These perfectly spicy and dehydrated vegan meat sticks are full of flavor and such a delicious snack. The vegan jerky sticks are nutritious, gluten-free, paleo, low carb, and so tasty!
Lately, I was inspired to make raw dehydrated snacks, so I dusted off my dehydrator and pulled out one of my favorite recipe books, Blissful Raw Food Recipes from Café Bliss.
If you are ever in Victoria B.C. Canada, check out Café Bliss, where you can purchase the recipe book, grab raw food snacks, or enjoy the best smoothies and juices!
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These vegetarian pepperoni sticks are slightly modified from the spicy nori sticks recipe in the book Blissful. I made the spicy nori sticks years ago and loved them, so I decided to make them again with a couple of tweaks.
I added in almonds and nutritional yeast, which enhances the other flavors and adds a touch of cheesiness. Plus, nutritional yeast is an excellent source of vitamin B12 that can be difficult for vegans to obtain dietarily.
The filler for these vegan meat sticks is made with:
- Brazil nuts
- Almonds
- Sunflower seeds
- Garlic
- Fresh ginger
- Miso
- Carrots
- Turmeric powder
- Chili flakes
- Nutritional yeast
- Lemon Juice
The garlic, ginger, miso, chili powder, and nutritional yeast provides a unique and mildly spicy flavor that vegans are bound to love.
Tips for making the vegan jerky sticks
Soak the sunflower seeds in water for 6 hours, then place all the ingredients for the base in a food processor and mix.
I then use nori seaweed wraps that are cut in half to make the best vegan meat sticks! Seriously, nori wraps are the best way to make mock vegetarian pepperoni sticks.
Place the filling for the vegan jerky sticks into a medium-size ziplock freezer bag, then cut the tip off the bottom corner of the ziplock bag.
Cut the nori sheets in half, then lay a nori sheet on a cutting board. Squeeze the filling out of the bag into a thick straight line. Aim for a 1.5 cm diameter.
Now roll up the nori wraps the same way you would make sushi. Have a bowl full of water to dip your fingers into and wet each side of the nori wraps so that they stick together and look like vegetarian pepperoni sticks.
It helps to place the bottom side down where the nori wrap is sticking together to keep the vegan jerky sticks in place while dehydrating.
The filler will make 20-24 vegan jerky sticks, so you will need at least ten nori sheets cut in half.
Once dehydrated, these vegan jerky sticks have a texture similar to a pepperoni stick that is perfectly chewy and slightly moist. The primary difference between these vegetarian pepperoni sticks is they are much healthier for you!
Benefits of Vegan Peperoni Sticks
Ginger and turmeric are culinary herbs with many health benefits. Miso adds the perfect salty taste and is a fantastic probiotic-rich food for gut health.
The nori wraps are an excellent source of iodine, which is a crucial nutrient for thyroid function. Nori is also rich in many trace minerals.
Brazil nuts are high in the mineral selenium, which is an antioxidant and essential nutrient for the immune system.
There are also many benefits to eating foods high in enzymes such as these dehydrated vegan jerky sticks. So, hop into the kitchen and get cooking!
Vegan Meat Sticks
Equipment
- dehydrator
- food processor
Ingredients
- 2½ cups sunflower seeds
- 2 cups chopped carrot
- ¾ cup almonds
- ¾ cup brazil nuts
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice
- ½ cup miso
- 1 tbsp chili flakes
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger
- 1 tbsp turmeric powder
- 3 cloves garlic
- ½ cup nutritional yeast
Instructions
- Soak sunflower seeds in a bowl covered with water for 6 hours. Strain excess water before putting in the food processor.
- Place all ingredients into a food processor and process until smooth.
- Spoon the mixture into a a ziplock back then cut a 1.5 cm hole to squeeze the mixture out.
- Cut 10 nori sheets in half parallel to the lines on the sheet. Squeeze a long thick line lengthwise along the nori sheet. Roll up and seal the edges with water so they stick together.
- Place the nori wraps on a dehydrator tray with the seam facing down.
- Dehydrate the vegan jerky sticks wrapped in nori for 18 hours at 50° celcius or 120° Farenheight.
Notes
For more dehydrated recipes try this sprouted buckwheat granola or dehydrated cheesy kale chips, so yummy as well!
Thank you so much. The perfect snack-on-the-go.
So glad you enjoyed it!
What would be a good substitute for brazil nuts?
Hmm great question, I am not to sure as I have only made the recipe with brazil nuts but you could try adding more almonds instead or another nut like pecans :) I have also used white beans in this recipe, it does change the taste but I liked them!
Wow. These are delicious. I think about them sitting in my kitchen and have to go get one.
Any idea on set size or nutritional value?
So glad you like them! I have not run the nutritional value on that vegan meat sticks but Cronometer is a fantastic app where you can copy and paste the url and it will give a breakdown of the nutrients, calories and macronutrients. You can also input any recipe to find out the nutritional info :)