Easy Porcupine Meatballs Recipe
What’s not to love about Easy Porcupine Meatballs? Yummy beefy meatballs cooked with rice in a rich tomato sauce. Pure Family Delicious!
This is an old-fashioned meatball recipe that could stretch the ground beef by adding white rice to ground beef before baking.
What to serve with your porcupine meatballs? We always served mashed potatoes with our meatballs with a little butter and tomato sauce. Even though the meatballs has a little rice which is a starch, the tradition was to serve with a side of potatoes to soak up that delicious tomato gravy.
Porcupine meatballs are a classic comfort food dish made from ground meat mixed with rice and then baked in a yummy sauce. They are called “porcupine” meatballs because, during cooking, the rice grains swell and poke out of the meatballs, resembling the quills of a porcupine.
Ingredients Needed for Porcupine Meatballs:
- Ground Beef – we use an 80/20 ground beef
- Long Grain Rice – use your favorite rice branc
- Chicken Broth
- Shredded Parmesan Cheese
- Yellow Onion
- Egg
- Minced Garlic
- Onion Salt
- Tomato Sauce
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Brown Sugar
A family recipe of scrumptious porcupine meatballs
- 1-1/2 lbs. ground beef
- 1/2 cup uncooked long grain rice
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 small onion finely chopped onion
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic (minced in jar)
- 1 teaspoon onion salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
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In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, rice, chicken broth, egg, parmesan cheese, onion, garlic, onion salt, and pepper. Mix well. Form into 1 & 1/2 inch meatballs. Place the meatballs in a baking dish. In a medium bowl mix together tomato sauce, Worcestershire, and brown sugar. Pour the sauce over the meatballs and cover the baking dish with foil.
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Bake in 350 degree oven for 50 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 15 additional minutes.
We use a smooth ice cream scoop to measure out the beef mixture.
Aim for making all of the meatballs the same size to insure proper cooking.
What to Serve with Porcupine Meatballs
- One of the best side dishes for yummy Porcupine Meatballs is mashed potatoes. Learn how to make the best mashed potatoes ever.
- Try these Flavorful and addicting Crack Green Beans
- If you want to keep the rice theme going, serving the meatballs with a side of white or brown rice is an option. It complements the rice that’s inside the meatballs.
- Don’t forget to put a healthy tossed salad on the table – you can get some suggestions here “what to put in your healthy salad” for some additional salad topping ideas.
MEATBALL TIPS:
- Do not over mix meat. Combine the ingredients with your hands just until it’s combined. That’s it. When you portion the meatballs they tend to get a little sticky. I recommend wetting your hands with water before you start rolling out your meatballs.
- Always use an ice cream scoop to easily portion out perfectly round meatballs. It keeps everything consistent.
- Buy 80/20 beef instead of extra lean. If you can find it 80/20 beef makes the best meatballs. They turn out super juicy and tender.
Can You Freeze Leftover Porcupine Meatballs?
You can freeze any leftover meatballs in an airtight container for up to 4 months. Don’t forget to label the container with the contents and date.
Reheat: To warm up leftover Porcupine Meatballs simply pop in the microwave.
Try this easy Porcupine Meatballs recipe for a quick and tasty family meal! You won’t be disappointed!
Looking for more tasty family meals? Here are some of our favorites!
Hamburger and Macaroni Soup
Mini Meatloaf
Pineapple BBQ Chicken
Baked Sloppy Joes
