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Review Summary
We give Evolve Pet Food a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars.
If you’re looking at different food brands, and trying to decide what would work best with your pooch—let us introduce you to Evolve. It can work very well for the right canine, and we want to explain what to expect.
Evolve is an up-and-coming pet food brand that creates specially formulated recipes for dogs and cats. They don’t have a far reach just yet, but they have above-satisfactory recipes that can work well with most healthy adult dogs. Let’s get a better look.
At a Glance: The Best Evolve Pet Food Recipes
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Evolve Classic |
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Evolve Grain-Free |
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Evolve Classic Crafted Meals |
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Evolve Pet Food Reviewed
So, what’s Evolve Pet Food all about? We had a chance to look into the company and all of its products to see what they offer and if they would benefit any of our readers. Here’s what we found out.
Who Makes Evolve and Where Is It Produced?
Evolve Pet Food is made by Sunshine Mills. Believe it or not, Evolve has been around since 1949, catering to our beloved pets. The company produces dog and cat food selections to give our pets a species-appropriate diet.
Which Type of Pet Is Evolve Best Suited For?
If your dog doesn’t require a prescribed veterinary diet, you will likely find an Evolve recipe that works best for your pup. Evolve would work for many dietary needs, as they have several recipe lines that work for a few target health areas. They have grain and grain-free; wet and kibble options.
Which Type of Pet Might Do Better with a Different Brand?
Going for the Evolve brand might be limiting if you want a readily available recipe. Many pet shops and online outlets don’t carry this brand. You might find limited options on sites like Amazon and Chewy—but not nearly as many recipes exist outside their website.
But if you want a readily available, like-priced option, we recommend tracking out Blue Buffalo. Their recipes cater to most dog food diets’ health, readily available in stores and online. Plus, it contains similar ingredients for optimal health.
Discussion of the Primary Ingredients (Good and Bad)
For comparison’s sake, we have selected Evolve Classic Deboned Beef, Barley, and Brown Rice for examination. Let’s take an in-depth look at the ingredients to get a better idea.
- Deboned beef is a common red meat used in commercial dog foods. In addition to excellent protein and suitable fat levels, beef contains high iron and nutritious vitamins and minerals. However, some dogs can develop an allergy to beef and might require a novel protein source in their diet.
- Ground pearled barley is a significant source of dietary fiber, which aids in digestion.
- Ground brown rice is another grain that’s easy on the belly. Plus, brown rice helps keep your pup’s heart healthy.
- Oat groats are gluten-free and full of nutritional benefits. Oats help lower blood sugar levels and promote a healthy weight.
- Chicken meal is a terrific source of protein that is highly concentrated. Chicken is super lean meat that builds muscle and promotes healthy bones.
- Rice bran acts as a natural anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. It can also regulate healthy blood sugar levels.
- Chicken fat is a wonderful addition to any diet to promote a healthy coat and skin. However, too much fat is counterproductive in the diet, so watch percentages in the guaranteed analysis.
- Dried beet pulp has an unbeatable fiber content. While it’s rumored that beets are connected to bloat, there is no sufficient evidence to back these claims.
- Flaxseed meal is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which promote a healthy coat and skin. It also has an influx of fiber which aids in digestion.
- Menhaden fish meal, like most fish, is full of fatty acids to nourish the skin and aid in digestion. It’s also a significant source of protein.
Luckily, Evolve excludes sometimes harsher grains like corn, wheat, and soy. They aim, instead, to use ultra-digestible grains to promote optimal health and keep the gut in good standing.
Evolve Dog Food Availability
Evolve doesn’t have incredible availability currently. The main variety of availability is on their company website. You can find limited recipe selections on sites like Chewy and Amazon, but this brand can be difficult to find outside of their home site.
Quality of Dry and Wet Food Selections
As we’ve already discussed, Evolve makes both wet and dry dog foods to choose from. The dry kibble is medium-sized and suitable for small to large breeds. However, toy breeds might have a little trouble chewing this kibble.
The wet food selections are individually packaged—perfect for toy and small breeds. However, feeding a standalone wet diet can get pretty expensive if you have a larger breed. We recommend using the wet food Topper as an addition to spruce up ordinary, boring dry kibble.
