Comparisons
AlphaPak vs. Stella & Chewy's: Freeze-Dried Raw Beef, Side by Side
AlphaPak · Reviewed by our veterinary and formulation team · Updated September 14, 2026
AlphaPak Beef and Stella's Super Beef Dinner Patties are both freeze-dried raw. Both are made in the USA. Both start with beef, organ, and bone. The big gap is at the end of the label. Stella & Chewy's adds a long list of vitamins and minerals. AlphaPak gets its nutrition from whole meat and produce, with no added premix.
Stella & Chewy's is one of the biggest names in freeze-dried raw, and for good reason. If you are weighing it against AlphaPak, here are the facts from both labels, side by side. We read them from each company's own website on September 14, 2026, and we link to every page at the bottom.
The facts, side by side
| AlphaPak Beef | Stella's Super Beef Dinner Patties | |
|---|---|---|
| Main protein | Beef | Beef |
| First five ingredients | Beef meat, flaxseed, beef kidney, beef liver, beef heart | Beef, beef liver, beef kidney, beef heart, beef tripe |
| Crude protein (min) | 51% | 41% |
| Crude fat (min) | 27.5% | 35% |
| Calories | 246 kcal per cup (4,458 kcal/kg) | 56 kcal per patty (4,940 kcal/kg); per cup not published on their site |
| Added vitamin & mineral premix | None. The list ends with mixed tocopherols, a natural preservative | Yes: zinc, iron, copper, and manganese proteinates, calcium carbonate, sodium selenite, vitamins E, A, D3, and B12, thiamine, niacin, pantothenate, riboflavin, pyridoxine, and folic acid. Also taurine, choline chloride, and probiotics |
| AAFCO statement | AlphaPak Freeze-Dried Dog Food is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO nutritional profiles for all dog life stages, including growth and development of large size dogs (70 lbs or more as adult dogs). | Product page says '100% complete & balanced dinner'; the formal AAFCO wording is not published on their product page |
| Made in | USA | USA (their kitchen in Oak Creek, Wisconsin) |
| Safety process, as each brand describes it | We run a kill-step process and test the finished food, and the equipment it is made on, for Salmonella, Listeria, and E. coli. | High-pressure processing (HPP) on all freeze-dried raw, then 'test and hold' with a third-party lab before release |
| Format | Cubes; add warm water before serving | Patties (5.5, 14, and 25 oz bags) |
Both foods start with beef, beef liver, and beef kidney. Both are made in the USA. Both are complete meals. The label tells the rest of the story.
What Stella & Chewy's does well
Stella & Chewy's has made raw food for a long time, and it shows. Their safety program is clear and public. Every batch is high-pressure processed, then held until a third-party lab clears it. You can look up the test results for your bag by lot number. The patties are easy to portion. The recipe uses organic fruits and vegetables, and it adds probiotics, which some dog people look for.
Where AlphaPak pulls ahead
Look at the end of each ingredient list. Stella's Super Beef finishes with 16 added vitamins and minerals, from zinc proteinate to folic acid. That is a normal way to make a food complete and balanced. Many good foods do it.
AlphaPak takes the other road. Every vitamin and mineral in the bag comes from the beef, the organs, the bone, and the whole fruits and vegetables. The list ends with mixed tocopherols and nothing else. Both recipes are complete and balanced for all life stages. Only one does it with whole food alone.
AlphaPak is also leaner and higher in protein: 51% protein and 27.5% fat, next to 41% protein and 35% fat. If your dog does better on more protein and less fat, that is a real difference you can see on the label.
What the research says about digestibility
In a University of Illinois study, adult dogs fed raw and mildly cooked diets digested more of their food than dogs fed kibble (Algya et al., 2018). A later study found the same pattern for freeze-dried raw (Geary et al., 2024). These are findings about diet types, not tests of any one brand. But they are the reason both AlphaPak and Stella & Chewy's stay raw and never cooked. Where we go further is keeping the whole-food approach all the way to the end of the label.
How each is made safe
Stella & Chewy's runs high-pressure processing on all of its freeze-dried raw, then sends each batch to a third-party lab before it ships. We run a kill-step process and test the finished food, and the equipment it is made on, for Salmonella, Listeria, and E. coli. Both approaches are serious. Freeze-drying does not cook the food, so treat either one like raw at home: wash hands and bowls, seal the bag, and toss rehydrated leftovers after two hours. More in is freeze-dried raw safe?.
Which one is right for your dog?
If you want probiotics in the food, or you like patties, Stella & Chewy's is a solid choice. If you want a short label with no added vitamin and mineral pack, more protein, and less fat, AlphaPak is built for you. Either way, switch slowly over about a week, and talk with your vet if your dog has special needs.
Where these numbers come from
- Stella's Super Beef Freeze-Dried Raw Dinner Patties, product page, read September 14, 2026
- Stella & Chewy's, How Our Freeze-Dried Raw Dog Food Is Made and High Pressure Processing, read September 14, 2026
- AlphaPak Freeze-Dried Raw Beef, product page
AlphaPak is a food, not a medicine, and nothing here replaces your vet's advice. Not sure which recipe fits your dog? Find your recipe takes about a minute, and we are happy to help.
Common questions
- Is Stella & Chewy's freeze-dried raw complete and balanced?
- Their product page describes Stella's Super Beef Dinner Patties as a '100% complete & balanced dinner.' The formal AAFCO wording is not published on that page. AlphaPak Beef carries the AAFCO statement for all life stages, including growth of large-size dogs, and we print it on our product page.
- Does AlphaPak add vitamins and minerals like Stella & Chewy's does?
- No. Stella's Super Beef lists 16 added vitamins and minerals near the end of its ingredient list. AlphaPak's list ends with mixed tocopherols, a natural preservative. Every vitamin and mineral in our food comes from the beef, organs, bone, and whole fruits and vegetables on the label.
- Which has more protein, AlphaPak or Stella & Chewy's?
- AlphaPak Beef is 51% protein and 27.5% fat (minimums, as sold). Stella's Super Beef Dinner Patties are 41% protein and 35% fat. AlphaPak is the leaner, higher-protein food of the two.
- Can I switch my dog from Stella & Chewy's to AlphaPak?
- Yes. Both are freeze-dried raw beef, so most dogs move over easily. Still, go gradually over about a week, mixing a little more AlphaPak into the old food each day. Check in with your vet if your dog has a health condition or special needs.
More in Comparisons
Sources
- Algya, K. M., Cross, T.-W. L., Leuck, K. N., Kastner, M. E., Baba, T., Lye, L., de Godoy, M. R. C., & Swanson, K. S. (2018). Apparent total-tract macronutrient digestibility, serum chemistry, urinalysis, and fecal characteristics, metabolites and microbiota of adult dogs fed extruded, mildly cooked, and raw diets. Journal of Animal Science. DOI: 10.1093/jas/sky235
- Geary, E. L., Oba, P. M., Templeman, J. R., & Swanson, K. S. (2024). Apparent total tract nutrient digestibility of frozen raw, freeze-dried raw, fresh, and extruded dog foods and their effects on serum metabolites and fecal characteristics, metabolites, and microbiota of healthy adult dogs. Translational Animal Science. DOI: 10.1093/tas/txae163
AlphaPak is a food, not a medicine. Our products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Statements about nutrition describe the role of whole-food ingredients in supporting normal health and are not a substitute for veterinary care. Individual results vary.