Delicious Bison Chili Recipe (GF, Corn Free, Top 14 Free)

I’m so happy to share a delicious bison chili recipe with you today. This is a well loved family recipe, and for one of my kids, it’s their all time top 2 fave chili recipes. If you can’t have bison, know that this recipe is flexible on the meat option, and I’ll cover details in the ingredient notes.

This bison chili recipe has a great body, fantastic texture, and spices really help the flavors shine. This recipe is very easy to make, and I’ve included helpful tips after the directions. Be sure to check out the Q&A in the table of contents and jump around as you see fit.

Table of Contents

Allergy Status

Free From: Wheat/Gluten, Dairy, Egg, Soy, Tree Nuts, Peanut, Fish, Shellfish, Sesame, Top 9 Allergens, Top 14 Allergens, Apple, Avocado, Banana, Berries, Buckwheat, Cane/Refined Sugar, Carrot, Celery, Cinnamon, Citrus, Coconut, Corn, Cruciferous, Lupin, Mushroom, Mustard, Oat, Pea & Pea Protein, Potato (Nightshade Variety), Poultry, Rice, Seeds, Squash & Gourd, Stone Fruits, Strawberry, Sweet Potato & Yam, Tapioca/Cassava/Yuca/Manioc, Yeast

Friendly To: EOE

Compatible With: Red Meat Free, Poultry Free, GAPs

Poultry Free: Swap the ground bison for a ground meat of choice.
GAPs: Use navy beans instead of black beans, and date sugar or honey instead of light brown sugar or maple sugar.

Tools to Make This Bison Chili Recipe

Kitchen Scale
Knife (this is my current fave knife series)
Cutting Board
Garlic Press (if you’re using fresh garlic)
Large Pot OR Dutch Oven
Wooden Spoon for Cooking

Bison Chili Recipe Ingredients

Part 1 Ingredients

5 TBSP Cooking Oil/Fat of Choice
1 Organic Purple/Red Onion, diced small
1 Organic Red Bell Pepper

Part 2 Ingredients

450g Ground Bison (16 ounces/1 lb)
1 tsp Sea Salt

Part 3 Ingredients

840g Organic Black Beans (30 ounces/2 standard US cans), drained
1 tsp Sea Salt

Part 4 Ingredients

335g Organic Tomato Sauce (12 ounces) AKA Strained Tomatoes
335g Organic Tomato Paste (12 ounces)
70g Organic Light Brown Sugar OR Organic Maple Sugar
1 bunch Organic Green Onions, chopped
2 Organic Garlic Cloves, minced/finely chopped
2 tsp Organic Dried Parsley
2 tsp Sea Salt

Optional Ingredients (Toppings)

Sour Cream (this would be great with fresh chopped cilantro)
Crushed Red Peppers
Small Diced Jalapeños

Important Ingredient Notes

Cooking Fat of Choice: I use organic extra virgin olive oil for chili, however, any cooking fat will work. Tallow, bacon drippings, and even butter/dairy free butter will work.

Salt: If you’re not truly corn free, experiment with smoked salt. It brings in a whole new layer of flavour, but it’s subtle. If you’re truly corn free like me, you’ll need to use homemade smoked salt, or smoke your chili with a smoking gun + safe & untreated wood chips.

Ground Meat: If you can’t have bison, you can use other ground meats. In order of best options to OK options: ground beef, ground pork, ground lamb, dark ground turkey, dark ground chicken, and ground rabbit. If possible, get organic, grass fed & grass finished meats, as you really can taste the quality.

Beans: In place of black beans you can also use cannellini beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, or navy beans. I get my cans of beans from this brand.

Tomato Products: This is the truly corn free, organic brand that I use. These products are also free from add salt and sugar ingredients, etc. Just pure tomatoes.

A Little Note About Ground Bison

I use a truly corn free ground bison that you can only order online. It’s not quite a lean ground bison, but it’s also not like ground pork at nearly 25% fat content. Whilst some grocery stores carry ground bison these days, I can’t vouch for their quality.

I get ground bison meat from The Honest Bison. Northstar Bison is another excellent choice, and they also have low histamine meats available if you need them.

