Easy Porcupine Meatballs

large pan full of porcupine meatballs with wooden spoon and topped with chopped parsley.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 50

Total Time: 1 5

Servings: servings

Calories: 331cal

Author: Ashley Fehr

Porcupine Meatballs are homemade beef meatballs that are boldly seasoned, cooked in a rich tomato sauce, and have plenty of "spikes" from the addition of white rice! They're so easy to whip up with just about 15 minutes of prep time.

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Ingredients

Porcupine Meatball Recipe

½ cup uncooked long grain white rice
¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
¼ cup milk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried parsley
½ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 lb lean ground beef
2 tablespoons oil

Porcupine Meatball sauce

22 oz marinara sauce (650 ml or 2¾ cups)
¾ cup low sodium chicken or beef broth
2 cloves garlic (finely minced)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
½ teaspoon dried oregano

Instructions

(Preheat oven to 350 degrees F if baking -- stove top directions included as well)
In a large bowl, stir together rice, Parmesan, milk, egg, salt, parsley, onion powder and pepper. Add the ground beef and mix just until combined.
Roll beef mixture into 1½" balls and set aside (you should get 20-22 meatballs)
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil.
Brown the meatballs on each side, about 1-2 minutes per side.
Meanwhile, whisk together the marinara sauce, broth, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar and oregano. Pour over the meatballs in the pan and cover.
You can either bake the meatballs for 40-45 minutes until the rice is tender, or you can simmer on medium-low heat for about 40 minutes until the rice is tender. To test if they are done, simply pull out a grain of rice to check for doneness. If needed, you can add an extra splash of broth and continue baking.
Serve over pasta or with side dishes of your choice.

Video

Notes

*This recipe makes about 20 meatballs, or 5 servings of 4 meatballs each (or 4 servings of 5 meatballs each).

Ingredients and Substitutions:

Ground beef: feel free to use a fattier beef if you prefer -- you may want to clean the excess fat out of the pan after browning if you go this route.
Onion powder: if you prefer, you can finely chop about 1/2 an onion and use that instead of onion powder. My family prefers not to have pieces of onion in the meatballs, so I find onion powder a great substitute (and less chopping!)
Rice: I have not tested this recipe with minute rice or long grain brown rice. You may be able to swap them, but the cook time will change.
Parmesan: you can omit the Parmesan if you prefer -- I love adding Parmesan to my meatballs (like in my Easy Meatball Recipe) because it adds a ton of flavor! They will not taste overly cheesy.
Milk: water or broth is a fine substitute if you are trying to reduce or omit the dairy in this recipe.

Nutrition