Bringing buffalo and bison meat, yogurt, and cheese into the kitchen is a delicious way to elevate your everyday cooking—and it’s just as versatile as beef. The best part is the host of nutritional and environmental benefits that buffalo and bison deliver, along with the rich, nourishing taste their meat and dairy deliver.
The nutritional density of bison and buffalo meat boasts iron, zinc, B vitamins, ample protein, as well as a variety of beneficial fatty acids. Fat from the buffalo, in particular, delivers nutraceuticals: potent nutrients in humans with anticarcinogenic and cardioprotective abilities.
From an environmental standpoint, grass-fed buffalo and bison rearing supports plant and animal biodiversity. In fact, bison are considered a keystone species, positively influencing the ecosystem around them through their day-to-day grazing and overall lifecycle. With their open pasture roaming and feeding, as well as adaptability to cold temperatures, they offer a reduction in our environmental footprint when choosing these meat and dairy products over grain-fed beef.
Home cooks searching for new-yet-familiar options to beef will enjoy the rich flavour bison and buffalo products offer. The leaner meat is deeply red in colour, thanks to its rich iron stores, but still remains tender. Fuelling protein intake goals while getting a burst of nutrition, bison and buffalo are easier to digest, leaving you feeling fuelled up, not weighed down.
For those who want richness, dairy is another buffalo product to try. Buffalo dairy consists of A2 milk protein, meaning their milk, cheese, yogurt, and butter skips the harder-to-digest A1 version for a happier belly.
Containing more fat than cow dairy (about double the percentage of whole cows’ milk), buffalo dairy is filling and flavourful, supporting kids, adults, and seniors looking for replenishment.
The higher fat content and rich mineral profile turn it into a nutritional powerhouse in the kitchen, whether you’re enjoying it as-is (think buffalo-milk yogurt with your granola) or in any cooking or baking you have planned.
From simple muffins incorporating bone-building buffalo yogurt to classic spaghetti and meatballs using ground bison, the following creations will uncomplicate this lesser-known and highly nutritional red meat.
This collection was originally published in the June 2025 issue of alive magazine.