Porcupine Meatballs
Porcupine Meatballs are made with ground beef, rice, and seasonings baked in a tangy tomato sauce. This is a one dish meal and kid approved!
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Porcupine meatballs are named so because of the rice in the meatballs. The rice pokes out of the meatballs, which resembles a porcupine. Porcupine meatballs are also the stuffing inside of stuffed peppers. When I was growing up I did not like the pepper part of the stuffed peppers but I loved the filling, so my grandma made just the filling in to meatballs for the kids.
And now I make them for my kids today. I still love them!
Why you’ll love them too
- Porcupine meatballs are made with inexpensive pantry ingredients you probably already have on hand. It’s just ground beef, rice, condensed tomato soup, broth, tomato sauce and seasonings.
- The meatballs are made in one baking dish. One pot dinners are my jam.
- You can easily double or triple this recipe for a large crowd.
- Porcupine Meatballs are family friendly and kid approved.
- These can be made the day before or frozen to enjoy later. Make a double batch, eat one batch for dinner and freeze the other for an easy dinner at at later date.
What you’ll need
- 9×13 baking dish
- Ground beef– I like a lean 90/10. You can also use ground turkey, pork, chicken, Italian sausage, or a combination.
- Finely chopped yellow onion– I actually grate my onion because if my kids see a spec of onion in something, they automatically hate it. Anyone else? LOL. When I grate the onion, it disintegrates while cooking, but leaves the flavor behind. So sneaky 😉
- Cooked rice– I’m using white rice, but brown rice can be substituted.
- Egg– to hold it all together
- Seasonings– fresh or dried parsley, worchestershire sauce, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.
- Tomato sauce– I use an 8 ounce can of sauce. Spaghetti sauce, crushed tomatoes, or tomato puree can all be used.
- Condensed tomato soup– yep, like Campbell’s tomato soup.
- Chicken broth– to flavor the sauce. You can substitute vegetable broth or beef broth.
How to make Porcupine Meatballs
Mix the meatball ingredients together, just until mixed, don’t over mix. Scoop into 1 tbsp to 1 1/2 tbsp meatballs (you’ll get 20-22) and add them to a 9×13 baking dish. You can make your meatballs bigger or smaller, according to your taste.
In a separate bowl, mix the sauce ingredients together and pour over the meatballs. Cook uncovered for 1 hour. That’s it! So easy!
Serve Porcupine Meatballs with extra buttered rice, mashed potatoes, grits, and your favorite veggies for a full meal. I love easy garlic knots with this dinner.
Tips and Suggestions
- Skip the tomato sauce and use jarred spaghetti sauce instead
- Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container up to 3 days.
- To freeze: place the prepared, uncooked, meatballs on a parchment lined sheet pan. Freeze for 1 hour. Add the frozen meatballs with the sauce to a freezer bag or container and freeze up to 3 months.
- Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Add the meatballs and sauce to a baking dish and bake as directed, allowing extra time if the meatballs are still frozen.
You might also like:
- Crock Pot Saucy Meatballs
- Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole
- Baked Ziti
- Chicken Marsala Pasta
- Mississippi Pot Roast
- Stove Top Stuffing Meatloaf
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Porcupine Meatballs
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Meatballs
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1/2 finely chopped onion
- 1/2 cup cooked rice
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley or 1 tsp dried
- 1 tbsp worchestershire
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp salt & pepper
For the Sauce
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1 can condensed tomato soup
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Mix the meatball ingredients together; ground beef, egg, cooked rice, and seasonings. Combine just until mixed, don’t over mix.
- Scoop into 1 tbsp meatballs (you’ll get 20). Place meatballs into a 9×13 baking dish.
- Prepare the sauce: In a separate bowl, mix the sauce ingredients together; tomato sauce, broth, tomato soup and Italian seasoning.
- Pour the sauce over the meatballs. Cook, uncovered, for 1 hour.
- Serve over mashed potatoes, extra rice, grits or egg noodles
Notes
- Skip the tomato sauce and use jarred spaghetti sauce instead
- Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container up to 3 days.
- To freeze: place the prepared, uncooked, meatballs on a parchment lined sheet pan. Freeze for 1 hour. Add the frozen meatballs with the sauce to a freezer bag or container and freeze up to 3 months.
- Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Add the meatballs and sauce to a baking dish and bake as directed, allowing extra time if the meatballs are still frozen.
