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Evolve Dog Food Review 2024: Recalls, Pros & Cons

Nicole Cosgrove Profile Picture

By Nicole Cosgrove

Evolve Dog Food Review

Review Summary

Our Final Verdict

We give Evolve dog food a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Evolve was founded as an animal feed manufacturer in 1949, with dry pet food added to its line in 1960. Today, the company manufactures food for dogs and cats, and its dog food includes grain-free and grain-inclusive dry kibble as well as canned wet foods. There have been a handful of recalls, including Evolve Dog Food, and the most recent occurred in 2021.

Evolve is inexpensive, uses meat as its primary ingredient, and receives generally positive reviews. Below, you’ll find a review of the brand and some of its most popular lines to help you determine whether it is the right food for your dog.

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At a Glance: The Best Evolve Dog Food Recipes

Rating Image Product Details
Our Favorite
Winner
Evolve Salmon & Sweet Potato Recipe Dry Food Evolve Salmon & Sweet Potato Recipe Dry Food
  • 28% protein
  • Reasonably priced
  • Primary ingredients are salmon and chicken
  • Second place
    Evolve Classic Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe Dry Food Evolve Classic Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe Dry Food
  • 28% protein
  • Reasonably priced
  • Primary ingredients are chicken
  • Third place
    Evolve Classic Chicken & Rice Recipe Canned Food Evolve Classic Chicken & Rice Recipe Canned Food
  • Contains prebiotics
  • Main ingredients are chicken based
  • Minerals are chelated for greater bioavailability
  • Evolve Classic Turkey & Rice Recipe Canned Food Evolve Classic Turkey & Rice Recipe Canned Food
  • Real turkey is the #1 ingredient
  • Complete and balanced nutrition
  • There's no corn, wheat, soy or meat by-products
  • Evolve Classic Beef, Barley & Brown Rice Recipe Dry Food Evolve Classic Beef, Barley & Brown Rice Recipe Dry Food
  • Real beef is the #1 ingredient
  • Made without corn, wheat or soy
  • Made without artificial colors, flavors or preservatives
  • Evolve Dog Food Reviewed

    Evolve has been making dog food for over 60 years and now produces wet and dry formulas, grain-free and grain-inclusive food, and a selection of dog treats.

    Who makes Evolve Dog Food and Where Is It Produced?

    Evolve Dog Food is manufactured by Sunshine Mills and produced in the US. The company’s headquarters are in Red Bay, Alabama, and the food is manufactured there and at various sites across the US. All of their food manufacturing plants are certified for food safety, and customers can be assured of good quality, safe dog food.

    Which Type of Dog Is Evolve Dog Food Best Suited For?

    Although the recipes have different nutritional values, the dry food generally contains around 28% protein with 14% fat and 48% carbs. It’s designed for dogs of all ages.

    Evolve is considered suitable for active and less active dogs, and because it has fewer carbs than many brands, it is ideal for dogs that need to lose weight or need careful weight management incorporated into their daily diet. Evolve has a grain-inclusive and grain-free line, so if your dog is allergic to grains, you can find a formula to suit them.

    Which Type of Dog Might Do Better With a Different Brand?

    Evolve Dog Food should suit dogs of all ages, sizes, and health conditions.

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    Discussion of the Primary Ingredients (Good and Bad)

    When looking at the quality of a dog food, it is important to look at its ingredients. This enables you to determine the quality of the protein and to ensure that the food meets all the nutritional requirements of your dog.

    Meat First

    All Evolve dog foods, including grain-free, grain-inclusive, dry, and wet foods, list meat as their primary ingredient. For example, Evolve Classic Chicken & Brown Rice uses chicken as its main ingredient.

    Chicken is considered a quality ingredient in dog food, but most of the whole chicken is water, and once it has been cooked and processed, only a fraction of the weight of the chicken remains. Therefore, it might not be featured at the top of the ingredient list.

    However, in the case of Evolve, the second ingredient on the list is chicken meal. Chicken meal is a concentrated form of chicken and contains several times the amount of protein as whole chicken. The combination of these two ingredients shows that the formula’s primary protein source is chicken.

    Sweet Potato

    Sweet potato is prominent in a number of Evolve’s recipes, especially in the Evolve Grain Free Salmon & Sweet Potato food. Sweet potatoes contain complex carbohydrates, which have more nutrients than simple carbs and are higher in fiber.

    The body digests them more slowly, which makes your dog feel fuller and can help with weight control. Sweet potato is considered a beneficial ingredient.

    Avocado

    One potentially controversial ingredient that can be found in some of Evolve’s recipes is avocado. Opponents claim that avocado is toxic to dogs, while proponents state that no studies show toxicity in dogs and that it is especially good for a dog’s coat and skin.

