Porcupines

Have used this recipe for years and love it. I always use canned mushroom soup instead of tomato. I never brown the meatballs just put them in dish and cover with sauce. Then cook 45 minutes covered and 15 minutes uncovered. Yummy!

Porcupines was one of the first recipes I learned as a new bride, over 35 years ago. I believe the original recipe was like this one, but I have modified it to give it more flavor and "zing." The first modification I made was to use instant rice. It seems to "glue" the porcupines together better, so no eggs or bread is needed. I also add diced green pepper to the meatball mixture. After placing the porcupines in the baking dish, I top with 2 can of Rotel with juice, eliminating the need for water. Just before removing from the oven, I sprinkle on cheese (sharp cheddar is our favorite, but use whatever suits your tastebuds) and return to the oven just until cheese melts. I make these for company all the time and everyone always asks for the recipe.

This recipe originally came from the Betty Crocker recipe library, but the worcestershire sauce is left out. That is why is sauce is so bland. You must add 2 teaspoons full to the water/tomatoe sauce mixture. Also, these do not have to be browned first. Just bake, covered until the rice is done, then uncover for the remainder of the cooking time. These really are good when made right.

My daughter usually loves porcupine balls. I didn't have any tomato soup like I normally use though, so I decided to try this recipe. I prefer the soup, I think it has a better taste. I know several complained about the rice. I have found after several tries you have to use either pre-cooked rice or instant rice. I prefer the pre-cooked, but either will work. I left the water out so I didn't have the issue of my meatballs falling apart, but they were also a little dry. I would recommend Zesty Porcupine Balls also from this site instead of this recipe. So far, I think they are the best. The sauce on this one tasted too much like plain tomato sauce, it really needs some spice.

Love this recipe with mashed potatoes and green beans!! I use leftover rice for this dish, because it just didn't get done if cooked in the lean meatballs. And you have to cover the dish with foil or the rice that's sticking out will get crispy !! I don't brown the meatballs before baking them, they will fully cook in the oven, and not fall apart. I pour the tomato sauce over it during the last part of baking. Just season these like you would a meatloaf or hamburgers. Really good !!

I have to tell you, I giggled all during dinner last night, my family gobbled this up!!! They only do that when I make spaghetti and meatballs. As for the recipe, it was fantastic! I doubled it and I did make a couple of modifications, I used 1 lb gr beef and 1 lb Italian sausage, omitted the celery seed - instead used 1 tsp basil, 1/4 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 2 tsp garlic powder, and 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes. I also used a red onion. Awesome recipe and a huge hit with my family!

We LOVED these. I did add an extra can of tomato sauce to cover the meatballs and added about a TBS or so of worcheshire sauce to that. I did find out the bigger meatballs that did not get all the way covered the rice did not get soft. These heat up very well the next day for meatball sandwiches. We used the Peppridge Farm soft hoagie rolls and they were excellant with the leftovers!!!!

This was a great recipe. However, I just drained the fat off the pan and poured the tomato sauce right in and simmered it on the stove covered for about 40 minutes on medium low. I also used fresh garlic instead of powder and omitted the celery salt as I didn't have any. And instead of water I used apple juice. Kids loved it and asked for seconds.

I am not sure what happened. I followed the recipe exactly but it was really hard to roll the meatballs and while I was browning them they all fell apart. So we ended up with a cassarole type dish. I was really looking forward to meatballs though. I thought combining 1/2 cup of water in with the meat would not turn out great. Overall I was dissapointed.

Should read "white INSTANT rice." These looked perfect. Unfortunately, having never made them before I followed the recipe to the letter and used uncooked REGULAR white rice. The author didn't stipulate any different. So I ended up with meatballs with little 'quills' of not-quite-done rice. They were good, but a bit crunch. Now I know better.

My husband and I loved this dish. In the meatballs I used an egg then filled the rest of the 1/2 cup with water. I followed the suggestion from others and used boil in the bag rice. The remainder of the rice from the bag I put in the sauce, then I put in another entire boil in bag in the sauce. This makes it a one dish meal. I too used 2tsps of Worcestershire Sauce to the tomato sauce. Also one tbsp of sugar.

Pretty good recipe. I pre cooked my rice and omited the water. I added 1 egg as the mixture seemed a bit dry. I tweaked the sauce as it was very plain, even with the addition of worcestishire sauce as suggested by another reviewer. I did not brown the meatballs, just placed them in the sauce and baked for about 1 hour covered and 15 uncovered. The meatballs were good, just a tad bland for my taste. Next time i will up the seasoning a bit to suit my taste and try a different sauce recipe. I will make this again using my changes.

