Bison Meatballs

Pan seared bison meatballs are a lean, hearty, and flavorful alternative to traditional beef meatballs. These meatballs require a handful of simple ingredients, like ground bison, egg, garlic, Parmesan cheese, almond meal and Italian herbs, and come together in just 25 minutes from start to finish! Enjoy them as an easy appetizer or load them on with a fresh bowl of pasta marinara.

Ingredients

• Ground bison – 90% lean ground bison works great for this recipe. It’s a little gamier than ground beef, but it’s an excellent iron-rich protein source and works great in these meatballs.
• Egg – adds back moisture and helps with binding the ingredients together.
• Garlic – for a hint of tanginess.
• Parmesan cheese – for a lightly nutty, tangy flavor.
• Almond meal (or panko breadcrumbs) – binding agent. Almond meal adds healthy plant-based fat and protein to this dish, while giving a richer flavor too. Panko breadcrumbs are also a great substitute if you don’t have almond meal.
• Seasonings – Italian seasoning, dried oregano, fennel seeds, sea salt and black pepper are easy seasonings that amp up the flavor profile of these meatballs.
• Extra virgin olive oil – for pan searing the meatballs. Higher heat oils, like avocado or grapeseed oil, also work great.

How to Make Bison Meatballs

Combine all ingredients, except the olive oil, in a large bowl. Use a spoon or your hands to mix well until the ingredients are incorporated. Form the mixture into 18 small meatballs.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the meatballs. Brown on one side for 1-2 minutes. Turn the meatballs over and brown for another 1-2 minutes. Repeat this process 2-3 more times, browning all sides of the meatballs and ensuring that no edges are pink. If your pan is smaller, cook the meatballs in batches so that they brown properly.

Transfer the meatballs to a serving dish and tent with foil to rest (they will continue to cook) for 2-3 minutes before serving. If you’re not sure if the meatballs are done, cut one in half and check that the center is not pink. Serve over a bowl of pasta or rice. Enjoy!

How to Store

• Refrigerate – store leftover bison meatballs in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
• Freeze – you can freeze cooked or raw meatballs for 3-4 months. For raw meatballs, transfer formed meatballs to a parchment lined cooking sheet and flash freeze for 2 hours. Transfer to a freezer safe container (we like Ziploc freezer bags) and freeze up to 4 months. For cooked meatballs, cool the meatballs completely before transferring to a parchment lined cooking sheet. Flash freeze for 2 hours and transfer to a freezer safe container for up to 4 months.
• Thaw – transfer meatballs from the freezer to the refrigerator to thaw overnight. For raw meatballs, cook per original recipe instructions. For cooked meatballs, warm according to “reheat” instructions in the bullet below.
• Reheat – lightly mist a frying pan with cooking spray and warm cooked meatballs, covered, over medium-low heat for several minutes until warmed.

Recipe Modifications

• Seasonings – swap out fresh garlic with garlic powder or granulated garlic, add some spice with Cajun seasoning, chipotle powder, cayenne, or red pepper flakes, add paprika and worcestershire sauce for a little smokiness, or use fresh herbs instead of dried to get an entirely different flavor profile.
• Meat – sometimes we swap out bison for ground beef or turkey to make a similar variation of these meatballs.
• Cooking method – pan searing is definitely our favorite way to cook these bison meatballs, but baking in the oven or air frying are also a delicious option!
• Add some greens – it might sound odd, but adding finely chopped kale or spinach to these meatballs is a sneaky way to add some greens to your meal and you won’t even know they’re there!

What to Eat with Bison Meatballs

• Pasta – we prefer long pastas, like fettuccine, linguine, spaghetti, papardelle, or tagliatelle.
• Sauce – marinara sauce is the traditional sauce for meatballs, but switch it up with alfredo sauce, vodka sauce, romesco sauce, pomodoro sauce, or pesto (like our pumpkin seed pesto, kale pesto, or sundried tomato pesto)
• Risotto – risotto is another great Italian dish that goes great with meatballs. Try our orzo risotto, pesto risotto, or steak and blue cheese risotto (but sub meatballs for steak).
• Grains – Try bison meatballs with white or brown rice, Israeli couscous, or farro.
• Bread – breadsticks, a slice of white bread, dinner rolls, garlic bread, or any other bread are the perfect companion to soak up extra pasta sauce.

Frequently Asked Questions

Check out our other easy meatball recipes

• Gluten-free & keto turkey meatballs
• Lemon rosemary turkey meatballs
• Greek turkey meatballs
• Healthier turkey Swedish meatballs

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