Porcupine Meatballs are made with vegan ground beef, rice and everything is covered in a rich and flavorful tomato sauce. It is a real budget recipe that uses simple ingredients you might have on hand in your pantry. Big flavors in each and every bite. Once you try them you know that whole family will come back to make them again in no time.
What are Porcupine Meatballs made of?
These meatballs are made from ground beef ( I use vegan), rice and together with the other ingredients these are really good.
Wait for the tomato sauce: so easy, but yet impressive and delicious. This sauce has it all. Simplicity and a wonderful umami flavor.
So are porcupine meatballs your regular meatballs? I wouldn’t say that, because you make regular ones with breadcrumbs and we use rice as binder here.
What you need for this Porcupine Meatballs recipe
Vegan ground beef for a wonderful meaty texture and then combined with rice you have wonderful meatballs. They taste really delicious.
As I mentioned we use rice: you can use leftover long grain rice, or minute rice is a great option. Prepare according to the directions.
Olive oil – of course you can use any oil, but olive oil adds a great savory flavor.
Garlic and onions are ingredients that make everything more delicious and bold, and these porcupine meatballs are no exception.
Then, to add a sweet note, we need brown sugar, which compliments the other hearty flavors so good.
Ketchup, white vinegar, and soy sauce are what makes a really amazing umami flavor and it is really the same flavor that you love and know from Worchester sauce.
Tomato sauce: you can use any tomato sauce that you like. It will always be delicious.
Finally, parsley adds another fresh component to our dish and makes the final result so great.
How to make Porcupine Meatballs
Into a bowl, combine ground beef, rice, garlic, onions and a pinch salt of pepper.
Mix with your hands or with a spatula.
Form 16 equal sized meatballs and roll with your hands.
In a pan heat olive oil wait until hot. Then, cook meatballs for around 4 minutes.
Combine tomato sauce, soy sauce, white vinegar, ketchup, brown sugar in a bowl and mix well.
Give the sauce to the pan with the meatballs, and let everything simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes more.
Add parsley and cook for 3 minutes more. Serve on plates or bowls.
Tips and tricks
Leftovers are wonderful for 3 days.
For freezing: make individual portions or use a container. Thaw completely before reheating.
If you want to use uncooked rice for any reason, don’t forget to add the same amount water as you use with uncooked rice to the meatballs (example 1/2 cup uncooked rice + 1/2 cup water). Also it can be take a bit longer to cook meatballs because of uncooked rice.
You can serve porcupine meatballs alone with more rice, for example Lemon Rice, or pasta such as Spaghetti aglio e olio, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, or Fried Cabbage.
More recipes to try
Share your remakes of Porcupine Meatballs on Instagram and Facebook.
Enjoy, Florian.
Porcupine Meatballs
Porcupine Meatballs are made with vegan ground beef, rice and everything is covered in a rich and flavorful tomato sauce. It is a real budget recipe that uses simple ingredients you might have on hand in your pantry. Big flavors in each and every bite. Once you try them you know that whole family will come back to make them again in no time.
Ingredients
- 1 lb vegan ground beef
- 3/4 cups rice, cooked
- 3 Tbs olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, pressed
- 1/2 cup onions, diced
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 2 Tbs ketchup
- 1 Tbs soy sauce
- 1 Tbs white vinegar
- 24 oz tomato sauce
- 2 Tbs parsley, finely chopped
- salt, pepper to taste
Instructions
- Start with adding ground beef, cooked rice, garlic, and onions to a bowl.
- Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix with your hands or use a spatula.
- Form 20 equal sized meatballs and roll with your hands.
- In a pan heat olive oil. When hot and cook meatballs for 4 minutes.
- In a bowl combine tomato sauce, vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce, brown sugar.
- Give the tomato sauce to the pan with the meatballs and let simmer for 10 minutes more.
- Finally, add parsley and cook 3 minutes again, serve.
Notes
- Leftovers are great for 3 days.
- To freeze: do individual portions or use a container. Thaw completely before any reheating.
- When using uncooked rice, don't forget to add the same amount water as you use with uncooked rice to the meatballs (example 1/2 cup uncooked rice + 1/2 cup water). It can be take a bit longer to cook meatballs, check properly and adjust if needed.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 4 meatballsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 379Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 108mgCarbohydrates: 30gFiber: 4gSugar: 3gProtein: 31g
Greta
Tuesday 1st of November 2022
Loved these meatballs !! One of my all time favs..we will become regular friends 😀. There’s no describing this sauce except it is da bomb. Couldn’t figure where to add the 2 tblsp ketchup so just added to sauce. It worked out great. Thanks for this repeat recipe.
Florian
Wednesday 2nd of November 2022
Hi Greta! Fixed and thanks for your wonderful feedback. Would you mind leaving a star rating with your review? Your experience is so helpful for other readers. Thanks a lot.