I was that kid that always wanted to eat dinner at their friends houses. Not because I was being starved at home, but because I loved food and was genuinely curious about what other people were eating. My friend Shanie’s mom served me these Classic Porcupine Meatballs once, and lets just say, I never forgot them.
I don’t know if it was just because I had never had them before, or because they were so comforting, but I LOVED them.
I haven’t been able to stop thinking about them lately so over the holiday’s I messaged Shanie’s mom and asked for the recipe. She sent it to me and also ideas for lots of variations that she does with them.
I’ve already made them too different ways, both were a hit with the family, and I have no intention of stopping. Fair warning, you will be seeing more porcupine meatball recipes friends.
Besides being delicious, there are lots of reasons to love these fun meatballs. First of all, you can use any kind of ground meat that you want. I have been using turkey which makes them nice and healthy.
Second, most kids love meatballs, so being able to hide things like zucchini, or carrots or mushrooms, green peppers or whatever veggie your kids normally turns there nose up too, is a great feeling. I have used zucchini and carrots in mine and no one has even flinched or complained. They are too busy being happy that mom made meatballs again.
I used a homemade condensed tomato soup substitute. It is so easy and a great alternative if you want them gluten free or if you don’t like using canned soups.
An important step to remember is that these need to be covered with foil to cook. The foil keeps the moisture in which the rice needs to get nice and tender.
I hope your family enjoys this comforting meal as much as mine does.
P.S. The dried parsley is optional, but I like to add it to help my kids get used to having green specs in their food. I feel like this is a small thing I have always done that helps my kids be less picky….just passing that on….and don’t get me wrong, they still have plenty of things they are picky about, but for the most part they don’t cry about small green specs in their food.
More comfort food
- 1½ lbs ground beef or turkey
- 1 cup finely grated carrots or zucchini (optional)
- ½ cup uncooked longrain white rice
- ¼ cup finely chopped onion
- ½ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp ground pepper
- 1 tbsp dried parsley, optional
- 2 cans condensed tomato soup or two recipes of Homemade Condensed Tomato Soup
- 1½ cups water
- dash of Worcestershire sauce (optional)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Spray a glass 9x13 pan with cooking spray and set aside
- In a medium size mixing bowl combine ground meat, grated veggies, chopped onion, uncooked rice, salt, pepper and parsley.
- Mix by hand until well combined.
- Form into 12-15 meatballs, about ¼ cup mixture for each meatball.
- Place evenly spaced apart in the prepared 9x13 baking dish.
- In a small mixing bowl, mix condensed soup (orhomemade version) with 1¾ cups water. Mix and pour over meatballs. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 1 hour and fifteen minutes.
- Spoon extra sauce over the top of the meatballs and serve with your favorite, steamed veggies and salad or over rice.
I made these the other night, wasn’t sure what I’d think with tomato soup… but they were so yummy. My husband said they reminded him of the meat inside a cabbage roll without the cabbage (which is how he likes them!). Thanks for introducing me to something new!
Yay Toni! Glad you guys liked them. Hope you are all doing well, we miss you guys!
Can you make them and let them cook,if so, about how how long? Thanks
I’m talking about cooking in a slow cooker
Hi Kim, I haven’t tried it in a slow cooker,but it should work as long as they are covered well. I would also try not to stack them on top of each other if possible.
I make these all the time. Yes you can make in slow cooker. Great with mashed potatoes using the tomato gravy!!
Love hearing this Erinn! I’ll have to try them over mashed potatoes!
I have never seen this recipe anywhere but my mom’s recipe box or the old church cookbook from the 70s! The only difference is my recipe calls for partially cooked rice, a little soup mixed in with the meat, and a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce mixed with the soup (gives the sauce a little depth). This is one of my favorite comfort meals. I haven’t had it since going gluten-free so thank you for the tomato soup substitute! Can’t wait to have it this week.
Hi Rachel! I love the idea of adding some worcesterchire sauce. Thank you so much for mentioning that! I am so glad you found my site and also reminded me that I haven’t made this in a while. Adding them to my menu for next week. 🙂 Also glad the soup recipe can help you make them gluten free!
Can you use brown long grain rice?
I don’t think it will cook completely. Brown rice typically takes longer to cook, so if you want to try it, you will need to increase the cooking time and bake them until the rice is the consistency you prefer.