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These old-fashioned porcupine meatballs are made with ground beef and uncooked rice, then simmered in a simple tomato sauce. This easy dinner comes straight from my grandma’s kitchen and is still one of my family’s favorites!
A Reader’s Review
Absolutely delicious! I followed the recipe exactly. Thank you so much for a wonderful dish. We love it…
Why You’ll Love Grandama’s Recipe
- A Family Recipe: This old-fashioned recipe came from my grandma and has been passed down through our family.
- Easy on the Budget: Rice stretches one pound of ground beef into enough meatballs to feed the whole family.
- Simple One-Pan Dinner: Everything cooks together in one skillet, and the meatballs are ready in about 45 minutes.
Porcupine Meatball Ingredient Tips
Did you know that porcupine meatballs get their name from the uncooked rice, which expands and sticks out of the meatballs as it cooks?
- Ground Beef: Lean ground beef works best and keeps the sauce from becoming greasy.
- Rice: Use uncooked long-grain white rice. Instant rice, cooked rice, and brown rice will not cook the same way in this recipe.
- Onion: Dice the onion finely so it blends into the meat mixture and the meatballs hold together more easily.
- Tomato Soup: Use condensed tomato soup straight from the can. Don’t prepare it according to the directions on the label.
How to Make Porcupine Meatballs
Porcupine meatballs are easier to make than you might think. Mix the ingredients, gently shape the meatballs, and let them simmer in the tomato sauce until the beef and rice are fully cooked.
- 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 gently shape 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. Gently spoon the sauce over the meatballs once or twice as they cook, but avoid stirring them. Check that the beef and rice are fully cooked before serving.
Alyssa’s Pro Tip
The meatball mixture will feel softer and wetter than regular meatballs. That is normal! Shape them gently, place them directly in the skillet, and avoid moving them while they begin to cook.
Tips for Perfect Porcupine Meatballs
- Make them evenly sized: Approximately 20 meatballs will cook more consistently.
- Keep the skillet covered: The steam is important because it helps cook the rice.
- Don’t stir the meatballs: Gently spoon sauce over them once or twice so they don’t fall apart.
- Check the rice: Cut into one meatball before serving. If the rice is still firm, cover and simmer for a few more minutes.
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Porcupine Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- ¼ cup uncooked long grain white 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. Gently spoon the sauce over the meatballs once or twice while they cook, but avoid stirring the meatballs. Check that the beef and rice are fully cooked before serving.
- Serve the meatballs over rice or potatoes and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Storage: Store leftover meatballs with the sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3–4 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw frozen meatballs overnight in the refrigerator and reheat gently on the stovetop or in the microwave.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What to Serve with Porcupine Meatballs
Porcupine meatballs are delicious served with Air Fryer Cauliflower or mashed potatoes.
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!