The Best Porcupine Meatballs Recipe (2024)

Porcupine meatballs are a healthy, simple and scrumptious dinner idea. This easy recipe features tender meatballs filled with long grain rice and covered with velvety, rich tomato sauce mixture. It's so effortless to make and something the whole family can enjoy! You can't go wrong with this classic comfort food.

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When I was a kid, my mom used to make us a version of this recipe often. I loved it so much and cutely referred to it as "porky pine meatballs." I loved the little "porcupine quills" sticking out of each sphere.

Mom's original recipe for these classic meatballs used Campbell's tomato soup, but my rendition is made with a tasty, rich tomato sauce derived from more whole food ingredients.

And it's seriously to die for!

If you love this recipe, be sure to check out my Ground Turkey Swedish Meatballs! They are equally delicious.

What To Serve With Porcupine Meatballs

I really appreciate how these delicious meatballs can be flawlessly paired with so many different sides. Try serving your meatballs with:

• Simple Oven Roasted Asparagus
• Roasted Broccoli And Cauliflower
• Cucumber Tomato Feta Salad
• Creamy Mashed Cauliflower
• Maple Balsamic Brussels Sprouts
• Simple Garden Salad Recipe
• Green beans & mashed potatoes!
• Cheesy garlic bread or rolls
• Corn bread

And of course, I almost always spoon my meatballs over some fluffy brown or white rice. Cauliflower rice is also tasty and in carbs and calories.

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Lean ground beef: ground turkey or chicken can be substituted.
• Rice: you'll want to use a long grain, white rice.
• Egg: including an egg in your meatball mixture will keep them from falling apart or turning out dry and crumbly.
• Seasonings: salt, ground black pepper, smoked paprika (regular also works), Italian seasoning and garlic powder.
• Tomato sauce: the base for our delicious sauce.
• Tomato paste: a little tomato paste makes a big difference.
• Heavy cream: half and half will also work, but I definitely prefer to use heavy cream whenever possible.
• Worcestershire sauce: adds major flavor!
• White wine vinegar: red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar will also work. I've also made this recipe without vinegar by mistake and it was still delicious, just not QUITE as flavorful.
• Chicken broth: or vegetable stock.
• Optional toppings: fresh chopped parsley leaves and parmesan cheese!

How To Make Porcupine Meatballs

Keep scrolling for the full recipe card and measurements. We’ll start here with a quick overview!

Make meatballs:

• Measure ground beef, egg, uncooked rice and spices into a large bowl.

• Mix until well incorporated, but don't over-do it! Meatballs can turn out a little bit tough if overworked.

• Portion meatball mixture into 2 tablespoon-sized balls. It's okay if they aren't perfectly even in size, you can definitely eyeball it. To keep them perfectly uniform, use a measuring spoon or cookie scoop. A kitchen scale will also do the trick, each meatball will weigh around 35 grams.
• Arrange balls in a single layer in your skillet (try to keep them apart, if they touch a little bit, that's okay).

Make sauce:

• Measure all sauce ingredients into a medium bowl and whisk well.

Cook meatballs in sauce:

• Pour sauce over meatballs, if it totally covers them, that's fine! As the sauce cooks it will thicken and reduce.

• Place a lid on your skillet and put it on the stovetop. Turn heat to high and bring ingredients to a boil, then reduce to low heat and simmer about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Test one meatball to see if rice is fully cooked. If it's still a bit crunchy, simmer 5 minutes longer.

Serve:

• Serve your meatballs with rice (or cauliflower rice) and a tasty veggie side or some crunchy garlic bread. Enjoy!

Expert Tips

Save extra tomato paste: When purchasing tomato paste at the grocery store, you'll notice the smallest can is 8 ounces. This recipe uses only 2 ounces (2 tablespoons) of paste. Scoop extras into a Ziploc bag, then flatten and freeze for later use! I really like using my extra tomato paste to make homemade enchilada sauce.

Ground beef: I always use lean (93/7) ground beef in this recipe. If you've got higher fat content ground beef to use up, I recommend browning your meatballs and draining off excess fat before adding sauce mixture to the pan. When using lean beef, there's no need to brown meatballs first.

How To Store Leftover Porcupine Meatballs

Allow leftovers to cool completely and place them in an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 4 months.

You can reheat your meatballs in a skillet on the stovetop, on with your microwave. Just be sure to cover them to avoid splatter!

Make-Ahead Instructions

It's really easy to make this recipe ahead of time so it's ready on a busy weeknight. You have two options:

1. Make your meatballs and sauce ahead of time but don't cook them. Store meatballs in a large airtight container in the refrigerator or on a plate covered in plastic wrap. Make the sauce and refrigerate it separately. When it's time to cook, you'll have everything ready to go!
2. Fully prepare your dish and simply heat it back up at dinner time. These meatballs taste great when reheated. They also store well in the refrigerator and are freezer friendly. Note: the sauce will get quite a lot thicker when stored, you can add a bit or water or broth to thin it back out. I like doing this because I normally serve my meatballs with rice and I like lots of sauce for my grains.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Ground Beef Recipes

• Butternut Squash Ground Beef Casserole
• Sweet Potato Ground Beef Casserole
• Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Casserole
• Hamburger Potato Soup
• Easy Crockpot Beef Chili
• Homemade Shepherd's Pie
• Beef Taco Stuffed Peppers
• Low Carb Taco Casserole
• Nachos With Ground Beef

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