rice
Rice is the gentlest of the common energy grains — and not one the engine penalizes for leading a label. How Bowlmark scores it.
Also appears on labels as: ground rice
What it is
Rice is a digestible carbohydrate grain, appearing on labels as rice, ground rice, brown rice, white rice, or brewers rice depending on the milling. Cooked rice is among the easiest grains for dogs and cats to digest.
Why it's in pet food
It supplies clean energy that extrudes well and sits easily in sensitive stomachs — the reason "lamb and rice" became a whole category. It also dilutes animal protein like any grain does, so its position on the label still matters to the overall recipe.
How Bowlmark scores it
Scores are deterministic math over the printed label — the rules below apply to every product identically, and nothing estimates or fills in a blank.
Rice first carries no first-ingredient deduction — the engine's cheap-grain rule names corn, wheat, and soy only. Rice IS a watched base for the splitting rule: three or more rice-word ingredients (rice, brown rice, rice bran, …) inside the top eight is a single 12-point deduction on the ingredient-quality pillar.
Common questions
Answers come from this entry and the scoring rules above — reviewed before publish, like everything else on this page. For anything about your own pet, your vet knows best.
Is rice good for dogs and cats?
Cooked rice is among the easiest grains for dogs and cats to digest — clean energy that extrudes well and sits easily in sensitive stomachs, the reason "lamb and rice" became a whole category. Like any grain, it dilutes animal protein, so its position on the label still matters.
Does rice leading a label lower the score?
No — the engine's cheap-grain first-ingredient rule names corn, wheat, and soy only; rice first carries no deduction. The recipe's protein story is still worth reading from the rest of the list.
How does Bowlmark score rice?
No first-ingredient deduction, but rice IS a watched base for the splitting rule: three or more rice-word ingredients (rice, brown rice, rice bran, …) inside the top eight is a single 12-point deduction on the ingredient-quality pillar.
Foods that list rice
Ranked by score where scores exist. Placement here is never sold.
- Purina ONE True Instinct Lean Muscle Support With Real Beef Natural With Added Vitamins, Minerals and Nutrients High Protein90
- Purina ONE Chicken & Rice Formula87
- Purina ONE Indoor Advantage Adult Cat Food87
- Purina ONE +Plus Digestive Health Formula87
- Purina ONE Plus Indoor Advantage Real Salmon87
- Purina ONE +Plus Indoor Advantage Real Salmon #1 Ingredient87
- Purina ONE +Plus Indoor Advantage Senior 7+87
- Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach Large Breed Salmon & Rice Formula85
Compare foods that list rice
Same species, same form, both scored — closest scores first, so the comparison is a real one.
- Purina ONE Chicken & Rice Formula vs Purina ONE +Plus Digestive Health Formula
- Purina ONE Indoor Advantage Adult Cat Food vs Purina ONE Plus Indoor Advantage Real Salmon
- Purina ONE Indoor Advantage Adult Cat Food vs Purina ONE +Plus Indoor Advantage Real Salmon #1 Ingredient
- Purina ONE Indoor Advantage Adult Cat Food vs Purina ONE +Plus Indoor Advantage Senior 7+
Sources
Related ingredients
Further reading
Cite this page
Bowlmark. "Rice in pet food — what it is and how it scores." https://www.bowlmark.com/ingredient/rice
- Engine
- Methodology engine v1.1.0 · config 13c99e2f
- Verified
- Last verified August 22, 2026
No stored score to stamp yet — the engine and config above are the ones a scan runs today.