Ingredient file // Legume
Navy Beans
A useful bean with an unsettled heart question
Navy beans are small white beans that supply carbohydrate, fiber and plant protein to dog food. Cooked bean powder digested well in short dog trials. Those trials do not answer whether diets heavy in pulses affect heart health.
Role in the food Supporting nutrient- What it is
- Mature white bean seeds used whole or ground to add carbohydrate, fiber and plant protein.
- Made from
- Dried mature navy bean seeds
- Main job
- Carbohydrate, fiber and plant protein
- Typical amount
- Not published
- Watch for
- Pulses high on the ingredient list
- Not the same as
- Pea protein
Our read // In our catalog
In 1 of every 621 foods we track
Share of foods that list it
0%
5 of the 3,105 foods with an ingredient list on file, from 2 brands. 3 wet dog food, 2 dry dog food.
Each square is 1% of the catalog
Where it sits on the label
Median position 8. In the top five of 1 food, so it is usually a supporting ingredient.
Above the salt
Almost always listed before the salt, so there is more of it than a pinch.
Price per lb
Median of the cheapest bag price across 2 priced foods, 142% above the catalog. The price is the food's, not the ingredient's.
Who leans on it
60%
of the foods that list it are from Health Extension. 2 brands use it in total.
What it is
How it is made
Navy beans are grown for their seeds, rather than recovered as a processing leftover. Mature seeds are dried after harvest. In the dog studies, processors cooked and dehydrated the beans, then supplied a powder for mixing into food.1,5
- 01 // Source Mature beans Farmers harvest the mature seeds as a dry crop, separate from the pods and stems.
- 02 // Process Cooked Heating reduces the lectins and enzyme inhibitors found in raw common beans.
- 03 // Process Dehydrated and ground The cooked navy beans used in dog feeding trials were dehydrated and supplied as powder.
- 04 // Output Bean ingredient Cooked beans or bean powder enter a pet food recipe as a source of carbohydrate, fiber and protein.
What is in it
Composition, dry matter
64
% carbohydrate
Total carbohydrate in one cooked, dehydrated navy bean sample, including its fiber. Beans contribute protein, but carbohydrate makes up most of this sample.
Why it is in the bag
Starch, fiber and some protein; how much depends on position
- Main nutrition
- Supporting nutrient
- Does a job
- Mostly filler
Makers add navy beans for carbohydrate, fiber and plant protein, and pulses appeal to formulators as alternative protein sources. In one dog study diet, 25% cooked bean powder stood in for part of the wheat and corn, so beans can carry a real share of a food's starch. Labels list ingredients by weight, so the higher the beans sit, the more of the food they make up. Their protein runs short on methionine, so other ingredients must fill that gap.3,4,7
-
01
Replaces some grain
In a controlled dog food recipe, cooked navy bean powder replaced some wheat and corn while researchers matched the diets for nutrients and energy.1
-
02
Adds plant protein
Navy bean powder contributes protein, but its methionine is limited. Formulators need other ingredients to supply the full amino acid mix a dog requires.4
-
03
Supplies dietary fiber
Bean fiber adds bulk to the recipe. A tested navy powder contained substantial dietary fiber, though a dog trial found no clear improvement in fecal microbes.3,4
-
04
Offers a lower cost protein
Pulse crops offer manufacturers a relatively inexpensive alternative to some animal protein. That explains their appeal to formulators, but says nothing about the finished food's quality.4
How much Controlled dog diets used 25% cooked navy bean powder; the usual amount in commercial recipes is not published.1,2
Our read // The claims
What the evidence supports
Strong: controlled studies in dogs agree. Some: small or mixed dog data. Thin: mechanism or lab work only. None: nothing, or the evidence points the other way.
