Veggie Jim Recipe

by ALEXA

These meatless power wrap snacks are a popular vegan snack food—like a vegan slim jims. These Veggie Jim recipe is packed with flavor and nutrients.

Hi! This is Jill, Lex’s sister from Hawaii. I’ve been visiting Lex for the last week, helping out with the boys, and of course eating some fabulous food.

One of our experiments this week was a dehydrated snack we’re calling Veggie Jims. These nori power wraps are available at many natural food stores and sell for $1-2 each—we thought we could make them for a lot less! They are simply a tasty seed paste wrapped up in a nori sheet for easy transport on the go. Shaped like Slim Jims, these meatless power wrap snacks are quite popular among our vegan friends. We are calling ours Veggie Jims—and are they ever packed with flavor! Our paleo friends love them, too.

Flavorings for these are endless, we went for a classic vegan slim jim demonstrated by Matt and Angela. The cayenne gives these in awesome kick!

Veggie Jim Recipe (Meatless Slim Jims)

Yield: 36 sticks

Veggie Jim Recipe (Meatless Slim Jims)

Ingredients

  • About 12 NORI SHEETS, cut into thirds lengthwise
  • 12 ounces raw SUNFLOWER SEEDS
  • 8 ounces raw PUMPKIN SEEDS
  • 1 cup WATER (more as needed)
  • 2 red BELL PEPPERS
  • 1 tablespoon raw grated BEET*
  • 4 minced GARLIC CLOVES
  • 6 tablespoons fresh LEMON JUICE
  • 1 teaspoon SALT
  • 2 teaspoons ONION POWDER
  • 1/4-1/2 teaspoon CAYENNE PEPPER (or to taste)

Instructions

  1. Whirl seeds in a high-powered blender or food processor to a fine meal. Remove and set aside. 
  2. Add remaining ingredients (except for nori sheets) and blend/process until smooth. 
  3. Add the seed mixture back in and blend/process to a smooth, spreadable, paste-like consistency (add a tablespoon of water at a time as needed to aid in blending/processing).
  4. Avoid over salting so they don't end up too salty after being dehydrated. 
  5. Transfer to a large zip top bag, squish paste down into one corner, and snip off the corner to pipe out a 1/4 to 1/2-inch thickness. 
  6. Lay a strip of nori (shiny side down) onto a sheet of parchment. This was the only tricky, slightly time consuming part. Lightly spritz (we used a spray bottle) the nori sheet with water. Then pipe the filling down the center of the nori sheet. Take your time and try to ensure an even filling. 
  7. Roll nori around filling and seal edges with another spritz of water if needed. 
  8. Arrange Veggie Jims on dehydrator trays and dehydrate over night or until firm and dried out—about like a Slim Jim meat stick. They are super yummy warm out of the dehydrator! 
  9. Store in an airtight container.

Notes

Be warned, the paste looks pretty gross (that's the pink from the beet). We promise, no pink slime or spam was involved in the making of these vegan snacks. Oh and we got over-ambitious in the "piping it on" shot below. Just aim for 1/4-1/2 inch strip of paste.

https://www.floandgrace.com/2013514veggie-jim-recipe-html/

More Good Stuff

42 comments

Alexis May 14, 2013 - 2:19 pm

Cool! And just thought I'd point out a weird coincidence, my name is Lexi (well technically Alexis but friends and fam call me Lexi and my sister's name is Jill! And she used to live in Hawaii … so pretty cool. I just found your blog yesterday and am excited to follow as my boys have many food sensitivities and I am always looking for new recipes. Thank you!

Reply
Megan @ Allergy Free Alaska May 14, 2013 - 4:20 pm

How CREATIVE, ladies!! This is definitely going on the must make list!
Hugs,
Megan

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Jennifer S @Sterling Sweets May 14, 2013 - 4:40 pm

Love this idea! Definitely gonna give it a try. I'm always looking for tasty, creative snacks. Thx for sharing!