A Quick Look at Evolve Pet Food
- Clean ingredients
- Multiple recipe lines
- All life-stage formulas
- Protein is #1 ingredient in all recipes
- Lack of availability
Recall History
Evolve recently had a recall in 2021 regarding the presence of Aflatoxin, which is a byproduct of mold. They also had other recalls in December of 2018 for dangerous levels of vitamin D.
Reviews of the 3 Best Evolve Pet Food Recipes
Evolve Classic Deboned Beef, Barley, & Brown Rice
Evolve Classic Deboned Beef, Barley, & Brown Rice is a fantastic choice for everyday nutrition. It contains real deboned beef as the first ingredient, followed by easily digestible grains. It is packed with wholesome ingredients that match what a dog should have by AAFCO standards.
This recipe is free of potentially harsh ingredients like corn, wheat, and soy. It’s also free of all legumes, using other ingredients like ground pearled barley and brown rice instead. For added gut support, this contains both prebiotics and probiotics that help healthy bacteria thrive.
This recipe contains 22.0% protein in the guaranteed analysis, which is on the low end. A high-energy dog, for instance, might require a higher dose of protein in their daily diet. However, for most healthy and less active dogs, it should suffice fine.
We think this is a suitable recipe for healthy pups.
- Supports gut health
- Whole protein as #1 ingredient
- Easily digestible grains
- Low protein levels
Evolve Grain-Free Deboned Duck, Sweet Potato, & Venison
Evolve Grain-Free Deboned Duck, Sweet Potato, & Venison recipe is a terrific choice for a gluten-sensitive pup. However, if your dog has no sensitivity, you might want to try out a grain-inclusive option from Evolve unless otherwise directed by your vet.
Duck is dark meat full of amino acids and omega fatty acids to nourish the skin and coat. This recipe also contains a super high dose of protein in the guaranteed analysis—34%! This recipe uses delicious, deboned duck as the first ingredient, which is usually a novel protein in most diets.
Rather than using grain, Evolve includes garbanzo beans and sweet potato as carbohydrate sources. Sweet potato is a highly digestible starch packed with numerous nutritional benefits, including promoting smooth digestion.
If you have a gluten-sensitive pup, we think they will love the taste and allergy-free dry kibble.
- Nourishes gut health
- Ideal for sensitive dogs
- High protein content
- Not all dogs need grain-free diets
Evolve Classic Crafted Meals
If you are looking for wet food as a standalone diet or a topper for dry kibble, we recommend Evolve Classic Crafted Meals. These delicious portioned meals will have your dog drooling in no time. These perfectly portioned packages will be ideal if you have a smaller dog.
We personally fed our dogs chicken and they absolutely loved the flavor. However, Evolve also has salmon, turkey, and venison in case your dog has another preference or you just want to mix things up. These little dishes make excellent wet food toppers to spruce up kibble, too.
These recipes contain high amounts of protein with ingredients you can see. Your dog will have a smorgasbord of gravy and ground loaf. It even contains cottage cheese for an extra flavorful kick. Plus, it contains antioxidants, omega fatty acids, and gut-friendly ingredients.
We think this wet dog food is a stellar choice for any healthy adult—but it might be especially beneficial to those with poor dental health. Just remember to brush!
- Perfectly portioned
- Multiple flavors
- Excellent quality
- Might be expensive for larger dogs
What Other Users Are Saying
We think that the best way to judge a product is to find out if its customers are happy with their purchase. Of all the reviews we saw, most people were satisfied with the product.
Dog Food Advisor gives Evolve a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars. These recipes are very carefully crafted—we just wish they were more readily available! Overall, we have to agree with them.
Final Verdict
We think Evolve Dog Food is an exceptional choice for most healthy adult dogs. However, they aren’t as readily available as some other dietary options. So if you are not as crazy about online purchasing, you might have trouble finding this dog food in a physical store location.
However, Evolve is available for purchase on their home website and a few others, too. So, a quick Google search will help you find the best Evolve recipe for your pup.
See also:
Featured Image Credit: 279photoStudio, Shutterstock
