This Paleo-friendly, meal prep-friendly, totally balanced meal, bison and plantain breakfast bowl is going to knock your socks off.
I’ve lost count of the number of requests that have come through for Paleo egg-free breakfast options, so I thought it was high-time to put my ideas into print and photo. Ask and you shall receive, my friend!
This post is the first of THREE egg-free breakfast bowls that I’m rolling out. Each bowl will have the following:
- a healthy protein
- a healthy, Paleo-friendly starch
- a cooked vegetable
- a dang tasty sauce (ties it all together)
Sound good? Wait, it gets better. One added bonus of an egg-free breakfast is that they’re freezer friendly. YUP! That means, you can batch cook these recipes, portion out bowls in freezer-safe containers, and have healthy breakfasts ready in no time at all! Just let them defrost in the refrigerator over night then saute the whole thing together in a frying pan for a quick re-heat. Microwaves and ovens are also acceptable for reheating! Use whatever method you’re most comfortable with.
This bison and plantain bowl is SO GOOD. The 4 components come together easily and the results will blow you away. The seasoned ground bison, fried ripe plantains, and sauteed greens are all delicious, but the roasted tomato sauce really makes this dish sing. This recipe makes about 5 servings, but feel free to double the recipe if you’re batch-cooking with the intention of freezing for future meals! I like to consider recipes like this a good template. Feel free to work within them to make YOUR perfect meal! If you want more leafy greens, add more! If you want more starch, add 1 or 2 more plantains! Note that I’ll usually add a little more protein and starch to my husband’s serving than my own. Make it your own!
More Plantain Recipes
- Paleo Plantain Chips
- Al Pastor Pizza with Plantain Crust
- Plantain and Sausage Breakfast Casserole
- Chili-Lime Oven-Baked Plantain Chips
- BBQ Pork Plantain Pizza
Bison Plantain Breakfast Bowl
Ingredients
For the roasted tomato sauce::
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 2 cloves garlic peeled
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt divided
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 3/4 cup full-fat coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice about 1 lime
For the seasoned bison::
- 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
- 1/2 yellow onion peeled and finely chopped
- 2 pounds ground bison
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
For the fried plantains::
- 2 tablespoon coconut oil
- 2 ripe plantains
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
For the sauteed kale::
- 5 packed cups chopped curly kale
- 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice about 1 lemon
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
For garnish::
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro for garnish, optional
Instructions
For the roasted tomato sauce:
- Preheat the oven to 400 F. Toss the tomatoes and garlic with the olive oil and spread them out onto a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with half of the sea salt and bake for 25 minutes, or until the tops are starting to brown and burst.
- Blend the roasted tomatoes with the rest of the ingredients, taste and adjust with additional seasoning, and set aside.
- Note: if you have leftover sauce, it will keep for up to one week in a sealed mason jar or other container in the refrigerator. You can also freeze this sauce in ice cube trays so that you have a quick flavor-boosting sauce to add to meals in the future!
For the seasoned bison:
- Melt the butter in a large frying pan. Add the onions and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they start to brown.
- Add the bison and the rest of the seasoning. Breaking it up with a spoon as it cooks, keep the pan over medium-high heat for about 15 minutes, or until the meat is browned through.
For the fried plantains:
- Melt the coconut oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.
- Peel and slice the plantains on an angle into about 1/2-inch thick pieces. Carefully place the plantains in the hot oil. Cook the plantains for 5 to 6 minutes on each side, or until they start to brown (but not burn). Flip them over to cook on the other side and then transfer the finished pieces to a paper towel-lined plate. Season immediately with the salt.
For the sauteed kale:
- Melt the butter in a large frying pan or pot with fitting lid. Add the kale, toss with the melted butter, and cover to steam for 5 minutes, or until the kale is wilted and reduced in volume.
- Toss with the lemon juice and salt (add more to your taste).
- To assemble, plate with an even amount of the kale, bison, and plantains. Drizzle a generous amount of the sauce over top and garnish with fresh cilantro. Enjoy warm, refrigerate for up to 5 days, or freeze in individually-portioned containers for up to 5 months.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
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Cassy Joy Garcia
Recipe Developer, Photographer, and Copywriter
Just meal prepped 10 of these prior to baby #2 arrival! I was getting tastes along the way and I’m so looking forward to these! Question about freezing/reheating: do you think I could reheat from frozen in the oven? I have them in aluminum tins – I was thinking I could cover the tops and bake at 350 for ~45min? Let me know your thoughts!
I’m Puertorican and this recipe as well as the others on this website sound fantastic I grew up in PR and my grandparents owned a restaurant back in the day (70’s) so my grandpa always made different things with plantains! As I grew older I sort of lost touch and never ate them again. Now living in the Pacific Northwest (WA), I see them at the supermarket all the time, but never grab any because it makes me sad how much I miss how they cooked it. Now with this recipe and the rest I see on here, I’m going to get back to my roots and try these dishes! Thank you for sharing!
Oh good! I’m so glad, Sylvia! Thank you for sharing this with us!
I’ve made this recipe at least a dozen times. For Breakfast, for dinner, for company. Everyone loves it. It’s easy and the flavors are amazing!! Thank you!!
Wahoo!! That’s so awesome, Reg! Thanks for sharing this with us!
WOW WOW WOW!!! Seriously amazing!! The sauce is literally what ties this dish altogether. The bison was perfect. I made the plantains in the oven (425⁰ for 20 mins) to make it easier/less stuff on the stove. I cant wait to try the other dishes in the series! I am never let down with your recipes. Thanks so much!
So glad you liked it Sarah!
I just made this again, with a little cheater substitute to make it a one-pan meal: I put about three tablespoons of tomato paste in the pan with the garlic and oil and let it heat to almost smokey. Then I pulled the pan off the heat and whisked in my coconut milk and lime juice. Still a knock-out dish, just mom-ified, ha. Love it, Cassy!
Yum, that sounds fantastic Rachael!
Delicious! I had to use some almond flour to thicken the sauce. I used only 1 lb of bison, and added avocado and a fried egg to stretch it out a bit – amazing!
So good. Im telling you sauces make everything so much better. Your sauces rock. Made this in a huge batch for the week and sampled some before storing it away. Thank you!
YAY!! I’m so glad you liked the bowl! This sauce is one of my favorites.
I am doing my meal prep for the week today and made this dish. It turned out fabulous. What a great combination of ingredients. Thanks for sharing!
This might sound like a really dumb question, but do you freeze the sautéed kale as well? So assemble the entire bowl and freeze all components together?
Also, all I could think was how great this would taste with a fried egg or two on top! Oops!
This looks soooo good!!! I can’t wait to try it. What containers do you use for the freezer? I love the idea of batch making this for a quick meal in the morning.