Vegan jerky is a favorite snack of ours. It’s perfect for road trips, camping, or snacking at work. We’ve been fortunate enough to try out a variety of vegan jerky that parallels the experience of more traditional beef jerky.
Below, we’ll share our favorite easy vegan jerky recipes. If you’re looking for the perfect vegan snack, you’ll likely find it on this list.
1. Easy To Make Vegan Jerky By The Hidden Veggies
Jerky is best when it’s packed with flavor and protein. This recipe from The Hidden Veggies won’t disappoint. It uses a variety of seasonings and spices to create a unique profile while using soy curls to pack each snack with protein.
The combination of seasonings makes this recipe unique. You’ll need to add liquid amino, black strap molasses, and liquid smoke to your shopping list if you don’t have these ingredients in your cupboard. Combined with onion powder, garlic, and cayenne, each bite of this jerky packs a punch.
If you are looking for a recipe that simulates store-bought jerky, this is one of the best options.
2. Eric’s Original Vegan Jerky By Sarah’s Vegan Kitchen
Another recipe that uses soy curls as the main ingredient offers a different and delicious flavor profile. This jerky is also easy to bake.
You’ll need to marinate your soy curls for best results, but once ready, all you need to do is slowly bake the jerky at a low temperature. Once cooked, the recipe advises to let the jerky cool before eating. Cooling ensures you get the best chewy texture from the recipe.
If you’re gluten-free, this recipe is an ideal jerky option that is perfect for you.
3. Epic Vegan Jerky By Vegan Blueberry
Soy curls and a mix of seasonings are the essential ingredients in this recipe. The chef in this recipe uses a blend of liquid smoke and vegan Worcestershire sauce to get an authentic beef jerky flavor and texture.
If you’re like us, you’ll love adding a little extra cayenne and crushed red pepper to maximize the spice level of the jerky. While you can reduce the number of spices added, the recipes suggest not eliminating them. They assure that the cayenne and crushed red pepper are essential ingredients for great flavor in this vegan jerky.
4. Teriyaki Seitan Jerky By My Quiet Kitchen
Seitan is a fantastic meat substitute, and this recipe makes excellent use of the ingredient. Teriyaki seitan jerky is a delicious snack high in protein, low in fat, and tastes great. Did we mention this jerky is also easy to prepare?
If you don’t know how to make seitan, the recipe helps you and provides all the instructions in detail. The recipe suggests accurately measuring the wet-to-dry ratio of the seitan to ensure you get the correct cooking time.
Once prepared, dip the strips in the teriyaki marinade and bake. After cooking for 1 to 2 hours, the jerky is ready to cool. Watch the oven during baking. Thin pieces will crisp much faster than thicker pieces.
5. Bloody Mary Flavored Vegan Jerky By Plant Power Couple
Bloody Mary cocktails and beef jerky seem like a perfect match. The flavors of both dishes complement each other, and this recipe takes the concept and combines them into one delicious snack.
The recipe uses a mix of prepared horseradish, vegan Worcestershire, and vegan bouillon powder to recreate the flavor of a bloody mary. The marinade also has a combination of celery salt, black pepper, and smoked paprika to add to the bloody mary flavor profile.
Instead of baking, you’ll cook this snack in an air fryer. Once ready, this is an ideal garnish for a bloody mary cocktail or a snack.
While many feel bloody mary tastes like tomato soup, you’ll love this recipe if you’ve acquired a taste for this cocktail.
6. Easy Vegan Jerky By Chef Ani
This is one of those vegan jerky recipes that offers a sweet, savory, and smoky jerky option. Soy curls are the go-to ingredient again, but the recipe calls for a mix of molasses, lemon juice, hickory smoke powder, cayenne, and smoked paprika to get the perfect combination of flavors.
Chef Ani suggests slow baking the jerky to acquire the perfect texture and consistency. Depending on your oven, you should bake the jerky at 250F for approximately 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, you turn the oven off and let the jerky sit in the oven until they reach the perfect crunchy consistency.
The longer the jerky sits, the better. Letting it cool for a few hours gives the best results, and you’ll have a vegan jerky that is flavorful, chewy, and crispy.
