This website may contain affiliate links and advertising so that we can provide recipes to you. Read my disclosure policy.
Porcupine Meatballs are juicy, well seasoned meatballs with tender rice simmered in a rich, tangy tomato sauce. This recipe comes straight from my grandma’s kitchen!
A Reader’s Review
Absolutely delicious! I followed the recipe exactly. Thank you so much for a wonderful dish. We love it…
Why Grandma’s Meatballs > Everyone Else’s
- Tried and true: This is a real deal family recipe that’s been passed down for generations, and it never misses.
- Perfect texture: I have perfected the rice to meat ratio so it keeps the meatballs tender and juicy, not dense or dry.
- Bold flavor: A touch of garlic, onion, and Worcestershire sauce adds rich, savory flavor you won’t find in bland versions.
Porcupine Meatball Ingredients
- Beef: Use lean ground beef to keep the sauce from getting greasy. If using regular, drain excess grease, but expect a little to remain as they simmer.
- Rice: You can use brown rice in place of the long-grain rice in this recipe.
- Protein: Substitute ground beef with ground chicken, pork, sausage, or turkey.
- Vegetables: Chop small pieces of mushrooms, carrots, zucchini, or bell peppers to add to your meatballs.
How to Make Procupine Meatballs
This porcupine meatball recipe comes together faster than you’d think, just mix, roll, and simmer. Another great way of making these is in the slow cooker. Enjoy both ways depending on what is best for your family!
- Combine: In a medium sized bowl, combine the ground beef, rice, onion, egg, parsley, garlic powder, salt, paprika, pepper, and ¼ cup of the tomato soup.
- Shape: Mix thoroughly and then shape into about 20 meatballs and place in a large skillet.
- Make Sauce: Mix the remaining soup, water, and Worcestershire sauce, and then pour over the meatballs.
- Cook: Bring the soup to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30-35 minutes, stirring often. Serve porcupine meatballs over rice or potatoes and enjoy!
Alyssa’s Pro Tip
These meatballs will feel wetter and softer than usual when shaping them. That’s exactly what you want! The extra moisture helps the rice cook up tender and perfectly fluffy inside.
How To Store & Reheat Porcupine Meatballs
- In The Fridge: Store cooked meatballs in an airtight container in the fridge for 3–4 days.
- In The Freezer: Freeze meatballs in airtight containers or freezer bags. They’re best within 2–4 months.
- Reheating tips: Thaw in the fridge overnight or bake from frozen at 350°F on a greased pan for 20–25 minutes if frozen, less if thawed.
What to Serve with Your Meatballs
If you’re wondering what to serve, these delicious meatballs with, they go well with mashed cauliflower or mashed potatoes. Here are a few more suggestions to make it a complete meal.
Pin this now to find it later
Pin It
Porcupine Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- ¼ cup uncooked long grain rice
- ¼ cup diced onion
- 1 large slightly beaten egg
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
- 1 (10.75-ounce) can condensed tomato soup, divided
- ½ cup water
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- In a medium sized bowl, combine the ground beef, rice, onion, egg, parsley, garlic powder, salt, paprika, pepper, and ¼ cup of the tomato soup. Mix thoroughly and shape into about 20 meatballs and place in a large skillet.
- Mix the remaining soup, water, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour the soup mixture over the meatballs.
- Bring the soup to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30-35 minutes, stirring often.
- Serve the meatballs over rice or potatoes and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ok so here’s the thing, i love your recipes! For this one,i told my wife…trust her… it sounds ridiculous..no one ever makes a sauce from tomato soup..but… really.. it’s delicious!
I. Use pasta sauce, 2 jars xtra rice and bake in the oven. Love it
the recipe is tasty and I would make it again but I would definately add egg to the meat to keepp the meatballs together.
There are eggs in the recipe?
Tomato soup is the best. All of the seasonings in it add to the taste. Since I was a child, 60+ years ago, this was always made in a pressure cooker. Add large chucks of potatoes and carrots on top of the porcupines. Season them. Put the top on and bring to pressure for 10-12 minutes. Let drop slowly. The sauce is fabulous over the potatoes. You will love them this way!!
Try using tomatoe sauce instead of tomato soup, it is delicious. Then I would bake them then put in sauce.
I used to make these for my family when the kids were younger and they loved it. However I didn’t use tomato soup, I used tomato sauce and it was delicious
These meatballs were very tasty and tender. The only complaint was all my sauce must have gotten absorbed in the meatballs. All that was left in the skillet was grease. Think I will use 2 cans of tomato soup next time I make this. I’m almost tempted to try it with very lean ground beef. It was very good, and my husband liked them too.
This recipe was so easy and delicious. I added diced green peppers. Like stuffed peppers with less pepper. I hadn’t made these in years. I forgot how good they are!
Had these when I was a kid and my dad used to make for me as an adult when I would come home to visit. We made them with potatoes that would soak up the tomato soup sauce. I couldn’t find our recipe so looked at yours and it is very close, we cooked our rice first though and I remember our meatballs falling apart and I am wondering if that could be why as yours didn’t. Very tasty thank you for sharing.
I am going to make these but not in meatball for just like an all in one casserole so I will leave out the egg and bread crumbs and use tomato sauce instead of soup. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
This was my favorite childhood dish! I’m glad you kept the tomato soup component–it really ups the “comfort food” value for me. The balance of spices and fresh parsley raise the sophistication to grownup enjoyment level. Sooooo tasty!
Although I’ve had these quite often when I was young, I don’t think I’ve ever made them myself. Made this recipe today with great results! Just delicious! However, I too found them quite wet, so I added a handful of panko bread crumbs. Also, because I wanted a lot of sauce, I added an 8 oz tin of tomato sauce and a little more worcestershire sauce. Great result!
HI, did you add the tomato sauce to the tomato soup? or did you omit the tomato soup?
made these but had to add bread crumb to the mix as it was so wet that it wouldn’t roll into balls. cooked mine on stove top in cast iron skillet…
So I made as directed and I’m no chef but they were very bland and greasy (I did use 80/20 beef). I made them again and I cooked the meatballs for about 10 minutes on their own, turning them every few minutes and then drained the grease. To the sauce I added a several drops of tabasco and a drizzle of light sodium soy sauce and they were PERFECT!!!! Highly recommend the additions!
you can also use a can of cream of mushroom soup or can of cream of chicken soup in place of tomato soup. This makes a beautiful gravy for mashed potatoes. I also put 2 tablespoons of italian grated cheese in the meat mixture. Enjoy
We were looking for a way to make a second dish out of our raw ground round and raw rice meatballs (we made stuffed cabbage with the rest). My daughter asked if she should just throw them out! I said NO! I got on the internet and came up with your recipe (your grandma’s). She just finished making the “new” meatballs and they’re in the pan cooking. We had just enough for 17 meatballs. YAY!
I also had been looking for a slow cooker beef bourginone recipe. The first one we had was awful Going to try your soon.
Thank you!
Hello,
I am making these for the first time and just want to be sure that I do not cook the meatballs before adding the sauce?
Yes, the sauce goes overtop the raw meatballs to simmer. Enjoy!