Firecracker Ground Bison Meal Prep Bowls

Did you know bison is one of the most nutrient-dense red meats out there? Since you can buy lean ground bison at most grocery retailers and warehouse stores like Costco these days, I’ve started making more ground bison recipes in the Kinda Healthy kitchen. These bison bowls, for example, combine a sweet and spicy firecracker sauce with lean ground bison, a low carb rice blend, and roasted broccoli.

It’s an easy recipe that you can prepare in about 30 minutes if you’re an efficient multitasker. The recipe is highly customizable to fit different dietary goals or flavor preferences. So let’s dive in and take a look at how to make bison protein bowls.

What Is Firecracker Sauce?

For the unfamiliar, firecracker sauce is a sweet and spicy sauce that originated from the American-Chinese restaurant Panda Express. It’s a sauce that’s been loosely adapted by many copycats over the years, myself included.

Most versions are based around buffalo sauce, some aromatic ingredients like ginger and garlic, chili flakes, salt, vinegar, and a sweet component. I’ve made it with everything from dark brown sugar and sugar free dark brown sugar substitutes to honey and maple syrup. This ground bison version calls for honey, but I’ve included notes on how to use the others in the recipe card’s notes section.

I typically use this sauce to flavor ground proteins like bison, but it works great for all kinds of dishes. You could use it to glaze shrimp or salmon, as a dipping sauce, or for pan fried firecracker meatballs, to name a few applications.

Making Ground Bison Meal Prep Bowls

I’m a big fan of hiding cauliflower rice in blends with real rice. In this case, since I’m using Costco ground bison, I paired their frozen cauliflower rice with Ritika’s cilantro lime rice. When the two are mixed together, you’re left with a much higher volume (more food, fewer calories) dish.

If you’d like to make your own, check out my jasmine and cauliflower rice blend.

Not a fan of cauliflower rice? No worries. Just use real rice and adjust your calories accordingly. This firecracker bison would work great for lettuce wraps or other lower carb food-to-mouth delivery methods.

To round out the meal, I paired the bison and rice with air fryer roasted broccoli. Feel free to use any roasted veggie, but broccoli seemed like the classic choice. Steamed the broccoli would be great, too.

And one final note on veggies. You could add even more volume to these bowls by making a stir fry. Check out my firecracker beef stir fry or honey sesame ground chicken stir fry recipes for inspiration.

As for sauces, chili crisp works great. But while you’re already in sauce mixing mode, I’d highly recommend my light yum yum sauce. It’s a creamy, tangy, umami sauce that would be amazing with these bowls.

I’d love to hear how you end up serving this firecracker ground bison. Let me know in the comments or a recipe review. I always appreciate the ideas and feedback!

And if you’d like to see more healthy finds from Costco, check out my full high protein Costco shopping list or YouTube video making these meal prep bowls and nine other dishes with Costco items.

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Firecracker Ground Bison and Rice Bowls

Yield: 4 Protein Bowls

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Lean ground bison in a sweet and spicy sauce served with a lower carb rice blend and roasted broccoli.

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Ingredients

• 1.25 pounds Ground Bison*

For the Firecracker Sauce

• 1/3 cup (80g) Buffalo Sauce
• 1/4 cup (84g) Honey
• 1/4 cup Water
• 2 Tablespoons (30g) Rice Vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Minced Ginger (or 1 teaspoon ground ginger)
• 1 teaspoon Crushed Garlic (or equal parts garlic powder)
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes

For the Rice

• 1 pound bag Frozen Riced Cauliflower
• 1 packet Microwave-Ready Rice**

For the Broccoli

• 1 pound Broccoli Florets
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons (24g) Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper, to taste

Optional Garnish

• Scallions
• Sesame Seeds
• Chili Crisp

Instructions

1. Mix the sauce ingredients together and set aside.
2. Toss the broccoli in the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Air fry at 350ºF for 6-8 minutes or bake on a sheet pan for about 15 minutes at 425ºF.
3. Microwave the rice blend and mix together. Cover and set aside.
4. Brown the ground bison in a large skillet over medium-high heat before adding the sauce. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the sauce thickens.
5. Divide the cooked ground bison, rice, and broccoli into four bowls (or your desired number of servings). For perfectly even servings, I recommend using a food scale to weigh each serving.
6. Garnish with thinly sliced scallions, sesame seeds, chili crisp, and a lime wedge, if desired.

Notes

*I buy Great Range ground bison from Costco in 2.5 pound packs. This recipe works fine if you're only able to find 1-pound packs.

**I used Ritika's cilantro lime rice from Costco but also like using frozen bags of plain jasmine rice. If you're using freshly cooked rice, substitute with 2 cups (cooked).

Nutrition Facts Notes

You can reduce the fat content by using a leaner cut of ground bison, beef, chicken, etc.

The sugar free brown sugar substitute from my firecracker chicken can be used to replace the honey and reduce the carb content.

You can also use other lighter sauces like my Japanese barbecue sauce, black pepper sauce, or even prepackaged sauces like the teriyaki in my teriyaki beef bowls.

Replacing the cilantro lime rice with another pound of cauliflower rice takes the carbs per serving from 51g to 33g.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1 bowl
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 520Total Fat: 20gCarbohydrates: 51gProtein: 38g

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