source its ingredients from China?
The Honest Kitchen claims to source all its ingredients locally. However, an article was published in a Chinese newspaper refuting this claim. Unfortunately, there is not enough information to substantiate this claim.
Can you mix The Honest Kitchen with dry food?
Once your puppy has become accustomed to The Honest Kitchen (which may take a few days), you can mix dry food with the human-grade dog food. The company advises that you should avoid doing this during the transition period if possible, as it can aggravate your dog’s stomach.
Does The Honest Kitchen contain taurine?
The Honest Kitchen dog meals contain meat-based taurine and human grade taurine. This nutrient is important for a dog’s health and must be included in dog food.
Is The Honest Kitchen spoiled?
The Honest Kitchen meals do not go bad. The products have a shelf life of 12-24 months. The length of time depends on the room in which you store the food and how moist it is.
How long does it take to ship from The Honest Kitchen?
Orders placed with The Honest Kitchen are shipped within 4-5 business days. Shipping for orders over $49 is free, for orders under $5. For orders to Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico, all shipping costs are charged at checkout. Currently, the brand does not ship outside the US.
What is The Honest Kitchen’s return policy?
If you want to return your order to The Honest Kitchen, you can do so within 30 days of purchase. Returns must meet these conditions to be valid:
Products must be returned in their original packaging.
You must use the free shipping label provided
The item must not have been part of a “short term promotion”.
To initiate a return, you must send an email to questions@thehonestkitchen.com. In the email, include your order number, the product and the reason for your return. Alternatively, you can call 1-866-437-9729. The Honest Kitchen will send you an RMA number and a free return label.
How to Contact The Honest Kitchen
We hope you have found all the information you need in this The Honest Kitchen dog food review. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact the brand:
- Email: questions@thehonestkitchen.com
- Phone: 1-866-437-9729
