We tried all three flavors of the new Beyond Jerky! Here's what we thought of this plant-based jerky from Beyond Meat.
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We love trying new Beyond products on the pod. We've also reviewed Beyond Chicken Tenders and both the regular Beyond Breakfast Sausage and their sausage links. So, when Dave's friend sent him a photo of Beyond Jerky, he knew we needed to buy some to review.
Review
Dave and I agreed that the texture of these was really good. It's incredibly firm and toothsome, just like you'd expect from any jerky.
We started by trying the Hot & Spicy Beyond Jerky. The kick on this one was right on point, with a heat that builds as you eat it. The spiciness also masks the flavor of the pea protein a bit. I still detected the taste of peas, but Dave didn't at all.
The next flavor we tried was the Teriyaki, which I had high hopes for. In my head, it would be like the Hot & Spicy but with a layer of sweetness added. That's not what it was at all, though.
It just didn't do it for either of us. It was kind of bland, and I could taste that pea protein strongly. A little more acidity and more sweetness would have helped this out a lot.
I thought the original flavor was great, and Dave liked it even more than I did. I didn't taste peas in this one.
For us, Hot & Spicy and Original Beyond Jerky were tied for first, and we agreed that we didn't want to get the Teriyaki flavor again.
Overall, I think they really nailed the texture but could work on amping up the flavor of these jerkies. Even the flavors that we liked -- and would eat again -- would be even better with more of a flavor direction.
What is it made of?
As of this writing, there are three flavors of Beyond Jerky. The base for these is mung bean protein and pea protein along with oat bran, fiber, and oil.
Here are the full ingredients lists for each one:
- Original: Water, Mung Bean Protein, Brown Sugar, Pea Protein, Natural Flavors, Gluten Free Oat Bran and Fiber, Salt, Expeller Pressed Canola Oil, Onion Powder and less than 1% of Vegetable Juice Color, Vinegar, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Pomegranate Concentrate, Spice, Garlic Powder, Citric Acid, Sunflower Lecithin.
- Teriyaki: Water, Mung Bean Protein, Pea Protein, Brown Sugar, Natural Flavors, Gluten Free Oat Bran and Fiber, Salt, Expeller Pressed Canola Oil and less than 1% of Sugar, Vinegar, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Pomegranate Concentrate, Tapioca Maltodextrin, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Paprika, Spice, Yeast Extract, Yeast, Vegetable Juice Color, Citric Acid, Sunflower Lecithin
- Hot & Spicy: Water, Mung Bean Protein, Pea Protein, Sugar, Gluten Free Oat Bran and Fiber, Natural Flavors, Yeast, Expeller Pressed Canola Oil, Onion Powder, Salt and less than 1% of Vegetable Juice Color, Vinegar, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Pomegranate Concentrate, Spice, Garlic Powder, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Potassium Chloride, Acetic Acid, Citric Acid, Sunflower Lecithin
Is it vegan?
Yeah, it is! Beyond Jerky doesn't contain any animal ingredients, so it is a vegan product.
Is it healthy?
I'm not a nutritionist, but I can share the nutritional information for Beyond Jerky, so you can decide for yourself here. One bag contains three servings, and a single serving contains:
- 90 calories
- 2g of fat, .5g saturated fat
- no cholesterol
- 1g dietary fiber
- 5g sugar
- 10g protein
- 22% of your daily sodium
To decide whether this is healthy, I'd compare this to other plant-based and animal-based jerkies.
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Arun s
I plan in trying Beyond Jerky soon. Keeping my expectations low as usual but I get most of my vegan input from Indian vegetarian dishes. It’s very varied and super delicious and healthy. A lot of snack foods are made from garbanzo bean or chick pea flour. Humus for those unfamiliar w/other forms of it. Super delicious! I refer to them as ‘smack foods’ or gob smacking delish.
Cheers!
Becky Striepe
I hope you enjoy it and that the review helps you pick a flavor that works for you!