Best Keto and Carnivore Meat Snacks: Zero-Sugar Jerky, Sticks and Summer Sausage
Staying keto or carnivore gets hard the moment hunger hits between meals. Most packaged snacks are loaded with carbs, fillers, or added sugar exactly what you're trying to avoid.
The good news: meat snacks solve this problem better than almost anything else on a shelf. Beef jerky, snack sticks, and summer sausage are all built around protein and fat, the two things a keto or carnivore diet actually wants more of. Frank's Snack Sticks are a great place to start, though beef jerky and summer sausage each bring their own advantages, covered below.
This guide breaks down these three meat snacks, what makes each one keto- and carnivore-friendly, and how to choose between them.
What Makes a Snack "Keto" or "Carnivore" Friendly?
Keto eating limits carbohydrates and prioritizes fat and protein. Carnivore eating goes further, focusing on animal products almost exclusively. Both approaches share one requirement for snacks: minimal to no carbs, no sugar-based fillers, and a protein-and-fat profile that keeps you full.
Meat itself contains no carbohydrates, so the main thing to watch for is what's added during curing or seasoning; glazes, marinades, or sweeteners can introduce carbs that plain meat doesn't have. Checking the label on any specific flavor is the simplest way to confirm it fits your plan.
Beef Jerky: The Classic Carnivore Snack
Beef jerky is made from whole-muscle beef, marinated and seasoned, then dried at low heat until it's shelf-stable and concentrated in flavor. Because it's made from whole muscle rather than a ground or emulsified blend, it has the texture and appearance most people associate with traditional beef jerky: a chewy, fibrous bite that tears like meat.
Frank's beef jerky is made from Wyoming-raised beef, with a lineup that includes Original, Maple Jalapeno, Prime Rib, and Teriyaki flavors. As a general rule with any flavored jerky, plainer options tend to have simpler seasoning, while sweeter-sounding flavors are worth a quick label check for added sugar. If you're deciding between jerky and another format, the snack sticks vs. beef jerky comparison breaks down texture and nutrition differences in more detail.
Snack Sticks: A Heartier Keto Option
Snack sticks are a different style of meat snack. Rather than whole-muscle beef, they're a seasoned, cured meat blend, usually beef and pork together, stuffed into a casing, smoked, and dried into a dense, chewy stick. That processing style tends to give them a slightly higher fat content than jerky, which many keto eaters see as a plus: more fat per bite generally means more lasting fullness.
Frank's snack sticks are made in-house and offer that same satisfying, savory bite in a more portable shape than a jerky strip. If you're deciding between the two, the general rule holds: pick jerky for leaner, whole-muscle protein, and pick snack sticks when you want a richer, more filling option that still fits low-carb eating.
Summer Sausage: Full-Flavor, Carnivore-Approved
Summer sausage is a different kind of ready-to-eat meat snack. Frank's version is an 18-ounce blend of beef and pork, fully cooked and seasoned, made to be sliced cold and served immediately no grilling, oven time, or extra prep required. It comes in three varieties: the original Summer Sausage, Summer Sausage with Cheddar Cheese, and Summer Sausage with Jalapeño and Pepper Jack Cheese. For a closer look at how Frank's ready-to-eat lineup works, the Summer Sausage & Kielbasa guide covers serving ideas in more depth.
One important difference from jerky and snack sticks: summer sausage is a fully cooked product meant to be kept cold, not a dried, shelf-stable snack. It's still an easy, low-effort option for a party tray or a cooler on a trip, but it belongs in the fridge rather than a desk drawer or backpack. For strict carnivore or keto tracking, the plain original keeps things simplest, while the cheese-added versions are worth a label check since cheese adds a small amount of extra fat and flavoring beyond the base sausage.
Comparing the Three at a Glance
Jerky and snack sticks travel the easiest since neither needs refrigeration until opened. Summer sausage is just as low-effort to serve, but it's a cold, fully cooked product rather than a dried one, so it needs a cooler or fridge rather than a bag or glovebox.
How to Check a Label for Keto and Carnivore Fit
Because flavor blends vary, the fastest way to confirm any specific product fits your plan is to check its label directly. Look at three things: total carbohydrates per serving, added sugars, and the ingredient list itself. A shorter ingredient list with recognizable items meat, salt, spices is generally a better sign for both keto and strict carnivore eating than a long list of syrups or starches.
This is worth doing per flavor, not per product category. A plain Original jerky and a sweeter glazed flavor from the same brand can have meaningfully different carb counts, even though both are technically "beef jerky."
Building Your Keto or Carnivore Snack Box
If you're stocking up rather than buying one item at a time, mixing formats gives you more variety without repeating the same texture every day. Frank's snack bundle is built around exactly this kind of variety; it includes two summer sausage varieties, three snack stick flavors, three beef jerky flavors, cottage bacon, and pastrami, all made in Wyoming. It's a practical starting point if you're new to keto or carnivore snacking and don't yet know which format you'll reach for most.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is beef jerky keto-friendly?
Most plain or lightly seasoned beef jerky is keto-friendly, since it's made from whole-muscle beef with minimal carbs. Sweeter, glazed flavors can carry more added sugar, so checking the label per flavor is the safest approach.
Can you eat snack sticks on a carnivore diet?
Yes, as long as the ingredient list stays limited to meat, salt, and spices without added starches or sugar-based binders. Snack sticks are generally higher in fat than jerky, which fits well with carnivore eating.
Does summer sausage need to be refrigerated?
Yes. Unlike dried jerky or snack sticks, summer sausage is a fully cooked product meant to be kept cold. It's still low-effort to serve just slice and go but it should stay in a fridge or cooler rather than a pantry or bag.
What's the best keto snack for travel?
Jerky and snack sticks are the easiest for travel since neither needs refrigeration until opened, making them simple to portion and eat one-handed. Summer sausage works well for a cooler-packed trip but needs to stay cold.
Bringing It All Together
Keto and carnivore diets don't have to mean boring snacking. Beef jerky, snack sticks, and summer sausage each bring something different to the table: lean protein, satisfying fat, or shareable flavor- and all three fit comfortably into a low-carb lifestyle once you know what to check on the label and how each one needs to be stored.
Frank's Butcher Shop makes its jerky and snack sticks from Wyoming-raised beef and its summer sausage from a Wyoming-made beef-and-pork blend. If you're ready to stock up, the Frank's Snack Bundle is the easiest way to try all three formats at once and see which fits your routine best.
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