Porcupine Meatballs

5 from 8 votes

These old-fashioned porcupine meatballs combine ground beef, uncooked rice, and a simple tomato soup sauce for an easy baked comfort food dinner the whole family will love!

Course Dinner

Cuisine American

Keyword baked porcupine meatballs, porcupine balls, porcupine meatball recipe, porcupine meatballs, porcupine meatballs in the oven, porcupine meatballs recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 10

Servings people (18 meatballs total)

Calories 208.7kcal

Author Blair Lonergan

Ingredients

1 lb. ground beef (I used 93% lean)
½ cup uncooked long grain white rice
1 large egg, lightly beaten
¼ cup grated or finely minced onion
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley (or 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes)
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 (10.75 oz) can condensed tomato soup, not diluted (use 2 cans of soup for more sauce in the pan)
1 soup can of water (use 2 soup cans of water for a "saucier" pan of meatballs)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 2-quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. In a large bowl, combine ground beef, uncooked rice, egg, onion, parsley, salt, and pepper.
Shape the meat mixture into 1-inch balls. Place the meatballs in the prepared baking dish.
In a small bowl, whisk together the tomato soup and water. Pour the soup mixture over the meatballs.
Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove cover and continue baking for 30 more minutes. At this point, the meatballs should be cooked through and the rice inside the meatballs should be tender. If the rice is still crunchy, cover loosely with foil and return to the oven for another 5-10 minutes (or until rice is done).

Notes

Use uncooked long-grain white rice for the best results.
Do not cook the rice before mixing the meatballs.
Mix the meat gently to keep it tender.
Finely grate or mince the onion so it blends into the meatballs.
For extra sauce, use two cans of tomato soup and two soup cans of water (or stir in a jar of marinara sauce).
If the rice isn't tender, add a little more liquid, cover, and continue baking.
Ground turkey, ground pork, Italian sausage, or a meatloaf mix all work well.
Freeze cooked or uncooked meatballs for up to 3 months.

Nutrition