Meatballs with rice in a sweet and tangy sauce, these Slow Cooker Porcupine Meatballs are a blast from the past!
Today I am sharing my recipe for Slow Cooker Porcupine Meatballs. The Porcupine part of the recipe is the rice in the meatballs.
No porcupine meat, I promise! Below is a vintage recipe I found on Pinterest. I jazzed up this recipe with a tangy and sweet sauce. You can see my recipe farther down past the photos.
I start with a basic meatball recipe. I don’t add the Minute rice until after I mix these ingredients together first.
The Sauce is a mixture of ketchup, brown sugar and apple cider vinegar, very simple but packs so much flavor. I formed the meat mixture into 20 meatballs. I layered the meatballs and sauce into my slow cooker.
Here is what the porcupine meatballs and sauce look like after being cooked on low for 5 hours.
The sauce is AMAZING, sweet and lots of tang from the cider vinegar.
Try these other great meatball recipes too!
- Slow Cooker Meatball Subs
- Slow Cooker Barbecue Meatballs
- Slow Cooker Honey Buffalo Meatballs
- Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken Meatballs
- Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Meatballs
- Slow Cooker Grape Jelly Meatballs
I do have to say these vintage recipeshave been my favorite to do on the blog, never feels like a chore to me. I hope you are enjoying them too! Have a great weekend.
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Slow Cooker Porcupine Meatballs in a Tangy Sauce
Ingredients:
Meatballs!
- 1 1/2 lbs ground beef I use 10% fat beef
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup diced onions
- 1/3 cup barbecue sauce
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 cup crushed crackers I use Ritz
- 1 cup Minute Brand rice don’t use standard rice
Sauce
- 2 cups ketchup I use Hunts
- 1/2 cup Sweet Baby Rays Barbecue Sauce
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
Instructions:
- In a large bowl add the meatball ingredients, except the rice. With clean hands mix these ingredients together, add rice and mix in evenly. Form the balls, I made them about the size of 2 tablespoons, I made a total of 20 meatballs.
- Mix the sauce ingredients in a small bowl until combined.
- Spray the slow cooker with non-stick spray. Add a layer of meatballs and drizzle over some sauce. Do this a few times, until all the meatballs and sauce are gone.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 5 hours without opening the lid during the cooking time.
Nutrition Information:
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
Anonymous says
Have you made these with ground chicken?
Colleen Porter says
can I make the meatballs and then freeze until ready to cook
Sarah Olson says
I think that would work fine.
Kathy says
I would probably cook before freezing. Then all you have to do is add them to your sauce while cooking.
Becky says
Could you use miracle whip instead of eggs?
Sarah Olson says
I’m unsure how that would work, sorry!
Robert says
Can I bake these?
Mick says
I made this recipe as a meatloaf. Made half of the sauce and used as a glaze on top. Baked at 350 for 70 min. Very good. Thanks for the great recipes.
Sarah Olson says
I will have to try that Mick. And call it porcupine meatloaf!
Kim says
I wondered if it would work as a meatloaf. Thanks for sharing how you did it.
Linda says
Printed the meatball and chicken recipe and plan to try them this week. Love your page and appreciate all the great recipes! I am older with health problems which cause me to lose energy during the day so if I can get a slow cooker meal ready in the morning I can enjoy a tasty dinner later. Please keep the recipes coming. Linda from Kansas
Sarah Olson says
Thank you for your kind comment Linda! I add about 2 recipes a week. I’m glad you are enjoying them.
Pat says
I love using the slow cooker for the very same reason…..more energy in the morning than the afternoon. I love The Magical Slow Cooker Recipes as they never disappoint
!
Deb says
Is rice cooked or uncooked when making this?
Thanks
Sarah Olson says
It’s uncooked Minute brand rice.
Sonsie Hollingsworth says
I like to use leftover cooked rice when I make this ; I just cook for as long ! Hope that helps a little bit !!
Sarah Olson says
Yes, that works too. Thank you for mentioning that.
Chelsea says
Can I use long grain rice and cook meatballs longer?
Sarah Olson says
I’ve never had luck with regular rice in the slow cooker. It seems the slow temperature rise of the slow cooker doesn’t cook the rice properly and it gets gummy.
Mary // Chattavore says
These look so delicious and easy, Sarah! I’ve never made porcupine meatballs, but I may have to fix that!
Thomas Kasiewicz says
my mom made these all the time when we was younger, Now my wife makes them for me. they are good.
Debbie Wimberly Caraballo says
Amazing old recipe, it’s so delicious. I’ll be making this very soon!