More Free-From Chili Recipes

Here are some fantastic gluten free, super duper allergy friendly recipes for chili. Each recipe caters to different free-from needs, yet each one is fantastically amazing and freezer friendly.

Vegan 3 Bean Dutch Oven Chili Recipe
Tomato Free Dutch Oven White Bean Chicken Chili Recipe (a great hearty chili recipe for the whole family)
Dutch Oven Allium Free Beet Chili Recipe
Legume Free Chili Recipe (such a comforting bean-free chili)
Easy Squash Chili Recipe
Dutch Oven Chicken or Rabbit Recipe (such a delicious recipe and my kids love eating it with corn free “corn bread”)

Directions

Alright, let’s make this easy weeknight dinner! In a large (deep) non-stick pan, heat your cooking fat on medium-high heat (I use olive oil, but tallow and bacon drippings are also popular around here).

Add the diced purple onion to the hot oil. Sauté for 3 minutes, then add in your bell pepper (Part 1 Ingredients).

After 3 minutes, add the ground bison (or ground meat of choice) and sprinkle 1 teaspoon salt all over the meat (Part 2 Ingredients). Cook the meat for 4 minutes, breaking it into large, bite-sized chunks. As you break it down, you’ll be distributing the salt.

Next, add the beans and another 1 tsp of salt (Part 3 Ingredients). Mix everything together and continue to cook for 3 – 4 minutes.

Add in the rest of the ingredients (Part 4 Ingredients). Allow the mixture to cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn the heat to low, cover with a lid, and simmer for 12 – 15 minutes.

When your time is up, taste, adjust seasonings as desired, and enjoy. If you have the extra time, you can simmer for longer, which will producer a richer taste.

Note: The optional ingredients are for using as toppings when serving this hearty meal. Below, I have more topping and serving ideas for you to consider.

Batch Cooking

Chili is one of my absolute all time favourite foods to batch cook for my kids. I’ll often make a big batch of 3 – 4x the recipe so that on future busy nights, dinner is ready to roll.

To effectively batch cook, you’re going to need the right tools. I love this large 9 QT Dutch oven for batch cooking, along with some large/deep pans the kids call Big Bertha. I got them at a local shop and they don’t seem to be available nationwide, but here’s an example of something similar-ish (essentially you want wide and deep, with a lid).

If you have an Instant Pot like mine, that has a stovetop-safe liner, that can be used for batch cooking as well (I do this all the time).

When freezing large batches of chili, I like to freeze some portions as individual portions so my kids can take what they’d like, in addition to freezing family sized portions so a whole meal is ready to go.

Be sure to see my freezer tips below in the storage section of this recipe.

Bison Chili Recipe Storage

After cooking your bison chili, you’ll want to store it in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Alternatively, you can freeze your chili for many months.

The best way to store chili in the freezer is in glass containers with a stable lid. Chili doesn’t do as well with disposable containers in the freezer because if you stack them whilst they’re fresh, by the time they’re fully frozen, you’ll have a mess on your hands, and in your freezer. I learned that the hard way the first time I froze a chili recipe.

If disposable containers are key to your success, you’ll need to fill containers, then place them all over other items in your freezer, but do not stack unfrozen chili containers with disposable lids. Once they’re frozen solid, they stack just fine.

Ways to Enjoy Your Hearty Bison Chili

An easy way to enjoy your bison chili is to garnish with your favorite chili toppings. These can be traditional like shredded cheese and sour cream, or out of the box like gluten free panko or kimchi.

You can also serve your chili with a dipping vessel such as:

Grain Free Tortilla Chips
Sweet Potato Chips
Wilde Chicken Chips
Potato Chips
Buckwheat Crisps (buckwheat is a seed, not a type of wheat)
Grain Free Crackers (there are a lot of brands to choose from these days)
Veggie Crackers
Toast (regular, sourdough, gluten free, etc.)

