The invention provides food compositions having a chewy texture and methods for making the chewy food compositions. In one aspect, the food composition includes a moisture content and an Aw sufficient to provide the food composition with a chewy texture. In one aspect, an outer shell having a chewy texture encloses a soft meaty inner filling. The shell can have a moisture content ranging from about 15% to about 24% and an Aw ranging from about 0.7 to about 0.84.
