Jack Link's Teriyaki Beef Jerky: Nutrition & Labelgrade B- (71/100)

The short answer

Jack Link’s Teriyaki Beef Jerky delivers 7g of protein for 50 calories per serving — and at 38.9g of protein per 100g, it’s one of the most protein-dense snacks you can buy off a gas-station rack. It earns a B- (71/100). The protein and saturated-fat marks are perfect; what holds it back are the two things that come with teriyaki jerky specifically: added sugar (the third ingredient on the label) and the high sodium that cured meat always carries.

Why the B-

The honest read: the A+ protein score and the F sodium score are both real and both structural to jerky. What’s avoidable here is the sugar. Original and unsweetened jerkies hit the same protein density without a sweetener in the marinade, which is exactly why this teriyaki version grades a notch lower than plain Jack Link’s.

The teriyaki tax: sugar you don’t get in the original

Look at the ingredient order: beef, water, SUGAR — sugar is third, ahead of the soy sauce. On a label, order means weight, so the sweetener isn’t a trace; it’s the defining feature of the teriyaki flavor. That’s 3g of added sugar per 18g serving, which scales to roughly 16-17g per 100g — a lot of sweetener for something marketed as a protein snack. USDA doesn’t print a separate “added sugars” line for this entry, but because a sweetener is right there in the ingredients, Labelgrade scores all 3g as added (an A-, not the A+ that a truly sugar-free jerky would earn). If you’re buying jerky to dodge sugary snacks, this is the detail to notice: the teriyaki marinade quietly puts the sugar back.

The sodium reality of cured beef

The 472mg of sodium per ounce isn’t a Jack Link’s flaw so much as a jerky flaw — salt is half of how you preserve meat at room temperature. A single 18g serving is 13% of your daily sodium; the full 90g bag is around 1,500mg, two-thirds of the day’s limit in one sitting. That’s the trade you accept for a shelf-stable, no-refrigeration, 35g-of-protein-in-a-pouch snack. Worth it if jerky is an occasional protein hit; worth watching if it’s a daily habit or you’re managing blood pressure.

How it stacks up against other jerky

Against its own family and the sweet-and-savory competition, the protein density is genuinely excellent — the differences are about sugar and label cleanliness, not protein:

Two takeaways. First, the original-style jerkies (Old Trapper, Jack Link’s Premium Cuts) hit the same or higher protein density without the added sugar — the cleaner pick if flavor isn’t the priority. Second, if you want jerky-level protein with zero sugar and lower sodium, air-dried biltong is the category to look at: it’s seasoned and dried rather than marinaded in a sweet sauce, so it typically skips the sugar entirely.

Who it’s for

This is the default, everywhere-available, genuinely tasty high-protein snack — and the protein is real, dense beef. Buy it if you want a convenient pouch of protein and you’re fine accepting the two costs that come with the teriyaki flavor specifically: a few grams of added sugar and a meaningful slug of sodium. If either of those is a dealbreaker, reach for an original/unsweetened jerky (same protein, no sugar) or a zero-sugar biltong (no sugar, less salt).

Ingredients

Beef, water, sugar, and less than 2% of: soy sauce (wheat, soybeans, salt, maltodextrin), flavorings, salt, yeast extract, and citric acid. (Verbatim from the USDA Branded Foods entry, FDC 2675690.)

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Scope: This page applies specifically to Jack Link'S, Teriyaki Beef Jerky (3.125 oz/90 g) · UPC 017082877574. Other sizes, flavors, or formulations may differ.