Juicy and plump meatballs made with beef, pork and rice are baked in a creamy tomato sauce. The carrots, onions and garlic make the sauce even more flavorful and is the perfect gravy to serve over mashed potatoes, rice or pasta.
In Russian, these Porcupine Meatballs - Тефтели "Ёжики" are called this way because of the rice that is used in them, that pokes out from the meatballs in little "quills". Baked in a scrumptious sauce that's flavored with carrots, onions and tomato paste and just a bit of cream, it is so comforting and delicious. I have been eating these my entire life, a recipe passed down through the generations.
Thy are wonderful served as a leftover, and in addition to that, they freeze perfectly too. You'll get twice the benefit from your effort of making them once.
What Meat Can Be Used For Porcupine Meatballs?
I usually use a combination of pork and beef. The best results will be to use ground pork shoulder and ground beef chuck or steak. If you use lean meat with less fat, the meatballs will be more dense and tougher.
You can also use any other ground meat that you like, such as ground chicken, ground turkey, ground venison, etc.
How To Prepare the Meatballs
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Partially cook the rice. I usually bring the water to a boil and cook for 5-7 minutes. Drain and cool slightly. (You can also use leftover rice instead of partially cooked rice.)
Combine all the ingredients for the meatballs in a large bowl and mix until evenly incorporated.
The additional water will make the meatballs more tender.
Form the meat mixture into meatballs, about 2 Tablespoons each, placing the meatballs into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
How To Prepare the Creamy Tomato Sauce
In a large skillet, heat the butter or oil. Sauté the onions, carrots and garlic until tender.
Add the tomato paste and flour and mix until incorporated into the vegetables. Pour in the broth, mixing it in until evenly incorporated. Bring the broth to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until it thickens and creates a sauce consistency.
Add the cream and dry herbs at the very end.
Pour the sauce over the meatballs in the baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven, covered, for 45 minutes to an hour, until the meatballs are tender. Garnish with fresh herbs.
Making the Meatballs in Advance
These meatballs can be prepared 1-3 days in advance and then reheated in the oven, on the stovetop or microwave. Store the meatballs in the refrigerator.
Freezing Porcupine Meatballs
Freeze the cooked meatballs and sauce in an airtight container or freezer ziplock bag for 3-6 months. Thaw and reheat.
You can also freeze the meatballs and sauce uncooked, and then thaw and cook just as you would if you were making them from scratch.
Porcupine Meatballs With a Cream Sauce
Juicy and plump meatballs made with beef, pork and rice are baked in a creamy tomato sauce. The carrots, onions and garlic make the sauce even more flavorful and is the perfect gravy to serve over mashed potatoes, rice or pasta.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 55 minutes
- Yield: 34 meatballs 1x
- Category: Entree
Ingredients
Meatballs:
- ¾ lb ground beef (chuck, steak)
- ¾ lb ground pork (shoulder)
- ½ cup rice, partially cooked (1 ½ cups leftover rice)
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 1 egg
- ½ cup water
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Cream Sauce:
- 2-3 Tablespoons butter
- 2 large carrots, peeled and grated
- 2 onions, chopped or sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 ½ cups chicken broth, warm
- ¼ - ½ cup heavy cream
- salt and pepper, to taste
- ½ Tablespoon dry herbs (any spices, herbs, any combination that you like)
- fresh herbs, chopped, to garnish (parsley, dill, thyme, etc.)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Partially cook the rice. I usually bring the water to a boil and cook for 5-7 minutes. Drain and cool slightly.
- Combine all the ingredients for the meatballs in a large bowl. Form meatballs into approximately 2 Tablespoons each. Place in a rimmed baking pan, 9 x 13 inches.
- You can use a portion scoop to make it easier to form the meatballs, or use your hands. Moisten your hands every once in a while so the meat mixture doesn't stick to your hands.
- For the cream sauce, melt butter in a large skillet. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper and cook for about 5 minutes.
- Add the carrots and garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook, covered, for another 5 minutes, until the carrots soften. Add the tomato paste and flour to the center of the pan and cook for another 1-2 minutes, until it's completely incorporated into the carrots and onions.
- Pour in part of the chicken broth and whisk to combine. Gradually add the rest of the broth. Bring the broth to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for about 15 minutes, until the sauce thickens and the vegetables soften.
- Take off the heat and stir in the heavy cream. Season to taste with salt, ground black pepper and dry herbs.
- Pour the cream sauce over the meatballs.
- Cover the baking pan with aluminum foil and bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes to an hour, until the meatballs are tender. Garnish with fresh herbs.
The recipe for these Porcupine Meatballs was originally published on February 27, 2013. I have updated the pictures and clarified the instructions to give you the best results.
I have a question, is it 1 cup uncooked rice partially cooked or 1 cup already partially cooked rice.? Lol.
Hi Nadia,
It's 1 cup of uncooked rice, that you have to partially cook.