7. Mushroom Vegan Jerky By Plant-Based Budget
If you’re not a fan of soy curls, this recipe has you covered. It uses ground mushrooms and vital wheat gluten as the main ingredients. You can also use your favorite mushroom if you have a specific mushroom you enjoy.
You’ll mix the mushrooms in a food processor and add them to a long list of seasonings and the vital wheat gluten. Once ready, simply form the ingredients into jerky-sized strips.
We cook this jerky at a high temperature of 400F for 15 minutes on each side. Once cooked, you’ll coat each jerky strip with BBQ sauce and cook for five more minutes. This jerky is excellent right out of the oven, or you can let it sit and cool for a chewy texture.
8. Spicy Tofu Jerky By The Grateful Grazer
If you have a food dehydrator, you can use it to make this spicy tofu jerky. The Thinly sliced tofu has a flavor profile that includes a mix of smoked paprika, cumin, and hot pepper. It’s then cooked in the dehydrator for this recipe.
Slowly dehydrating the tofu for about four hours is key to this recipe. But if you don’t have a dehydrator, the recipe also gives you oven preparation instructions.
While you can use almost any seasonings to make jerky, this recipe offers a traditional flavor profile using smoked paprika, ground cumin, cayenne, and chipotle pepper.
9. Authentic Vegan Jerky By Veganiac
We found this recipe to be one of the easiest options on our list. You probably have most of the ingredients already in your cupboard if you cook often.
This recipe has a combination of liquid smoke, onion powder, garlic powder, mustard powder, and paprika. If you like your jerky spicy, you can also add extra cayenne pepper and black pepper to taste.
Like most other recipes, this jerky is best served after letting it cool and set. If you can wait 24 hours, you’ll get the best combination of chewy textures.
10. The Best Homemade Mushroom Jerky By People’s Choice Beef Jerky
This snack has another mushroom jerky option with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and dietary fiber. Using mushrooms also gives the jerky a unique umami flavor that soy curls can’t provide.
You can use almost any type of mushroom in this recipe. Still, the chefs suggest using portobello, shiitake, oyster, or king oyster mushrooms for the best combination of flavor and texture. Just remember the cooking time will vary depending on which mushroom you use for the recipe.
The recipe provides cooking options as well. You can use a dehydrator to slow cook the mushroom jerky or bake it in the oven if you don’t have a dehydrator.
11. Air Fryer Vegan Oyster Mushroom Jerky By Summer Yule
This recipe is keto, vegan, dairy-free, and low carb, making it the perfect snack for those with dietary concerns. It’s also low-calorie making it the ideal snack if you’re trying to cut calories.
The key to vegan jerky recipes is the spices. Adding or eliminating spices can dramatically alter the flavor profile of the dish. This recipe gives you several options that let you dial in the perfect amount of spice. Whether you like your jerky spicy, smokey, or sweet, you can use this recipe as a base.
The recipe also calls for oyster mushrooms. The recipe suggests heading to your local Asian food shop to find these mushrooms. They often carry oyster mushrooms for a much lower price than large health food chain markets.
12. Teriyaki Carrot Jerky By Namaste Home Cooking
Carrot sticks are seen as a bland snack to some (not me), but this recipe turns them into a delicious and chewy treat. The slow cooking process combined with the homemade teriyaki marinade in this recipe makes for one of the most unique options on this list.
The only drawback to this recipe is the time involved. You’ll need to marinade the carrots for 8 hours for them to soak up the flavors of the marinade. Then, you slow cook the carrots in the oven for 3 hours and 30 minutes. If you have the time, you’ll end up with a crispy and chewy snack that your whole family will love.
13. Seitan Jerky By Super Happy Win Food
Seitan strips are slow-cooked in a fantastic marinade for this recipe. This recipe comes amazingly close to traditional beef jerky.
If you’re a fan of small ingredient lists, this might be the smallest on our list. You only need five other ingredients to make this jerky other than seitan. Soy sauce, vegan Worcestershire sauce, tomato puree, liquid smoke, and sriracha round out the ingredient list.
