Wellness SIMPLE Limited Ingredient Diet Salmon & Potato Recipe review

Wellness · SIMPLE Limited Ingredient Diet Salmon & Potato Recipe · Dry food · Adult maintenance

74 / 100Our label score

★★★½☆3.5 of 5 stars, from the score

25%Crude protein (min)

446kcal per cup

2FDA recall events for the brand

On the facts printed on its own label, Wellness SIMPLE Limited Ingredient Diet Salmon & Potato Recipe scores 74 out of 100 on our rubric: a solid mid table label. The panel opens with Salmon, and the first ingredient signal earns 20 of its 20 points. At 25% crude protein it ranks 4 of the 5 Wellness recipes we scored for protein. Crude fat reads 12%.

At 446 kcal a cup it is calorie dense: small measuring errors become extra meals over a month, so this is a food to weigh rather than eyeball. Its adequacy claim rests on formulation: balanced on paper against the AAFCO nutrient profiles rather than fed to dogs in a trial. The brand carries 2 FDA posted recall events in our check, set out below with their dates; weigh their age as well as their count.

The panel runs to 45 ingredient lines. 2 of them are animal source lines and 8 are plant lines. The vitamin and mineral pack begins around line 12; the 34 lines from there on are mostly supplements, preservatives and functional extras rather than staple foods.

The label facts

Maker	WellPet
Format	Dry food
Life stage	Adult maintenance
Full ingredient list, in label order	Salmon Salmon Meal Potatoes Peas Dried Ground Potatoes Tomato Pomace Ground Flaxseed Canola Oil (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols) Dicalcium Phosphate Natural Fish Flavor Chicory Root Extract Vitamin E Supplement Choline Chloride Taurine Mixed Tocopherols added to preserve freshness Zinc Proteinate Zinc Sulfate Calcium Carbonate Niacin Ferrous Sulfate Iron Proteinate Beta-Carotene Vitamin A Supplement Copper Sulfate Thiamine Mononitrate Copper Proteinate Manganese Proteinate Manganese Sulfate d-Calcium Pantothenate Sodium Selenite Pyridoxine Hydrochloride Riboflavin Vitamin D3 Supplement Biotin Calcium Iodate Vitamin B12 Supplement Folic Acid Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) Dried Lactobacillus plantarum Fermentation Product Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product Dried Lactobacillus casei Fermentation Product Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product Rosemary Extract Green Tea Extract Spearmint Extract
Guaranteed analysis	Crude protein (min) 25% · crude fat (min) 12% · crude fibre (max) 5% · moisture (max) 11%
Dry matter reading	With the water taken out, the same analysis reads 28.1% protein and 13.5% fat. Dry matter is how wet and dry foods can be compared fairly.
Calories	3,487 kcal/kg, 446 kcal/cup, as labelled
AAFCO adequacy	Wellness Simple Limited Ingredient Diet Salmon & Potato Recipe is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for maintenance of adult dogs.
Price	Not listed. We publish a price only when we have verified it from a dated listing, and we had not for this recipe when the label was read.

How the score breaks down

Signal	Points	What the label shows
First ingredient	20 / 20	Salmon, a named whole animal protein, opens the panel.
Animal protein depth, first 10 ingredients	7 / 15	2 of the first ten ingredients are named animal ingredients.
Protein level for the life stage	10 / 15	Crude protein reads 25% as labelled, read against the adult maintenance stage the label claims.
Fat level fit	7 / 10	Crude fat reads 12% as labelled.
Whole foods versus filler-flagged ingredients	10 / 10	None of the rubric's flagged ingredients appears in the first ten.
Artificial colours and preservatives	10 / 10	No artificial colours, colour-retention chemicals or artificial preservatives appear in the panel.
AAFCO adequacy basis	7 / 10	Formulated to meet AAFCO profiles for the stated stage (adult maintenance).
FDA recall history	3 / 10	2 FDA posted dog food recall events found for the brand in our November 2026 check.
Price tier	Not scored	Not scored in this round. We publish a price only when we have verified it from a dated listing.
Total	74 / 100	Scaled from 74 of 100 available points. Stars are the score divided by 20, rounded to the nearest half. The method is published in full on the dog food hub.

