Slow Cooker Porcupine Meatballs
36 CommentsMay 08, 2026
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Made with rice and simmered in a sweet and tangy sauce, these Slow Cooker Porcupine Meatballs are a vintage recipe that’s still just as delicious today.
Today, I am sharing my recipe for Old Fashioned Porcupine Meatballs. The “porcupine” part of the recipe comes from the rice in the meatballs, which sticks out like porcupine quills when cooked (no porcupine meat here, it’s ground beef, I promise). I jazzed up these Slow Cooker Porcupine Meatballs with a savory-sweet barbecue-style sauce instead of the plain tomato sauce many vintage recipes use. I think you’ll love this version.
Featured Comment
These porcupine meatballs are delish! Just like my mom used to make. The sauce is tangy but sweet, might be nice to use this sauce on ribs or wings.
– kerry
Key Ingredients
Ground Beef: Use 10% fat or less here – you don’t want the sauce to get greasy.
Seasonings: Salt, pepper, and garlic powder will season the ground beef. Adding barbecue sauce will give the meatballs all the flavor they need.
Binder: Eggs, Ritz crackers, and milk will bind the meatball mixture, giving it the perfect consistency to form into balls.
Rice: I use Minute Brand Rice here.
Sauce: A mixture of ketchup, brown sugar, and apple cider vinegar, very simple, but packs so much flavor.
How to Make Porcupine Meatballs
- Mix the meatball ingredients together and form into evenly sized meatballs.
- Layer the meatballs in the crockpot with the homemade barbecue ketchup sauce.
- Cook low and slow until the meatballs are tender and the sauce is rich and bubbly.
Tips and Variations
Meat Swap: You can use ground turkey or chicken in these meatballs, though beef will taste better.
Add vegetables: Add chopped mushrooms or green bell pepper to the meatballs for more heartiness.
Cracker Swap: Use crushed Saltine crackers or breadcrumbs if you don’t have Ritz crackers.
Best Way to Serve Porcupine Meatballs
Starch: Even though these crockpot porcupine meatballs include rice, you can still add a starch to the meal. We like to serve these over mashed potatoes, egg noodles, or even more white rice.
Other Sides: Add a sauteed veggie or just add some dinner rolls to make it a simple filling meal.
Can I make these ahead of time?
You can make the meatballs and sauce ahead of time. Place them in the fridge until ready to cook. It’s a great recipe to make the night before if you have busy mornings.
Why can’t I use Regular rice?
The slow cooker doesn’t get hot enough, fast enough to cook standard rice. You will have better results if you use par-boiled rice in these meatballs.
Slow Cooker Porcupine Meatballs in a Tangy Sauce
How to Video
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 4-5 hours without opening the lid during the cooking time.
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
Tips on Storing
These porcupine meatballs store well. Refrigerate and eat within 3 days. Or you can put up the leftovers in the freezer for up to three months.
What other crockpot meatball recipes to try
Saucy and cheesy, Slow Cooker Meatball Subs are a hearty, crowd-pleasing meal made with tender meatballs slow-cooked to perfection.
Slow Cooker Barbecue Meatballs and Baby Shower Meatballs both bring bold, sweet, and savory flavors, making them perfect for parties or weeknight dinners.
For a tangy twist, Sweet and Sour Meatballs and Grape Jelly Meatballs offer a balance of sweetness and zest, ideal for appetizers or over rice.
Rich and comforting, Slow Cooker Swedish Meatballs are coated in a creamy, savory sauce that pairs perfectly with noodles or mashed potatoes.
In my family we made close to the original porcupine meatball recipe..We just used the spices we liked to our own tastes..We then took frozen well thawed baby brussel sprouts and formed the meat and rice mixture around it to make a ball..We browned the meatballs in olive oil in a skillet and then added the tomato sauce and simmered them until the brussel sprout in the middle was done..We called them inside out mini cabbage rolls..
This recipe is 100% certified badass
I think I had Porcupine Meatballs to eat at a friend’s house when I was a kid and wanted them at home so made my mom make them or we made them together? Would have been from the era of the Hunts ad… guessing that is 1960s. I know we used regular rice not Minute Rice though your recipe sounds a lot more flavorful than the Hunts Tomato Sauce version.
With that mixture you could make stuffed
Peppers.
Yes, that would work great.
So I’m coming over from Stacey’s blog. Yesterday I made stuffed cabbage and have way too much meat mixture left and it’s got rice in it. TaDa here’s this recipe that I’ll have tomorrow night. My mixture was pretty plain so with just some additions it’ll be in the crock pot in the morning. So thanks for the idea.
Great idea!
these were delicious! I added a bit of water to the sauce after cooking. Next time I will add the water before I cook them. My crock pot runs a little hot and they scorched a bit. Instead of the Ketchup I added a can of tomato sauce (plus one oz of ketchup)
Sara, I use frozen Italian meatballs, sweet baby rays barbeque sauce and can of good whole
cranberry sauce
Terry, G.
My mother use to add diced potatoes & Peas half way thru, fantastic with your recipe … & bread ,& butter for dunking..
Thanks
That is not porcupine meatballs
????
These porcupine meatballs are delish! Just like my mom used to make. The sauce is tangy but sweet, might be nice to use this sauce on ribs or wings.
Have you made these with ground chicken?
can I make the meatballs and then freeze until ready to cook
I think that would work fine.
I would probably cook before freezing. Then all you have to do is add them to your sauce while cooking.