Sauce needs some tweaking but that's just me. :)

Very good! The name says it all. These super-cute "porcupines" remind me exactly of the prickly little creature lol! When served with mashed potatoes and a green veggie or corn, these make a very filling meal. My hubs and I had ours with garlic mashed potatoes, green beans & dinner rolls (be sure to serve some of the sauce on top of your potatoes... yum!). As with any new recipe I try, I can't resist the temptation to make a few minor tweaks. This recipe was no exception. Some changes were necessary and others were "just because." I subbed instant rice for the long grain variety (I feared crunchy bits of uncooked rice otherwise) and instead of baking in the oven, I drained all grease, added my meatballs back to the same skillet I browned them in, covered and simmered on medium-low for 45 minutes. I also added an egg to my meat mixture (to ensure my meatballs kept their shape) and 2 T brown sugar / 2 t Worcestershire to my sauce. I can't imagine how bland this sauce would have been as is.... Overall, I was quite pleased with these, if for nothing other than being easy to assemble and calling for basic (and cheap) pantry ingredients. Thanks for sharing, Tara! :-)

Yummy, but not a ton different than regular meatballs. In the tomato sauce make sure the sauce is not too acidic. In cream of mushroom sauce mix ranch and sour cream into a 1/3 measuring cup. This makes it taste like beef stroganoff. Good, but fattening. *Brown rice- does not work, and wont get soft.

These were really good. After reading the reviews, I did make a couple of changes. I believe this recipe should specify that the uncooked rice should be instant. I used raw rice and precooked it (after reading that others had problems with it) I then omitted the water and some of the salt since I cook my rice with salt. I used fresh garlic in the meat and no garlic salt. And I added 1 Tb Worchestershire sauce to the tomato sauce to add a little flair. I also might add that some reviewers thought you need eggs in this recipe to hold it together but rice also holds together meatballs. My family loved them and I will be serving the leftovers today over some homemade french bread I am baking now. :)

Love porcupines! My mother served them with canned peaches and so do I. We line the bottom of the pot with saurkraut. Sounds weird but it is delicious.

Add 1-egg to meatballs, use spaghetti sauce instead of tomato sauce and poke a small 1/8" breather-hole in center of foil and it's even better! :)

Really good! Made mine with a can of cream of mushroom soup and half a can of milk instead of the tomato and water. Added black pepper and worcestershire to the gravy too. I used instant rice and it worked great. My picky stepdaughter couldn't stop eating them! I always make a double batch now. I don't brown them so I put half on a cookie sheet and stick them in the freezer. Once they're frozen I throw them in a ziploc bag.

All of the ingredients did not hold together very well and broke apart in the pan. This meal did not taste very well either. It was bland in flavor and no matter of easy could make up for that.

MAKE SURE you leave the meatballs in the oven for 45 minutes. I made these last night and I took them out at 20 minutes thinking they were done because the rice only takes 20 minutes and I dishes us up and the rice was still hard. Also make sure you add an egg. I think I put to much tomatoe sauce in the casserole dish so the porcupines didn't really stick out because everything was so saturated with tomatoe sauce. (I believe I used way more than what the recipe called for)

These were great!! I honestly forget if I used raw rice or cooked rice the first time I made these, but the second time I used raw rice, and it never cooked through. The first time the rice was not crunchy, so I will note my recipe to use cooked rice. You may want to double the sauce, the meatballs really soak it up. I used crushed tomatoes w/basil instead of Tom sauce. I served these over mashed potatoes, Mmm!

I don't eat beef, so I made these with ground turkey. Pretty good. I decided to try 1 can of mushroom soup and 1 can of tomato. Whole family loved it.

Love these! I am ashamed of how many of them I ate, so tasty. I used Cream of Mushroom soup instead of tomato sauce, as that's now my nana used to make them. Enjoy!!

Flavor great, added chopped green pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Used basmati rice but it didn't get cooked enough. Will try with another type.

A definite comfort food I remember my mom made. She always used a pressure cooker which keeps them moist and soft. I've used both instant and regular rice and varied the sauce - have used tomato soup, tomato juice, beef broth instead of water...whatever I have on hand and feel like using. Never browned them first. Ok when you bake, but be sure to increase the amount of liquid - and baste them often. Wouldn't think of serving them without mashed potatoes!!

