Aggie's Kitchen

Grilled Barbecue Bison Burger

Try a lean Grilled Barbecue Bison Burger for a healthier alternative to your traditional hamburger – they are juicy and flavorful with less guilt!

Click here to pin this healthy Bison Burger recipe!

Try this recipe for a lean Grilled Barbecue Bison Burger for a healthier alternative to your traditional hamburger - they are juicy and flavorful with less guilt!

My husband has been on a health kick lately. I love it. He’s really making an effort to cut back on calories, make better food choices and squeezing in exercise throughout the day. He’s taking walks around his building during restroom breaks, and trying to get a two mile walk around the neighborhood in the evenings as well as getting to the gym to hit the elliptical or play basketball with our son on the weekends. It all adds up!

Him being on a health kick gives me more motivation to put together healthier meals for us to eat together. We are trying to lighten things up wherever we can and using bison in place of our regular ground beef is one way we can lighten up our burgers on the grill. Since bison is pricier than ground beef, this is a treat for us that we look forward to whenever we can.

Try this recipe for a lean Grilled Barbecue Bison Burger for a healthier alternative to your traditional hamburger - they are juicy and flavorful with less guilt!

Where to buy ground bison for this recipe?

I have been buying bison meat from Costco regularly, but have seen it at my local grocery store (although in much smaller packages) as well as Fresh Market and Whole Foods.

Healthy Bison Burger Ingredients

I like to keep my burger seasonings pretty simple so that you really enjoy the flavor of the beef you are cooking with.

  • ground bison
  • onion powder
  • garlic powder
  • coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
  • your favorite barbecue sauce, for basting

The toppings though, that is where you can have fun. I love adding caramelized onions to my burgers and of course cheese!

How To Cook Bison Burgers On The Grill

  1. In a large mixing bowl, gently combine ground bison with onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Divide meat mixture into 5 even sections and form into patties. When forming, gently press down your thumb in center to help keep it’s shape and avoid turning into a meatball on the grill.
  2. Pre-heat your grill to medium high heat. Place burgers on grill. Cook for 6-7 minutes on each side (for medium well – well done burgers) or 4-5 minutes for juicier, medium burgers. After first flip, brush cooked side liberally with your favorite barbecue sauce. Once burger is cooked through, quickly flip and brush other side before taking off the grill. Transfer to top rack of grill (or plate) and place a slice of pepper jack cheese on each burger.
  3. For serving: Place each burger with cheese on your hamburger bun. Top with extra barbecue sauce (if desired), caramelized onions and shredded lettuce. Dig in.

Try this recipe for a lean Grilled Barbecue Bison Burger for a healthier alternative to your traditional hamburger - they are juicy and flavorful with less guilt!

Along with the extra exercise, packed lunches and a little extra involvement with meal planning and creating recipes are part of this health kick too. That’s where this burger comes in. I know ground buffalo (bison) has been around for a while, but it’s not something I’ve ever cooked with at home. My husband has enjoyed a healthy bison burger at a local restaurant a few times and asked if we could grill some up at home. Buffalo is a leaner type of ground beef and a great alternative when looking to indulge in a hamburger.

Try this recipe for a lean Grilled Barbecue Bison Burger for a healthier alternative to your traditional hamburger - they are juicy and flavorful with less guilt!

Burger Recipes To Try:

Smoky BBQ Turkey Burger Sliders

Bruschetta Patty Melts

East Meets West Burger

Sanford Burgers

Love cooking with bison like I do? Try these recipes using bison:

Sweet Potato Bison Shepherd’s Pie

Bison Black Bean Chili

Bison and Brown Rice Stuffed Peppers

Print

Grilled Barbecue Bison Burger

  • Author: Aggies Kitchen
  • Yield: 4-5 burgers 1x
  • Category: Burger
  • Method: Grill
  • Cuisine: American

Try a lean Grilled Barbecue Bison Burger for a healthier alternative to your traditional hamburger – they are juicy and flavorful with less guilt!


Ingredients

  • 1.5 lb ground bison (or buffalo) meat
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • good pinch coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
  • your favorite barbecue sauce, for basting

For serving:

  • 5 slices of pepper jack cheese
  • hamburger buns
  • shredded lettuce
  • caramelized onions (see this post for instructions on how to caramelize onions)
  • barbecue sauce

Instructions

  1. In a large mixing bowl, gently combine ground bison with onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Divide meat mixture into 5 even sections and form into patties. When forming, gently press down your thumb in center to help keep it’s shape and avoid turning into a meatball on the grill.
  2. Pre-heat your grill to medium high heat. Place burgers on grill. Cook for 6-7 minutes on each side (for medium well – well done burgers). After first flip, brush cooked side liberally with your favorite barbecue sauce. Once burger is cooked through, quickly flip and brush other side before taking off the grill. Transfer to top rack of grill (or plate) and place a slice of pepper jack cheese on each burger.
  3. For serving: Place each burger with cheese on your hamburger bun. Top with extra barbecue sauce (if desired), caramelized onions and shredded lettuce. Dig in.

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53 comments on “Grilled Barbecue Bison Burger”

  1. bison is seriously awesome. You get that beef thing going on for less calories. Booyah!

    • Totally! I love how I don’t feel gross after eating a burger like I usually do. Red meat and I don’t really mix well. 🙂

  2. I love when my hubby goes on a health kick, it happens every-so often and he usually eats tons of salad. I love it! But I always keep an eye on how I cook and I love the idea of cooking bison at home, something I’ve never done either. This burger looks amazing!

