These Crock Pot Ribs are juicy, succulent, and so easy to make. Just add pork ribs and your favorite barbecue sauce to your slow cooker for fall-off-the-bone deliciousness every time!
Looking for more slow cooker recipes for meats? Try my Chicken in a Crock Pot, Slow Cooker Mexican Pulled Pork and Crock Pot Meaty Pasta Sauce!
Why I Love This Recipe
- Easy and Convenient: If you’ve never made ribs in the crock pot, you’ll be shocked at how easy it is! Simply add your ingredients to your slow cooker, set it, and forget it. Slow cooker recipes are perfect for busy days when you want to put in very little effort for dinner but still have delicious results.
- Fall-Off-The-Bone Tenderness: These crock pot ribs are so tender they practically fall off the bone! You’ll be making ribs this way every time once you get a taste of these.
- Customizable Flavor: Whether you prefer a spicy kick or a sweeter glaze, you can adjust the seasonings and type of BBQ sauce to create ribs that are uniquely yours and suited to your taste preferences.
The Ingredients
- Baby Back Ribs: Baby back ribs are the perfect choice for grilling, barbecuing and, in this case, slow cooking. They get tender, juicy and fall off the bone! You could also use country-style pork ribs for equally delicious results.
- Favorite BBQ Sauce: No matter which BBQ sauce you prefer (a little spice, sweet, or vinegary) you can’t go wrong. Any of your favorite store bought sauces will work, or you could make your own homemade BBQ sauce.
How to Make Ribs in the Crock Pot
Step 1: Depending on the size of your slow cooker, you may need to cut the ribs to fit. If so, use kitchen sheers to cut them into smaller portions.
Step 2: Salt both sides of the ribs and add to the slow cooker. Pour BBQ sauce over the ribs and coat the ribs WELL with the sauce.
Step 3: Cover the slow cooker and cook on low heat for 8-10 hours.
Step 4: Baste with additional BBQ sauce if desired and serve.
Storage/Freezing Instructions
To Store: : Place the ribs in an airtight container or wrap them tightly in aluminum foil. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
To Freeze: For longer storage, wrap the ribs in plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil, or place them in a freezer-safe airtight container. Label and freeze for up to 2-3 months.
Reheating: To reheat, preheat your oven to 250°F (you want to reheat ribs low and slow). Place the ribs on a baking sheet, cover with foil, and heat for about 20 minutes or until warmed through.
What to Serve with Fall of the Bone Ribs
Complement your delicious baby back ribs with any of these perfect side dishes!
FAQs
For the best results, thaw the ribs before cooking them in the crock pot for even cooking. If you need to use frozen ribs in a pitch, you’ll need to extend the cooking time.
Yes, remove the thin membrane on the back of the ribs before adding them to the crock pot. This helps the meat become more tender and allows the flavors to penetrate better.
No, browning the ribs is not necessary. Unless you want an extra step, you don’t need to brown them before adding the the crock pot.
More Crock Pot Recipes
Making fall-off-the-bone baby back ribs is much easier than it seems. With just a couple ingredients and a crock pot you’ll have this delicious dinner on the table with very little effort. If you make these ribs and love them, leave a rating and comment below!
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Crock Pot Ribs
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3-4 pounds (about 2 racks) baby back ribs or country style pork ribs, with membrane on back removed
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup BBQ Sauce plus additional for serving
Instructions
- Place ribs in a crock pot and sprinkle both sides with salt. You may need to cut them into smaller portions depending on the size of your slow cooker.
- Pour BBQ sauce over the ribs and coat the ribs WELL with the sauce.
- Cover the slow cooker and cook on low heat for 8-10 hours.
- Baste with additional BBQ sauce if desired and serve.
SO easy to make, so delicious, cooking time was perfect, my teen LOVED them. I served with mashed potatoes, then served leftoveres over rice the next day. Definitely a summer keeper. Thank you! My first time making ribs. 🙂
Yay! Glad they worked out well for you!
I’m going to try recipe tonight for dinner,I’ll let you know how it comes out…
Any changes to this recipe if you only have boneless ribs? Thanks!
This is our go-to rib recipe and we end up making these at least once a month. So tasty, and couldn’t be easier. I will never slave over ribs for hours again – everyone from my parents to my 18 month old love these ribs..
Made these last night. Fell off the bone. Used a rub and BBQ sauce i use when grilling ribs, and the sauce lost something. It lacked the punch it usually has. Needed extra sauce to put on the ribs afterwards. Will make again
You could put them in frozen. They’ll just take longer to cook!
Do I need to defrost the ribs or can I put them in frozen?
this is the only way we make ribs now! We just dry season the ribs, let them cook on low for hours, and then about 2 hours before we want to eat, I add the sauce, making sure to get some on all the meat. They literally just fall off the bone they get so tender.
I agree. I’ve made this recipe several times and if I go anywhere near 8 hours, the sauce burns. I think the age of your slow cooker makes a tremendous difference. The low setting on newer ones is actually similar to the high setting on the old ones (for food safety purposes). I’ve cooked large quantities of the same recipe in two different slow cookers (one old and one new) and had the newer one finish cooking several hours before the old one.
Great, simple recipe! I think 6 hours on low is long enough, the BBQ sauce started to burn after that time.
No it will not burn, it is cooking on low. Place the ribs bone side down and they will come out nice and juicy – the juice will come out of the ribs so use that to baste the ribs after 😉
Just came across your website and I´m loving it 😀
I have one question regarding this recipe… all the liquid you put is just ONE cup of bbq sauce and let it cook for 8 hrs?
Wouldn´t it burn?
I´m sorry, I´m not good cooking with the slow cooker and had that happened to me once 🙁
Could you clarify that for me please?
Thanks!!