Ground Bison Tacos with Creamy Jalapeño Sauce

Upgrade your next Taco Tuesday with these ground bison tacos. The bison is cooked in a sweet and spicy chipotle citrus sauce, which is the perfect flavor profile to pair with a creamy jalapeño and avocado sauce.

All that equals BIG flavors without a big time commitment. You can have these tacos on the table in about 30 minutes.

And why stop with tacos? This taco meat works perfectly for quesadillas, air fried or baked taquitos, nachos, or enchilada skillets.

More Recipes to Make with Ground Bison

In case you recently stocked up on ground bison like me, you’ll want to bookmark more of my bison recipes like chili, smash burgers, and breakfast sausage.

You can also use ground bison instead of ground beef in recipes like my fried rice and firecracker beef.

Okay, back to bison tacos. That’s plenty of ideas.

There’s a printable recipe card below with plenty of notes about ingredient substitutions, using leftovers, and all that good stuff. And if you enjoy this recipe, I always appreciate recipe reviews!

Servings: 8 Bison Tacos

Chipotle Ground Bison Tacos with Creamy Jalapeño Sauce

By Mason Woodruff

Lean ground bison cooked in a chipotle pineapple sauce topped with a creamy avocado and jalapeño herb sauce.

Prep: 10 minutes mins

Cook: 20 minutes mins

Total: 30 minutes mins

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Ingredients

For the Bison Taco Meat

• ▢ ½ Tablespoon Olive Oil
• ▢ 1 pound Ground Bison, 90/10
• ▢ 1 can (4oz) Chipotle Peppers in Adobo
• ▢ 2 cups Pineapple in 100% Juice
• ▢ 3 cloves Garlic
• ▢ 2 teaspoons Ground Coriander
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Mexican Oregano
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
• ▢ ½ cup Beef Broth or Water

For the Creamy Jalapeño Sauce

• ▢ 1 medium Avocado
• ▢ 2 Tomatillos, quartered
• ▢ 2 small Jalapeño Peppers, seeds and membranes removed
• ▢ 3 oz (about 3/4 cup) Pickled Jalapeño Peppers
• ▢ 2 handfuls Cilantro
• ▢ Juice of 1 Lime
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons Ranch Seasoning*
• ▢ Salt, to taste

Instructions 

• Add the chipotle peppers, pineapple, garlic, and spices to a food processor. Blend until smooth and set aside.
• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with the olive oil. Once hot, add the ground bison and brown one side for 3-4 minutes before breaking apart and fully cooking. Add the chipotle sauce to the fully cooked bison and cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens.
• While the sauce reduces, rinse out any remaining chipotle sauce from the food processor and add the ingredients for the jalapeño sauce. Blend until smooth.
• Serve on warmed tortillas and garnish with the jalapeño sauce, lime wedges, freshly chopped cilantro, cotija cheese, and chipotle chili flakes, if desired.

Notes

*If you don't have ranch seasoning on hand, you can substitute with garlic and onion powder, some dried herbs, and a little extra salt. You can also make your own. Adding fresh scallions, dill, parsley, and a splash of buttermilk or Greek yogurt can also add the signature ranch flavor you're looking for.

I served on corn and flour blended tortillas that were toasted directly over a low flame on a gas range.

Additional Serving Ideas + Ways to Use Leftovers

The bison taco meat also makes great quesadillas. Check out my southwest beef quesadillas for tips on making perfect quesadillas with Colby jack and queso Oaxaca.

For taquitos, roll the finished taco meat in corn tortillas (wrap in a damp paper towel and microwave for 30-60 seconds to prevent cracking). Spray with cooking spray or brush with oil and bake for 25-30 minutes at 400ºF on a sheet pan. Source: Baked Taquitos

To make an enchilada skillet or burrito casserole, add black beans and corn (or roasted veggies), chopped corn or flour tortillas, and top with cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 375ºF.

Nutrition Facts Notes

On its own, the cooked ground bison has 1,040 calories, 95 grams of protein, 43 grams of carbs, and 51 grams of fat.

The creamy jalapeño sauce has 410 calories, 12 grams of protein, 47 grams of carbs, and 30 grams of fat.

To reduce the fat content and calories, you can make the taco meat with extra lean ground beef. With 96% lean beef, the taco meat would have 800 calories, 87 grams of protein, 43 grams of carbs, and 23 grams of fat.

You can also swap the avocado for nonfat Greek yogurt stirred into the other sauce ingredients after blending. See my jalapeño ranch yogurt dip for an example.

Nutrition

Serving: 1taco, Calories: 310kcal, Carbohydrates: 31g, Protein: 18g, Fat: 14g

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