Porcupine Meatballs

Delicious and easy Porcupine Meatballs take mere minutes to whip together and then slow cook until they’re fall-apart-tender!

Enjoy these savory meatballs over cooked rice, accompanied by roasted vegetables and a fresh garden salad, for a complete and satisfying meal.

The Best Porcupine Meatballs

Porcupine Meatballs offer a unique take on classic beef meatballs, packed with rice, seasonings, and onion, slow-cooked in tomato sauce. Named for their rice quills resembling porcupine quills, they’re easy to make and become incredibly flavorful and tender.

Ingredients

• Ground Beef: Provides the primary structure and rich, meaty flavor.
• White Rice: Adds texture; expands during cooking to give the porcupine effect.
• Grated Onion and Minced Garlic: Boost flavor with a subtle, delicious touch.
• Egg: Acts as a binder, holding the meatball ingredients together.
• Seasonings: Contribute to the overall flavor profile of the porcupine meatballs.

For the sauce:

• Beef Stock/Broth: Adds depth to the sauce’s flavor.
• Tomato Sauce: Forms the base of the sauce, offering a rich tomato flavor.
• Brown Sugar: Balances the acidity of the tomatoes with sweetness.
• Worcestershire Sauce: Adds a complex, delicious flavor.

How To Make Porcupine Meatballs

1. Combine: Mix beef, rice, onion, garlic, egg, and seasonings.
2. Shape & Broil: Form into meatballs and broil for 6 minutes.
3. Sauce Mix: Blend beef stock, tomato sauce, brown sugar, and Worcestershire in a slow cooker.
4. Cook: Add meatballs to sauce; slow cook for 3-7 hours.
5. Serve: On rice, optionally garnish with parsley.

What To Serve With Porcupine Meatballs

• Fruit Salad Recipe
• Roasted Green Beans (Two Ways!)
• Olive Garden Salad
• Roasted Vegetables
• No-Knead Dinner Rolls

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5 from 9 votes

Porcupine Meatballs

By Chelsea Lords

Delicious and easy Porcupine Meatballs take mere minutes to whip together and then slow cook until they're fall-apart-tender!

Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 5 hours hours

Total Time: 5 hours hours 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Equipment

• large sheet pan,
• Aluminum foil
• Crock-Pot 6-quart

Ingredients 

USMetric

 

1x2x3x

Meatballs

• ▢ 1 pound lean ground beef 93/7
• ▢ 1/2 cup long grain white rice uncooked
• ▢ 1/3 cup grated yellow onion grate on a grater
• ▢ 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• ▢ Cooking spray

Sauce

• ▢ 1 cup beef stock or broth
• ▢ 2 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce
• ▢ 1/4 cup light brown sugar lightly packed
• ▢ 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• ▢ Fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley optional
• ▢ Cooked rice white or brown, for serving, see note 1

Instructions 

• Preheat oven to high broil (550°F.) Line a large sheet pan with foil, spray with cooking spray, and set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine ground beef, uncooked white rice, grated onion, minced garlic, large egg, salt, Italian seasoning, pepper, and dried basil. Knead the mixture until just combined, avoiding overmixing (which makes the meatballs dense).
• Form meatballs by measuring out 1 and 1/2 tablespoons per meatball and tightly squishing the mixture together until a firm meatball is formed. Repeat until all the mixture is used. The mixture should make around 22–25 meatballs.
• Place all the formed meatballs on the prepared tray, generously spritz with cooking spray, and broil in the oven for 3 minutes per side (6 minutes total). This helps them to not break apart in the slow cooker. Remove from oven and set aside.
• Spray the slow cooker with cooking spray. Add in beef stock/broth, tomato sauce, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir.
• Layer the meatballs on top of the tomato mixture. Gently spoon the sauce over.
• Cover and cook on low for 5–7 hours, high for 3–5 hours, or until rice is tender and meat is cooked through (165°F). I recommend cooking on low; my slow cooker takes 6 hours. Avoid checking too often; when a slow cooker's lid is removed, it takes a while for everything to get back to temperature.
• Taste meatballs and sauce and add any additional salt/pepper as needed. Gently spoon out meatballs and sauce from the slow cooker and serve over cooked rice (see note 1). Garnish with fresh parsley if desired and enjoy!

Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1: I love serving these meatballs over cooked basmati rice. Here’s a quick breakdown of the process:

• Measure the rice and rinse it in a fine-mesh sieve until the water runs clear.
• Place rice in a bowl and cover with water to soak for 5–10 minutes.
• While rice is soaking, fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil.
• Once water is at a rolling boil, drain the rice and add it to the pot.
• Cook, without reducing the heat, for 5 minutes (taste and test to make sure it is tender; if not, add another 1–2 minutes), and drain and fluff with a fork.

Storage: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 367kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 117mg | Sodium: 364mg | Potassium: 720mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 68IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 4mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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