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    Home » Recipes » Beef & Pork

    Bison Bolognese Meat Sauce

    Published: Oct 4, 2015 · Modified: Aug 15, 2022 by Sally Cameron · This post may contain affiliate links · 24 Comments

    505 shares
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Pasta with a hearty meat sauce is a time-honored classic that never goes out of style. While many bolognese recipes start with ground beef, veal, pork, or a combination of ground meat, this one uses ground bison (buffalo meat). Pick up some ground bison and try this meaty marinara, my bison bolognese. It's not a traditional bolognese sauce, but its healthy, rich tasting and has a lot of flavor.

    Bison Bolognese Meat Sauce | AFoodCentricLife.com
    Bison Bolognese over pasta in gray bowl.

    We eat a lot of chicken and turkey, so my first test of this recipe was with ground turkey. While it was very good (and you can use dark meat turkey), I wanted something different. Something richer. Bison was just the thing.

    Jump to:
    • Bison Nutrition
    • Ingredients
    • Instructions
    • Fresh or Canned Tomatoes?
    • Adding Milk
    • Simmer to Develop Flavor
    • Freeze Extra Sauce
    • Sauce Adjustments
    • To Serve
    • 📖 Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

    Bison Nutrition

    Bison is a leaner choice compared ground beef and a healthy choice for meat eaters that you can find at most markets. Another health benefit, bison are raised on pasture, not in feedlots or on factory farms. If you want to swap bison and use ground beef, use pasture raised beef as the best choice.

    Bison Bolognese Meat Sauce|AFoodCentricLife.com
    Chopped carrots, onion, and celery on marble counter.

    Ingredients

    •  Extra virgin olive oil
    • Chopped onion 
    • Chopped celery 
    • Chopped carrot
    • Large cloves garlic 
    • Dried Italian herb blend or use basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary
    • Large bay leaf
    • 1 pound ground bison 10% fat
    • ¾ cup dry white wine optional
    • Sea salt
    • Ground black pepper
    • 1 28 ounce can whole or crushed tomatoes (see note below for fresh tomatoes)
    • 1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
    • 1 6 ounce can tomato paste
    • Ground nutmeg 
    • 1 bay leaf
    • Half and half or canned coconut milk
    • Red pepper flakes (pizza pepper)

    Instructions

    Start by cooking the vegetables, garlic and herbs until soft in a tablespoon of olive oil. Use a heavy pot for even heat distribution like a medium Dutch oven or other heavy pot. Next, add the ground bison, breaking the meat up with a wooden spoon. Cook the bison until no longer pink. Next, add tomatoes, dried Italian seasoning, bay leaf, and red pepper flakes. Stir and scrape any small pieces off the bottom of the pan.

    Next, add the tomatoes. Two options: fresh or canned.

    Bison Bolognese Meat Sauce|AFoodCentricLife.com

    Fresh or Canned Tomatoes?

    For this batch of sauce, I used fresh organic heirloom tomatoes while end of summer tomatoes are plentiful at the market for a good price. You can easily use canned tomatoes because they are a pantry staple. Do what works best for you.

    Peeling fresh tomatoes|AFoodCentricLife.com
    Peeled tomatoes in a glass bowl.

    Using Fresh Tomatoes

    To skin tomatoes, cut an "x" in the bottom of the tomato with a sharp paring knife. Plunge tomatoes into boiling water for one minute, the into a bowl filled with ice and water to shock them. The skins will peel right off. Cut the core out of the top.

    Lastly, pulse tomatoes in a food processor or blender to break them up. You should have 4 cups.

    Bison Bolognese Meat Sauce|AFoodCentricLife.com
    Cooking bison Bolognese in a pot.

    Using Canned Tomatoes

    If your are making this when good fresh tomatoes are not available, canned tomatoes work great (and are a pantry staple). Buy whole tomatoes and seed them, then chop, or use diced or crushed tomatoes (easier and faster). You will need 1-28 ounce can plus 1-15 ounce can of tomatoes.

    Adding Milk

    Most Bolognese recipes add milk or cream for added richness. If you are dairy sensitive, use full fat coconut milk. It won't taste like coconut. I was out of milk when I made this batch, so I used canned coconut milk and it came out great.

    Bison Bolognese Meat Sauce|AFoodCentricLife.com

    Simmer to Develop Flavor

    To develop rich flavor and thick texture, simmer your sauce at least one hour, and if possible, two. The simmering sauce will fill the house with wonderful fragrance. Everyone will be asking when dinner will be ready.

    Another tip for creating a delicious sauce, add a Parmesan rind to the simmering sauce and let it melt in. It adds a fantastic savory flavor. Before serving, fish out what is left and discard.

    Freeze Extra Sauce

    Extra sauce freezes well, so if you you have extra, freeze it. Better yet, make a double batch and freeze it for an easy weeknight dinner.

