It’s hard to find a snack that doesn’t include some form of processed carbohydrates. It’s even harder to find a healthy, quick snack that isn’t mostly carbohydrates, like a piece of fresh fruit or a slice of toast. I’m always looking for ways to add protein and healthy fat to mealtimes or carbohydrate recipes, but meat is expensive, and commercially available beef jerky is full of preservatives and generally unaffordable. My solution? Make your own with ground beef.

This recipe is easy, delicious, and can be stored for weeks or months in the freezer (although it normally never lasts that long). It calls for ground beef, mixed with egg, coconut aminos, freshly chopped garlic, mineral salt and dried rosemary. It is one of the first foods I feed my infants, and I like it as a first chewer/teething toy far more than those chalky, highly processed teething biscuits!

affiliate disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. See my full affiliate disclosure for more information.

Rosemary Garlic Beef Jerky

Caroline

Oven-dehydrated ground beef flavored with dried rosemary, fresh garlic, mineral salt, eggs, and coconut aminos, sliced to provide a quick, delicious, and nutritious kid-friendly snack!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 12

Total Time 12 45

Course Snack

Cuisine American

Servings month supply

Equipment

Ingredients

5 lbs ground beef organic and/or grass-fed is best
¼ cup coconut aminos
2 bulbs whole garlic
2 whole eggs organic and/or pastured is best
2 tbsp dried rosemary
1 tbsp mineral salt

Instructions

Peel and chop garlic.
Assemble flavoring ingredients; empty ground beef packages into rimmed baking pan.
Add eggs, garlic, salt, dried rosemary, and coconut aminos to ground beef.
Gently incorporate ingredients until thoroughly mixed and spread evenly to the edges of the pan.
Use a silicone spatula to cut jerky into strips for breaking apart once cooked.
Dehydrate in oven at 170℉ for 10-12 hours.
After 4 hours, pour off liquid that has collected in bottom of pan into a heat-safe bowl.
After 6 hours or ½ through cooking time, use a spatula to flip the jerky.
After 10-12 hours of dehydrating, allow to cool, then use your fingers to break the jerky along the cut lines.
Store the jerky in a glass storage container with a lid in the freezer or refrigerator and heat up, as needed, in a toaster oven.

Notes

If you source your meat from a responsible farmer, you can use the beef fat (tallow) to make tallow balm. I typically store the beef jerky juices in a sealed Pyrex storage container in the fridge to let the tallow separate and harden. I then take the tallow, reheat it, and strain it to make tallow balm. Our family uses tallow balm as an all-purpose skin relief cream. Check out my recipe here!

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Great for midday snacks, hikes, and road trips alike, this beef jerky is a staple in our home. More filling and sustaining than most empty, carb-heavy conventional options, this recipe just takes a bit of hands on preparation for a big pay-off. Try it out, leave a comment below, and let me know what your kids think!

Rosemary & Garlic Beef Jerky