Ingredient notes: the first ten, one by one

Definitions below are written from AAFCO's ingredient definitions in our own words. They describe what an ingredient is, never what a brand claims about it.

Salmon. Salmon is a named fish, bringing animal protein and, in oily species, omega 3 fats. Fish first panels suit dogs that react to land meats.
Salmon Meal. Salmon Meal is the named animal rendered and ground, with water and most fat cooked off before it is weighed. Per kilo it carries far more protein than the fresh meat does.
Potatoes. Potatoes is a starch binder. In grain free recipes it is usually what holds the kibble together in place of grain.
Peas. Peas is a legume bringing starch, fibre and plant protein together. Legumes help a panel reach its protein figure without meat, which is worth knowing when you read the protein line.
Dried Ground Potatoes. Dried Ground Potatoes is a starch binder. In grain free recipes it is usually what holds the kibble together in place of grain.
Tomato Pomace. Tomato Pomace is the skins, pulp and seeds left from tomato processing, used as a fibre source.
Ground Flaxseed. Ground Flaxseed is a plant seed bringing fibre and ALA, a plant omega 3. Dogs convert ALA to the active forms poorly, so it does not do the job fish oil does.
Canola Oil (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols). Canola Oil (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols) is a natural preservative. It slows the fats in the food turning rancid and is the alternative to chemical preservatives.
Dicalcium Phosphate. Dicalcium Phosphate belongs to the vitamin and mineral pack that brings the recipe up to a complete profile. Minerals named as proteinates are bound to protein, a form the gut absorbs more readily.
Natural Fish Flavor. Natural Fish Flavor is a flavouring: a spray or powder added so the food tastes stronger to the dog. It is not a protein source and our rubric does not count it as one.

Who it suits

Owners who want a named whole meat, not a meal or a plant, at the top of the panel

Who should skip it

Dogs that gain weight easily, unless every portion is weighed
Owners who specifically want a food proven in feeding trials rather than by formulation

The brand's recall record

2012: Wellness Complete Health Super5Mix Large Breed Puppy food was recalled in May 2012 as a precaution over possible Salmonella contamination at the Diamond Pet Foods plant that made it. No Wellness lot tested positive.

2017: WellPet recalled a limited amount of Wellness 95% Beef Topper for Dogs in March 2017 over potentially elevated levels of naturally occurring beef thyroid hormone.

One event was a puppy food made for the brand at a contract plant in 2012; the other was a canned topper in 2017. Neither covered this recipe, and both are labelled so readers can weigh them.

See the full dog food recall tracker for recent events across all brands.

Other Wellness recipes we scored

Recipe	Score / 100	Protein	Format
CORE Wholesome Grains Original Turkey Recipe	92	35%	Dry food
CORE Puppy Chicken & Turkey Recipe	89	36%	Dry food
CORE Original	87	34%	Dry food
Complete Health Chicken & Oatmeal Recipe, Wholesome Grains	76	24%	Dry food

Feeding it

Switch foods gradually over about a week, mixing more of the new food into the old each day. Portion by calories, not by the look of the bowl: our feeding calculator works out a daily amount from your dog's weight, and this recipe's calorie line above is the number it needs.

What that means at the bowl, for a typical neutered adult (resting energy 70 times body weight to the power 0.75, times 1.6; treats come out of the same budget):

Dog's weight	Daily energy	Of this recipe, at 446 kcal a cup
3 kg	about 255 kcal	about 0.6 cups
10 kg	about 630 kcal	about 1.4 cups
20 kg	about 1,059 kcal	about 2.4 cups
30 kg	about 1,436 kcal	about 3.2 cups

Puppies, pregnant dogs and very active dogs need more; older and weight watching dogs need less. The calculator linked above adjusts for those cases.

Wellness SIMPLE Limited Ingredient Diet Salmon & Potato Recipe: our recipe review