-
Brands say
Navy beans supply digestible plant protein
Evidence
- Strong
- Some
- Thin
- None
A 21-dog trial found similar nutrient digestibility in matched diets with and without 25% cooked navy bean powder. A separate ingredient assay found methionine limited. Beans contribute usable protein, but the complete recipe needs another methionine source.1,4
-
Owners say
Navy beans cause heart disease
Outruns the evidence
Evidence
- Strong
- Some
- Thin
- None
FDA sees pulses high on ingredient lists in many diets reported with nonhereditary DCM, but says the connection is unknown. The 25% navy bean feeding trials did not test heart function. Blaming navy beans alone goes beyond the evidence.1,2,6
-
Brands say
Navy beans improve a dog's gut health
Outruns the evidence
Evidence
- Strong
- Some
- Thin
- None
A 4-week comparison fed matched diets with 0 or 25% cooked navy beans to 21 dogs. Fecal bacterial populations differed little between groups. The study did not show better gut health.3
-
Brands say
Navy beans make dogs lose more weight
Outruns the evidence
Evidence
- Strong
- Some
- Thin
- None
In studies lasting 4 and 26 weeks, dogs lost weight under calorie restriction, but weight loss did not differ between bean and control diets. The tested bean diets did not add a proven weight-loss effect.2
Straight answers
What owners ask
-
Q01
Is it just filler?
NoNavy beans supply carbohydrate, fiber and protein, each with a role in a recipe. The useful label question is how much the complete food relies on beans and other pulses, which the ingredient list cannot quantify.1,4,7
-
Q02
Will navy beans give dogs gas?
Not necessarilyOwners in the 21-dog feeding trial reported no increase in flatulence with a diet containing 25% cooked navy bean powder. A dog that develops gas after a food change still deserves an individual assessment.1
-
Q03
Should I avoid them for DCM?
Review the dietFDA reports a pattern involving pulses high on ingredient lists, without proving a cause or singling out navy beans. If your dog has DCM, ask its treating veterinarian to review the complete diet.6
-
Q04
Is this the same as pea protein?
NoNavy beans are whole seeds or ground bean powder. Pea protein is a concentrated fraction of a different pulse. Both belong in your review of the recipe's pulse ingredients.4,6
Who uses it
Brands, best sellers and the company it keeps
Top brands, by foods that list it
Usually listed with, share of the foods that list it
- Beef 40%
- Lamb 40%
- Beef Liver 40%
- Dehydrated Salmon 40%
- Dehydrated Herring 40%
- Chicken Fat 40%
- Fava Beans 40%
- Herring 40%
- Pork Liver 40%
- Chickpeas 40%
- Lentils 40%
- Carrots 40%
On the shelf
Foods that list it
5 foods in our reviews list it. Here are some of them.
Show 4 more
K9 Natural Baked & Coated Grass-Fed Red Recipe Grain-Free Dry Dog Food44.4% proteinK9 Natural Baked & Coated Cage-Free Poultry Recipe Grain-Free Dry Dog Food44.4% proteinHealth Extension food Grain Free Northern Catch Wet Dog Food36.4% proteinHealth Extension food Grain Free Mediterranean Wet Dog Food38.6% proteinOur read // On the bag
Read every pulse on the ingredient list
Look for navy beans alongside peas, lentils and chickpeas. FDA says most diets in its nonhereditary DCM reports had pulses high on the ingredient list, but it does not know the connection, and the list does not show amounts. If your dog has DCM, have its veterinarian review the complete diet.
Sources
What we read
Checked October 1, 2026.
- 1 Effects of cooked navy bean powder on apparent total tract nutrient digestibility and safety in healthy adult dogs
- 2 Navy and black bean-based dog foods are digestible during weight loss in overweight and obese adult companion dogs
- 3 Effects of Dietary Cooked Navy Bean on the Fecal Microbiome of Healthy Companion Dogs
- 4 Macronutrient composition, true metabolizable energy and amino acid digestibility, and indispensable amino acid scoring of pulse ingredients for use in canine and feline diets
- 5 Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris)
- 6 Questions & Answers: FDA’s Work on Potential Causes of Non-Hereditary DCM in Dogs
- 7 Reading Labels