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Lexie May 14, 2013 - 11:26 pm

Ladies … if you have a palette for healthy/tasty/vegan/nori, I think you will LOVE these. We made a batch (30 sticks) 4 days ago and they are gone! 🙂 xoLexie

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Lexie May 15, 2013 - 2:45 am

Lexi … should I ask what your last name is, ha! 🙂 Coincidence for sure!! So glad you found our kitchen. xoLexie

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Ricki May 15, 2013 - 3:20 am

I think you've just convinced me to buy a dehydrator again!! 😀

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Lexie May 15, 2013 - 3:49 am

Ricki, I've been contemplating trying these in the oven … lowest setting of course. I'll let you know if they turn out. xoLexie

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Sarah S May 15, 2013 - 4:10 am

So awesome! I just made something similar, in cracker form, from the raw food book "Rejuvenate Your Life" By Serene Allison. So yummy! And I'm not a big fan of nori. Definitely going to try these 🙂

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Mandie Marie @ The Fruitful Turtle May 16, 2013 - 3:13 pm

I love how easy and portable these are! and the Italian one with the sun-dried tomatoes has my name on it 🙂

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Lexie May 16, 2013 - 7:13 pm

Mandie … yes, so very portable, if they last long enough to take anywhere, ha! xoLexie

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Heather @Gluten-Free Cat May 17, 2013 - 11:26 pm

Hi Jill and Lexie! I am in LOVE with these wraps!! I love nori and I'm crazy about your filling. Beet too??? Wow! I will be making these this weekend!

Lexi, I'd love for you to link them up to Raw Foods Thursdays. Yesterday's link is still open. Please stop by!

http://www.glutenfreecat.com/2013/05/raw-foods-thursdays-51613/

Hope you are well!
Heather

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Rachel May 18, 2013 - 1:59 am

I just found your blog, and I can't wait to read more recipes!! Quick question about this one though (I'm from Hawaii, btw), can you recommend something else in place of the bell pepper? I can't eat nightshades 🙁 Cabbage maybe?

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Lexie May 18, 2013 - 11:48 pm

Will do Heather! Thanks for the heads up.

Rachel – Hmmmm, I think most any veggie you'd want to add would work just fine. The bell pepper does add a certain flavor … almost cheesy. I even considered zucchini … but it probably would contribute much in the way of flavor. Can you do nutritional yeast? That might add a little zip when the bell pepper is removed. Let me know if you try something. 🙂 ALOHA xoLexie

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Crista June 2, 2013 - 2:45 pm

ha! i love this! very creative 🙂

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Beth June 5, 2013 - 3:36 pm

These look great! Just shared on my Facebook page. I am going to have to try these one rainy day.

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Dawn August 21, 2013 - 2:34 pm

i am making this now. and the wrapping process was very easy when you spritz it. what temp do you put your dehydrator on? you didn't specify. i have it set 1t 115º.
can't wait to try it!

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Lexie August 21, 2013 - 3:28 pm

Hi Dawn, I did not specify as some folks like to dehydrate longer for a "raw" result. Others want it done quicker so crank it up. For raw typically between 105F/41C and 115F/46C. If you are not concerned with the result being technically "raw" then any higher temp is fine. The higher the temp, the quicker they will dehydrate. Hope that helps 🙂 xoLexi

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Erin August 23, 2013 - 4:09 am

I can't wait to try these but do not have a dehydrator. My oven's lowest setting is 170F. How long would I cook them for?

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Tea & Biscuits blog January 13, 2015 - 6:43 pm

They look really great! I’ve always been a bit cautious about Nori, I know there is no gluten listed in the ingredients (at least the brands Ive seen) but I didn’t know if there was a safe brand out there, which one did you use?

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Lexie January 21, 2015 - 5:51 pm

I think nori is relatively safe 🙂 I buy mine at our Asian grocer. Waaaayyyy cheaper than getting it at Kroger or the like. Hope that helps. xoLexie

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Tea & Biscuits blog January 13, 2015 - 6:43 pm

They look really great! I’ve always been a bit cautious about Nori, I know there is no gluten listed in the ingredients (at least the brands Ive seen) but I didn’t know if there was a safe brand out there, which one did you use?

Reply
Tea & Biscuits blog January 13, 2015 - 6:43 pm

They look really great! I’ve always been a bit cautious about Nori, I know there is no gluten listed in the ingredients (at least the brands Ive seen) but I didn’t know if there was a safe brand out there, which one did you use?

Reply
Tea & Biscuits blog January 13, 2015 - 6:43 pm

They look really great! I’ve always been a bit cautious about Nori, I know there is no gluten listed in the ingredients (at least the brands Ive seen) but I didn’t know if there was a safe brand out there, which one did you use?

Reply
Tea & Biscuits blog January 13, 2015 - 6:43 pm

They look really great! I’ve always been a bit cautious about Nori, I know there is no gluten listed in the ingredients (at least the brands Ive seen) but I didn’t know if there was a safe brand out there, which one did you use?

Reply
Tea & Biscuits blog January 13, 2015 - 6:43 pm

They look really great! I’ve always been a bit cautious about Nori, I know there is no gluten listed in the ingredients (at least the brands Ive seen) but I didn’t know if there was a safe brand out there, which one did you use?

