If you’re looking for an alternate to your standard protein bar or keto fat bomb, take a look at meat bars. A more portable, less messy version of our favorite beef jerky snack – meat bars are blowing up in popularity and a great way to stay keto or paleo and have a good snack on hand.
So what are the best ones on the market? Let’s find out
The 5 Best Meat Bars We’ve Tried in 2024
So what are the top 5 meat bars on the market in 2022? The meat bar space changes more than you would think (with some people from Tanka and Krave throwing in the towel already). That said, we’ve tried them all – here’s what we think.
The 7 Best Meat Bars:
- For Carnivores: The Carnivore Bar
- For Australians: The Chief Bar
- For Everyone: The Epic Bar
- The Non-Bar: The Caveman Foods Meat Bites
- Available Everywhere: Jack’s Links Steak Bars
- Meats & Veggies: Zora Meat Bars
- Coolest Flavors: WRX Barshe Krave Bar
The Carnivore Bar
Price: $135 for 12 ($11.25/bar)
Flavor: 4/5
USP: Carnivore friendly meat bar + popular with prepper + survialist communities (pemmican will literally last forever).
The Carnivore Bar is unique in the space as it’s primarily focused on utility first and then everything else second. Popular with carnivore enthusiasts and the prepper community, the bar is actually pemmican and works well for both people with autoimmune issues and survivalist communities that want to stack up on bars
The Carnivore Bar has apparently taken noticed and allowed for a bulk purchase of the bars in an “ammo can” – pretty good.
These are definitely the most expensive bars on the market, but you’re not going to have to ever worry about food waste or things going bad – ever. Plus, word on the street is that as they grow, the price will be coming down dramatically. That said – the actual caloric count on these is much, much higher than a traditional meat bar, so if you want to make sure your’e packing compact calories (while traveling, backpacking or planning for the end of the world), the carnivore bar is less of a snack and more of a whole meal (as the kids say these days).
→ Buy The Carnivore Bar here
Chief Bars
Price: $20.95 for 4 bars ($5 each)
Flavor: 4/5 (stick to the beef, skip the Turkey)
USP: 100% grass-fed Aussie beef
Chief Bars is a new contender from the land down under. They are focused on using beef that’s farmed using regenerative practices. While they are not “certified as regenerative” – their goal is to move all of their practices to regenerative by 2030.
They’re proudly Australian and by the looks of the packaging – seem to have done the best job besides Epic on the branding + packaging. However at $5/bar – this seems like a high per-bar-cost – but you can’t put a price on having an emergency stash of food.
Note – these guys are not yet available in the US (only Australia at the moment), so it seems the tables have turned compared to what usually happens with these types of new companies.
→ Buy Chief Bars here
Epic Bar
Price: 12 for $29.99 ($2.5/bar)
Flavor: 3/5 – 5/5 (depending on the flavor)
USP: Probably the most widely available meat
Epic Bars are maybe the most widely available meat bars. Started in Austin, TX and sold to General MIlls – Epic has huge distribution
As for flavors – the Epic Bars vary greatly. We’re personally fans of the uncured bacon, but the Chicken Siracha one left a lot to be desired.
We recommend getting a sampler pack to start to see where things go and how the bars suit your taste buds. Then, you can stock up in the house or likely grab your Epic Bar at a gas station, corner store of airport the next time you’re out and about and hankering for a meat bar.
→ Buy the Epic Bar here
Jack’s Links Steak Bars
Price: 1.79
Flavor: 4/5
USP: Available at gas stations & grocery stores for easy pickup.
Jack’s Links is known for their jerky, but they’re getting into the meat bar game. The flavor is pretty good for what you’re going to get for a mass-produced item, but the fact that they have nationwide distribution is the real game changer – as these are the only item on the list that you’re likely to find at your local gas station or grocery store.
Caveman Foods Meat Bites
Price: $39.99 for 12, 2oz bags
Flavor: 4/5
USP: Not bars, bites.
Okay, so these technically aren’t “meat bars” – they’re “meat bites.” A slight form factor differential. -but they’re still good for on-the-go-eating when you’re in a crunch.
While caveman foods offers a few different flavors here – we trend towards the maple pork and skip the turkey flavors (we just do not think turkey travels well). We’re super curious to see if they decide to double down on their portable meat trend and make a meat bar for real – but in the mean time, we’ll snack on these and let them tide us over.
Not quite jerky, not quite bars – these meat bites are somewhere in between. We just wish they’d come out with more flavors we love.
Wild Zora Meat Bars
$29.99 for 10 ($2.9/bar)
USP: Includes meats & veggies in their products.
Wild Zora definitely takes the most original angles on the meat bar flavorings. And while they’re not AIP friendly in the slightest – for those without food elimination issues – these might be a nice change of pace compared to most “plain meat” bars on the market.
WRX Beef Bars
$39.98 for 10 ($3.9/bar)
Flavor: 4/5
USP: Unique flavors
Honestly one of the newest players in the space. The WRX bars come out swinging with a bacon-cheese flavor bar and a Jalapeno pizza flavor. While these flavors are definitely some of the most unique takes we’ve seen – they come at a steeper price (2-3x more expensive than most other products on this list other than the carnivore bar).
That said – these make a great addition to the pantry if you want to have something close at hand without spending $10/bar.
More Meat Bar Options
We asked a few friends on Twitter (or is it X now?). Here’s what they said:
Final Thoughts on Meat Bars
Any of these meat bars are a great snack on the paleo, keto, or low carb diets. You’ll need to check individual bar flavors for AIP compliance as well as Carnivore, but most should be sympathetic to them as well.
Meat bars are great for a grab and go snack, but they can get pricey if this is how you plan to eat most of your calories. Be smart, grab a box of flavors to mix it up and make sure you’re always well stocked so you never have to slip up.
Other Resources you might like
Other resources you might find helpful
- The carnivore diet beginner’s guide
- The Best Keto & Low Carb Wine
- Becoming Fat Adapted
- The Best Meal Prep Containers
- Your Free Meal Planning Template
- A comprehensive list of keto snacks
Photo by Kyle Mackie on Unsplash