Amazing is the only word i can use to describe these meatballs! My kids are picky and they gobbled them up before I even had the chance to start on my plate! I will use this recipe over and over again!

Very flavorful! The only change I made was to smother them with real spaghetti sauce (not plain tomato sauce) because we wanted them over spaghetti noodles. YUM! They were flavorful and moist. We didn't even notice the rice. The onion is what made these so good. Will definitely make again! One pound of beef made a whole 13x9 pan of meatballs.

Excellent and super easy. I did add 2 tsps of worcheshire sauce to tomato sauce mixture & did not brown beforehand as others suggested. Came out perfect! Made red potato mashed potatoes, topped with porcupine and lots of sauce. So good!

This recipe is really good! I've made this a few times now & modified it a bit. Instead of browning the meatballs, I just place them in the pan with sauce to cover. I also add 1 tsp of celery salt & 1/2 tsp. of black pepper to the tomato sauce/water mixture. I like to serve the porcupines over rice or with baked potatoes with a nice green salad for a yummy, complete meal!

Instead of making meatballs, I brown the crumbled meat. Add the sauce and rice, and simmer in an electric skillet for 45 minutes. GREAT!!

I have made Porcupines for 50 years but have never baked them. I make meatballs with rice, salt, pepper, garlic powder and worchester sauce. Then I put tomatoe sauce, rotels with green chilis, and water in a large pot, enough to cover meat balls. Heat the sauce then drop the meatballs in the liquid and cook until done. I also add a little extra rice to the sauce. (I use instant rice). Everyone lioves them.

I have not tried this recipe yet, but it looks very similar to the recipe my mother used growing up. I add worcestershire sauce to the tomato sauce. I double up on the sauce, and serve over mashed potatos...definitely need extra sauce as gravy over potatos. Canned corn is also a great side along with this meal.

Made these according to original directions. The meatballs were okay, although the rice was still not 100% cooked in the 60 minutes allotted. The tomato sauce was a tad on the bland side. Future modifications: mix Worcestershire sauce in with tomato sauce and add, did not use previously frozen ground beef--after defrosting the meet is way too moist and poor for holding meat balls today (always use fresh). Other possible add ins: an egg or two, substitute tomato sauce with cream of mushroom, and use pre-cooked rice or orzo.

Its a pretty good recipe and was very easy to make. Only thing is my daughter would not eat them.

Made these for dinner Monday night...did change a few things, I used left over already cooked rice from the night before in my mixture, I think it helped hold together with out the added egg or bread crumbs. I also added Worcestershire sauce to the meat mixture and to the sauce. Didnt bake in oven, just browned in skillet drained the grease and added sauce..brought it to a boil and then just let simmer for abou 30 minutes! It was good. The kids and hubby loved it! Left-overs were good over some texas toast with a little parmesian cheese on top!

Very good. I now use spaghetti sauce instead of the tomato sauce. I did parboil so the rice wasn't crunchy. I did not brown the meat first. Just added basil, oregano, italian seasoning, garlic, onion and egg with the ground beef. Added the same spices with the sauce. This way the porcupines and the sauce both tasted good.Picked up the browned meatballs in the oven pan with a slotted spoon this is the easiest way to drain the fat. Made about 15 meatballs, we loved it.

I loved these they were little bite sized Meat Loaf. The only thing my niece did not like about them was the onion in them but she said she would eat them again if I didn't put so much onion. My 4 Year old niece loved them so much she ate more of them then I did!!!!!

We have been making this recipe for years in my family. I have learned that if you use instant rice it is way better.

This is my daughter's favorite and she asks for me to make this when she has friends over. I always sprinkle some basil over the sauce before baking, just to add a bit more flavor. It is perfect with green beans.

This is a good base recipe. The recipe is bland as written. Add your own spice to make it your own. I added Greek seasoning and a bit of chopped green pepper. I also added another 1/2 cup rice to the tomato sauce mix and 2 teaspoons of brown sugar. Used Instant Rice and had no problem with the crunchies. Family loved it ~ so will be making it again!

My family has been making this recipe for many, many years now. The only change we make to this recipe is bypassing the browning step and cooking the balls directly in the oven. Perfect every time. We usually serve these with mashed potatoes and cheesy cauliflower.

