Slow Cooker Ribs
These Slow Cooker Ribs are fall-off-the-bone tender, seasoned with a delicious dry rub and slathered with BBQ sauce. This easy ribs recipe is the best way to make BBQ ribs!
I love using my slow cooker to make meals for my family. It’s convenient because you can prep dinner early in the day, and meats become especially tender after cooking all day in the crock pot. My favorite slow cooker meals include Pork Carnitas, Slow Cooker Pot Roast, Crockpot Whole Chicken and these Slow Cooker Ribs.
Ribs are perfect for cooking in the slow cooker. The low and slow cooking process, seasoning rub and BBQ sauce all work together to make these slow cooker ribs incredibly tender and flavorful. After slow cooking, you can put the ribs under the broiler in the oven to get those charred, caramelized edges that we all love.
These slow cooker BBQ ribs are a perfect addition to a summer BBQ menu, along with grilled chicken, macaroni salad, coleslaw, potato salad and fruit salad. Or try them for Sunday dinner served with Instant Pot corn on the cob, broccoli salad and biscuits.
What Kind of Ribs are Best for Slow Cooker Ribs?
I like to make this ribs recipe with baby back pork ribs because they are meaty and become ultra tender in crock pot. Spare ribs or St. Louis style spare ribs are also good options. Spare ribs may take longer to cook, so adjust the cook time as needed.
Slow Cooker Ribs Ingredients
The ingredient list for this recipe is short and simple! Find the full recipe with ingredient amounts and instructions below.
- Pork Ribs: Baby back, spare ribs or St. Louis style ribs.
- Dry Rub: The dry rub is a combination of paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, salt and pepper. You can use sweet or smoked paprika depending on your flavor preferences. My pork rub is also a delicious seasoning for ribs.
- BBQ Sauce: Use your favorite store bought BBQ sauce or try my sweet and tangy homemade BBQ sauce.
How to Cook Ribs in a Slow Cooker
To prep ribs for the slow cooker, start by removing the thin white membrane along the back of the ribs (if there is one). Then cut each rack of ribs into two pieces, or as needed to make the ribs fit in your slow cooker.
Combine the seasonings and rub the mixture over all sides of the ribs. Place the ribs in the slow cooker, with the meaty side facing up. Pour BBQ sauce over the ribs, reserving some sauce for after slow cooking. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours, or until ribs are tender.
At this point, you can serve the ribs as is with extra BBQ sauce, but I like to broil them for a few minutes to char the edges and caramelize the BBQ sauce. Line a baking sheet with foil for easy clean up. Place the ribs on the baking sheet and brush them with BBQ sauce.
Put the ribs in the oven under the broiler for a few minutes, until the BBQ sauce begins to caramelize. Then serve with more BBQ sauce and enjoy!
How to Remove the Membrane from Ribs
A rack of ribs often has a thin white membrane along the back. If you don’t remove the membrane, it will become tough after cooking and it can prevent the seasonings from fully flavoring the meat.
It is often easy to pull the membrane off with your fingers. If it is more firmly attached, you can run a butter knife under the membrane and then use a paper towel to grip it and pull it off.
How to Reheat Ribs
If you have leftover ribs, they are easy to reheat in the oven. Place the ribs in a baking dish and brush them with BBQ sauce to keep them moist. Cover the dish with foil to keep the ribs from drying out. Reheat in a 250° F oven for 15-30 minutes, or until the ribs are heated through to at least 145° F. Heating the ribs slowly at low heat helps to keep them moist.
You might also enjoy my Instant Pot Ribs and Crock Pot Pork Chops. See all of my Slow Cooker Recipes.
Slow Cooker Ribs
Ingredients
- 2 racks baby back pork ribs, 3-4 pounds
- 4 teaspoons paprika
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1½ teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1½ cups BBQ sauce, divided, plus more for serving if desired
Instructions
- If the ribs have the thin white membrane along the back, remove it. It is usually easy to pull off with your fingers, but if not you can run a butter knife under the membrane and then use a paper towel to grip it and pull it off.
- Cut each rack of ribs into 2 pieces or as needed to fit all of the ribs in your slow cooker.
- Combine the paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Rub this dry rub mixture over the ribs.
- Place ribs in slow cooker, meaty side up.
- Pour 1 cup of the BBQ sauce evenly over the ribs, reserving the remaining 1/2 cup for after slow cooking.
- Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours, or until ribs are tender.
Optional: To Char the Edges and Caramelize the BBQ Sauce
- Preheat broiler to 450° F. Place ribs on a foil-lined baking sheet. Brush ribs with remaining ½ cup BBQ sauce.
- Place ribs under the broiler for 3-6 minutes, until the ribs begin to char on the edges and the BBQ sauce begins to caramelize. Watch them carefully so that they don't burn.
- Serve ribs with additional BBQ sauce, if desired.
Notes
- Spare ribs or St. Louis style spare ribs may also be used in this recipe. Spare ribs may take longer to cook, so adjust the cook time as needed.
- To reheat ribs: Place the ribs in a baking dish and brush them with BBQ sauce to keep them moist. Cover the dish with foil. Reheat in a 250° F oven for 15-30 minutes, or until the ribs are heated through to at least 145° F. Heating the ribs slowly, covered, at low heat helps to keep them moist.
Do I need to marinate Louis style ribs ? We aren’t to crazy about BBQ sauce. Any suggestions for something else ? Don’t want dried out ribs. Thanks
Amazing and simple!
So easy and delicious.
yum fall off the bones good! i mistakingly added dry ingredients to bbq sauce brushed sauce on and added remainder off sauce to slow cooker.carmelized for 5 minutes.so tasty! thanx
This recipe for ribs is perfection! I have used the crock pot to make ribs for years, but was never really satisfied. The few quick tips – pulling off the membrane, rubbing the ribs with seasoning, and finishing off with the broil – added SO MUCH flavor! My family loves these ribs more than the ones we get at BBQ restaurants.