    Bison Bolognese Meat SauceAFoodCentricLife.com
    Bison Bolognese sauce over fettucine in a gray bowl.

    Sauce Adjustments

    If you need to stretch the sauce quantity to feed more mouths, add a can of tomato sauce. If you want it thicker, add a two tablespoons of tomato paste. Too thick? Thin with a little water.

    To Serve

    Serve bison Bolognese meat sauce over pasta of your choice. For pasta shapes, use spaghetti or a wide, flat noodle to catch all of the delicious meat sauce. Penne works well too. Be sure to top with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

    For low carb or Paleo eaters, use zucchini noodles, cassava noodles, or spaghetti squash. For how to make zucchini noodles, check out this post.

    Bison Bolognese Meat Sauce|AFoodCentricLife.com
    Bison Bolognese sauce over fettucine in a gray bowl.

    📖 Recipe

    Bison Bolognese Meat SauceAFoodCentricLife.com

    Bison Bolognese Meat Sauce

    Sally Cameron
    Lean ground bison updates this classic, long-simmered sauce with rich flavor. Serve over your choice of pasta, zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash for a low carb dinner. Extra freezes great, so if you have time, double the batch. You can substitute ground beef for the bison. Got time? Simmer up to 2 hours.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 1 hr
    Total Time 1 hr 15 mins
    Course Sauce
    Cuisine Italian
    Servings 6 to 8
    Calories 361 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
    • 1 cup finely chopped onion ½ of a large
    • 1 cup finely chopped celery 3 ribs
    • 1 cup finely chopped carrot 2-3
    • 2-3 large cloves garlic finely chopped
    • 2 teaspoons dried Italian herb blend or use basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary
    • 1 pound ground bison 10% fat
    • ¾ cup dry white wine optional
    • ½ teaspoon sea salt
    • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
    • 1 28 ounce can whole or crushed tomatoes see note below for fresh tomatoes
    • 1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
    • 1 6 ounce can tomato paste
    • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg or more
    • 1 large bay leaf
    • 1 cup half and half or canned coconut milk
    • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (pizza pepper)

    Instructions
     

    Cook the Vegetables

    • To a large heavy pot (5 quart) over medium heat, add olive oil. When oil is hot add the onion, celery and carrot. Turn heat down to medium low and cook the vegetables slowly until soft, about 3-5 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add the garlic and dried Italian herbs and cook 1 minute longer.

    Add Meat and Continue

    • Add the ground bison and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Cook until it is no longer pink, about 5-7 minutes. Add the wine and cook until wine is reduced, 3-4 minutes. Add salt and pepper, then stir in the tomato paste and your tomatoes. Add nutmeg, bay leaf and milk. Turn the heat up and bring sauce almost to a boil, then turn down to low and cover.

    Simmer for Flavor

    • Simmer sauce 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until thick and rich. Serve over pasta or noodles of choice. Extra sauce freezes well.

    Notes

    For Fresh Tomatoes
    To substitute fresh tomatoes for canned, start by peeling the tomatoes. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Set up an ice bath by filling a large bowl with half ice and cold water. Slice a small X into the bottom of the tomato (to make peeling easier). When water is boiling, place a few tomatoes at a time into the water for 1 minute, then plunge immediately into the ice bath. Tomato skins should peel right off. 
    With a sharp paring knife, cut out the core. When all tomatoes are peeled, pulse in a food processor or blender to break them up into a sauce. You should get approximately 4 cups of total diced tomatoes. 

    Nutrition

    Calories: 361kcalCarbohydrates: 19gProtein: 18gFat: 22gSaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 68mgSodium: 306mgPotassium: 1092mgFiber: 5gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 5998IUVitamin C: 41mgCalcium: 112mgIron: 3mg
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Matt says

      March 07, 2021 at 3:16 pm

      Trying the recipe tonight. Very excited

      Reply
    2. Jen says

      August 05, 2020 at 11:41 am

      Hello, I’m excited to try this recipe! One quick question. Is 2tsp of the dried herbs listed combined? Or, 2 of each? Thanks!!

      Reply
      • Sally Cameron says

        August 05, 2020 at 12:19 pm

        Hi Jen. 2 teaspoons of a blend or if you don't have the blend use a total of 2 teaspoons of the other herbs listed. I usually use a little more too. Hope you enjoy! Thanks for the question.

        Reply
    3. Donna says

      March 13, 2019 at 6:22 pm

      Hi- do you simmer with the cover on or off?

      Reply
      • Sally Cameron says

        April 03, 2019 at 1:53 pm

        Hi Donna, I usually simmer with the cover off so that it thickens. If it splatter, you could try leaving the cover partially ajar and monitor it. Hope that helps. Please let me know.

        Reply
    4. Sam says

      March 05, 2019 at 5:03 pm

      Made it this evening. Wonderful. Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks.