    28% Protein

    The nutrient levels in Evolve foods vary according to the recipe, but the dry kibble has a protein ratio of 27%–28% by dry matter, and most of the protein comes from meat sources. This is considered a good protein ratio for dogs of all ages and is higher than the ratios found in many competitor’s formulas.

    Grain-Free Range

    Evolve produces canned and dry foods. In its dry kibble, you will find grain-free and grain-inclusive recipes. Although there is a recent trend for feeding grain-free diets, dogs benefit from the nutrients in grains, and generally, the only reason to avoid them is if your dog has an allergy to one or more grains. Grain allergies are rare, and most allergic dogs usually react to a food’s primary protein source, such as chicken or beef.

    Unchelated Minerals

    Chelated minerals are minerals that are bound to amino acids or proteins. The body absorbs them more easily, so your dog gets more of the minerals’ benefits than unchelated minerals. Unfortunately, the minerals in Evolve Dog Food appear to be unchelated.

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    A Quick Look at Evolve Dog Food

    Pros
    • Meat is the primary ingredient
    • Range of dry, wet, grain-free, and grain-inclusive foods
    • Dry kibble has 27% to 28% protein ratios
    • Manufactured in the US
    Cons
    • Unchelated minerals

    Recall History

    Evolve Dog Food has been recalled three times. Most recently, it was one of six dog foods recalled in 2021 because it contained a dangerous mold toxin. It was also recalled in 2018 because of a fear that it had dangerous vitamin D levels.

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    Reviews of the 3 Best Evolve Dog Food Recipes

    1. Evolve Grain-Free Salmon & Sweet Potato Dry Dog Food

    Evolve Deboned Grain-Free Salmon & Sweet Potato Recipe Dry Dog Food

    With 28% protein, 17% fat, and 48% carbs by dry matter, Evolve Deboned Grain-Free Salmon & Sweet Potato Recipe Dry Dog Food has the profile of a high-quality dog food but at a reasonable, low price. The primary ingredients are deboned salmon, chicken meal, and tapioca starch. It also contains sweet potatoes and garbanzo beans.

    The ingredients include sodium selenite. Some people believe sodium selenite is toxic to dogs, but this formula includes it in tiny amounts. However, a natural source of selenium would be preferred. Deboned Grain-Free Salmon and Sweet Potato is a grain-free recipe, and it contains good sources of complex carbohydrates to give dogs energy.

    Pros
    • Reasonably priced
    • Primary ingredients are salmon and chicken
    • 28% protein
    Cons
    • Contains some controversial ingredients

    2. Evolve Classic Chicken & Brown Rice Dry Dog Food

    Evolve Classic Deboned Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe Dry Dog Food

    Evolve Classic Deboned Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe Dry Dog Food consists of 28% protein, 17% fat, and 47% carbs by dry matter. Its main ingredients are chicken, chicken meal, and ground brown rice. Although chicken is a healthy protein source, once cooked, it loses much of its weight and protein value.

    However, the second ingredient on the list is chicken meal, a more highly concentrated form of chicken with approximately three times the protein, meaning that most of the deboned chicken formula’s protein likely comes from meat sources. It is fortified with additional vitamins and minerals, but the minerals are not chelated.

    Pros
    • Reasonably priced
    • Primary ingredients are chicken
    • 28% protein
    Cons
    • Unchelated minerals

    3. Evolve Classic Chicken & Rice Canned Dog Food

    Evolve Classic Chicken & Rice Recipe Canned Dog Food

    The primary ingredients in Evolve Classic Chicken & Rice Recipe Canned Dog Food are chicken, chicken broth, and chicken liver. The broth adds moisture and flavor so that it is palatable and helps manage your dog’s hydration levels. By dry matter, the food has a protein ratio of 36% with 32% fat and 24% carbs.

    Unlike the dry foods above, however, Evolve’s Classic Chicken and Rice contains chelated minerals, which provide a greater benefit to your canine. It also contains prebiotics to help improve good gut health and maintain digestive balance.

    Pros
    • Minerals are chelated for greater bioavailability
    • Main ingredients are chicken-based
    • Contains prebiotics
    Cons
    • Calories come primarily from fat, not protein

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    What Other Users Are Saying

    To help you determine what other customers and their dogs make of Evolve Dog Food, we checked online to find reviews and user experiences. Here is what others have said about these products:

    • DogFoodAdvisor – “Enthusiastically recommended”
    • Dog Food Network – “Evolve dog food is something that you should definitely try for your pet.”
    • Amazon – You can see what other buyers are saying by checking out Amazon reviews here.

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    Conclusion

    Evolve Dog Food has been manufacturing dog food for more than 60 years, and it produces dry kibble and wet canned food. It also has grain-free and grain-inclusive recipes, and all of its food is made using a source of meat as the primary ingredient. The protein ratios are decent, and Evolve’s prices are competitively low. Evolve is suitable for most dogs and is worth a try if you’re hunting for a new brand for your pup.


    Featured Photo Credit: Chewy

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