4-Ingredient Skinny Slow Cooker Porcupine Meatballs Recipe

WW Recipe of the Day: Slow Cooker Porcupine Meatballs
(278 calories | *6 WW SmartPoints)

I’ve got an updated, blast from the past (my past anyway) recipe for you today: Healthy Slow Cooker Porcupine Meatballs.

Do you remember “porcupines” – ground beef, raw rice and seasonings formed into balls and then cooked in tomato sauce, or soup, in a skillet or baked in the oven?

WW Slow Cooker Porcupine Meatballs

My old Betty Crocker Cookbook (affiliate link) (1978) has a good recipe for this old-fashioned family-friendly favorite.

But the inspiration for these skinny slow cooker gluten-free porcupine meatballs came from another source: 4 Ingredients: More Than 400 Quick, Easy, and Delicious Recipes Using 4 or Fewer Ingredients (affiliate link), a basic little paperback of easy everyday recipes by a pair of Australian moms, that I discovered in a London bookshop a few years back.
 

Skinny on Skinny Slow Cooker Porcupine Meatballs

The original 4-ingredient recipe called for just ground beef, cooked rice, egg and canned condensed tomato soup.

I added a little dried onion, garlic powder, salt and pepper to the mix.

Mixing and Rolling Porcupine Meatballs

And instead of plain condensed tomato soup, I opted for a can of Amy’s Organic Chunky Tomato Bisque (affiliate link) which is slightly sweet, a little creamy, and full of fresh tomato flavor.

I carefully placed the uncooked meatballs in my 4-Quart oval slow cooker (affiliate link), poured the soup on top and let them cook on LOW for about 4-1/2 hours.

If you prefer, you could bake them in a 350F degree oven for about one hour instead.

Served with mashed potatoes and broccoli, these slow cooker porcupine meatballs received an enthusiastic thumbs up from both of us.

Which just goes to show dinner doesn’t have to be complicated to be satisfying, especially when you like old-fashioned comfort food the way we do.

According to my calculations, each generous serving has about 278 calories and *7 Weight Watchers PointsPlus, *6 WW Freestyle SmartPoints. Enjoy!

Are You Ready To Slow Cook Yourself Slim?

I used the following ingredients & kitchen tools to make these porcupine meatballs:

• Hamilton Beach 4-Quart Stay-or-Go Slow Cooker (affiliate link)
• Amy’s Organic Soups, Chunky Tomato Bisque (affiliate link)
• 4 Ingredients: More Than 400 Quick, Easy, and Delicious Recipes Using 4 or Fewer Ingredients (affiliate link)

If you like these old-fashioned slow cooker porcupine meatballs, be sure to check out my other easy healthy Weight Watchers friendly meatball recipes including Easy Slow Cooker French Onion Meatballs, Weight Watchers Spaghetti & Chicken Meatballs, Slow Cooker Hawaiian Meatballs, Slow Cooker Cranberry Meatballs and Easy Slow Cooker Sweet & Sour BBQ Meatballs

If you’ve made these Crock Pot Porcupine Meatballs, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it.

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4.3 from 10 votes

Weight Watchers Friendly Slow Cooker Porcupine Meatballs Recipe

Lightened up slow cooker porcupine meatballs, an old-fashioned family friendly recipe updated for today - easy, healthy and deliciously comforting served with mashed potatoes or noodles and your favorite green vegetable.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time6 hrs

Total Time6 hrs 10 mins

Course: Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: meatballs with rice, slow cooker meatballs

Servings (adjustable): 4

Calories: 278

Author: Martha | Simple Nourished Living

Ingredients

• 1 pound 95% lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup cooked rice
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons dried onion flakes (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (optional)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 can tomato soup (I used Amy's Organic Chunky Tomato Bisque)

Instructions

• Ideal slow cooker size: 4-Quart.
• In a bowl, combine the ground beef, rice, egg and seasonings in a bowl and mix well.
• Roll mixture into 16 balls (aka "porcupines").
• Place meatballs in the slow cooker, trying to keep them in a single layer if you can.
• Pour on the soup. (If you are using a condensed soup you'll want to thin it with 1/2 can of water before pouring on.)
• Cover and cook on LOW for 4 to 6 hours, or until the meatballs are cooked through.
• Alternatively, you can place the meatballs in a single layer in a casserole dish, pour on the soup and bake in a 350F degree oven for about 1 hour, until the meatballs are cooked through and soup/sauce is bubbly.

Recipe Notes

Weight Watchers PointsPlus: *7

Weight Watchers SmartPoints: *6

Weight Watchers Freestyle SmartPoints: *6

Nutrition Facts

Weight Watchers Friendly Slow Cooker Porcupine Meatballs Recipe

Amount Per Serving (1 /4th recipe)

Calories 278 Calories from Fat 90

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 10g 15%

Total Carbohydrates 20g 7%

Dietary Fiber 1g 4%

Protein 26g 52%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Did you make this recipe?Mention @simplenourishedliving on Instagram and tag #simplenourishedliving - we love to see your creations!

Source: inspired by 4 Ingredients: More Than 400 Quick, Easy, and Delicious Recipes Using 4 or Fewer Ingredients (affiliate link) by Kim McCosker and Rachael Bermingham

*PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT Weight Watchers Zero Points fruits and vegetables using the WW Recipe Builder.

More Weight Watchers Recipes for Meatballs:

• Turkey Meatball Stroganoff (SkinnyTaste)
• Light Italian Meatballs (LaaLoosh)
• Buffalo Chicken & Quinoa Meatballs (SlenderKitchen)
• Salisbury Steak Meatballs (SkinnyTaste)
• Baked Salmon Meatballs with Creamy Avocado Sauce (Cookin’Canuck)
• Skinny Greek-Style Meatballs (SkinnyKitchen)

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