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These porcupine meatballs use everyday ingredients, come together fast, freeze well, and are great for making ahead!
Try these Grape Jelly Meatballs or Slow Cooker Meatballs next.
Why you’ll love them
These old fashioned porcupine meatballs were designed to help stretch your dollar by making meat go further. The best part might be how are hands-off they are once you get them in the oven since there’s absolutely no messy frying involved! They’re paired with a simple tomato sauce that’s savory and flavorful with just a few pantry seasonings.
Ok, so why are they called porcupine meatballs, anyway? It’s because the rice cooks and sticks out so they look a bit like porcupines. That’s about it, which is actually pretty charming for a name. Basically, they’re a fun recipe that the kids will enjoy as well. For how few ingredients you need to make them, these easy meatballs are a weeknight winner any time of the year.
Ingredients you’ll need
For the meatballs
- Lean ground beef – the meatballs are cooked right in the sauce, and you don’t want the sauce to be too oily, so we like 90% lean
- Long grain white rice – jasmine, basmati, or generically labeled “long grain white rice” is what you’re looking for
- Egg – binds the meatballs so they don’t fall apart
- Seasonings – chopped onion, minced garlic, dried Italian seasoning, salt & pepper make up the tasty flavorings
For the sauce
- Canned tomato sauce – for my UK/Australian readers, tomato sauce here in North America is similar to passata
- Chicken broth – it helps thin the sauce and infuse flavor
- Worcestershire sauce and garlic powder – to level up the savory flavor even more!
- Brown sugar – takes the acidic edge off the canned tomatoes to balance everything out
Pro tip that you shouldn’t skip over!
- The key to this recipe is getting a really tight seal on the foil. I cannot emphasize this enough. You can also use the lid your baking dish came with. This ensures that the rice cooks properly in the baking dish. Basically, it means the heat gets trapped and circulates right in the dish and doesn’t escape.
- Are you at a high altitude? You may need to increase bake time.
How to make porcupine meatballs
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Add meatball ingredients to a large bowl. Gently combine the meat mixture with your hands without overworking it.
Form into meatballs that are 1.5″ and place into a 9×13″ baking dish, evenly spaced out. Add all sauce ingredients to a mixing bowl and stir well.
Pour the sauce directly onto the meatballs in the baking dish. Cover with foil tightly and bake until the rice is fully cooked and they’re tender.
Stovetop method
- In a pot/Dutch oven, brown the meatballs in batches. Use about a tablespoon of olive oil for each batch. Transfer them to a plate.
- Sauté the onion for about 5 minutes, then add in the garlic, tomato sauce, and chicken broth.
- Add the meatballs back to the pot, and cook over a low heat until they’re cooked through, about 45 minutes.
Substitutions and variations
- You can swap the ground beef for ground pork or ground turkey if you prefer.
- Change the flavors up a bit by replacing the salt with seasoned salt or another salty seasoning such as Cajun seasoning such as Tony Chachere’s Original.
- If using brown rice, the meatballs may take up to 2 hours to cook, and you may need to add a little more liquid to the sauce partway through baking. Or pre-cook it before adding it into the meatballs.
What to serve with this recipe
- Since they contain rice, they’re delicious served with vegetables. Try a bed of wilted spinach, Sautéed Green Beans, or these Easy Glazed Carrots.
- You could, of course, serve them with Mashed Potatoes, though!
- I like them paired with a simple side salad as well. This Olive Garden Salad Dressing is one of our favorites.
Leftovers and storage
- These meatballs will last in the fridge for 4-5 days in a covered container.
- You can reheat them in a small saucepan over a low heat until warmed through, or the microwave works too.
- They can be frozen for up to 3 months. Simply store in desired size portions in airtight containers and reheat when ready. You can thaw overnight if you’d like.
More delicious meatball recipes
Questions about this porcupine meatball recipe? Let me know in the comments below! I’d love it if you left a review.
Easy Baked Porcupine Meatballs
Ingredients
Meatballs:
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1/2 cup uncooked long grain white rice
- 1 egg
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Pepper to taste
Sauce:
- 2 (14 ounce) cans tomato sauce
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon (packed) brown sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F and move the rack to the middle position.
- Add the meatball ingredients to a large prep bowl and mix together with your hands. Form approximately 20 1.5" meatballs and add them as you go along to a 9×13 baking dish.
- Add the sauce ingredients to a medium bowl and stir together. Pour the sauce over the meatballs.
- Cover the baking dish and bake for 1 hour. Make sure the foil/seal is tight or the rice won't cook properly. If you find the rice isn't cooked after an hour, simply pop it back in the oven until the rice has softened.
Notes
- The sugar helps take the acidic edge off the canned tomato sauce – it’s optional but recommended.
- I don’t necessarily recommend using brown rice since it takes longer to cook (up to 2 hours and you may need to add more liquid to the sauce). You could pre-cook the brown rice and then add it into to the meatballs.
- Meatballs are safe to eat at 160F internal temperature.
- Feeds 4-6.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Could instant rice be used in meatball recipe instead of regular rice?
Hi Sharon! You could try, but I haven’t tested it, so I can’t speak to the results.
How can I make this with a gravy sauce instead of tomato? Any advice is appreciated
Hi Kay! I don’t know as that would be a totally different recipe. I have a tested meatballs and gravy recipe here you could try: https://www.saltandlavender.com/meatballs-and-gravy/
Any tips for getting the rice cooked? I made this recipe a while ago and it was delicious but I cooked it and cooked it and the rice was still crunchy! For that reason I’ve never had success with porcupine meatballs in the oven. Would this recipe work in a pressure cooker?
Hi! Maybe you could try instant rice or use cooked rice? I’m baffled as to why they don’t seem to cook for some people. 🙁 I think you could do them in the IP, but I haven’t done meatballs in one before, so I don’t know re: timing etc.
Made them again tonight. Cooked them for about an extra 20 mins and the rice was perfectly done and they were amazing! ❤️
Yay!!!