Porcupine meatballs are a family-friendly favorite that combines your protein and starch in one easy dish.
As you can see with all these delicious meatball recipes, they are a go-to dish for party apps, feeding a crowd and for family dinners on busy weeknights. You may even have a favorite meatball dish you remember from growing up – like my memories of these Porcupine Meatballs my mom used to make.
What are Porcupine Meatballs?
If you’ve never had them, they get their name from the way they look. Mixing the meatball ingredients with uncooked rice means that once they’ve cooked, they look similar to the cute, pokey animals they’re named after.
The silly name and rice poking out all over the meatball just might be what makes them a favorite for kids, but even as an adult, I still love to eat them. Memories of how much I used to enjoy them makes creating them in my own kitchen even more special.
How to Cook Porcupine Meatballs
Since I don’t have my mom’s recipe, I set out to find the best way to cook porcupine meatballs. There are various methods from pan frying to baking, but the most common one I found was baking them straight in the sauce. This is the easiest method and ensures a moist and perfectly cooked meatball. I also add milk to the meatball mixture because that extra bit of moisture helps the rice cook through even better and makes the meatball more tender.
The actual baking time takes a while, but the prep time is relatively short. You just mix the meatball ingredients together, form them and put them in the baking dish, then whisk up the sauce and pour it over the meatballs before baking.
Whether you are making porcupine meatballs to impress family and friends at a party or just to indulge in some good old fashioned comfort food, your family is sure to be satisfied and warmed from the inside out.
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Porcupine Meatballs
Porcupine meatballs are a family-friendly favorite that combines your protein and starch in one easy dish.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 20 meatballs 1x
- Category: Entrée
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 and ¼ lb. lean ground beef
- ½ cup uncooked rice
- ⅓ cup minced onion
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
- ¼ tsp. ground black pepper
- ½ cup milk
- 2 cans (10.75 oz.) condensed tomato soup
- 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup water
- Parmesan or mozzarella cheese (Optional)
- Chopped parsley, for garnish (Optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray an 8×8 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- Combine all the meatball ingredients in a large bowl using your hands. Don’t over mix. Form into 20 meatballs and place in prepared baking dish.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the sauce ingredients. Pour over the meatballs in the baking dish. Cover with tin foil and place in the oven. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove the tin foil and continue baking an additional 15 minutes or until the meatballs are fully cooked (internal temperature of 165°F) and the rice inside is tender. Remove from oven.
- If desired, sprinkle with cheese and garnish with chopped parsley.
This post originally appeared in February 2018 and was revised and republished in February 2021.
Can you use brown rice and if so, would it need to be partially cooked before incorporating it into the meatball mixture?
Thanks.
Brown rice definitely won’t cook through if added raw. I’ve never tried it but you could try par-cooking it. Or maybe try a quicker cooking (instant rice) version of brown rice.