Old Fashioned Porcupine Meatballs
Old Fashioned Porcupine Meatballs with tomato soup are a blast from the past. Best of all, you only need six ingredients to make them!

How cute are these?! My mom didn’t make Porcupine Meatballs when I was a kid, so these were new to me as an adult. When I saw them over and over in recipe books, I knew they had to be something special.
And sure enough, what a fun dish! Based on reader comments on my Facebook post about porcupine meatballs, they hold plenty of nostalgia for many.
A reader named Brenda says, “Porcupine meatballs were hugely popular when I was a kid. Now when we have church potlucks, I always make them as they are super easy. People always get nostalgic when I take them.”
And Rhea mentions, “For porcupine meatballs we change things up sometimes by using mushroom soup instead of tomato soup! Both are delicious but totally different!”
Thanks, Brenda and Rhea for the ideas! And I can see the appeal—not only are these old fashioned porcupine meatballs adorable in how they imitate a porcupine, but they’re tasty AND easy to make.
Ingredients
You just need six simple ingredients for this dish. I chose 85% lean ground beef, though 80% or 90% would work just fine, too (80% will be the juiciest, of course). And you’ll want to use long grain white rice for this recipe, not Minute Rice.
How to make old Fashioned Porcupine Meatballs
In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, rice, salt, pepper, and grated onion. The grated onion stays true to the original recipe, but you can certainly finely chop the onion instead.
Then, form into meatballs. I made them about golf ball size. Place the meatballs in a mixture of condensed tomato soup and water.
Cover the casserole dish and bake the meatballs at 350°F for 40–45 minutes, or until the meatballs are cooked through.
When the meatballs are done, the rice will pop out!
Can I make porcupine Meatballs in An instant pot?
One vintage recipe for porcupine meatballs had directions for a pressure cooker (Instant Pot). It says, “Heat tomato soup and water in a pressure cooker. Cook 10 minutes on cook position.” Instant Pot users can interpret that to their modern day cookers if they’d like!
What to serve with porcupine Meatballs
This nostalgic dish can be served with any number of sides, ideally one that soaks up the sauce. Here are a few ideas:
- Rice (yes, more rice!)
- Mashed potatoes
- Egg noodles
- Flaky biscuits or Bisquick cheddar biscuits
- A leafy green salad on the side
📖 Recipe
Old Fashioned Porcupine Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1¼ lbs ground beef (I used 85% lean)
- ⅔ cup long grain white rice (uncooked)
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons grated onion
- 1 can (10¾ oz) condensed tomato soup
- ⅔ cup water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, rice, salt, pepper, and grated onion. Toss gently with your hands or a spatula to combine.
- Pour the condensed tomato soup and water in a 13×9-inch baking dish. Stir gently to combine.
- Form the ground beef mixture into 16 meatballs (give or take), approximately 1½ inches in diameter.
- Place the meatballs into the tomato soup mixture.
- Cover and bake for 45–50 minutes, or until the meatballs are cooked through and the rice has popped out.
- Serve over more rice, or with mashed potatoes or egg noodles.
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