Could I use instant rice (that is what I have on hand) and increase the amount slightly? I plan on making it up on Sat. then reheating it in a slow cooker during church on Sunday.
I don't think it would be a problem, Mary, although I can't really help you with the amount since I have never made instant rice before.
Hello Olechka ,
My kids loved these babies ,
I made them Saturday and had some left over , when we woke up for church the next morning my 6 year old boy ask mama I want those kotletki for breakfast, that's how much they liked it.
Thank you so much for all your great recipes you are a great cook!!!
May God bless you hun!
That's wonderful, Lucy. I know how important it is to find foods that kids enjoy. I am so thrilled to hear that your little guy loved the meatballs. This comment just put a huge grin on my face.
Hi Olga. I have a question. Would you recommend making this , all the steps , and than freezing the whole pan, and when I'm ready to serve it, take it out and bake it? I'm expecting guests this weekend, I would love to make this couple days in advance and freeze it, and than have it ready to bake and fresh for my guests. Have you ever tried that? Please let me know, thanks in advance 🙂 (if you have any other meat recipes you'd like to share that are good for freezing, I would greatly appreciate it)
Sure, you can certainly freeze the meatballs, Luba. I don't do it too often, but I have frozen meatballs many times in the past.
Hi Olga,
I cooked this last night. I also made your chicken soup and carrot and parsnip combination, plus your beans. Between 6 people we gobbled it all up. Question. Do we use one cup of the partially cooked rice or do we use the whole lot? Can you please add an index to your recipes on your website. Best Regards, Ras
Hi Ras! Wow, I'm thrilled that you are enjoying so many recipes.
You would need to partially cook 1 cup of uncooked rice and use all of it in the meatballs.
I do have a recipe index. Look under the Recipe Index tab.
Hello,
I'm doing a project on Russian food and I used this recipe for one of the dishes I made. I also have to include the history of each recipe that I made. I was wondering if you knew the history on these little hedgehogs? Anything will help. Thank you!
Hi Brie!
Sorry, I don't know the history. This is a recipe that we've enjoyed in our family for many, many years. It's a very common household recipe that most Slavic families have a variation of.
I would love to try this recipe but I only have beef and chicken. Do you think I can mix them together or no?
Of course you can, Lena. I've never mixed chicken and beef myself, but I know that it's done.
Hi Olga, i made these meat ball's they tasted very good. Thanks!
I'm thrilled to hear that, Olga. Thanks for taking the time to let me know.
Hi Olga,
Fabulous recipe, thanks so much, loved the detailed instructions!
Big hit at dinner last night, here are some photos:
http://tblondonlori.blogspot.com/2014/02/pre-olympic-russian-feast.html
Lori
That's awesome, Lori! Thanks for sharing the pictures:).
Sweetie what kind of pork and beef do u buy to ground it? thanks!
Hi Alana,
I like beef chuck or sirloin for ground beef and pork butt (shoulder) for ground pork.
I have some left pork lion and was thinking to grind the meat and make these beauties for 2maro! do you think it will still taste good w/out the ground beef?
Sure, they should taste good without the beef. The only thing I would be concerned with is that there might not be enough fat, since you're using pork loin, which is very lean. The meatballs might be tough.
Just made this for dinner tonight. It was delicious. My family loved it. Thank you for the great recipe.
Hi Olga, this is the recipe that led me to your site for the first time a few months ago. I was googling a recipe for the crockpot because the one I had used condensed soup for the gravy. I love your version so MUCH more! Your site has been a blessing and I love that most of your recipes have ingredients already stocked in my kitchen. I've tried many of your recipes and have been impressed by each one so far. Thanks for all that you do! For those wondering about making these in the crockpot you can! I used a 6 quart slow cooker but the meatballs have to be in a single layer so you can only make 24 at a time. Happy cooking everyone.
Welcome, Simona! I am so glad you stopped by and also for taking the time to write. I really appreciate it.
I'm so happy you enjoyed these meatballs. It's one of our family favorites. Thanks for adding the note about the slow cooker - that's very helpful.
A couple of weeks ago I made your buckwheat soup. Today I made these meatballs and WOW! I am impressed!!! This is my FAVORITE meatballs recipe BY FAR!!!!!
Thanks again! Can't wait to try more of your recipes!
Hi Ksenia!
Thanks for taking the time to write. I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed the meatballs.
I made these on Sunday....they're sooo good. Thanks for the recipe! It's a keeper
Hi Olga! I made these for dinner today and they were super delicious, my hubby and 3 kids really enjoyed them 😀 I actually already had a "Tefteli" recipe I got from some Russian food blog a long time ago, but it was a bit bland and didn't have the "wow factor" so to say; to cut a long story short, I'll be replacing it with yours. You have great taste! Thanks for all the hard work you put into your blog 😀
Thanks, Julia. I'm so glad that you enjoyed the meatballs.