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Porcupine Meatballs and Zoodles

October 30, 2016 by [email protected] Leave a Comment

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Porcupine meatballs and zoodles is the perfect dinner for when you are craving a dinner full of fresh veggies but also want comfort food. Tender ground beef meatballs are filled with rice then added on top of a bed of zucchini noodles. Top with spaghetti or marinara sauce and Parmesan.

large serving dish with meatballs and vegetable oodles with spaghetti sauce on top.

You know….I love carbs.  I L-O-V-E them.  Bread! Pasta! YUM! But I honestly don’t love them as much as I love zucchini.  Oh, zucchini!  Such a diverse veggie whether I fry it, put it in some muffins, or make zoodles like these there are so many ways to make it delicious.  How about adding one of my family’s favorites to it? Yes! So now we have a new recipe to add to our dinner routine, porcupine meatballs and zoodles.

Jump to:
  • Ingredients
  • How to make porcupine meatballs and zoodles step-by-step
  • Tips & Variations
  • More meatball recipes
  • Porcupine Meatballs and Zoodles
a plate with zoodles and rice meatballs with sauce with a fork twirling the zoodles on it.

Many recipes that I found for porcupine balls had them baked with tomato soup or tomato sauce, but I decided to make it without that and just use a jarred spaghetti sauce that I heated and poured over the noodles and meatballs before serving.

sauce and ground beef meatballs over zucchini noodles in a serving dish.

Ingredients

These porcupine meatballs and zucchini noodles made in the oven have-

  • Cooked brown minute rice
  • Ground beef, egg, and milk-soaked panko breadcrumbs
  • Zucchini spiralized to make zucchini spaghetti baked with tomato, onion, and olive oil
  • Serve with spaghetti or marinara sauce

How to make porcupine meatballs and zoodles step-by-step

Cook the rice according to package directions. Let it cool completely.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Once the rice has cooled, add it to a bowl with the ground beef and panko breadcrumbs.

Add the egg and pour the milk over the top of the panko breadcrumbs and let it sit to soak the breadcrumbs for about 3 minutes.

Hand mix the ingredients together then roll the mixture into 2-inch meatballs.

Place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

photo steps for making porcupine rice meatballs with step text like mix ingredients together and add to baking sheet overlaid on the images.

Making and cooking the zoodles for this recipe is so simple.

Follow your spiralizer instruction for making them, then add them to a bowl.

Add halved cherry tomatoes and diced onions.

image steps for making zucchini noodles then added to a baking sheet. step directions like use spiralizer and add to baking sheet description overlaid on top of images.

Drizzle with olive oil and add to a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Bake them right alongside the meatballs for 30 minutes.

In the last 5 minutes of the meatballs and zoodles cooking heat up the spaghetti sauce.

Assemble this beautiful pasta’ dish by adding the baked zucchini noodles to a serving dish. Spoon spaghetti sauce over the top.

baked zucchini noodles in a dish with marinara sauce over the top of them.

Add the cooked oven-baked meatballs. Spoon over more sauce.

porcupine meatballs on a bed of zucchini noodles and tomato sauce.

Sprinkle the top with Parmesan.

Tips & Variations

  • Let the rice completely cool before adding it to the meatball mixture. Not only could you burn your hands when mixing the meatballs together you could end up cooking the eggs.
  • I use brown rice but you could use beef-flavored for this recipe too.
  • Serve with a homemade marinara sauce like this recipe from The Cozy Cook.

More meatball recipes

  • Baked Meatballs
  • Turkey Meatballs with Balsamic Vinegar Glaze
  • Caprese Chicken Meatball Subs

And here you are…

bowl of prepared porcupine meatballs and veggie noodles with recipe title description below the image.

From our home in the Bottom Left of the Mitten to yours ~ Enjoy!

large serving dish with porcupine meatballs and zoodles with spaghetti sauce on top.

Porcupine Meatballs and Zoodles

Porcupine meatballs and zoodles are a delicious dish for when you are craving something other than pasta. Serve this dish for dinner tonight!
5 from 5 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 6 servings

Equipment

  • spirilizer
  • 2 9×13 baking sheet
  • parchmet paper

Ingredients

Porcupine Meatballs

  • 1 package microwave brown minute rice cooked to package directions
  • 1 pound ground beef I use 80/20
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
  • 1/4 cup whole milk
  • 1 jar spaghetti sauce for serving
  • Parmesan for serving

Zoodles

  • 2 medium zucchini
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 small yellow onion diced
  • 1/4 cup cherry tomatoes halved

Instructions

Porcupine Meatballs

  • Cook the rice according to package directions then let it cool. (See notes)
    1 package microwave brown minute rice
  • Preheat the oven to 350-degrees.
  • Once it’s cooled add it to the ground beef. Add the panko breadcrumbs and crack the egg and pour the milk directly over them. Let soak for 3 minutes.
    1 pound ground beef, 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup whole milk, 1 egg
  • Form into meatballs and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Zucchini Zoodles

  • Prepare zucchini 'zoodles' using a spiralizer.
    2 medium zucchini
  • Add to a bowl with the diced onions and halved cherry tomatoes.
    1 small yellow onion, 1/4 cup cherry tomatoes
  • Pour olive oil over the top and stir to coat.
    1 tablespoon olive oil
  • Bake both the meatballs and the zoodles together in the oven for 30 minutes.
  • In the last 5 minutes heat up the spaghetti sauce.
    1 jar spaghetti sauce
  • Serve the noodles and meatballs together. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Enjoy!
    Parmesan

Video

Notes

Tips for making this recipe:

  • You MUST let the rice cool completely before adding it to the ground beef. If you don’t the meatballs will not stay in ball form. I cook the rice then add it to the bowl and put it in the refrigerator while I make the other ingredients. Stir occasionally with a spoon to release the steam.
  • If you don’t  own a spiralizer to make the zoodles you can use a box grater to get a similar shape.
  • To store: Add to a covered container and eat within 3 days.
Tried this recipe?Mention @mittenmommy or tag #mittenmovienight!

Originally published in October of 2016. Updated post in April of 2022, with an adjustment made to the use of ground beef instead of ground turkey. 

*Affiliate links are included in this post. Please read my Discloser Policy.

Last Updated on June 4, 2022 by [email protected]

Filed Under: Mitten Meals

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