10 Best Grain-Free Puppy Foods of 2022 – Reviews & Top Picks

Whether your furry friend has a food allergy or you just want to experiment with different food, going grain-free can be a plus. For dogs who have a grain allergy, it is essential for their diet. For those who don’t, there are certain advantages, albeit ones not entirely agreed upon by science. Purported advantages include faster digestion and preventive measures for allergies later in life.

Fortunately, there are quite a few grain-free food options if this is the direction you want to go. Unfortunately, knowing which grain-free foods to get can be tough because there are so many out there! Don’t worry, we did the research to find out the best grain-free puppy foods. In these reviews, we’ll go over 10 different foods to help you find the best option for your puppy.

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A Quick Comparison of Our Favorites in 2022:

The 10 Best Grain-Free Puppy Foods

1. Merrick Grain-Free Puppy Dry Food – Best Overall

Packed with protein, this stuff is sure to make your dog to do circles. Made out of high-quality meat, there are several flavors to choose from. All the recipes boast a high protein content, which is advantageous for your dog’s health, as well as omega 3 and omega 6, which are good for your pet’s skin and coat. The glucosamine and chondroitin will keep your dog’s joints and hips healthy for years down the line.

While the quality of meat is great, it doesn’t stop there. This dog food from Merrick is also loaded with fruits and veggies, such as blueberries, sweet potatoes, peas, and apples. You can rest assured that there are no preservatives, gluten, wheat, corn, or soy products.

Merrick has recipes for specific types of dogs as well. If your puppy absolutely falls in love with this offering from Merrick, there is a food for them even as they grow! The brand has foods for specific ages, as well as specific breeds.

Merrick is so confident in its product that if you (or your dog) doesn’t like it, it offers a 100% money-back guarantee.

The only concern we have with this product is that sometimes the batches come out a bit inconsistent, but with Merrick’s money-back policy, this is hardly an issue.

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2. Purina Grain-Free Dry Puppy Food – Best Value

Purina’s Pro Plan is definitely pro your dog’s health! Chicken is the number-one ingredient, but it is also packed with all sorts of good stuff for the health of your pup, in both the short and long term. It’s made with vitamin A and Linoleic acid (an omega 6 fatty acid) to help with the health of your pet’s skin and fur, so your pup will be starting off on the right foot in life. This product is also made with DHA, which helps support brain development, especially important during the puppy stage.

Purina Pro Plan has a variety of offerings depending on what you think is best for your dog. The “Focus” dog food helps with the hyper pups in your life, while “Vision” can help older dogs who might be losing their sight.

The other great thing about this food from Purina is that it comes in a large quantity, so you won’t have to be constantly going to the grocery store to buy new dog food — unless your pup finds where you hid the stash!

As some dogs don’t love dry food, you can add a simple broth to help encourage your dog to eat it. Another useful trick is adding canned green beans. While Purina can’t help that some dogs are picky, it can be proud of making a wonderful product. As such, we think that Purina Pro Plan is the best grain-free puppy food for the money.

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3. CANIDAE Grain-Free Dry Dog Food – Premium Choice

Canidae believes that simplicity is the way to the best product possible. They promise that each bag of dog food is made with 10 or fewer simple and natural ingredients. Canidae never uses fillers like corn, soy, or wheat. You will be able to choose between six different proteins, though all come with omega 3 and 6 fatty acids to promote good skin and healthy hair growth. Probiotics are added to every single cooked kibble to help with good digestion, and antioxidants are added to help strengthen your dog’s immune system.

Dog food from Canidae is made with comfort in mind. Since there isn’t filler in this food, it is good for dogs with sensitive stomachs. Your dog will not only love the taste but also how they feel after eating.

You may think that once your puppy is grown, they will have to graduate from Canidae food, but that is not the case! Canidae makes food for dogs of all ages and breeds, so your dog can grow old with Canidae.

There have been complaints that the product is different when bought online as opposed to local vets or pet stores. The kibbles are much smaller and harder and seem to be less of a quality product.

Looking for dog food with grains? Click here!

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4. Blue Buffalo Wilderness Grain-Free Dog Food

Blue Buffalo understands that puppies need a good amount of protein, so they packed it in their grain-free dry puppy food. Made out of high-quality chicken, this food has all the meat that your little dog desires. Not only does it taste good, but all that protein also helps promote strong muscle growth from an early age. Your pup will develop healthy muscles, as well as a healthy mind and sight. This product is made with two important fatty acids, DHA and ARA, which boost mental health and vision. On top of that, each kibble is packed with antioxidants and other vitamins recommended by vets to help maintain and strengthen the immune system.

You can buy several sizes of this dog food, from 4.5 pounds all the way to 24 pounds. You can even have it scheduled for delivery! Once it shows up at your door, you can confidently serve it to your dog knowing that this product is made of high-quality meat and never has any corn, wheat, or soy in it.

We have heard from users that this food is not necessarily the best for pups with sensitive tummies. There’s also a risk of some bags containing mold, salmonella, and other contaminants. This dog food is seemingly different when ordered online as opposed to at the local shop.

