How Much Protein Is In Ground Bison? | Protein Per 4 Oz

Ground bison has a rich, beef-like taste that appeals to home cooks who want red meat with less fat. Whether you make burgers, tacos, or meat sauce, knowing how much protein sits in each portion helps you plan meals and track macros with confidence.

So when you ask, “how much protein is in ground bison?”, the real answer depends on serving size, cooking method, and how lean the grind is. Lab figures tell one story, food labels tell another, and your pan on the stove adds its own twist.

Ground Bison Protein At A Glance

Most nutrition databases and packaged ground bison labels land in a narrow range. Lean ground bison tends to offer a little over 20 grams of protein in a modest cooked portion, with no carbohydrates and moderate fat.

Here is a quick overview of typical protein values drawn from lab testing of grass-fed ground bison and branded 90/10 ground bison. Values are rounded to keep the table easy to scan, and actual numbers can shift slightly by brand.

Serving Size	Protein (g)	Context
3 oz (85 g) raw ground bison	17 g	raw, grass-fed sample
3 oz (85 g) cooked ground bison	22 g	cooked, grass-fed sample
4 oz (112 g) raw ground bison	21 g	common pack serving
4 oz (112 g) cooked ground bison	23 g	pan-browned estimate
100 g raw ground bison	20 g	estimated from USDA data
100 g cooked ground bison	26 g	cooked, grass-fed sample
1 lb (454 g) raw ground bison	80 g	useful for batch recipes

The headline takeaway: a palm-size cooked patty of ground bison often gives you around 20–25 grams of protein. That moves you a long way toward a typical meal target for many active adults.

Ground Bison Protein By Serving Size

Protein numbers only help if you can see the portion on your plate. For ground bison, most people work with three common serving sizes: 3 ounces cooked, 4 ounces raw, and 100 grams.

3 ounces cooked. This is the classic “deck of cards” portion, about the size of your palm (not counting fingers) and the thickness of a burger patty. For grass-fed ground bison, that serving usually carries around 22 grams of protein and roughly 150 calories.

4 ounces raw. Many store packs and nutrition labels list a 4 ounce raw serving. For lean ground bison, that tends to come in near 21–22 grams of protein with about 190–200 calories before cooking.

100 grams. If you cook by weight with a kitchen scale, 100 grams is a handy round number. For cooked ground bison, that portion often brings about 25–26 grams of protein. For raw meat, the same weight drops slightly closer to 20 grams.

Much of this information stems from lab values that feed into the USDA FoodData Central entry for bison meat and from brand-specific testing of ground bison grinds based on that data set. These figures give you a solid starting point for meal planning, even though your exact pan might land a gram or two higher or lower.

How Much Protein Is In Ground Bison?

Putting that all together, the practical answer to “how much protein is in ground bison?” looks like this:

• A typical 3 oz (85 g) cooked serving of ground bison gives about 22 g of protein.
• A typical 4 oz (112 g) raw serving of ground bison gives about 21–22 g of protein.
• Very lean grinds and longer cooking times can nudge the number toward the mid-20s per serving.

If you aim for roughly 20–30 grams of protein at a meal, a single cooked burger patty made from lean ground bison can cover most of that goal. Some people split the meat across tacos, chili, or pasta sauce and add beans, cheese, or Greek yogurt to reach their full target.

Ground bison also supplies iron, zinc, and vitamin B12 in amounts that compare well with beef. That mix helps many eaters pick it as a higher protein, lower fat red meat choice when they still want a hearty dish.

How Fat Percentage Changes Protein In Ground Bison

Just like ground beef, ground bison comes in different lean-to-fat ratios. The leaner the grind, the more of each bite is pure muscle tissue, and the more protein you pick up for the same cooked weight.

Common options include 90/10 (90% lean, 10% fat) and slightly higher fat blends. A 90/10 ground bison label that lists 22 grams of protein in 4 ounces raw will drop a little water and fat in the pan, so each cooked ounce ends up denser in protein.

Richer blends with more fat lose less weight while cooking, which means the protein per cooked ounce slides down. Total protein per raw serving might stay close, though, so the label still gives a fair picture for tracking daily totals.

If protein density per cooked bite matters to you, choose leaner packs and drain visible fat after browning. If you care more about tenderness and flavor than macro precision, a standard grind still gives plenty of protein compared with many other foods.

