NEW Krave plant-based jerky: The good, the bad, the warning

Krave has been setting standards for flavor and approved meat products since 2009. Can they attract the same acclaim from a plant-based demographic?

Krave is a company straight outta Sonoma. They were born in a land where flavor is the center of the universe, and they have not failed in that world. Anyone who has become a fan of their products will tell you that they have unique and amazing spice combinations.

Some of their famous flavors include things like Honey Habanero, Lemon Garlic, and Chili Lime. The two that seem to be fan favorites are Sea Salt, and one that sounds amazing to me – Black Cherry BBQ. On top of that, they’re known for tender, quality cuts of beef, chicken, turkey, and pork.

But that’s not what I’m here to talk about. At this point, they have been acquired by Hershey. With the heightened focus on plant-based eating in America and around the globe, Krave seeks to land a home in the hearts of these health conscious and spirit-driven snackers.

I am one of these folks. I have been a vegetarian for a while, but as a former meat-eater, I can also tell you with a special knowledge, not just if these new treats are good, but also if they are actually like meat.

Krave sent me a little kit with their new products including two jerky products in Korean BBQ and Chipotle BBQ flavors. They also included two styles of their new fried pork rinds. While I am not a pork eater, I did wrangle up a volunteer who is a huge fan of the popular snack.

We’ll start there. My volunteer is well-versed in pork rind consumption. She had the chance to try both Al Pastor Taco and Chili Lime flavors. Her claim was that the product is true to what she knows as pork rinds. And to be clear, they are not plant-based, they are actually pork. I will add that the pieces were pretty darn large, as well.

When it came to flavor, she thought the Chili Lime tasted more like taco seasoning than the Taco variety did. But she thought both were not bad. I’ll also add that she only ate one piece of each, but that may be because she was just done. I did not have a similar feeling with my taste test.

Moving on to the jerky now, on the whole, I was darn impressed. The first one I tried was the Korean BBQ. Now this is going to sound weird, but to be honest, I thought it tasted a little (or exactly) like Meow Mix soft cat treats. Yes, I happen to have a basis for comparison, but that’s a childhood story I won’t recount. Whatever.

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Not to say it’s a bad flavor, in fact, I think it speaks more to the meat flavor of the cat treat. But it’s not one I will personally be having again soon because of that little memory trigger I spoke about. On another note, the Smoked Chipotle was really good. I was incredibly impressed by both texture and flavor.

As any vegetarian or vegan will tell you, texture is the number one issue when trying to replicate a meat of any kind. But in this case, even a top shelf carnivore would probably not detect the difference. And it had the exact amount of heat to make you look around for a cold fizzy beverage of your choice.

I was able to give samples to several of my omnivorous children. All of them approved and enjoyed the snack! This, in itself, is a significant accomplishment. So that’s the good part. I loved the flavor, the texture was spot on, and it was totally delicious.

The bad part is that they are, as many claim, “deliciously addicting.” As a result, I did end up eating the entire bag over the course of a few hours. Luckily, that isn’t literally a bad thing, where health is concerned! True to their history, Krave made these treats kind of darn good for you.

Since they are made of plant proteins, they are obviously full of needed energy for your body. This is a great energy before exercise, or as a snack when you’re on the go. Unfortunately, I was not on the go when I chowed down on the 2-serving sack of wonder.

As a result, I can now offer you this warning. Although it’s only two servings, there is a little something else that is provided by pea protein and fava beans. Do you know what that is? FIBER. And in case you’re not aware, for those with more sensitive tummies, this can result in some remarkable pain.

I happen to have a pretty resilient stomach, but the combo of the chipotle miracle spice blend and the fiber dose just seemed to get me good on a sneak attack. Yes, my belly was angry about what I had done. But I lived, and nothing truly bad happened. It certainly could have been worse. Phew.

So next time, and there will definitely be a next time, I will make sure and portion that stuff out a little bit. But it’s going to be tough, unlike this chewy and stringy jerky. It’s yummy, and it fills you up like a good jerky should. The perfect snack for your yoga or hiking or marathon or whatever.

My official analysis is that you should head over and grab some for yourself right away! It’s selling on the site at the link above, but I found it on Amazon, as well. Reasonably priced at $5.99 per bag on their site, you can’t go wrong. Unless you eat it all at once. Don’t do that. Thanks, Krave!

Are you going to try these new plant-based treats from Krave? What about the pork rinds? Let us know what you think of these and the plant-based eating revolution in the comments below!

Krave plant-based and meat jerkys are available at Amazon.com right now!