Evanger’s The Original Hand Packed Dog Food Review (Canned)

Evanger’s The Original Hand Packed Dog Food product range is made up of six recipes which four of them each receive the Dog Food Advisor’s rating, 5 stars.

It’s important to note that two of the recipes in this product line appear to be entirely meat-based, and suitable for supplemental feeding only.

Evanger’s introduced their hand-packed range of canned food in 2003. As the name implies, this food is packed by hand rather than machines and consists of whole pieces of meat and vegetables.

The table below shows each recipe in this range including our rating and the AAFCO nutrient profile: Growth (puppy), Maintenance (adult), All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.

Recipe and Label Analysis

Evanger’s The Original Hand Packed Chunky Chicken Casserole was selected to represent the other products in the line for this review.

Ingredients Analysis

The first ingredient in this dog food is chicken. Chicken is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of chicken”.¹

Chicken is naturally rich in the 10 essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.

The second ingredient is chicken broth. Broths are of only modest nutritional value. Yet because they add both flavor and moisture to a dog food, they are a common addition component in many canned products.

The third ingredient includes carrots. Carrots are rich in beta-carotene, minerals and dietary fiber.

The fourth ingredient lists peas. Peas are a quality source of carbohydrates. Plus (like all legumes) they’re rich in natural fiber.

However, peas contain about 25% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this dog food.

The fifth ingredient is potatoes. Potatoes can be considered a gluten-free source of digestible carbohydrates. Yet with the exception of perhaps their caloric content, potatoes are of only modest nutritional value to a dog.

The sixth ingredient is guar gum, a gelling or thickening agent found in many wet pet foods. Refined from dehusked guar beans, guar gum can add a notable amount of dietary fiber to any product.

From here, the list goes on to include a number of other items.

But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to affect the overall rating of this product.

With two notable exceptions…

First, this recipe contains sodium selenite, a controversial form of the mineral selenium. Sodium selenite appears to be nutritionally inferior to the more natural source of selenium found in selenium yeast.

And lastly, the minerals listed here do not appear to be chelated. And that can make them more difficult to absorb. Non-chelated minerals are usually associated with lower quality dog foods.

Nutrient Analysis

Judging by its ingredients alone, Evanger’s Hand-Packed Dog Food looks like an above-average wet product.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 44%, a fat level of 22% and estimated carbohydrates of about 25%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 52% and a mean fat level of 23%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 17% for the overall product line.

And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 45%.

Above-average protein. Near-average fat. And below-average carbs when compared to a typical canned dog food.

Even when you consider the protein-boosting effect of the peas, this looks like the profile of a canned product containing a significant amount of meat.

Evangers Dog Food Recall History

The following automated list (if present) includes all dog food recalls related to Evangers through March 2025.

You can view a complete list of all dog food recalls since 2009 here.

Our Rating of Evanger's The Original Hand Packed Dog Food

Evanger’s Hand-Packed is a grain-free canned dog food using a generous amount of named meats as its main source of animal protein, thus earning the brand 5 stars.

The Chicago Rabbinical Council endorses these as chometz-free pet foods acceptable for dogs and cats in Kosher households on Passover.

Highly Recommended

About

Evanger’s Dog & Cat Food Company was founded in 1935 by Fred Evanger.

All these years later, Evanger’s pet food line is manufactured on the original site, following the same tradition of uncompromising quality. Evanger’s remains a family-owned and operated company and in 2003, Evanger’s was the first pet food company to create a food that was packed by hand instead of machine by putting whole pieces of fresh meat and vegetables into the cans.

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