These tender tefteli simmered in a creamy and tangy tomato sauce are the ultimate Slavic comfort food. Recreate this childhood favorite at home!
I grew up in Ukraine through the seventh grade, and school lunches were provided to us by the government in the Chernobyl zone where I lived. These meals felt incredibly fancy to us — especially tefteli with mashed potatoes. No matter how often this dish was served, I always looked forward to having it again. I still love it to this day…
If you’ve never had tefteli, you’re in for a treat. Think of them as rice-filled meatballs that are braised in a rich gravy called “podliva“. Tefteli are also known as “porcupine meatballs” because the rice grains poke out like tiny quills. While rice was originally added to the meatballs as a filler to stretch the protein for larger families, it became the very thing that makes this dish so comforting and delicious to me.
Love meatballs? Try another Slavic classic: kotleti. These fried chicken patties are a staple for us!
How To Make Tefteli
Making these meatballs from my childhood requires simple ingredients, only 20 minutes of prep, and lots of love. From one mom to another, this step-by-step guide is the easiest one out there!
- Cook the rice: Rinse the rice and combine it with 3/4 cup water and a pinch of salt in a saucepan. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer, cover, and cook for 10–12 minutes. Fluff the rice and let it cool slightly.
- Sauté the veggies: Heat the oil in a skillet over low heat. Add the onions and carrots and cook until they are tender, stirring occasionally.
- Mix and shape the meatballs: In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients for the meatballs and mix gently. Roll the mixture into meatballs.
- Brown the meatballs: Add the meatballs to an oiled skillet and brown them on all sides without cooking them through. Transfer them to a plate.
- Make the sauce: Heat the oil over low heat in an oven-safe pan (I used the same pan). Add the onions and carrots and cook for 15 minutes, then add the dill, puréed tomatoes, and chicken stock. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, then stir in the sour cream off the heat and season with salt to taste.
- Bake the meatballs: Add the meatballs back into the pan and spoon the sauce over them. Cover the pan and bake the meatballs at 350°F for 40 minutes, then uncover and bake for another 10 minutes.
Hot tip: For the most authentic experience, serve the tefteli with creamy mashed potatoes, plenty of the cream sauce, and a sprinkle of fresh parsley. Or, try them with buckwheat.
Tips For the Best Tefteli
I’ve compiled a list of tips over the years of making traditional tefteli, and I’m excited to share them with you guys. A few simple tricks make all the difference!
- Precook the rice. This may be the most important step for making perfectly soft tefteli. If you add raw rice to the meat, the grains will absorb all the moisture from it, resulting in dry meatballs.
- Use a blend of ground beef and turkey. This isn’t 100% necessary, but I love the balance between the rich beef and mild turkey. It creates the perfect combination of textures and flavors in my opinion. If you prefer, substitute the turkey for ground pork.
- Allow the cooked rice to cool slightly. If you add the hot rice to the meat right away, it will begin to cook the meat and tighten up the texture.
- Avoid overmixing. Mix the meatballs gently with your hands just until everything is incorporated to keep the texture light and tender.
- Wet your hands when rolling. I learned this hack by watching my mom and grandma shape meatballs growing up. Keeping a small bowl of water nearby to dampen your hands is a must for mess-free rolling.
- Shape the meatballs evenly. Back in my school days, the cooks made giant tefteli (probably because they didn’t want to spend extra time making minis), but I love to make them on the smaller side. Aim for consistent 2-3 inch meatballs so they cook at the same rate. Use a cookie scoop if you’d like!
- Brown the meatballs just until golden. They will finish cooking in the oven, so just try to get a golden brown color on all sides in the skillet. The sear adds a ton of flavor, but feel free to skip it if you’re in a hurry.
- Cook the veggies low and slow. When making the sauce, slow cook the onions and carrots to deepen the flavor and add natural sweetness. In Slavic culture, we call this sautéed veggie mixture “zazharka,” and I literally add it to everything!
- Stir in the sour cream off the heat. Sour cream curdles at high temperatures, so remove the sauce pan from the heat before whisking it in.
- Keep the oven temp at 300°F. It may seem like an abnormally low temperature, but trust me — low and slow is the name of the game here. It keeps the meatballs super tender.
Storage & Reheating
Just like with meatloaf, I’ve found that tefteli taste even better the next day once the flavors have melded. Reheat several for a quick lunch, or warm up larger portions for a family dinner.
- Storage: Store leftover tefteli in their sauce for up to four days in an airtight container in the fridge.
- Reheating: Reheat the tefteli slowly in a pan over low heat, adding a splash of stock or water if the sauce has thickened up too much.
More Slavic Comfort Food Recipes
- Cabbage Rolls — Cabbage leaves stuffed with rice, meat, and sautéed veggies and smothered in a creamy tomato-onion sauce
- Borscht — A rich and hearty red soup made with beets, beef, cabbage, and more
- Olivier Potato Salad — The creamiest and most delicious potato salad you’ll ever have
- Pierogi — Soft dough filled with mashed potatoes and cheese
Recipe
Ingredients
For the meatballs
- ½ cup uncooked rice
- 1 tbsp oil olive or avocado
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 1 large carrot grated
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
For the creamy sauce
Instructions
- Rinse the rice, then combine it with 3/4 cup water and a pinch of salt in a saucepan. Bring the water to a boil, reduce it to a simmer, cover, and cook until the water is absorbed and the rice is tender, about 10–12 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, fluff the rice with a fork, and let it cool slightly.
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan over low heat. Add the onions and carrots and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are soft and tender. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, ground turkey, cooked rice, sautéed onions and carrots, salt, and pepper. Mix gently until just combined.
- Roll the mixture into meatballs. Heat a bit of oil in a deep, oven-safe skillet and brown the meatballs on all sides without cooking them through. Transfer them to a plate and set aside.
- To make the creamy sauce, using the same pan heat 1 tbsp oil on low heat. Add the onions and carrots and cook them slowly for at least 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are very tender and lightly caramelized.
- Add the dill, puréed tomatoes, and chicken stock. Increase the heat and bring the mixture to a gentle boil.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the sour cream until smooth. Season the sauce with 1 tsp salt, or to taste.
- Return the meatballs to the pan and spoon the sauce over them. The sauce should almost cover the meatballs. Add more stock if needed.
- Cover the pan and bake the meatballs at 350°F for 40 minutes, then uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Enjoy!
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