These were GREAT; we gobbled them up. I'd recommend using 1 tsp garlic powder instead of 1/8 tsp, and instead of celery salt, one stalk of celery chopped into tiny pieces. Also, I added about 1.5 T apple cider vinegar and 2 tsp apple butter to the tomato sauce. Made for a tangy/sweet sauce. Delicious beside mashed potatoes OR over rice. Will make again, and often!

Yup...needed to add 2 eggs,put in some worchestershire sauce to tomato sauce..need more sauce if you simmer. I could eat these every day! Made the mixture and realized it was getting late so put in fridge and made the next evening..ran out of time again so I did simmer on stove and they came out really good! Also made with jasmine rice YUM!

ALL I CAN SAY IS OMG!! MY 11 YEAR OLD WENT NUTS. HE IS SO PICKY AND ATE THREE TENNIS BALL SIZED MEATBALLS. THIS WILL DEFINITELY BE SERVED AGAIN. I DID CHANGE IT UP A LITTLE BY ADDING TWO EGGS, BREAD CRUMBS AND GARLIC. I ALSO ADDED THE WORSTESHIRE SAUCE TO THE TOMATO SAUCE AND BASIL ON TOP OF IT WHILE IT COOKED

Very good, w/a few tweaks, based on other reviews: *Used instant rice *1/4 cup of onion *Added a little worsc sauce, brown sugar & ketchup to the tomato sauce

I modified the recipe a bit to our liking and also easier for me. I used pre-cooked al-dente brown rice, and also added the beef bouillon to the water as suggested in other reviews. I added 1 tablespoon of worcestershire sauce, 1/4 c. italian style bread crumbs to the mixture. The sauce was a can of Annie's Organic Tomato Bisque soup (yummy by itself!) and a cup of beef broth. I also cooked it on top of the stove instead of baked. I would have used ro-tel to kick it up a bit if I wasn't serving it to my children. :)

I made this for my family tonight. The kiddo"s loved it and so did the hubby! Next time, I think I will tweak the recipe a little by adding minced garlic and some parmisian cheese. The great thing about this recipe is that it would be so easy to add your own little touch.

I had no issues with the meatballs falling apart. I did not have any tomoato sauce on hand, so I substituted with spaghetti sauce. This recipe is a keeper! :)

These were okay. My husband seemed to really like them and he doesn't like meatballs or meatloaf. I'd increase the amount of sauce. It cooked down to much. I used instant rice and had no problem with it being hard. Thank you for the recipe.

Made this for the 1st time over the weekend and took it into work. The guys loved it! The only thing I added was 1 egg to keep everything together.

These were not that great. I followed the directions exactly and some of the rice didn't fully cook. Crunchy rice and meatballs don't really go well. I will stick to my standard Italian meatball from here on out!

These were fantastic! I add worstershire to the sauce and used instant brown rice. My kids loved it!

My mom used to make these when I was a kid and they are delicious. Doesn't seem to come out quite as good as my mom's. I'll need to get her recipes soon, haha!

I tried to make this with brown rice. It does not work!! The rice will not soften. I had to cook them to death. Stick with the white rice--that makes a big difference.

add eggs, no water

Instead of using tomatoes, I used mushroom soup, 1 can milk, 1 can of water and poured over uncooked meatballs. Cooked for 1 hour, then flipped the meatballs over and covered and cooked for an additional 30-45 min. Pulled meatballs out, added a little milk to stretch gravy, added a little salt and pepper to gravy, thickened and served over potatoes. GREAT Recipe, Family LOVED it

These were very good, enjoyed by my whole family. I did add an additional 15 oz of sauce thou, seemed to dry otherwise. Thanks for sharing!

Excellent recipe for old school style comfort food! I wondered about adding water to the meat mixture but IT WORK PERFECTLY! Rice turned out perfect. Meatballs did NOT fall apart. I did dump a can of diced tomatoes with a sprinkle of sugar on the bottom of the dish and set the meatballs on top of that. I also added a splash of worchestshire sauce to the tomato sauce on the top. YUMMY!

Add an egg to keep form better or beaters. ..also great topped with melted velveeta cheese!

I felt like a one-man comedy act when I made this recipe. As I used thawed ground beef, I should have waited to add water to the recipe. I ended up having to press the mixture to drain it before it was able to form balls. Once drained though, they formed nicely and fried up well. Instead of the stated 1/2 hour prep time, it took me at least double. I made the recipe with pureed plum tomatoes and do not recommend it. The sauce needs more flavour than my in-stock herbs and spices would allow. As an aside, I highly recommend NOT serving rice as a side-dish. With the recipe as is, I don't believe you need rice, potatoes or noodles on the side. They make a good meal with just a side of veg!

