Walk into almost any supermarket, gym or service station and you’ll find shelves full of protein bars promising 15, 20 or even 40 grams of protein.

But protein doesn't have to come in a bar.

Biltong has been used as a convenient, high-protein food for generations. So how does it actually stack up against the modern protein bar?

The answer isn't that one is universally “healthy” and the other isn't. Both have advantages. But if your main goal is getting plenty of high-quality protein from a relatively small snack, biltong makes a compelling case.

1. Biltong is exceptionally protein-dense

This is where biltong really shines.

Because much of the water is removed during drying, the nutrients in beef become concentrated. The result can be a food containing more than 50% protein by weight.

Our Tararua Traditional Manawatū Biltong, for example, contains approximately:

56 g of protein per 100 g

or around:

28 g of protein in a 50 g serving.

That means you only need about 36 g of our biltong to get 20 g of protein.

Many protein bars also provide 20 g or more of protein, of course, but they often require a substantially larger serving to provide it.

This makes biltong particularly useful when what you're actually looking for is protein, rather than a meal-replacement-style snack containing a mixture of protein, carbohydrates, fats and fibre.

2. Beef provides high-quality protein

The amount of protein matters, but so does its quality.

Beef contains all of the essential amino acids our bodies need from food.

Research examining the Digestible Indispensable Amino Acid Score (DIAAS), a method used to assess protein quality, has found that meat products generally provide high-quality protein. Interestingly, even dried beef jerky performed strongly in this research, suggesting that drying meat does not necessarily remove the benefits of its protein.

That's relevant for active people because sports-nutrition research commonly recommends servings of approximately 20–40 g of high-quality protein, depending on body size, age, activity and training goals.

A modest serving of biltong can fit comfortably within that range.

3. Biltong doesn't need to be turned into a protein product

This is perhaps the biggest philosophical difference between the two snacks.

With biltong, the beef is the protein source.

A protein bar has to be formulated. Depending on the product, that might involve ingredients such as whey protein, milk protein, soy protein, collagen, sweeteners, fibres, humectants, flavourings and emulsifiers.

That doesn't automatically make a protein bar bad. In fact, whey and milk proteins themselves are excellent sources of protein.

But there is something refreshingly straightforward about getting your protein from a piece of beef rather than a product specifically engineered to contain protein.

Traditional biltong can be made from a relatively short list of recognisable ingredients:

beef, vinegar, seasoning, salt and spices.

For people who prefer simpler foods, that can be a genuine advantage.

4. What about sugar?

Protein bars vary enormously.

Some contain significant amounts of sugar, while modern low-carb bars can contain very little. Those low-sugar bars may instead use ingredients such as sugar alcohols or alternative sweeteners.

Biltong doesn't need sweetness to make it work as a high-protein snack.

Our Traditional Biltong contains approximately 3 g of sugar in a 50 g serving, based on our current Nutrition Information Panel.

So it is entirely possible to get a sizeable serving of protein without turning your snack into something resembling a chocolate bar.

That said, it would be wrong to claim that biltong always contains less sugar than every protein bar. There are excellent low-sugar protein bars available.

The better point is simply this:

Biltong can deliver a lot of protein without needing much sugar to do it.

5. High-protein snacks can be satisfying

Protein is well known for its role in satiety.

Controlled studies have found that higher-protein snacks can reduce hunger and increase feelings of fullness compared with lower-protein alternatives.

But there is an important distinction here.

There isn't strong evidence showing that biltong specifically keeps you fuller than a protein bar.

In fact, some protein bars contain substantial amounts of dietary fibre, which can also contribute to satiety.

So we're not going to claim that biltong automatically keeps you fuller.

What we can say is that biltong provides a large amount of protein in a relatively small serving, making it a practical option when hunger strikes between meals.

Where protein bars have the advantage

A fair comparison needs to acknowledge that protein bars aren't popular by accident.

There are situations where a good protein bar may actually be the better choice.

Fibre

Biltong contains virtually no dietary fibre.

Some protein bars deliberately contain large amounts of fibre, so if increasing fibre intake is your priority, the right protein bar can offer something biltong can't.

Your overall diet should still include plenty of fruit, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and other fibre-rich foods.

Lower sodium

This is biltong's most obvious nutritional disadvantage.

Salt is an important part of the traditional curing process, and dried meat can consequently contain considerably more sodium than many protein bars.

Anyone who has been advised to reduce their sodium intake should take this into account when deciding how much biltong to eat.

Vegetarian and plant-based options

Biltong is beef.

That is either exactly what you're looking for or an immediate deal-breaker.

Protein bars can be produced from whey, soy, pea and numerous other protein sources, giving vegetarians and people following plant-based diets far more choice.

Carbohydrates when you actually want them

Low carbohydrate isn't automatically better.

Someone doing prolonged endurance exercise may actively want carbohydrates alongside protein.

A bar containing both can therefore be more appropriate than biltong in certain sporting situations.

Biltong vs protein bars: the scorecard

If you're looking for…	Biltong	Protein Bar
Very high protein concentration	✅	✅
High-quality animal protein	✅	✅*
Small serving for 20 g protein	✅	Varies
Simple, familiar ingredients	✅	Varies
Low sugar	✅	Varies
Dietary fibre	❌	✅*
Lower sodium	❌	✅*
Vegetarian option	❌	✅
Extra carbohydrates for endurance sport	Limited	✅*
Convenient grab-and-go snack	✅	✅

*Depends on the individual protein bar.

So which one should you choose?

It depends on why you're eating it.

If you're looking for a snack that combines protein, fibre and carbohydrates, or you're specifically trying to keep sodium intake down, a well-formulated protein bar may be an excellent choice.

But if what you're really looking for is:

a lot of high-quality protein, in a small serving, made primarily from actual food rather than a formulated protein blend, biltong is difficult to beat.

At Manawatū Biltong, we're not interested in pretending protein bars are bad.

We just think people should know there is another option.

One that starts with beef.

One that tastes like food rather than a supplement.

And one that happens to contain 56% protein.

Protein doesn't have to come in a bar.

It can come from beef.

A note on nutrition

Nutritional requirements vary between individuals. The information above is general in nature and isn't intended as medical or dietary advice. Nutrition information for Manawatū Biltong refers to our current product Nutrition Information Panel. Always check individual product labels, as recipes and nutritional values vary.

Sources

Protein-quality research published in the British Journal of Nutrition found that most tested meat products provided high-quality protein, including dried beef jerky.

The International Society of Sports Nutrition discusses approximately 20–40 g of high-quality protein per serving as a general range for active individuals, depending on individual circumstances.

Research into high-protein snacking has found increased fullness and reduced hunger in some controlled settings, although this evidence does not specifically compare biltong with protein bars.

The World Health Organization/IARC includes biltong within its definition of processed meat and recommends moderation of processed-meat consumption.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand requires nutrition and health claims used in food advertising to meet the relevant criteria and, in the case of health claims, to be supported by scientific evidence.