      Reply
      • Sally Cameron says

        April 03, 2019 at 2:15 pm

        Love to hear that Sam, thanks for commenting.

        Reply
    5. Stephanie says

      January 29, 2019 at 5:37 pm

      Instead of bison I had some ground elk from a hunting neighbor and used that and it was excellent! Went to start chopping vegetables and, oops—no carrots. So I threw in some diced sweet peppers instead for the carrots and it worked okay. Since it’s winter I used three pints jars of my own fresh canned tomatoes. Excellent bologese that would go well with just about any meat or game.

      Reply
      • Sally Cameron says

        January 30, 2019 at 9:26 am

        Sounds amazing Stephanie! Good swap.

        Reply
    6. Angela Piaskoski says

      November 07, 2018 at 6:59 am

      Can I use red wine instead of white?

      Reply
      • Sally Cameron says

        November 08, 2018 at 1:21 pm

        Absolutely if you'd prefer! And if you want to try white wine, but are not a white wine drinker, you can use the mini airline sized bottles for cooking. Hope you enjoy Angela. Thanks for the question.

        Reply
    7. Andrea M. Franklin says

      February 04, 2018 at 12:08 pm

      Ever since I've met my soldier fiance, I've had to train his palate to enjoy real food--not the MREs he got in the Army. Before he met me, he thought salt and pepper were the only seasonings. He recently came home with frozen ground bison and loaded the freezer with pounds of this stuff. I found your Bison Bolognese Meat Sauce Recipe and decided to give it a try. (In all honesty, I did have a jar of conventional Ragu just in case). I followed your recipe. When he got home, he and one of his soldiers were exhausted and starving--as expected. He looked down at the dutch oven full of bison and made himself a small plate--he doesn't waste food and he doesn't want to offend, so he politely portioned a small bit for himself and for his friend. Within minutes, he was up for seconds. As he walked into the kitchen, he said, "Wow, baby, this is delicious." Midway through the second plate, he looked up and said, "I know what it's missing! Red pepper flakes!!" I laughed, but truthfully, he was so spot on right about that. I thought I'd share the anecdote and let you know that we think red pepper flakes make this meat sauce absolutely phenomenal. Thank you, thank you, thank you for this amazing recipe!!

      Reply
      • Sally Cameron says

        February 05, 2018 at 12:02 pm

        Oh Andrea, thanks for your story! Makes my day and makes me smile. I'll always think of you two when I make this! He must really appreciate your fantastic home cooking after enduring army food. Please thank him for his service to our country. And yes on red pepper flakes! God bless you two on your upcoming marriage.

        Reply
    8. Traci says

      January 24, 2017 at 8:11 pm

      Hi, does it need to simmer for 2 hours? :/ Can I cook it for less time?

      Reply
      • Sally Cameron says

        January 24, 2017 at 8:20 pm

        Hi Traci. The flavors will be richer and more developed the longer it goes, but yes you can simmer it for less time. Taste it and see for yourself while it is in progress.

        Reply
    9. Hi says

      November 06, 2016 at 3:41 pm

      I made it for my boyfriend tonight and he enjoyed it, and he's a picky eater ???????????? Thanks so much!

      Reply
      • Sally Cameron says

        January 24, 2017 at 8:21 pm

        Love to hear that!

        Reply
    10. Hi says

      November 06, 2016 at 12:55 pm

      When do you add the blended tomatoes and how much nutmeg?

      Reply
      • Sally Cameron says

        November 06, 2016 at 1:46 pm

        Add the tomatoes after the tomato sauce, and I use about 1/4 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg, maybe a little more. I use the whole nutmeg and a microplane zester for the best freshness.

        Reply
    11. Susie Perry says

      October 22, 2015 at 1:41 pm

      Thanks - can' t wait to try it!

      Reply
    12. Susie Perry says

      October 19, 2015 at 3:39 pm

      You did not say how much garlic to use

      Reply
      • Sally Cameron says

        October 19, 2015 at 6:43 pm

        Ha, forgot to list. All fixed. Thanks Susie. about 3 cloves is good!

        Reply
    13. ronnie says

      October 05, 2015 at 6:13 am

      Great recipe and good tip to use zucchini as noodles. I always use spaghetti squash but I hear now that its quite high in carbs. I'm sharing this recipe with my peepers

      Reply
      • Sally Cameron says

        October 05, 2015 at 11:20 am

        Thanks Ronnie. While zucchini is lower in carbs (about 6 grams in 1 medium zucchini), spaghetti squash is a little higher but certainly not like eating real pasta. 100 grams, about 1 cup cubed, has 7 carbs. Pasta is more like 40 grams in 2 ounces (57 grams). Google the nutrition on the squashes and see for yourself. Hope you will make the recipe and report back.

        Reply

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