If you like to walk on the wild side, you can also serve your bison chili on top of carbs such as:

And if you’re all about veggies galore, you can try these ideas:

Chili Lettuce Wraps
Chili + Slaw
Stir-fry Veggies + Chili
Chopped Romaine Salad + Chili Topping (add croutons for the ultimate experience)

If you love making delicious assemblies, try these:

Bison Chili Burgers (burger buns + lettuce + fresh diced red onion or shallot + creamy sauce)
Bison Chili Fries
Cornbread & Bison (you can also use corn free “corn bread” for a delicious dinner)

Remember, chili isn’t just for cold weather days. You can make up a batch of chili and serve it in a spring roll wrapper with fresh veg and call it a summer treat. It’s all in how you spin it 🙂

More Awesome Bison Recipes

What makes my bison recipes so special is that they’re all gluten free, truly corn free, top 9 free, and a whole lot more. If you manage multiple food allergies, and you can eat bison, these recipes may be exactly what you need in your life right now.

How to Change Up This Bison Chili Recipe

You can take this bison chili recipe and make it your own in so many little (and big) ways. Personally, I don’t have the luxury of using a spicier chili pepper profile since I have a lot of taste testers that are spice sensitive.

If that’s not a hurdle you have to work around, explore using chili powder or a spicy chili pepper. Those types of ingredients, along with other options such as cayenne pepper can add another depth of flavor, when used well, and properly balanced (you don’t want to blow out your taste buds). This article on nightshades has a whole section dedicated to different types of peppers. Review that list and I think you’ll find something tasty to try.

If spice isn’t your jam, explore different low/no heat spices including smoked paprika, cumin (only use a little bit), and coriander. You can also add ginger, or even mushroom powder to add layers of flavour to your chili.

For truly corn free seasonings I use Spicely (organic and non-GMO spices). Whilst they’ve had some trouble lately, I’ve never reacted to their spices, and last I checked, they don’t use an anti-caking agent.

Add all sorts of toppings.

Chilli, in my humble opinion, begs to be topped. From sour cream to cheese to a small can of green chilies, to queso, and everything in between. You can alter the entire eating experience by bringing in different toppings that you love.

Also, don’t be afraid to try new toppings (in small amounts), just for fun. I’ve encouraged my kids to try things like dairy free ranch dressing, Japanese seasonings, guacamole, fresh salsa, and a whole lot more on top of their chilli.

Answering Your Bison Chili Recipe Questions

Can I make this bison chili in a slow cooker?

The good news is that there are several different ways to cook this recipe, and using your Crockpot is one of them. Personally, I don’t slow cook and I don’t have a Crockpot (I do however have an Instant Pot). I say that to say this: slow cooking requires more liquid, however, this recipe may already have enough liquid to meet the criteria.

I suggest comparing this recipe to a slow cooker chili recipe where someone provides the correct ratios and timings for you. From there, you can tweak this recipe as needed to ensure it doesn’t burn. Happy cooking!

Is this like a classic chili recipe?

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that yes, this bison chili recipe is like a classic chili recipe. It’s savory, rich, loaded with flavour, and has a lovely ratio of meat to vegetables.

It’s also highly adaptable. If there’s a particular seasoning that you like to use in your classic chili, so long as it won’t clash with these ingredients, you can add it as well.

Could I swap the tomato sauce for diced tomatoes?

Honestly, you can swap the tomato sauce for diced tomatoes or even crushed tomatoes. I can report that your taste buds won’t know the difference. By the time it all cooks down, you’ll be fine.

Now, if you’re using fresh diced tomatoes and not canned, you’ll still need some tomato sauce, or you’ll need to add water. Preferably, you’d add tomato paste + water to essentially create tomato sauce (assuming you’ve run out).

Canned diced tomatoes comes in a tomato sauce-like liquid, and that can easily make up for the lost sauce. Fresh diced however won’t have that, so proceed with caution if that’s the route you have to take.

Is this a healthy chili recipe?

It’s always important to remember that the term healthy isn’t a regulated one. You can ask different people the same question and get a different answer. For example, people who have to micromanage their blood sugar may not feel fruit salad is a healthy choice whilst the average person would tend to disagree. It’s all about perspective.

Depending on your personal health and wellness goals, this could be considered a nutrient-dense meal with all of the vegetables, spices, and so on. If body composition is something you’re working on, bison naturally has fewer calories in comparison to ground beef since it’s a much more lean meat.

