These juicy bison burgers are simple to make and a healthier option than traditional burgers made from ground beef.

I’m a dietitian and I love red meat. This may seem like an oxymoron to you, as I feel we are constantly told that red meat is bad for heart-health and raises risk of cancer. And it’s true, too much red meat is associated with an increased risk of heart disease and certain forms of cancer. But that doesn’t mean you have to completely cut red meat out of your diet. The key is to keep it to just a few times per month. Bry and I treat red meat like a rich dessert: we only have it on occasion and when we eat it we get the good stuff. So what happens when we’re craving a burger but are tired of veggie and turkey burgers? Grill up some bison.

Growing up in Colorado, it was common to eat hamburgers made from bison meat. In fact it wasn’t until I moved out East that I realized not everyone grew up eating bison burgers at family cookouts. While at the time I didn’t care about what was healthy, I now appreciate bison as a more nutritious alternative to ground beef. Bison contains less calories, less saturated fat, and more protein than most cuts of beef. It is also an excellent source of zinc, iron, niacin and vitamin B6. Besides being more nutritious, I find bison to be juicier and tastier than ground beef. As with all red meat, for optional nutrition I recommend choosing grass-fed.

While there are thousands of burger recipes out there, I like to keep my bison burgers simple – after all, if I’m going to spend the money to get good quality grass-fed meat I don’t want to cover it up with breadcrumbs and a bunch of seasonings. All you need are a few dashes of salt and pepper. That’s it. If you want to jazz it up a bit you can do so with toppings. My favorites are pepper jack cheese, avocado, and fresh tomato slices. Neither Bry nor I felt the need to add any condiments as the burgers were just so flavorful!

So here’s a toast to treating yourself to a juicy bison burger every once and awhile!

Print Recipe

Juicy Bison Burgers

These juicy bison burgers are simple to make and a healthier option than traditional burgers made from ground beef.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time12 mins

Total Time22 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Bison, Burger, Grill, Healthy

Servings: 4

Author: The Healthy Toast

Ingredients

• 1 lb grass-fed ground bison meat
• Salt and Pepper
• 4 slices pepper jack cheese
• 4 whole wheat burger buns
• 1 avocado sliced
• 1 to mato sliced

Instructions

• Place ground bison in bowl and season with salt and pepper. Divide into four patties and place on foil-lined plate.
• Heat grill to high. Once grill is heated, place burgers a few inches apart and close the grill top. Cook about 5-6 minutes per side for medium-rare (may vary depending on how hot your grill is and how thick you make your patties). Once flipped, add cheese once only 1 minute remaining on the cook time.
• Remove from grill and place on bun. Top with avocado and tomato slices then dig in!

Notes

Nutrition for ¼ lb patty (cheese, bun, and toppings not included): 165 calories, 8 g fat, 4 g saturated fat, 24 g protein