Rice Balls with Meat Sauce
My mom's deep-fried rice balls, flavored with traditional Italian cheeses, make a hearty main dish. She serves them with her special spaghetti sauce - my favorite - featuring ground beef and artichoke hearts.
-Concetta Maranto Skenfield, Bakersfield, California
Reviews
This review is only for the rice balls, not the sauce, as I never made the sauce. I grew up eating rice balls, so I have high expectations. I have been using this recipe since I read it in the TOH magazine in 2002. It is my go to rice ball recipe. Love these.
BAKED-in-OVEN: Tasty, easy and delicious. We liked the sauce made without the meat: I used dry onion and a few shakes of granulated garlic for the sauce & increased the amounts of peas, mushrooms and artichokes. I had leftover rice made with tomato sauce. I did not add cubes of cheese to the rice balls. I baked rice balls in oven. Formed the rice into 1-1/2" balls, rolled in Panko, baked @ 450 for 20-25 minutes. Placed the delicate, yummy balls on top of the sauce.
BAKED-in-OVEN: Tasty, easy and delicious. We liked the sauce made without the meat: I used dry onion and a few shakes of granulated garlic for the sauce & increased the amounts of peas, mushrooms and artichokes. I had leftover rice made with tomato sauce. I did not add cubes of cheese to the rice balls. I baked rice balls in oven. Formed the rice into 1-1/2" balls, rolled in Panko, baked @ 450 for 20-25 minutes. Placed the delicate, yummy balls on top of the sauce.
BAKED-in-OVEN: Tasty, easy and delicious. We liked the sauce made without the meat: I used dry onion and a few shakes of granulated garlic for the sauce increased the amounts of peas, mushrooms and artichokes. I had leftover rice made with tomato sauce. I did not add cubes of cheese to the rice balls. I baked rice balls in oven. Formed the rice into 1-1/2" balls, rolled in Panko, baked @ 450 for 20-25 minutes. Placed the balls on top of the sauce.
BAKED-in-OVEN: Tasty, easy and delicious. We liked the sauce made without the meat: I used dry onion and a few shakes of granulated garlic for the sauce increased the amounts of peas, mushrooms and artichokes. I had leftover rice made with tomato sauce. I did not add cubes of cheese to the rice balls. I baked rice balls in oven. Formed the rice into 1-1/2" balls, rolled in Panko, baked @ 450 for 20-25 minutes. Placed the balls on top of the sauce.
I love these rice-balls!! I do however, add a some other ingredients... a few handfuls of chopped fresh organic spinach, 1/2 cup/one cup of peas, 2 tablespoons of organic Flax Seed (to sneak in something healthy ;) I didn't have cubed mozzarella so I used a few handfuls of shredded mozzarella. I also added some breadcrumbs to mix because my rice mixture was on the moist side.If using minute rice... 4 servings is enough for this recipe.
My family loves these. My kids, who are very picky, ask for these frequently. I use my own sauce, though, so I can't comment on the sauce.
This is my daughters favorite recipe! It is really good!
I have wanted to make the rice balls in this recipe since I first saw it. The mix was very sticky but well worth the effort.I used my on sauce on the riceballs and they were good. I'm so happy I finally tried it. Thanks for a great recipe.
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