Chili Crunch Ground Bison and Zucchini Noodles

Stop wondering what to make with ground bison and get your shopping list together for these bison and zucchini noodles. The bison is cooked in a sweet, spicy, and umami chili crunch sauce and served over homemade zoodles tossed in a tahini lime sauce. Everything comes together to create creamy noodle bowls that have no business being as low calorie as they are.

Chili Crunch Sauce for Ground Bison

This is an easy sauce to throw together, and I bet you have everything on hand already. The only question mark might be the black vinegar, but that’s totally replaceable with something like balsamic, malt, or rice vinegar. A little Worcestershire sauce may even get the job done in a pinch.

As for the chili crunch, I used Momofuku, but any chili crisp or chili oil with some crispy bits works fine. Lao Gan Ma is the classic choice that most people have stocked in their pantry.

With the honey and tomato paste, this sauce isn’t overly spicy. Especially once it’s served with the tahini lime zoodles or other noodles/rice.

But if you’re spice adverse, you might try another sauce like my Japanese barbecue sauce or the slightly less spicy sauce from my firecracker ground bison.

You can also cool things down after the fact with garnishes. The acidity in lime juice or vinegar or the sweetness in a bit of extra honey all work well in reducing the spiciness.

Making Zucchini Noodles By Hand

I’ve seen pre-made zucchini spirals in my grocery store for years, but I’ve recently been unable to find them in stores. So I figured I should learn how to make zucchini noodles at home. And since I don’t own a spiralizer, I watched a great video on making zoodles with a vegetable peeler and knife.

It’s really easy to do! Just peel thin strips from a zucchini squash, stack them tall, and use your knife to slice the stacks into thin noodle-size strips.

I found peeling a few times on one side of the zucchini before flipping it over creates a stable base so you can firmly press down and create thicker pieces. If you peel too thin, your noodles may break in half and get lost in the sauce.

You can also make zucchini noodles at home with other tools like a julienne peeler or mandolin. Check out this guide for more techniques.

I was really surprised at how great these hand cut zoodles are. Honestly, I think I prefer them over zucchini spirals.

Since they’re so thin, you don’t need to cook them at all. Just toss in a sauce and top with this chili crunch ground bison (or your choice of protein) and dig in!

Making Tahini Lime Zoodles

If you’ve seen my chili crisp chicken noodle bowls, you know how much I teetered on a tahini sauce and peanut butter sauce.

Ultimately, I decided the peanut butter sauce worked better with the rice ramen. And I’m glad I made that call now. Because a tahini and lime sauce is perfect for zoodles.

It goes perfectly with the rich chili sauce on the ground bison and turns into this creamy sauce that coats the noodles once the bison is added. So good!

One thing I’ll add about the sauce is that you will probably want to keep the zucchini noodles and sauce separate if you plan on having leftovers. The zoodles may get a little soggy hanging out with everything else. But it’s easy to store extra zoodles on their own to serve with reheated ground bison and fresh tahini lime sauce later in the week.

Building Bowls and Other Ways to Serve

Not a fan of zoodles or veggie noodles? I totally get it!

Since this chili crunch ground bison is made with 90/10 bison and a more calorie-rich sauce, I figured it worked best with a lower calorie pairing. If you’re less concerned about that, you’ll never go wrong with rice bowls. You can throw in some roasted broccoli or another veggie to round out the meal.

If you want rice bowls while keeping the calories under control, check out my half calorie rice that combines bone broth jasmine rice with riced cauliflower to make a high volume rice solution.

And if you go with another carb source like rice or noodles and want another garnish option, my yum yum sauce or the creamy kimchi sauce from my bulgogi bowls would both be great with this bison. The latter is made by just blending kimchi with a bit of gochujang, honey, light mayo, and water. Easy peasy!

Do you have any questions about making this recipe? Need an ingredient swap for the ground bison sauce or more clarity on making homemade zoodles? Drop any questions in the comments at the bottom of this post, and I’ll do my best to help.

You’ll find the printable recipe card below. If you make this recipe and dig it, I always appreciate recipe reviews!