Porcupine Meatballs Recipe

Enjoy a super delicious ground beef recipe with this Porcupine Meatballs recipe filled with fabulous Italian seasoning.

A serving bowl of Porcupine Meatballs with one being lifted out by a wooden spoon

This homemade meatball recipe is known to be a recipe from the great depression as a way to stretch food and fill up on tomato soup, white rice, and ground beef.

However, with this classic meatball recipe, we will not be using any brown rice, long grain rice, or white rice.

But don’t worry it is going to be your next family favorite recipe that is filled with a rich tomato sauce and a perfect meatball mixture made out of basic ingredients.

More meatball recipes the whole family will love:

Ingredients used to make Porcupine Meatballs:

Top view of a pan of Porcupine Meatballs in sauce

For the sauce (feel free to use your favorite store-bought marinara instead)

Olive oil
Yellow onion
Sea salt, divided
Garlic, chopped
Tomato sauce
Ground black pepper
Dried oregano
Dried parsley

For the meatballs

Olive oil
Onion, diced
Red bell pepper, diced
Sea salt, divided
Cloves garlic, chopped
Ground beef (80/20 is best for flavor instead of lean ground beef); you can also use ground turkey or ground chicken instead
Ground black pepper
Chopped fresh parsley

How to make Porcupine Meatballs:

One Porcupine Meatball on a wooden spoon

For the sauce

In a heavy bottom skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.
Add the onion, season with ½ teaspoon sea salt, and sauté until translucent.
Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant.
Add the tomato sauce, ½ teaspoon salt, ground black pepper, dried oregano, and dried parsley and stir to combine
Bring the mixture to a boil before reducing the heat to low and simmering over low heat for 15 minutes.

For the meatballs

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F
In a heavy-bottomed skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.
Add the onion and the bell pepper, season with ½ teaspoon sea salt, and sauté until the onions are translucent.
Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, ½ teaspoon sea salt, ground black pepper, fresh parsley, and the cooled mixture of sauteed onions, bell peppers, and garlic to create your meat mixture.
With your hands, mix all of the ingredients together until a homogenous combination of ground beef.
Using your hands again, form meatballs out of the meat mixture. Aim for 1.5 inches in diameter for regular meatballs.

Baking

Add the meatballs to a 9 X 13 inch baking dish.

Pour the sauce over the meatballs and mix gently to coat the meatballs in the sauce.
Do your best to arrange the meatballs in a single layer.
Bake for a cooking time of 25 minutes.

Tips for making and storing this porcupine meatball recipe:

Taste the sauce, make sure to season it to your liking. Some things you might consider adding to your sauce might be garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, and even a little bit of brown sugar!

Store the meatballs for the next time you want to eat them the meatballs either in the container they were baked in covered with plastic wrap or in an airtight container for 4-5 days in the fridge.

Side dishes to go with homemade meatballs:

Electric pressure cooker recipes to make:

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Serves: 4

Porcupine Meatballs Recipe

Enjoy a super delicious ground beef recipe with this Porcupine Meatballs recipe filled with fabulous Italian seasoning.

Prep Time 35 mins

Cook Time 25 mins

Total Time 1 hr

Ingredients

Sauce

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion
1 teaspoon sea salt divided
2 garlic cloves chopped
30 ounces tomato sauce 2 (15 ounce cans)
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried parsley

Meatballs

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion diced
1 small red bell pepper diced
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 garlic cloves chopped
1½ pounds ground beef (80/20 is best); you can also use turkey or ground chicken instead
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
¾ cup chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

For the Sauce

In a heavy bottom skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.
Add the onion, season with ½ teaspoon sea salt, and sauté until translucent.
Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant.
Add the tomato sauce, ½ teaspoon sea salt, ground black pepper, dried oregano, and dried parsley and stir to combine.
Bring the mixture to a boil before reducing the heat to low and simmering for 15 minutes.

For the Meatballs

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F
In a heavy-bottomed skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.
Add the onion and the bell pepper, season with ½ teaspoon sea salt, and sauté until the onions are translucent.
Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, ½ teaspoon sea salt, ground black pepper, fresh parsley, and the cooled mixture of sauteed onions, bell peppers, and garlic.
With your hand, mix all of the ingredients together until a homogenous mixture forms.
Using your hands again, form the mixture into meatballs. Aim for 1.5 inches in diameter.
Add the meatballs to a 9 X 13 inch baking dish.
Pour the sauce over the meatballs and mix gently to coat the meatballs in sauce.
Do your best to arrange the meatballs in a single layer.
Bake for 25 minutes.

Notes

Do your best to arrange the meatballs in a single layer so they cook evenly.

Nutrition

Calories: 387 kcal · Carbohydrates: 21 g · Protein: 40 g · Fat: 16 g · Saturated Fat: 5 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 2 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 9 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 105 mg · Sodium: 2294 mg · Potassium: 1451 mg · Fiber: 6 g · Sugar: 11 g · Vitamin A: 2813 IU · Vitamin C: 73 mg · Calcium: 92 mg · Iron: 7 mg