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5. Wellness Natural Grain-Free Dry Dog Food

Made with deboned chicken and whitefish, this is a popular food for young pups. The ingredients are 100% all natural. It also doesn’t include any fillers, so you won’t have to worry about corn, wheat, or soy being in your little pal’s breakfast and dinner. Along with chicken, this dog food has three super foods in it that are great for your pup: blueberries, spinach, and flax seeds.

Wellness loves dogs, so it made this food with different signs of wellness in mind: the skin and coat of your pup, their immune system, how much energy they have on a daily basis, and their digestive health.

Wellness understands that some dogs can be particular about dry food, so it sells complementing stews and broths that will make your dog love this food!

Users report that while they (their dogs) are satisfied with this product, this is yet another dog food that pets with sensitive stomachs should avoid.

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6. Instinct Grain-Free Dry Dog Food

Made with cage-free chicken, this puppy food is not only good for your dog but made ethically as well. It is high in protein, and the chicken is freeze dried and raw. The calcium and phosphate components of this food ensure strong teeth and bones, and it is also full of DHA, which promotes brain health. Instinct claims that they are the first to make raw dog food, so if you are on a raw diet, your pup can join you in solidarity. You also won’t have to worry about fillers such as soy, wheat, or corn.

You may wonder why Instinct would make a raw food for pups. Raw foods are minimally processed and contain a maximum amount of protein, as well as healthy omega acids and probiotics. With this bag of food. there are two different colored kibbles, a dark one and a pale one. The dark stuff is the dried food, while the pale bits are the freeze-dried raw chicken. This is called a “raw food topper.” Some dogs may still prefer this to be topped with a broth or stew of some kind, though Instinct does make a wet food offering.

While dogs and pups alike seem to absolutely love it, recent science suggests that raw food diets might not be all that they are cracked up to be, with some scientists claiming that they could be flat-out dangerous. Basically, raw food diets are not supported by everyone.

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7. Taste of The Wild Grain-Free Dry Dog Food

While most grain-free foods are made mostly out of chicken, Taste of the Wild’s food is made out of mainly salmon, promoting lean muscle growth that will lead to strong muscles over the duration of your dog’s life. The salmon itself is sustainably sourced, so you can feed this to your pup knowing that you are still being a good steward of the land.

This puppy food is packed with good stuff. It has probiotics, amino acids, and DHA for brain health. It’s made to help build a strong and active digestion system and all naturally too — you will never find any artificial flavors or colors, preservatives, corn, wheat, or soy.

There is an open customer service line if you would like to speak to a rep — and it is possible that you might. There have been reports of ant infestations in deliveries of this package. Also, there was a recent FDA court case against grain-free foods for dogs, and Taste of the Wild was mentioned. Most users report that they (and their dogs) absolutely love it, but when it comes to a member of your family, you can never be too safe.

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8. Castor & Pollux Grain-Free Dry Dog Food

Made in a USDA-certified organic kitchen, this puppy food is made with range-free chicken and a whole bunch of other good stuff. The DHA will get your pup’s brain kicking, while the included superfoods will make you feel confident in your doggie’s dinner. The superfoods included are flaxseeds, blueberries, and coconut oil. Of course, the main ingredient is something your pup will especially love: chicken!

This food is made without any chemical interference. There are no synthetic fertilizers, chemical pesticides, preservatives, or added growth hormones. You want only the cleanest for your dog, and with this food, you can rest assured that you aren’t putting anything weird into your pup’s body.

One thing to watch out for is that the bag the food comes in is quite flimsy, so support it well!

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9. Whole Earth Farms Grain-Free Dog Food

Whole Earth Farms dog food isn’t made with the entirety of the whole earth, but it sure does have a variety of good stuff in it! This food is made for the duration of your pup’s life. Once they graduate from the puppy stuff, they can easily move on to different stages of food from Whole Earth Farms.

We think that this is a good puppy food, but it is low on our list for a reason. While other puppy foods claim to have the highest quality chicken, Whole Earth Farms ensures that you will be getting “real chicken.” You can still feed it to your dog knowing that there will not be any corn or wheat or soy!

The only other gripes we’ve heard about this food is that some dogs can be quite picky and won’t eat it.

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10. Natural Balance Grain-Free Dry Puppy Food

This dog food is another good one, it just doesn’t stand out from the rest. Made with chicken as the main ingredient, this food is also packed with omega acids and lacks all the things that you don’t want to be there.

The reason it is so low on our list is because there isn’t that much known about it! If you decide to buy it, please leave a comment and tell us what you think!

Summary: The Best Grain-Free Puppy Foods

While the science is still out on grain-free diets, there are certain vets who swear by it. If it is the route that you choose to go with your pup, then we hope you will be able to use these reviews as a guide to find the best food possible for them.

Of course, it is important to start your dog off on the right paw, but it might take a bit of experimenting when it comes to selecting the best grain-free puppy foods. While we stand by our research, we absolutely recommend consulting a vet for dietary advice first. Whether you choose our top pick from Merrick or the value pick from Purina, we are so happy to be a part of you and your new pup’s life!