These were very good. I added worcestershire sauce to the tomato mix and an egg to the meat mixture. I browned the meatballs in my electric fry pan and simmered them in the same pan. Maybe a tad salty with the addition of the worcestershire. Next time I will omit the salt from the meat mixture. I served with mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus.

I added about half a packet of onion soup mix to the meat mixture and then added some leftover "Devine Spagetti Sauce" I had on hand and it turned out WONDERFULLY! I don't know if I made them too big, but the meatball rolling was a lil messy and and made up for a little more time devoted to prep and clean up, but was well worth it because it was loved by all.

These were so good,my kids ate all their dinner. I did use cream of mushroom and egg to hold the meat together like another viewer had suggested and they were great!

A pretty decent little snack, but not very flavorful.

I will definitely make this dish again. It was very tasty. I think that the next time I make these, I will take another reviewer's suggestion and substitute the tomato sauce with cream of mushroom condensed soup - that sounds good!

This recipe is DELICIOUS! However, it only gets 4 stars instead of 5 because as it is written, the meatball mixture is very wet. I had to add to it some cooked rice to get it to sort-of stay together, even after adding two eggs (I doubled the recipe). So next time - and there WILL be a next time - I make this recipe, I'm going to halve the amount of water that goes in to the meatball mixture. For sides, I served this with mashed potatoes and broccoli - yummy! Oh also, I made this with ground chicken instead of beef. Maybe that was my problem with getting the meatballs to hold together?

I made this dish but felt like they just were mini meatloaf balls.

I followed the recipe but my rice did not cook. It says uncooked and nowhere does it say to cook. I would also use something other than tomato sauce to cover it.

I read this recipie and a lot of the reviews. After reading them I used a can of cream of mushroom soup with 1/2 cup milk like someone suggeated. I put a dash of worchester sauce in the meat mix also. Everyone like it. I would chane up the spces a little next time.

We enjoyed these meatballs, but had to modify a little. I added an egg to the mixture to bind better. Used instant rice, added worcestershire sauce and made a sweet and sour tomato sauce to jazz it up a bit from the Cabbage Rolls II recipe here. I did not brown in pan b/f baking, just baked to save time, but it would be better to drain off excess grease if you have the time. My 5yo loved these.

First time I cooked this and I wasn't that impressed. Maybe add some Italian Seasoning, and a little less rice.

Very mild flavor. It actually tastes better the next day. I would add more seasoning.

This did not hold together, and made watery, flavorless meatballs.

We love this. Nice , quick and easy. We always leave onion out and have to do onion poweder for family memeber preferences but we love this. Nice change from meatoaf . I've made this several times.

These are okay. The rice doesn't really stand out flavor or texture wise, so it seems like a waste to add it, which is why I only gave this 3 stars.. I was expecting a little something more from these. Next time I will try this with a flavored instant rice, like mushroom, and see if that makes a difference. I don't really care for red tomato sauces, so I made these with one can (it's all I had at the time) of cream of mushroom soup mixed with 1/2 milk and 1/2 water with a little cornstarch to help thicken it.

I grew up on these and still LOVE them! The only thing I do differently is add oregano instead of the celery salt. I always serve this with boiled potatoes, veg and a green salad - just like my Mom used to. Mmmm - total comfort food.

Needed some zip - the seasonings looked rather bland. I kicked it up with some chipotle pepper powder in the meatballs and some taco seasoning with the tomato sauce.

I made these exactly by the recipe, browning them first. They seemed a little tough to me. I've made porcupine balls where you don't brown them first, and I think I like those better. I might try these again omitting that step.

I started off making this recipe as written but it went in a whole different direction because I didn't have tomato sauce so I used cream of mushroom. I also used ground turkey and cooked brown rice. I had leftover rice so I added that to the soup and put the meatballs on top. Cooked as directed. It was fabulous! I'll have to try this one again but with the tomato sauce next time around.

perfect! added 2 tsp of worchestershire to the sauce. omitted the water in the meatballs and baked in the oven for 1 hour.

Was having trouble getting them to bind, so I threw in some bread crumbs and an egg. Sauce was a litttle bland so I threw in half a cup or so of brown sugar and about a teaspoon of ground mustard.... PERFECT. Simmered on stove instead of baking. This will be a new staple.