    • We are getting a big salad in with our dinner every night! It’s getting me to be more creative and try new healthier versions of his favorite foods. Getting me out of a cooking rut too 🙂

  3. I’ve never tried ground bison. Can’t wait to try it on the grill, these burgers look amazing!

  4. Looks delicious!!! It does taste so good – probably even better because you know it’s so good for you!!!

  5. Good for the husband! The burgers look cooked perfectly. I think I could eat caramelized onions on any savory dish- so good!

  6. Love this!!! I have been interested in the fitbit too!

    • Thanks Julie! You should really check the Fitbit out, I think you would love it! It’s really motivating.

  7. Bison is lean and makes a deliciously moist burger Aggie.

  8. I love ground bison! I often mix it with ground lean turkey in dishes to make them seem really meaty. This burger sounds delish. And I’m intrigued about the FitBit. I wonder if my husband could get into that!

    • Do you buy your bison at Publix Christine? I went to Whole Foods to get it, but I don’t see myself making the trip that often. I think I’ve seen it at Publix too!

      • Yes, at Publix. It’s with the Greenwise meats. It’s kind of pricey but so so so worth it. I also sometimes buy the bison wieners (near the organic lunchmeats). They’re $9 a package, so a total total splurge but possibly the best wieners I’ve ever had.

        • Yes! That’s where I’ve seen it. Good to know about the hot dogs – my husband would love those! Thanks!

  9. That’s SO wonderful Aggie!! I love it! Thanks for the shout out. I am still addicted to my Fitbit…which isn’t a bad thing to be addicted too, huh? I wear it all day everyday and love how it’s linked up to My Fitness Pal to upload any calories burned there. I love that my hubby and I can compete with ourselves and a friendly competition with each other. It’s so worth the $50!!

    My Fitbit is what got me back out the door with my running I think. If I do a run and a walk every morning then I have no trouble at all hitting my 10,000 steps a day and sometimes more. But if I don’t do it, it’s really hard to meet that goal.

    Hope you get yours hooked up soon! We can also “friend” each other through our Fitbit accounts!! It’s so much FUN!

    • He really loves it Denise! His goal is 10,000 steps too. And the days he gets in the extra workout (2 mile walk or gym) he hits it easily too. I can’t wait to try it. I’m not walking as much b/c of the heat, but I know once baby is here I will be happy to push a stroller on long walks outside!!

  10. Oops forgot to mention that we found out my hubby gets in A LOT of steps at work even though he has a desk job! He’s a “pacer” and frequently comes home with over 8,000 steps on his Fitbit even without doing any exercise.

    Everytime he’s on the phone he’s up pacing…..

    Without the Fitbit we’d have never found that out!! 😉

  11. I have never had bison, but you make me think I NEED to try it. This burger looks awesome!

  12. My husband would be all over this… mmmm

  13. I could eat this for breakfast!! HOLY YUM!!

  14. I’m so happy to see you doing bison! We’ve had it cooked several ways and it is dee-licious! Last time I was at Costco I saw that they are carrying the ground variety so I think I’ll save this recipe and pick some up next time. Thanks Aggie!

    • I’ve only had it in burgers! I am so glad you told me that your Costco carries it, I need to look for it there!

  15. I absolutely love ground bison – we used to cook with it all the time a few years ago when we were counting calories. It’s gotten really super expensive around here so it’s a less frequent occurrence, but still just as delicious 🙂 Your burgers have me craving it big time!

    • It’s pricey here too, so definitely a treat! We have a couple local places that serve it on the menu which is nice too!

  16. That sounds so good – I love onions on a burger. Isn’t it the best having your hubby on board? I feel so much happier knowing that my husband and I are eating healthy together 🙂

  17. My favorite meat for burgers is Bison! These look delicious.

  18. Wow, Aggie! This is one heck of a manly burger… and I know I’d love it, too! Looks scrumptious.

  19. I haven’t had bison in forever! I can’t wait to make this right at home – I think I’ll need my fat pants because I’ll gobble up at least 2 of these!

  20. You know it is funny, I love grilling a lot with my hubby. However, I am still not a huge meat eater. BUT if you gave me a bison burger, I would so devour it! Your burger looks and sounds delicious! Hugs, Terra

  21. I LOVE bison!! It’s not easy to find but when we do, we always grab it. So lean and delicious!

  22. Oh, yum, I haven’t had a bison burger in so long. I need to revisit that!!

  23. I have been eyeing the fitbit!! And this burger looks awesome- I love a burger piled high with caramelized onions!

  24. Bison is one of our faves too! Fitbit has been on my “must buy” list for a while now.

  25. We’ve been experimenting with bison lately — so good!

  26. I have never made bison before, but based on how great these burgers look, I think I better try it!

  27. I love burgers and this is one I can’t wait to try!

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  30. I love Bison as well, as a matter of fact – I’m making some burgers tonight…

    Yes, it’s expensive – but keep an eye on it – when it’s w/in 2 or 3 days of the sell by date (and properly handled, perfectly fine to eat), grocers will drop the price tremendously.

    I just picked up some for the cost of lean ground beef, sell by date is in 3 days – and I’m grilling them tonight! Booyah!

  31. Just fye, our Costco carries bison!

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  33. I love using bison in place of beef. It has great flavor and is much leaner. I linked to this post in a round up of healthy father’s day recipes. http://www.halfhersize.com/healthy-fathers-day-recipes/ Thanks!

  34. Bison burgers have become one of my favorites, too. Those caramelized onions are the perfect topping… this looks delicious! Thanks for sharing my Bison chili

  35. Love grilled bison, best of both worlds, somewhat healthier than a burger but the same mouth watering taste, if not better. I have one caveat to add, buffalo meat dries out very quickly and 6-7 minutes on med. high heat, might be a bit long, just take your time.

  36. AGGIE, , this looks really good! I think I need to make these for myself and the kids. Love this idea!






  37. What a great idea! Love this. I’m sure this is incredibly delicious!