Personally, I’d call this a healthy buffalo chili, but at the end of the day, you’ll have to assess the recipe based on your unique needs to decide if it’s a good fit.

Can I use more than one type of meat?

When making this easy meal, you can totally swap my meat weight for a meat mixture of your choosing. Bacon and bison sure do make the perfect pair, and when I make bacon bison meatballs, my kids go wild for them. That combo in a chili would be *chef’s kiss*.

If you’re truly corn free however, know that your local grocery store probably won’t have a lot of truly corn free meats to choose from. You’ll want to plan in advance and order online from a trusted source.

When ordering online, consider getting an organ meat blend to use in your chili. There are many health benefits of superfood organ meat, but if you’re new to eating it, start in small amounts. The taste takes some getting used to, and you don’t want to overwhelm your system either.

Personally, I like the organ blend from The Honest Bison. You can also read more about the health benefits on their website.

Is this a good recipe for a tailgate gathering?

Oh man, this bison chili recipe is a great option for a tailgate gathering! Whilst I’ve never been to one, based on what I’ve seen, this is the exact type of recipe people like to gather around and enjoy together. You’ll want to use a large soup pot for transport or a really big bowl (bonus points if it’s disposable) and make sure you think about temperature control since this is a perishable dish.

Also, don’t forget the chips, or something else for dipping.

Can I cook this bison chili recipe in an Instant Pot?

You can certainly try! Personally, I’ve never had success in my Instant Pot when beans are involved. Now, I do cook on high pressure, so maybe that makes a difference? I would suggest looking online specifically for an Instant Pot chili recipe with beans and see what the instructions are, then apply them to this recipe.

Pressure cooking will always be a great option because whilst it cooks, you could do some weekly meal prep in the background, like making a batch of muffins or waffles.

Could I swap some of the tomato sauce for beef broth?

Sure, you can swap some of the tomato sauce for beef broth or beef stock. However, this will reduce the overall tomato richness of the final dish, and it won’t read as hearty as a typical chili.

As long as you’re OK with that, proceed. Also know that you can swap for a milk of choice instead as well for a really cool rose chili effect.

Is ground bison the same thing as ground buffalo?

Here in North America, yes, ground bison and ground buffalo are the same thing. American buffalo are what American bison are also called. My understanding is that the whole naming thing is a case of mistaken identity and I guess no one has ever felt the need to really correct this.

However, water buffalo, cape buffalo, and Asian water buffalo are NOT the same thing. Additionally, if you ever see mozzarella di bufala or buffalo mozzarella, that’s from legit Asian water buffalo, not North American bison.

Is it possible to purchase corn free cheese?

If you’re looking for truly corn free cheddar cheese and other basic cheeses, no. You’ll be SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO hard pressed to find something like that. Focus on how many Os I typed out….

Now, here’s one of the best kept truly corn free secrets: imported cheese from Europe. My top 2 websites I can suggest to you are St. James in Louisiana, and Murray’s in New York. They both offer shipping, but it will set you back $25 – 30 each time.

Personally, I purchase sheep cheese from both brands that are uber basic and so on, and have had decent success. Though, I think one cheese producer has changed recently because I can’t tolerate the cheese nearly as well as I used to. I try to stick to raw sheep milk, but never with vegetarian rennet, and not the egg cheeses either. Overall, I have maybe 6 options to choose from, and some are a bit too funky, but it’s an option!

On top of that, both brands don’t ship with packing peanuts, unlike the Artisanal cheese website (great stuff, but bio packing peanuts…). Murray’s is my fave though because they have a wide selection AND all of the ingredients directly on the website. With the other two shops, you have to call for ingredients (they’re helpful though, so don’t be deterred).

Genuinely hoping you find some safe cheeses to try, and tell them The Allergy Chef sent you 🙂

Can I leave the beans out of this chili recipe?

Sure, you can leave them out and have bean-free buffalo chili vibes. I do suggest replacing them with something like chopped king trumpet mushrooms or chopped lobster mushrooms to bring back some of the body and texture.

If that’s not an option, you essentially have a super delicious bison sloppy joe. It’s still freezer friendly, and can pair well with a wide range of carbs.