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Porcupine Meatballs combine ground beef and rice into tender meatballs simmered in tomato sauce and served over mashed potatoes.
Porcupine Meatballs are a vintage recipe that became popular as a way for home cooks to stretch their grocery budget.
Ground beef and white rice are combined and formed into meatballs. The meatballs are then cooked in a rich tomato sauce that’s flavored with Worcestershire Sauce – then served over mashed potatoes.
Where did Porcupine Meatballs get their name?
As the rice cooks inside the meatballs, the ends of the rice poke outside the edges of the meat – like a porcupine – and that’s where the name Porcupine Meatballs comes from.
The original recipe was published decades ago in the Betty Crocker Cookbook – and it included packaged onion soup mix to flavor the meatballs, as well as canned tomato soup (among other ingredients) to create a sauce.
Our Porcupine Meatball recipe is 100% from scratch – but like the original – we do include Worcestershire sauce in both the meatballs and the tomato sauce. The Worcestershire sauce gives this dish a distinctive savory flavor in every bite and it is deliciously satisfying comfort food the entire family will love.
Do I add uncooked rice or precooked rice to Porcupine Meatballs?
You’ll use uncooked rice in this recipe – and as the meatballs cook, the rice will cook and absorb both the juices from the meat and the sauce. Using uncooked rice also help the meatballs to stay nice and tender in the finished dish. (Precooked rice will continue to expand as it absorbs the juices, making the meatballs more dense.)
How do I serve Porcupine Meatballs?
We decided to serve our Porcupine Meatballs over mashed potatoes. But you could also serve it over more rice or pasta.
Other great side dishes include green beans or a simple mixed greens salad with homemade vinaigrette.
You may enjoy these other Meatball recipes:
- Italian-Style Meatballs
- Keto Chicken Meatballs
- Pork Meatballs with Currants
- Tuna Meatball Sub
- Zucchini Quinoa Meatless Meatballs
We love seeing what you made! Tag us on Instagram at @afamilyfeast or hashtag #afamilyfeast so we can see your creations!
Porcupine Meatballs
Porcupine Meatballs combine ground beef and rice into tender meatballs simmered in tomato sauce and served over mashed potatoes.
Ingredients
Meatballs
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
1/4 cup finely minced onion
1/4 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 whole egg
Sauce
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup onion, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3 cups low sodium beef stock or beef stock or broth
1 teaspoon gravy browning and seasoning sauce (such as Kitchen Bouquet or Gravy Master)
1 14.5-ounce can pureed tomatoes
Mashed potatoes to serve with the meatballs (see recipe here)
Instructions
- Make meatballs by combining all meatball ingredients. Scoop out twenty balls, about 1 ¼ ounces each and roll. Refrigerate while you make the sauce.
- In a large deep skillet or saute pan, melt butter and add onions and saute for three minutes over medium heat.
- Add the tomato paste and cook for two minutes.
- Add the flour, lower heat and cook two more minutes.
- Add the Worcestershire sauce, stir then add the beef stock, gravy color and pureed tomatoes.
- Bring the mixture up to a simmer then gently add all of the meatballs.
- Cover the pan, lower to a slow simmer and cook 15 minutes. Turn meatballs over, cover again and cook 15 more minutes.
- While meatballs are cooking prepare the mashed potatoes. Serve meatballs and sauce over the mashed potatoes.
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My mom made this when I was a kid! She used beef broth instead of tomato sauce. This just unlocked so many memories. I can’t wait to make this!
We hope our recipe is as delicious as your mom’s recipe!
I am in my late 60’s, and I have been cooking for a lot of years. I try to make something new at least a couple to 3 times a week. This recipe ranks among the Top Ten Dishes I’ve Ever Made. The first time I made it, I did not have tomato puree, so I (reluctantly) pureed Diced Tomatoes. Big mistake. The sauce was bitter, and I had to add ingredients (mostly sugar) to brighten the flavor. Even so, I kept the recipe because it was good and because it was so much better than the old school Porcupine Meatballs (probably from the 60’s or 70’s, maybe earlier) that uses canned tomato soup. Blech. This time I made the recipe to the “t” except for substituting A-One steak sauce for the Worcestershire sauce because I am not a fan of “the W”. Holy smokes! The result using tomato puree is astoundingly better. I used jarred passata tomato sauce which is made from fresh tomatoes and no salt. It is sweeter, and has way more tomato flavor than any other tomato product I have known. I would make this recipe for company. It was that good. Since I am only cooking for me and my husband, I have a lot left over today, and I have been fighting with myself NOT to eat it for lunch because I want to reheat it for dinner. My advice is NOT to mess with this recipe. It is excellent as written. Well, except for that ‘W” thing. And don’t hesitate to serve it over mashed potatoes. I was on the fence because of the two carb issue (rice and potatoes), but it’s traditional, and it is so comforting. Thank you for sharing your expertise, A Family Feast.
Wow – Thank YOU so much! I’m glad you were able to find a swap for the “W” thing that suits your tastes! 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed review including your experiences (good and bad) with some ingredient swaps. We’re glad you found us!
My mom made porcupine meatballs when we were kids. I made this recipe exactly as it’s written, and it was delicious. Brought back a lot of great memories!
Thank you Jackie!
I followed the recipe as is and the rice in the meatballs didn’t fully cook even after simmering for almost an hour.
I’m sorry you had problems with the recipe Felicia – after an hour of cooking, I would expect the rice to be overcooked! I’m not sure why this would happen unless you swapped in brown rice instead which takes longer to cook.
My grandma made this for my brother and I. We loved it . Spaghetti is the only thing that beat it. This is the 0nly recipe that I believe is my grandma’s.So good.
Thanks Sandy! (Special memories!) ☺️
Loved this recipe…I have made it several times…great alternative to a meat loaf….family loves it….only change I made was to put the balls on parchment paper on a cookie sheet and put them in the freezer while making the sauce….Delicious
Thanks for the suggestion Pamela!
So good. I did feel like my sauce was thin. I doubled my recipe so you use 6 cups of broth but wondering if you could do it with 4 cups.
Sure Eric – you can always add more broth if needed. The rice does absorb some of the broth as the meatballs cook.