Reply
Tea & Biscuits blog January 13, 2015 - 6:43 pm

They look really great! I’ve always been a bit cautious about Nori, I know there is no gluten listed in the ingredients (at least the brands Ive seen) but I didn’t know if there was a safe brand out there, which one did you use?

Reply
Tea & Biscuits blog January 13, 2015 - 6:43 pm

They look really great! I’ve always been a bit cautious about Nori, I know there is no gluten listed in the ingredients (at least the brands Ive seen) but I didn’t know if there was a safe brand out there, which one did you use?

Reply
Tea & Biscuits blog January 13, 2015 - 6:43 pm

They look really great! I’ve always been a bit cautious about Nori, I know there is no gluten listed in the ingredients (at least the brands Ive seen) but I didn’t know if there was a safe brand out there, which one did you use?

Reply
Tea & Biscuits blog January 13, 2015 - 6:43 pm

They look really great! I’ve always been a bit cautious about Nori, I know there is no gluten listed in the ingredients (at least the brands Ive seen) but I didn’t know if there was a safe brand out there, which one did you use?

Reply
Tea & Biscuits blog January 13, 2015 - 6:43 pm

They look really great! I’ve always been a bit cautious about Nori, I know there is no gluten listed in the ingredients (at least the brands Ive seen) but I didn’t know if there was a safe brand out there, which one did you use?

Reply
Stephen J June 11, 2015 - 11:38 pm

Instead of Oz. measurements, can you post or edit the volume of the top seed ingredients? (Also, a sprouted volume vs. regular dry seed volume)

Reply
49 Vegan, Gluten-Free & Sugar-Free Take-Along Lunches - Ricki Heller September 2, 2016 - 9:02 pm

[…] Meatless Slim Jims from Flo & Grace (pictured in second collage from top, above) […]

Reply
Sam September 28, 2016 - 6:01 pm

This is amazingly innovative. I love it! I don’t have a dehydrator, though–is there a way to dry these out in the oven?

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Alexa September 29, 2016 - 10:31 am

I think if your oven goes real low (like 170) you could try it. But then it won’t be “raw” … but good nonetheless. 🙂

Reply
Lara Verheugen December 14, 2017 - 5:31 am

Can you also use a warm oven? e.g. if you wanna dry tomatoes, you put them in a 100*Celcius oven for a couple of hours. would that work here, too? if not, why not?
I can’t wait to try these out… I work in a seaweed restaurant so I love to experiment with these things!

Reply
Alexa December 18, 2017 - 1:05 pm

Hi Lara, it is worth a try for sure! Let me know how they turn out. Making them on the skinnier side vs. fatter side would probably really help 🙂

Reply
37 Healthy Salty Snacks for When You're Craving Something Savory April 17, 2018 - 5:39 pm

[…] few simple ingredients, including nori sheets, beets, bell peppers, and pumpkin seeds, you can make Flo & Grace’s veggie-based “slims.” The snacks satisfy your cravings for processed meat sticks while […]

Reply
Denice March 31, 2020 - 10:36 am

I tried these out as they look great, however, going by the exact recipe they ended up tasting only like sunflower seeds. I couldn’t taste anything else. I measured the oz to the exact per my kitchen scale.
I’d recommend a lot less seeds and maybe more flavoring and other ingredients. I like that they didn’t end up tasting like seaweed as I’m not a fan. The wraps worked great for
texture. I also needed more time that mentioned for the dehydrator. A good start though for me to work up my own recipes for veg slim Jim’s.

Reply
Alexa May 4, 2020 - 11:13 am

Hi Denice, you need something to bulk up the inside. You could try any combination of soaked nuts/seeds you like. Have fun playing.

Reply
Anna Masteller April 20, 2020 - 1:42 pm

I’ve been craving these! Use to eat them all the time but my health food store closed. Looking forward to making them in the oven at 150°. Fingers crossed they turn out as chewy and delicious as I remember!

Reply
Alexa May 4, 2020 - 11:12 am

I hope they turned out for you Anna!

Reply
Nicole June 20, 2021 - 10:40 pm

Thank you I LOVE this recipe, I am not vegan but think meat should be for special occasions only.
I substituted sundried tomatoes for the beetroot and did not add much water at all. I ‘sliced’ off bits of batter and placed on the nori sheets instead of piping, took a while but worked fine.
Do you think a sweet version with homemade jam, nuts and rice paper would work??

Reply

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