The Best Turkey Jerky, Ranked 

Turkey jerky is beef jerky’s most popular spin-off (for now—don’t sleep on mushroom jerky). It’s also often framed as a healthier option than beef jerky. Some of that is just hype: Although turkey jerky generally does have more protein, the two are similar in terms of fat and calories. Still, the best turkey jerky has plenty going for it. There’s something wonderful about its salty, meaty, roasted poultry flavor. For those who abstain from red meat, it’s an excellent alternative.

How we sourced the brands of turkey jerky

This is our third turkey jerky taste test, fam. If you didn’t know, we try to update these rankings once a year. The main problem with that system is, well, sometimes there aren’t that many new products out there. While we did manage to pick up a few turkey jerky options from CVS, Trader Joe’s, and Amazon we hadn’t tried in the past, not much of it was very good. So, to be thorough, we also taste tested everything on our current ranking again to perfect our line-up. (And hey, we even filmed it—watch us in action in the vid below!) 

What we looked for in the best turkey jerky brands

Texture and flavor are the two main areas of concern for turkey jerky.  The texture of turkey jerky should be tender, but not so tender that it’s soft. Turkey jerky can feel dry and bland if it’s not prepared right. Jerky should always be sturdy and gnawable, yes, but you shouldn’t feel like you’re chewing on a leather jacket, either. Next, we considered the overall flavor. Most of the jerky on this list contains added ingredients like pineapple juice, brown sugar, and tamari soy sauce (which provides a great punch of umami), but plain ol’ salted, roasted turkey jerky can be good, too, as long as it packs some flavor. Here are the best turkey jerky brands that met our high criteria—and we included the best turkey jerky sticks this time, too. 

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Best for Lunch Boxes

Frigo Cheese & Turkey Sticks

Amazon

Instacart

I don’t know about you, but I have a habit of thinking snack packs will always taste like cheap children’s charcuterie. (I might have to blame Lunchables for that one, sorry!) Frigo proved me wrong. Their turkey jerky sticks are thick and meaty. They pair beautifully with the soft, marbled colby jack cheese sticks. I kept these in the Sporked fridge and used them as a mid-afternoon pick-me-up snack. And sure, Frigo’s meat sticks might not be the best turkey jerky—technically, they aren’t jerky at all—but as a snack concept, they hit the spot. —Ariana Losch 

Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart

Rating:

6.5/10

Sporks

Best Road Trip Snack

New Primal Lightly Peppered Turkey Stick

Amazon

Yeah, you’re gonna find a few turkey meat sticks on this ranking of the best turkey jerky. “But Ariana, meat sticks and jerky aren’t the same thing!” Hey. Don’t be a buzzkill. I’m sorry, but there aren’t enough brands of turkey jerky out there for me to exclude an entire category of cured meat. And this lightly peppered turkey stick from New Primal is way better than most of the other turkey jerky I sampled anyway. Contrary to its name, this extra-long meat stick (yeah, you wish that’s what the ladies called ya’) goes heavy on the salt and light on the pepper; my fellow Slim Jim lovers should really give it a try, since the sodium-rich savory flavor is pretty similar. Obviously, turkey jerky sticks will always be more dry than beef, but this one isn’t too bad! It’s soft but chewy, and still lightly fatty enough to have a little bit of juiciness. —Ariana Losch

Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon

Rating:

7/10

Sporks

Best Teriyaki

Trader Joe’s Teriyaki Turkey Jerky

Amazon

Most of the teriyaki turkey jerky we tried fell short, but Trader Joe’s came through with one of the best turkey jerky varieties we tried. I honestly wasn’t expecting it to taste much different from the other jerkies that also contain tamari, brown sugar, and spices, but this delivered the goods. It has a much more pronounced soy sauce taste, and the umami flavor is really strong. This is sweet, tangy, and deliciously salty. The only drawback is that the texture of the jerky itself is considerably softer than the Trader Joe’s Original flavor (see #4 on this list), but even so it’s the best teriyaki turkey jerky we tasted. —Danny Palumbo 

Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

Best Pepperoni Flavor

Vermont Smoke & Cure Uncured Turkey Pepperoni Stick

Amazon

Vermont’s Turkey Pepperoni Stick really scratches the itch in my pepperoni-crazed brain. (I used to eat peps straight out of the bag like a heathen, until I started to adopt a “healthy lifestyle.” Ugh.) This chewy turkey jerky stick contains flavors like garlic and red pepper to give it a bold kick. Imbued with the spicy, fatty, slightly greasy taste of cured pepperoni, you really can’t go wrong. This is the best turkey jerky brand for people (like me) who want a little more pep in their step, you get me? —Ariana Losch

Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

Best Value

Kirkland Signature Turkey Jerky

Amazon

Costco

There’s a little bit of a sweet-and-sour thing going on with Costco’s jerky. Kirkland also uses tamari, vinegar, brown sugar, and spices, but the sweetness is quite pronounced. The texture is very tender, and if this were any softer I wouldn’t call it jerky. Kirkland’s steak strips also have this vibe; they seem to make their jerky products super soft and tender. It’s a dang ol’ 13.5 ounce bag of turkey jerky, so the value is great. The other problem with it, though, is that it has to be refrigerated after opening. Weird. It’s not exactly turkey jerky, but still kind of good?  —Danny Palumbo 

Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

Best Savory-Sweet

Sprouts Original Turkey Jerky

Sprouts

If it’s wrong to eat an entire bag of turkey jerky in under 24 hours, I don’t want to be right. And look, I’ll be honest—while this is my favorite turkey jerky brand from this taste test, I know the texture is going to throw some people off. This stuff is absolutely packed with a smoky, salty, maple-sweet flavor. But it’s also super tender. Too tender for most people’s tastes, I’ll bet. There’s almost no chew factor to speak of, sadly. Still, that soy sauce and brown sugar combo is a real weakness for me. Based on flavor alone, you won’t be able to deny that Sprouts makes some of the best turkey jerky. —Ariana Losch

Credit: Liv Averett / Sprouts

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Best Umami

Whole Foods 365 Original Turkey Jerky

Amazon

Whole Foods turkey jerky is kinda vinegary and smells like soy sauce. They use tamari and worcestershire, so that’s probably where the extra umami and tang come from. There were bits of jerky in the bag that were quite small and reminded me of dog treats (not great), but overall I dig the flavor. Plus, they nailed the texture; it’s this excellent middle ground of not too tender and not too chewy, just like jerky should be. This tastes so deliciously meaty. The only thing keeping it from ranking higher on our list of the best turkey jerky might be the size of the jerky pieces.  —Danny Palumbo 

Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Best Trader Joe’s

Trader Joe’s Original Turkey Jerky

Amazon

Trader Joe’s Original Turkey Jerky has a sweet and pungent flavor that reflects its ingredients—brown sugar, granulated garlic, and granulated onion. The texture is nice and tender without being too chewy, although this is another jerky that’s a bit on the softer side. Personally, I like turkey jerky to be a tad softer than beef, since the more you dehydrate turkey the drier and blander it becomes. This has some give and I like that about it.  —Danny Palumbo 

Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Best Texture

Jack Link’s Original Turkey Jerky

Amazon

Walmart

I was surprised by how well this classic turkey jerky held up in our taste test. The salty flavor really carries the whole thing. But the turkey also tastes roasted, so it’s got some extra flavor and reminds me of dark leg meat on Thanksgiving. Jack Link’s turkey jerky has a good dehydrated, gnawable jerky vibe, if that’s what you’re looking for. Some people like their jerky extra tough and leathery. While this isn’t quite a belt, it is dense and delightfully chewy. I like how simple Jack Link’s is, too. It does three things very well: texture, salt, and roasted flavor, and that makes it some of the best turkey jerky you can buy pretty much anywhere. —Danny Palumbo 

Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Best Flavor

Field Trip Cracked Pepper Turkey Jerky

Walmart

Amazon

We’re huge fans of cracked pepper-flavored jerky (see where Great Value’s peppered jerky ranked on our beef jerky list), so it should be no surprise that Field Trip Cracked Pepper Turkey Jerky ranks so high here. The jerky itself might be a bit too tender for some, but the flavor is impeccable. There’s an excellent peppery spice and a nice amount of fruity tang from the added pineapple juice, apple juice, and rice wine. Nuance is key here for me. This is the best turkey jerky if you want a flavor that’s nuanced and perfectly balanced. It’s just seasoned well and when food is seasoned well, it ranks high here at Sporked. This is the type of tasty that keeps your hand in the bag at all times. —Danny Palumbo

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Best of The Best

Derby City Bourbon Barrel Wood Smoked Turkey Jerky

Kroger

Derby City turkey jerky tastes like homemade jerky that you’d get from a big plastic jar at a gas station or corner store on a road trip. It tastes like it was made in someone’s home or smoke shed, not a factory. This jerky has such a pleasantly tender and meaty texture with a sweet, slightly peppery, smoky taste. We thought this was far and away number one. The texture is amazing and the flavor is excellent. The process of slow smoking the jerky in wooden barrels produces such a lovely product. Again, it feels like some dude named Dale made this, and that’s part of what makes this the best turkey jerky you can buy. —Danny Palumbo 

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

Other products we tried: Country Archer Hickory Smoke Turkey Jerky, Chef’s Cut Teriyaki Turkey Jerky, Good & Gather Teriyaki Jerky, Chef’s Cut Original Turkey Jerky, Chomps Mild Original Turkey Stick, Chomps Mini Turkey Stick, THINK Sriracha Honey Turkey Jerky, Trader Joe’s Organic Turkey Jerky, Old Wisconsin Honey Brown Sugar Turkey Sausage Snack Sticks, Jack Link’s Mini Turkey Sticks, Savory Herb Flavor, Old Wisconsin Turkey Snack Bites