My homemade spaghetti sauce with bison is a family favorite. This rich tomato-based meat sauce is made with ground bison instead of beef and it’s filled with flavorful spices and chunky tomatoes. It’s a comforting dinner served over tender spaghetti or linguine noodles and freshly torn basil.
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Homemade spaghetti sauce is one of the best things to meal prep. It’s so comforting, delicious, and simple to put together with a few herbs and spices, a can of tomato sauce, and ground bison meat.
Double this recipe so you can freeze and reheat it throughout the week to serve with fresh pasta as an easy lunch or dinner.
Having a quick and easy meal already made in the fridge or freezer is a huge lunch or dinner life saver!
Key Ingredients for this bison meat sauce
All ingredients, measurements, and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Ground bison
Bison is buffalo meat, it is a very lean and healthy red meat. It is grass-fed and pasture-raised with less fat than ground beef. The taste is pretty similar to ground beef, I like it a lot more, but my family doesn’t really taste a difference. If you don’t have ground bison, feel free to substitute it with ground beef if you like!
Onions and Garlic
A staple in any tomato-based sauce. I like to cook my onions until they just start to turn brown before adding in the ground meat because they start to caramelize and add a lot of flavor to the meat sauce.
Dried herbs and spices
The key to the best meat sauce is adding a lot of seasonings. Dried thyme, oregano, rosemary, cayenne pepper, all-purpose seasoning, and a couple of bay leaves all add wonderfulness to this sauce!
Tomato sauce
I use a plain tomato sauce with no seasonings or additives.
Chicken broth
Homemade chicken broth adds sooo much flavor to this sauce, but if you don’t have any broth, I have used just water and it was totally fine!
Chopped tomato
I love adding fresh tomato to my meat sauces because it adds a little bit of chunkiness to the sauce and a fresh tomato flavor.
How to make the best bison spaghetti sauce
Step 1. On medium heat, add a few tablespoons of vegetable oil to a medium-sized skillet. Add the chopped onions and a pinch of salt. Cook until they are translucent and start to turn brown, 3 – 5 minutes.
Step 2. Next, add the ground bison, dried oregano, dried rosemary, dried thyme, cayenne pepper, ground paprika, all-purpose seasoning, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Mix to combine. Cook until the meat is well browned, 10 – 12 minutes. Then add in the minced garlic. Cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute until the garlic is fragrant, stir so it doesn’t burn.
Step 3. Add the tomato sauce. Cook, it covered for 1- 2 minutes to get rid of the bitterness that canned tomatoes can have, then add in the bay leaves, chicken broth, and chopped tomato. Stir and cover. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer., then cook the meat sauce for 30 minutes.
Step 4. Boil your spaghetti or linguine pasta according to the package instructions. Serve meat sauce over pasta with freshly torn basil. Enjoy!
Recommended Tools
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, bison tastes very similar to beef. I prefer it over ground beef, but others don’t taste a difference.
You can use the same seasonings with bison that you would use with ground beef. Some of my favorites are dried oregano, dried rosemary, dried thyme, ground paprika, and minced garlic.
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Homemade Spaghetti Sauce with Bison
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons ghee or vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 lb ground bison or beef
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ - ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground paprika
- 1 teaspoon all purpose seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 - 3 large garlic cloves minced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1(15) ounce can of tomato sauce
- ¼ - ½ cup chicken broth or water
- 1 medium tomato chopped
- Spaghetti or linguine pasta
Optional
- Fresh basil for serving
Instructions
- Heat a skillet on medium heat with vegetable oil. Saute chopped onions for 3 - 5 minutes, until it is translucent and starts to brown.
- Add the ground bison or beef with the seasonings - dried oregano, rosemary, thyme, cayenne pepper, ground paprika, all-purpose seasoning, salt, and ground black pepper. Mix to combine.
- Cook the meat until it is well browned, about 10 - 12 minutes.
- Add in the minced garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Then add in a can of tomato sauce. Cook covered for 1 - 2 minutes to get rid of the bitter taste canned tomato sauce can have. Add chicken broth/ water and chopped tomatoes.
- Cook meat sauce at a low simmer for 30 minutes. Boil the water and cook the pasta according to package instructions.
- Serve meat sauce over pasta with freshly torn basil. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
All nutrition information is automatically generated and should be only used as a rough estimate. This recipe card may contain affiliate links.
