Are Beef Jerky and Other Meat Snacks Actually Healthy?

With more brands and varieties hitting shelves every year, the category includes traditional whole-muscle beef jerky alongside ground-and-formed meat sticks, meat chips, turkey and chicken options, and even salmon snacks.

With all that protein in a small, portable package, it’s easy to see the appeal. But these products are still processed meats, and that classification comes with some nutritional concerns worth knowing about.

What Are Beef Jerky and Other Meat Snacks?

Here’s a look at each of these snacks.

• Jerky is still the most popular type, accounting for 42 percent of the category’s sales.

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  Essentially, jerky is dried meat. It’s typically made from sliced or ground whole-muscle meat that’s seasoned and then dried to a low moisture level.

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  Smoked jerky is usually cured (treated with salt and a preservative like sodium nitrite to extend shelf life and add flavor). Jerky can also be uncured (preserved using salt and natural seasonings alone) or unsmoked.

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• Meat sticks are the fastest-growing group in this category.

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   These are generally made from ground meat that's been seasoned and dried or smoked into a stick shape.
• Meat chips are a newer snack. These are made from very thin slices of meat that are dehydrated or baked until crispy, giving them a crunch more like a potato chip than the chewiness of traditional jerky.

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The ingredient list in meat snacks can vary widely by brand, with some keeping things relatively simple and others including additives. "Modern [meat snacks are] typically made with added ingredients like dextrose, maltodextrin, and lactic acid, used to engineer taste, color, texture, and shelf life," says Kelly Burgess, RD, the executive director of To Better Health, a nutrition counseling practice in West Deptford, New Jersey.

The Nutritional Upsides of Meat Snacks

"Meat sticks can be a convenient way to get in more protein, along with nutrients that are naturally found in animal foods, such as vitamin B12 in beef and poultry, or omega-3 fatty acids if you’re choosing fish-based options like salmon," says Val Warner, RD, the founder of Wellness by Val in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

What’s Not So Healthy About Meat Snacks

Meat snacks often contain a lot of sodium and other ingredients that can have negative health consequences. Here's what you should consider before adding them to your cart.

Meat Snacks Can Be Ultra-Processed Foods

"What most people don’t realize is that these products fall into the category of ultra-processed processed meats, meaning they’ve been significantly altered with salt, preservatives, industrial ingredients, and sometimes sugars," says Burgess.

Burgess says it can be easy to overeat when you are munching on ultra-processed meat snacks because they are designed to be highly appealing.

They Can Be High in Sodium

Many Contain Saturated Fat

Some Have Concerning Preservatives

RD Tips for Making Meat Snacks Part of a Healthy Diet

If you enjoy meat snacks, being selective about what you buy and how often you eat them can help you maintain a balanced diet.

To find healthier products, Warner tells her clients to start by reading the list of ingredients. "In general, the fewer ingredients, the better," she says. She recommends comparing sodium and saturated fat contents, and for beef snacks, she suggests choosing grass-fed beef when possible.

Warner also recommends creating snacks that balance protein, fiber, fat, and carbs by including plant-based foods to ensure you get a variety of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. "That might look like pairing it with fruit, avocado, or a handful of nuts or seeds," she says. "This helps create a more balanced snack and supports overall health."

Her bottom line is that meat snacks can be enjoyed, but they are still processed foods that contain saturated fat. "Maybe they're not your only snack every single day," Warner says. Someone who eats mostly home-cooked meals might be able to enjoy a meat snack most days, she says. But for someone who regularly eats out, consumes ultra-processed foods frequently, or has a chronic health issue, she says it’s best to only eat a meat snack every so often."