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.
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.

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.
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.
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.
You can freeze any leftover meatballs in an airtight container for up to 4 months.
Always use an ice cream scoop to easily portion out perfectly round meatballs. It keeps everything consistent.
Reheat: To warm up leftovers simply pop in the microwave.