This recipe is easy to cook. After preheating your oven, simply bake for 1 hour and let the dish rest. The jerky will get chewier when you let it cool. Feel free to eat it right away!
14. Easy Vegan Black Pepper Jerky By Big Box Vegan
Big Box Vegan has you covered if you are a fan of black pepper jerky. This recipe calls for extra pepper to add a kick to the soy curls and jerky.
Onion powder, liquid smoke, soy sauce, garlic powder, and agave syrup complement the black pepper and add to the flavor profile of this jerky. Marinating takes a minimum of 3 hours, but the recipe suggests letting the soy curls sit overnight in the marinade for best results.
After marinating the soy curls, you’ll bake them for about 65 minutes at 225F. Again, let the jerky cool for the best chewy texture.
15. Vegan Pumpkin Jerky Recipe By Vegan Food and Living
You can use squash and pumpkin for cooking a nutritious and delicious alternative to beef jerky. This recipe also has immune-boosting veggies, beta-carotene, and vitamin C, making it one of the healthiest options on this list.
The pumpkin slices feature a mix of coconut amino, vegan Worcestershire, maple syrup, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and cracked black pepper. This combination goes great with the sweetness of the baked pumpkin strips.
The key to this recipe is slow cooking at 155F. While this takes 4-6 hours, this cooking method gives the best chewy texture. Fast cooking will result in crispy jerky instead of chewy.
16. Sweet and Salty Vegan Carrot Jerky By Marion Owen
This carrot jerky recipe needs few ingredients yet is still packed with nutrients and flavor. It’s also easy to cook.
Other than carrots, you’ll need cupboard staples like salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and olive oil. Maple syrup, soy sauce, sriracha sauce, and liquid smoke round out the ingredients for the marinade. This combination provides the perfect mix of sweet and salty flavors in traditional beef jerky.
The recipe is easy to follow as well. Slice the carrots, marinade them, and bake at 275F.
17. Eggplant Jerky By Raw Blend
Eggplant makes a perfect alternative to beef jerky. This recipe recreates jerky and gives you the chewy texture and salty flavors you crave.
The marinade for the eggplant includes a mix of tamari, maple syrup, BBQ seasoning, smoked paprika, and cayenne pepper. Don’t forget to salt and pepper to taste as well. As you can see, this seasoning list has salty, sweet, and savory covered.
The eggplant strips need to marinate for 24 hours to soak up the flavors. Once marinaded, you dehydrate the eggplant for approximately 8 hours until the jerky is chewy and crispy.
18. Filipino Adobo Inspired Vegan Jerky by Sweet Simple Vegan
This jerky recipe uses a mix of seasonings to recreate adobo, a Filipino staple dish. You marinade the soy curls in adobo sauce, then fry them in a cast-iron skillet. This method makes the dish quick and easy to cook instead of baking for hours.
Adobo is a mix of soy sauce, vinegar, black pepper, bay leaves, and garlic. It offers a salty and sour flavor profile, and a few other seasonings give the dish a more jerky-inspired flavor. Still, you should be able to taste the wonderful adobo flavors in every bite.
19. Vegan Jackfruit Jerky By Kitchen Garden Vegan
Jackfruit is a great meat alternative, and it works great in a jerky, thanks to its unique texture and flavor. This recipe uses jackfruit to make quick and easy vegan jerky.
You’ll start with canned jackfruit in brine and slice it into wedges. Next, you marinate it in coconut oil, maple syrup, soy sauce, smoked salt, smoked paprika, and ground black pepper.
Bake the jackfruit at 305F for approximately 35-45 minutes. This bake time should be long enough to provide a chewy and crispy texture to the dish. Letting the jerky cool after cooking is essential and ensures you get a firm and more enjoyable texture during each bite.
Easy Vegan Jerky Recipes, Final Thoughts
We hope you can find some quality vegan jerky recipes on this list that match your favorite type of jerky. From soy curls to carrots, there are many main ingredient options to consider, and there’s also a wide range of flavors, from salty to spicy.
Are you looking for more vegan snacks? Check out our list of vegan hummus recipes for a delicious dip.