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This Paleo Cranberry Bison Meatloaf is the perfect healthy winter comfort food. It is incredibly flavorful, packs a big superfood punch, and the tangy cranberry sauce topping makes it perfectly festive for the holiday season!
This cranberry bison meatloaf calls for more than what meets the eye. YES, it’s got cranberries and YES, it’s got ground bison …but it calls for a few other strategic superfoods, too. First of all, it calls for liver! YES. Why liver in your meatloaf? For starters, the incredibly good-for-you offal (organ meat) is well-masked in a meatloaf. I prefer to blend it a bit (bear with me) because it’s much easier to work into (and therefore, mask with) other ingredients. The other superfood we’re using in this recipe is some shredded kale! Between the ground bison, liver, kale, and cranberry topping, this is one of the healthiest (and most delicious) meatloafs I’ve ever enjoyed.
Worth noting: I am NOT a liver-lover. So, for all my fellow non-liver-lovers, know that the spices + tangy cranberry sauce topping on this loaf really helps to mask the flavor. In fact, it masked/complemented the other ingredients so well, I actually found myself LOVING this loaf. I sliced it up and turned it into several freezer meals with some roasted root veggies (for when baby comes), and have already almost eaten half of the servings. It’s delicious and so good for you!
In other non-liver news, how is your December going?! I can’t believe we’re already near halfway through. Though we did hang our stockings, Austin (my husband) and I decided against a tree this year. Baby girl is due January 13th and if she were to come before we take down our decorations, I have a feeling we’d have our tree up through Easter. Though it’s a little odd not having a tree up, an extra poinsettia really helps add some festive spirit.
I hope you’re having a great week and that you enjoy this cranberry bison meatloaf recipe! Note that though I made it with bison liver (from US Wellness Meats), you can easily make it with any other kind (chicken livers would be great). I can’t wait to hear about how you enjoy this meatloaf!
Ingredients
For the Meatloaf:
- 1/2 onion diced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 4 ounces buffalo or chicken liver blended until smooth
- 2 pounds ground bison
- 1 head lacinato kale de-stemmed and shredded
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
- Fresh chopped parsley for garnish
For the Cranberry Sauce:
- 1 pound cranberries fresh or frozen
- 1 tablespoon honey omit for Whole 30
- Pinch of sea salt
- 1/4 cup water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- In a medium saucepan, add all of the ingredients for the cranberry sauce. Cover the pan and cook over medium heat for 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until cranberries have burst, then remove from heat.
- Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a large pan over medium heat, once warmed add the onion, celery, and garlic. Saute for 3-5 minutes until garlic is fragrant and onion is translucent. Then, add the kale and saute 2-3 minutes until wilted. Set aside and let veggies cool.
- In a large bowl, add the bison, blended liver, eggs, salt, pepper, sage, and cooled veggies. Work the ingredients into the meat until the mixture achieves an even consistency. Line a 9x5" loaf pan with parchment paper then press the meat mixture in and top with the cranberry sauce.
- Place the meatloaf in the center oven rack and bake for 60 minutes.
- Let the meatloaf rest for 10 minutes. You can slice it directly in the pan and serve or, using kitchen tongs, remove the loaf from the pan and place it on a serving platter for slicing. Garnish with fresh parsley.
Rachael says
This looks amazing and perfect for winter!
I apologize, I may just not be reading clearly, but for “4 ounces buffalo or chicken liver, blended until smooth” is it 4 oz of ground bison and 4 oz of chicken liver, separately? Or 4 oz TOTAL (so 2 oz ground bison and 2 oz chicken liver)?
Thank you!
Cassy says
Good question! It’s just 4 ounces of liver. That could be 4 ounces of bison liver or 4 ounces of chicken liver. You can also mix/match if you have several on hand. Hope that helps!
Erin says
Hi – Is it ok to omit the liver entirely? Do you have a suggested substitution if necessary? Thanks!
Cassy says
You can omit entirely 🙂