300+ Recipe Digital Cookbook
"I spent 10 years creating and testing recipes for this cookbook, it's my proudest creation!"
300+ Recipe Digital Cookbook
"I spent 10 years creating and testing 1000's of recipes for this cookbook, it's my proudest creation!"
- Mariel, Author & Founder
These saucy Bison Meatballs are a must try! But let me share about my weekend first…it was a great one. I had four days to recover, lay low and spend time with family. Thanksgiving day started nice and quiet. My husband and I took our sweet time to prepare our breakfast/mid-morning smoothies (since we were fasting), we bundled up, and drove downtown to take a nice little stroll right in the heart of the city. Downtown was way deserted (everyone must’ve been with their families), which hardly ever happens…we were able to find parking space so easy. The day was bright and the skies were blue, still, it was chilly enough for us to be able to layer up and get cozy.
During our stroll, Preston and I talked about our goals, dreams and upcoming lifestyle changes; walks soothe the soul, they are always so refreshing and needed. I love walks, especially when its nice and cold outside; take a hot drink and you’re in for a treat. After our downtown visit, we went home, picked up some goodies we had prepared for the family and went to our 1st Thanksgiving stop: my aunt’s house.
Lunch was delightful…full of flavor and great textures, not to mention the wonderful people we were gathered around. Once lunch was over, we headed to my in-laws’ house…our second Thanksgiving stop. There, we enjoyed wine, lovely conversations, board games and good laughs. It was so lovely in fact that we didn’t leave until 1am. Long day, right? Who cares…no getting up early the next day.
Black Friday was pretty mellow. We got ourselves a new washer and dryer, for which we are super stoked about, but that was all the shopping for the day…and it was done online. Score! We try to avoid the mall and shopping centers as much as possible on Black Friday…it can get pretty ugly in there. Then, when my hubby got off work, we finished the day visiting our in-laws again, where we had a bunch of good eats. Tons of salad – with pomegranate seeds – and leftover turkey.
On Saturday and Sunday, hubs and I hit the gym hard, since we felt like we needed it pretty bad, and spent the rest of the time working on personal projects. This was by far my best part of the weekend; one of our favorite things to do is be by each other working on our entrepreneurial endeavors and creating/designing things that will make our lives easier/better. Soon enough we’ll let you know what we’ve been up to lately (creative-wise), so stay tuned. That pretty much sums up my weekend. Now on to the really good stuff: saucy bison meatballs.
This creation is very Italian-esque, full of tomato sauce and good herbs. My husband couldn’t get enough of it. He loved it…and so did I.
Bison Meatballs
- Total Time: 1 hr 35 mins
- Yield: 12 meatballs 1x
Description
These Bison Meatballs have a crazy good sauce and are topped with crunchy pistachios on top. A must try recipe.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground bison
- 14.5-oz can no-salt-added diced tomatoes
- 6-oz can organic tomato paste
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 1 cup purified water
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 tbsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp + 2 tsp paprika, divided
- 4 tsp cumin, divided
- 2 tsp sea salt, divided
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, divided
- 1/4 cup roasted pistachios, chopped
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, mix together 2 tsp cumin, 2 tbsp thyme, 1 tbsp paprika, 1 tsp sea salt and ¼ tsp black pepper. Mix in ground bison, and form the mixture into 12 balls, about ~2″ each.
- Place a large skillet over medium heat, add 1 tbsp of coconut oil and cook onions for 5 minutes. Add in garlic, 2 tsp paprika, 2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp salt and ¼ tsp of black pepper, and stir to combine. Add in diced tomatoes, tomato paste and water; bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Add meatballs, cover and let cook for 40 minutes. Uncover, and cook for another 20 minutes, to thicken sauce a bit. Transfer to a serving bowl and top with pistachios.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hr 15 mins
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: American
I’m so making these this week. I bought all the ingredients yesterday. Do you have any recommendations on what to eat them with?
Hi Raymond! Yeah, a nice greens salad with cherry tomatoes, avocado, sweet peppers, slivered almonds and olive oil/balsamic vinegar would make a wonderful side dish for these…or you could always make cauliflower/parsnip mash 🙂
I’m going to go with your first suggestion, the salad. I have spinach, sunflower kernels, olives, feta, and olive oil/balsamic vinegar. The salad you recommended sounds good, but to make it I would have to make another trip to the market. And cauliflower/parsnip mash? That’s a new one, as is most recipes I find here on your site.
Keep up the good work! I share the recipes I find here with my friends.
Found this while searching for bison recipes. The pistachios are a nice touch. Will definitely be back to the site. Added to realfooding.net.
I’m making these tonight! We just bought a bison and I love finding new bison recipes to make for my husband.
Thanks 🙂
My husband and I love this recipe! We really weren’t too sure about paleo until this meal and now I think it will be a bit easier to talk him into it 😀
Hi Jessica! That’s so awesome! Makes me so happy to know that this recipe might help your husband consider following the Paleo lifestyle! I’m sure he’ll love it though…not only are there super delicious Paleo recipes out there, but Paleo helps with digestion, with energy levels and overall health. Keep me posted on you’re guys’ Paleo journey. 🙂
I made these the other day & they were delicious! !! I used red onion instead because its what I had. I will definitely make these again Yummy! !!
Thanks for your positive comment, Victoria! 🙂
This was excellent! Trying it with turkey this week. Skipped the pistachios since we didn’t have any handy. The sauce is very good.
Thanks, Michael!
Amazing recipe! I just made them & cant wait until the next time! I put them over spiraled carrots – perfect pairing.
Wohooo! Love to hear that, Brenda!! Placing them on top of spiraled carrots = genius! I’m going to have to try that soon!! 🙂
Making these this week! When I put in the ingredients in my tracker, i get much less calories per meatball (156 vs. 223)…curious how you go to yours so i can make sure I am tracking properly!
Hey Aimee! Yay, I hope they turned out awesome for you! 🙂 As far as my recipes’ nutrition: I look up each ingredient’s nutritional information (on nutritiondata.self.com), add it all up and divide it by the serving size. I’m interested to know what program you are using to track nutritional content?
Ok.. making this now and so confused! Do you not brown the meatballs first?
Hi Brett! Nope, you don’t brown the meatballs first. 🙂 You add the meatballs in step 6!
Got it. They were delicious and we have so much leftover. Thanks for a great recipe.
Awesome, love to hear that!!