Cooking And Food Safety For Ground Bison

Cooking changes both the texture and the nutrition label of ground bison. Water and some fat cook off, so the meat shrinks and the protein per bite climbs. At the same time, safe internal temperature matters with any ground meat.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service advises cooking ground meats, including bison, to an internal temperature of 160°F (71°C) and checking that with a food thermometer placed in the center of the patty or crumble. You can find those details in the agency’s bison safety guidance.

That temperature might push the meat past medium, yet it still stays juicy if you avoid overcooking and rest the meat briefly off heat. Browning in a hot pan, then finishing over lower heat, helps keep moisture while still hitting the right temperature for safety.

For tracking, cooked weight tells the true story. If you start with 4 ounces raw and end with 3 ounces cooked because of water loss, the protein count belongs to the cooked portion, not the raw weight you measured at the start.

Ground Bison Protein Versus Other Meats

Ground bison often gets compared with lean beef, ground turkey, and chicken breast. All four bring strong protein numbers, yet they differ in fat and calories per bite.

Here is a side-by-side look at typical cooked portions, based on nutrition databases that draw from USDA lab figures for each meat:

Meat (Cooked, 3 oz)	Protein (g)	Notes
Ground bison, lean	22 g	similar calories to lean beef
Ground beef, 93% lean	22–25 g	protein rises as fat drops
Ground turkey, 93% lean	23 g	slightly lower fat than beef
Chicken breast, grilled	25–26 g	lean cut, higher protein density
Ground beef, 80% lean	20–23 g	more calories from fat

This comparison shows that ground bison sits right in the high-protein group, with a lean profile that often beats regular ground beef on fat and cholesterol while keeping similar protein per gram. If you enjoy burgers and chili but want fewer calories from fat, swapping in ground bison can help without sacrificing protein.

How To Fit Ground Bison Into Your Day

Protein needs vary with body size, age, training style, and health status, yet many people land somewhere between 60 and 120 grams per day. Within that range, ground bison can carry a lot of weight if you enjoy the flavor.

Match Serving Size To Your Protein Target

Think in units of 20–25 grams of protein. One cooked 3–4 ounce portion of ground bison gets you close to that. Two modest portions spread across lunch and dinner can carry you through a large share of the day’s total, especially when you round things out with eggs, dairy, legumes, or tofu.

If you are building meals for someone with smaller needs, such as a child or a less active adult, half a typical portion of ground bison paired with a side of beans or lentils can keep the plate balanced without overloading any one food.

Pair Ground Bison With Fiber And Micronutrients

Bison meat is rich in protein and several minerals, yet it contains no fiber or vitamin C on its own. Simple tweaks to the plate fix that gap.

• Serve bison burgers on whole-grain buns with leafy greens, tomato, and onion.
• Fold browned ground bison into chili with beans, tomatoes, and bell peppers.
• Use ground bison in stuffed peppers or squash to add vegetables to the base.

These combinations keep protein high while adding plant foods that bring fiber, vitamins, and phytonutrients to the mix.

Practical Tips For Measuring Ground Bison Protein At Home

You do not need a lab to keep your numbers honest. A simple kitchen scale, basic measuring cups, and a quick note in a tracking app can give you a clear picture of protein from ground bison.

Weigh Cooked Portions When You Can

The cleanest method is to weigh cooked meat. Brown a batch of ground bison, drain any visible fat, then place the cooked meat in a bowl on a scale. Divide the total weight by the number of portions you plan to serve.

If the cooked batch weighs 450 grams and you want three servings, each portion will be 150 grams. Using the table above, you can treat each portion as roughly 37–39 grams of protein, since 100 grams cooked falls near the mid-20s for protein content.

When You Only Have Raw Weights

Life is busy, and sometimes you only know the raw weight. A simple rule of thumb is that 4 ounces raw of lean ground bison shrinks to about 3 ounces cooked. If your label lists 21–22 grams of protein for 4 ounces raw, you can treat the cooked portion as having the same total protein spread over a slightly smaller patty.

That means each bite carries a little more protein than the raw label alone suggests, which works in your favor if you are trying to hit a daily target.

Is Ground Bison A Good Protein Choice?

From a protein standpoint, ground bison holds its own against other popular meats. It supplies plenty of high-quality protein per ounce, often with less total fat than regular ground beef and a flavor that many people enjoy.

If you like variety, rotating ground bison with poultry, fish, and plant proteins gives you a wide spread of nutrients while keeping your protein intake steady. If you love the taste and it fits your budget, building a few ground bison meals into the week is an easy way to keep protein high without a lot of extra planning.