Delicious Vegan Jerky Recipe

Vegan jerky is made by marinating soy curls in soy sauce, olive oil, vinegar and liquid smoke with onion, garlic and paprika, then baking them low and slow until dry and chewy. The result is a savoury, smoky snack with a meaty texture, good for lunch boxes, hiking or camping, and it keeps well in an airtight container.

What Ingredients Do You Need for Vegan Jerky?

Soy curlies: These incredibly flexible little curls of soy are the basic ingredient for this vegan jerky recipe. Alone, they do not have any distinct flavour but they’ll soak any ingredient you marinade them with. Their marinated flavour and texture resembles chicken bits.

Olive oil, soy sauce, vinegar and liquid smoke. These are all the liquid flavouring ingredients. The addition of olive oil will add the right amounts of grease to prevent soy curls from drying out during baking. Soy sauce makes the recipe salty and savoury, together with a hint of umami. Finally liquid smoke offers that jerky that smokey bbq taste that everyone expects from a beef jerky. Lastly, the white vinegar adds an acidic note to the snack for tickling your tastebuds.

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Seasonings. These are what make the jerky taste better. As a seasoning base, we use onion and garlic powder and add all the regular spicy and smoky flavours we are familiar with. Paprika offers a peppery flavour while the mustard powder and black pepper add a bit of heat to the combo. You can also add cayenne pepper if you wish to spice things up even more.

Ingredients

• 4 cups dry soy curls,
• 4 tbsp soy sauce,
• 3 tbsp olive oil,
• 2 tbsp white vinegar,
• 1 tsp liquid smoke,
• 1 tbsp onion powder,
• 1 tbsp garlic powder,
• 1 tsp mustard powder,
• 1 tsp paprika,
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper,
• Black pepper,

How Do You Make Vegan Jerky?

1. Preheat your oven at 270F/175C. Place parchment paper over a large baking tray or plastic baking mat.
2. Bring some water to boil and submerge the soy curls into a bowl with the water. Let soak for 10 minutes to add moisture.
3. Drain the soy curls and let cool or rinse fast under cool water. To remove excess liquids and moisture, use a clean towel, a nut milk bag or cheesecloth, squeezing out as much excess liquid as you can. You may also do this step in a few small batches.
4. In a big bowl, mix the soy curls with all the rest of ingredients, ensuring to mix everything evenly. You may taste a small bit and adjust the spices to taste, if you wish. Note that all the flavours will intensify once the jerky becomes dry, so the end result will be saltier.
5. Arrange the soy curls on a pre-greased baking tray or mat evenly.
6. Cook for approx. 1 hour. Check the soy curls every 20 minutes and distribute them evenly before they get back to the oven.
7. You may have to bake the vegan jerky a few more minutes to dry out completely. You can check if it’s done when there is no extra moisture on the sides of the parchment paper or baking mat when stirred. If after one hour there is still some moisture and sauce left, cook for 5-minute batches until completely dry.
8. Let it set and cool down, and move to an airtight lid container. The jerky tastes great straight out of the oven but its texture is the greatest after storing these for at least 24 hours. Kept in an airtight container, it will gain more chewiness and any bits that were too dry will develop some humidity.

How Do You Store Vegan Jerky?

Keep vegan jerky in an airtight container once it has cooled down. It tastes good straight from the oven, but the texture improves after sitting for at least 24 hours, when it becomes chewier and any drier bits pick up a bit of moisture from the rest of the batch.

What Gives Vegan Jerky Its Smoky, Meaty Flavour?

The meaty texture comes from soy curls, which take on whatever they’re marinated in. Soy sauce, olive oil, vinegar and liquid smoke form the marinade base, while onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, mustard powder, black pepper and a little cayenne give it the peppery, smoky flavour you’d expect from a beef jerky.

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