Beef jerky is a timeless treat that can certainly be part of a ketogenic diet. But not many of the conventional brands out there can be considered keto friendly beef jerky.
The main reason? Most of the highly popular beef jerky brands are loaded with sugar. Companies know sugar is addicting (and simultaneously helps soften meat), so it behooves them to pack their products with sugar.
Prior to our keto enlightenment, we used to buy Turkey Perky Jerky in bulk and it was absolutely addicting. It was so soft and juicy and flavorful. Well, the sugar content was a whopping 7g sugar per ounce. Yikes! Throw down a few ounces (easy to do) and you’ve likely derailed your keto efforts.
What else is important when looking at keto friendly beef jerky?
Taste is a given but the texture is key. We know there are jerky lovers out there who will only eat old-fashioned, dry, chewy jerky. If you’re one of those people, we do have a great option for you on our list.
For us though, we’ve had one too many gas station jerky products that had the texture of leather. We’ve almost pulled muscles trying to chew through some of this stuff. Needless to say, we prefer something that is easier to chew.
Is that possible without sugar?
Yes, it is possible to a degree. But there’s an additional alternative as well.
There’s biltong, a type of dried beef that is immensely popular in South Africa. This unique, traditional preparation of beef results in great texture, and does not require sugar!
Thin slices of beef are marinated and hygienically air-dried over an extended period of time rather than baked. The aging process really brings out the flavor of the meat.
Biltong is the ultimate keto beef jerky hack that gives you low-sugar beef jerky that has a softer texture.
What about protein?
Another oft-overlooked keto diet topic is protein content. Excess consumed protein is actually converted to glucose in the body, which can negatively affect ketosis. That being said while carbohydrates can only be used as energy or stored as fat, protein can be utilized to rebuild and repair muscle.
That means that everyone’s tolerance for protein will vary widely.
If you are generally more active and work out regularly, you should be able to handle a greater amount of protein. However, if you rarely work out and are on the lower end of muscle mass, you will want to monitor your protein levels more closely.
Check out our list of the best keto beef jerky brands and biltong products, below!
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Top Keto Friendly Beef Jerky Brands
#1 Tillamook Country Smoker Zero Sugar Beef Jerky 
Luckily, Tillamook Country Smoker Zero Sugar Beef Jerky was recently added to the product line and it does not contain any sugar!
Instead, Tillamook uses real hardwood smoke to prepare the beef, so there is a ton of great smoky flavor in the meat. And as beef jerky goes, these have a great texture. The meat is not too tough, likely thanks in part to the beef broth and soy sauce that are infused.
The Tillamook zero sugar beef jerky comes in both Original and Black Pepper flavors. We especially love the black pepper because the pepper complements the beef flavor and also adds a touch of spice.
At 0g net carbs per serving, these are great keto friendly snacks, perfect for roadtrips, hiking and other on-the-go adventures!
#2 Kalahari Biltong Aged Beef
They slice their beef incredibly thin, almost to a carpaccio-style cut. The aging and air-drying process also lends to the flavor and texture. The best way to describe the texture is dried and aged prosciutto but made from beef.
The best part is they sell this in a three flavor sampler pack: Original, Spicy Peri Peri, and Garlic. We love spice, so our favorite is the Spicy Peri Peri flavor but all of the flavors are great. Apparently, the Spicy Peri Peri is the most traditionally-prepared style as well.
#3 Ayoba-Yo Biltong
Like the other biltong products on this list, Ayoba-Yo Biltong follows traditional South African recipes to make tender jerky that brings out the flavor in the meat. Like Kalahari, this biltong has no sugar in the ingredients list.
What makes Ayoba-Yo different? Grass-fed, pasture-raised beef. This takes the meat quality to the next level and is one of the reasons it ranks high on our list.
This stuff is great on its own or you can pair it with cheese and one of the many keto-friendly crackers we’ve found.
#4 Stryve Gourmet Beef Biltong
Like the brands above, Stryve Gourmet Beef Protein Snacks are biltong. That means it uses the same cured, thin-sliced beef that makes biltong so great. The biggest difference is that Stryve adds just a touch of sugar, which adds a bit of balance to the flavor.
At the same time, it makes it slightly less keto friendly, which is why we ranked it lower. However, the sugar content is less than 1g.
They do offer a wider variety of flavors of biltong that may pique your interest:
#5 People’s Choice Beef Jerky
Okay, this one is for all your unapologetic, old-fashioned beef jerky enthusiasts. This is lean and tough. If there’s a classic beef jerky that we like that also qualifies as a keto friendly beef jerky, this one is it.
People Choice Beef Jerky has been made using the same recipe for almost a hundred years. While it is drier than biltong, it’s still somewhat moist, so it is still enjoyable for us on occasion.
They do also have several flavors to spice things up:
Wondering where to buy People’s Choice Beef Jerky? You can find the above flavors on Amazon.
This is a fantastic recipe, thank you for sharing it with us.
Helloo, I like your Blog Post. I recently published an post on preserving meat. I love to make my own food for New Year!. I will be making a fun ice cream to go with it. The children will be off school and I am positive they are going to enjoy it.
It’s “addictive”. NOT “addicting”.
Top 5 Keto Friendly Beef Jerky Brands! [2019] – Convenient Keto
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