Excellent! I added the worcheshire sauce like someone suggested. Definitely use instant rice!

These were pretty good. I use French Onion soup instead of tomato sauce and used mostly cooked rice instead. They fell apart a lot so I wonder if just making them in a loaf or just loose would be easier.

Quite tasty; I added a dash of worcestershire sauce and a little brown sugar to the sauce, and omitted the salt. Very easy to make and it pleased the whole family.

Very good! I was tired of the same ole ground beef recipes and this was a nice change. I added some red pepper and baked in home canned tomatoes. I did add a little worchestire sauce as was suggested. A nice "throw back" meal.

While I haven't eaten them yet. I can say that I had quite the difficult time keeping the mix "together". It all kept falling apart during the browning stage. Any suggestions would be helpful. I found myself adding breadcrumbs and mozz. cheese in hopes that either would help bind the meatballs.

Excellent. I was out of tomato soup, so I substituted Cream of Mushroom. Turned out GREAT! =)

I make these slightly differently: brown the porcupines in a skillet, add a large can of tomato sauce (not soup) with about 2 T brown sugar and 1 T powdered ginger stirred in. Cover and simmer on the stove for an hour or two. Even my picky toddler loves these!

Great recipe! It's my go-to for porcupines, only thing I add is an egg to help bind it together and a tblsp of Worcestershire sauce. Instead of using any water I just use a little more sauce to cover to meatballs. I love making this for dinner cause even my kids(2yrs and 1yr) eat them up!

The first time I made these, I was in a hurry and didn't even see where I was supposed to brown them in the frying pan. I simply made the meatballs and put them straight into the casserole dish and baked from there. They were fully cooked and tasted just as good. I also used Turkey instead of Hamburger. Cut out quite a bit of time and less mess to cleanup. In addition I spray my casserole with cooking spray first - makes for an easy wash up.

My 2 year old loved this, would definitely make again!

After reading some reviews and mods, I also added 1Tbs of Worcester sauce to the tomato sauce, and an egg to bind the meatball ingredients better. I found that the water made the meatballs too soft when I was forming them. Next time I will add less than 1/2 c. I also chose to simmer it on the stove rather than bake it and they came out just fine. I basted the meatballs with the sauce every once in awhile to keep them moist and to make sure the rice cooked. The last 15 minutes of simmering I added cabbage (quartered into wedges) to the pot. It's kind of like a lazy version of stuffed cabbage rolls.

I made the recipe as written and was extremely disappointed. Not only was the rice still completely uncooked and hard after the one hour cooking time, but the meatballs were falling apart before I browned and baked them and everything tasted very bland. I would not make this again.

These were very tasty and super fast and easy to prepare. I think they were just a little too salty for my taste so next time I will at least half the salt. I also think these would be delicious cooked in cream of mushroom soup mixed with a cup of water for a Swedish flare. Thanks!

This is a #1 dinner for my family! They just love it! I also do mashed potato's and green beans with it. It all just goes great together. My 7 year old son is such a picky eater and gobbles this down. : )

These meatballs were excellent! I changed the recipe slightly due to lack of ingredients and time. I omitted the celery salt, tomato sauce, and 1 Cup of water. I added 2 tsp. of ginger, a few shakes of crushed red peppers, about a tsp. of cayenne pepper, and a Tbsp. of fine dry bread crumbs. I cooked the meatballs in an electric skillet at 325 for about 30 - 35 minutes then drained them and added my own sauce. They were so good...my husband and I were like vultures waiting for them to cook!

Made as instructed & won't make this way again. No taste & meatballs fell apart. Needed worcestershire sauce & parsley for taste and a couple eggs so the meatballs don't fall apart. I will use a good pasta sauce instead of water & tomato sauce for added flavor. I will also place in a dutch oven, cover & simmer til done instead of adding heat to the house from the oven in this super hot summer!

These tasted so good - with a few tweaks! I used ground turkey and added extra chopped green peppers, basil, red pepper (powder), and Worcestershire sauce. (I didn't have celery salt to add.) I had a really hard time browning these... they just wouldn't really stick together while in the pan so I got frustrated at that point. After baking they were just fine. Also, maybe it was because I had too much meat (20 oz), but these weren't very prickly! Next time I might add more rice if I use that much meat again. Definitely worth a shot!