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Porcupine Meatballs

A unique and tasty approach to baked meatballs

1 Hour, 40 Minutes

Serves: 4-6

Easy

These baked Porcupine Meatballs make for an easy and delicious dinner. The rice gives a unique texture and the soup gives a rich flavor!

This recipe for Porcupine Meatballs does not contain ANY porcupine but it sure does include a unique ingredient. In addition to ground beef and onion, rice is a major component of these meatballs that give it a very unique texture. The name comes from the appearance of the meatballs when they are baked in the oven. They are really fun and easy to make and a great dinner for kids to help with. Just be sure they don’t eat the raw beef!

Grandma’s recipe didn’t call for any seasoning, but many recipes from this time didn’t. I added salt and pepper of course and also added some garlic powder, Italian seasoning and crushed red pepper flakes. This recipe is great without it, but more flavor is always better I think. While making this I also wondered about using a different soup and how that might change the dish. I think a cream of mushroom room could make meatballs that were closer to a Swedish style. It might be worth a try the next time I make these.

You can serve these meatballs by themselves or over noodles. I chose to put these on a bed of cheesy polenta with a side of roasted cauliflower.

I hope you give these Porcupine Meatballs a try and if you do, don’t forget to let me know what you think in the comments or share a picture with me on Instagram (@bdhbakes).

Steps:

Preheat Oven to 425º
Grate Onion
In large bowl, grate an entire onion.
Add Rice and Ground Beef
Into the bowl with the grated onion, add the rice and the ground beef.
Add Seasonings
Add the garlic powder, red pepper flakes and Italian seasoning to the bowl as well as salt and pepper to taste.
Mix and Form into Balls
Mix everything in the bowl with your hands until well combined. Form into balls and place in a greased 13" x 9" baking dish. Meatballs just be just a bit larger than an inch and should make about 28.
Combine the Tomato Soup and Water
In a larger measuring cup or bowl, add the tomato soup and then fill the empty soup can full of water and combine that with the soup.
Pour Soup and Bake
Pour the soup and water mixture carefully into the baking dish with the meatballs. Place the baking dish in the oven and bake for about 1 1/2 hours. I'd suggest turning the meatballs over about half way through cooking so they don't over brown on one side and get a good, crispy crust all around.