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Crock Pot Ribs are the best, most tender, flavorful ribs you’ll make! These are just about the easiest thing in the world and the meat just about falls off the bone!
We love tender, saucy BBQ ribs in our house, and the crockpot is surprisingly my favorite way to make them!
Yes – I’m being serious. Crockpot Ribs are seriously some of the best ribs we make, always tender, always flavorful, and always devoured by whoever we serve them too!
That doesn’t mean our smoked baby back ribs aren’t major favorites around here too, but these crock pot ribs are definitely easier and we honestly make them more often because of it!
We love pork in this house. My pulled pork is literally the best thing ever. Rub it with our barbecue dry rub and enjoy! I make it almost every time we have a big family get together, because not only does everyone love it, it’s easy.
Our crockpot smothered pork chops and crockpot ranch pork chops are a couple other favorites, if you also have a bunch of pork lovers in your home. 😉
♥ What We Love About This Recipe:
- Easy: I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to make smoked baby back ribs in a smoker (which are great!) but the crockpot is a lot easier. You’ll always get tender juicy meat that practically falls off the bone.
- Sauce: You could use any store bought sauce here but it’s so easy to make your own, and it’ll taste so much better! Try one of our homemade sauces, like our Carolina BBQ sauce or bourbon BBQ sauce.
- Versatile: Ribs for one or ribs for six? You can easily scale this recipe!
- Year Round Favorite: I live in central Illinois and the winters can get brutal. Smoking outside in the cold is difficult because it’s hard to guess how long the food will take in windy, cold temperatures. Sticking to the crockpot takes that guesswork out and I get to stay warm at the same time.
Ingredient Notes:
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Baby Back Ribs – These BBQ ribs are lean with tender, juicy meat! They’re smaller than spare ribs or country style and I think they are best for slow cooking. Remove the silver skin/membrane from the back of the ribs if it isn’t already removed.
BBQ Dry Rub – We scaled down my dry rub to make the perfect amount of these ribs.
Barbcue Sauce – You can use any BBQ sauce you’d like with this slow cooker ribs recipe, but I’d highly recommend checking out my tangy Carolina BBQ sauce if you like things tangy, or our Bourbon BBQ sauce if you like things a bit sweeter. Go the extra mile and brush some of our Alabama white sauce on these after cooking, if you like!
Apple Cider – You’ll need some moisture in the crock pot so the ribs get nice and tender and won’t dry out. Apple cider does all that and it adds a touch of sweetness to the ribs! Use the leftover apple cider in our apple cider donut bread or an apple cider mimosa!
Variations:
- Ribs: We’re using baby back ribs here, but spare ribs should also work well. Adjust cook time as needed until the ribs are nice and tender.
- Sauce: My husband prefers his ribs with just a dry rub, so we leave the sauce off of some for him. The rub is flavorful enough on it’s own!
- Apple Cider: This recipe was made using apple cider, but apple cider vinegar works surprisingly well too. Cut it down to 1/4 cup. This will help tenderize the meat. Dr. Pepper is another popular option.
What Readers are Saying!
I am not a rib cooker and I will tell you these turned out wonderful. Planning to use this recipe again!! And share like crazy…” – Mary
How to Make Crockpot Ribs:
Dry Rub: Combine the seasoning in a small bowl and whisk together to combine.
Season: Sprinkle the rub over your baby back ribs and rub it all in on both sides.
Helpful Tip!
If you like the smoky flavor that you usually get with smoked BBQ ribs, use smoked paprika in the dry rub seasoning!
Slow Cook: Add the apple cider (or apple juice!) to your slow cooker, pop the ribs in, cover, and cook!
Chances are your crock pot won’t be large enough to lay all the ribs flat. That’s okay! Just stack them flat on top of each other.
Every slow cooker heats differently, but mine takes 4 hours on high and 8 hours on low. If your crockpot cooks hotter, you can reduce the time as needed.
Helpful Tip!
While “falling off the bone” sounds good, I’d recommend not slow cooking ribs to that point. You do want them tender, but they won’t be as easy to handle, broil, and sauce if they are falling apart. But if that’s how you like your ribs, go for it!
Broil: These slow cooker pork ribs get pulled out and popped on a baking sheet. Slather them in your preferred BBQ sauce and then pop them under the broiler for a couple of minutes.
Once the barbecue sauce starts to caramelize, your slow cooker ribs are ready! Keep a close eye on them so they don’t burn. You can also serve these with the BBQ sauce on the side. Broiling them is still a good idea though!
These are seriously best slow cooker ribs!!
What to Serve With Crock Pot Ribs:
Oh goodness, there are so many tasty possibilities!
- We always have my Coleslaw Recipe with these slow cooker BBQ ribs!
- Jiffy Corn Casserole is a definite hit.
- Cowboy Beans, Cauliflower Potato Salad, and Crockpot Hashbrown Casserole are all amazing as well.
- Some Cajun fried corn is so easy to make with an air fryer!
- You can’t go wrong with my Baked Mac and Cheese!
- Don’t forget dessert! My Peanut Butter Sheet Cake always sounds good!
Low Carb Ribs:
Trying to cut back on excess carbs and sugar?
Try this slow cooker keto ribs recipe which has a sugar free BBQ dry rub and sauce. It uses the same method as this recipe and turns out perfect every time.
Recipe FAQ:
Pork ribs come in three main cuts. Baby back ribs are lean and tender, spare ribs have less meat but are very flavorful, and country-style ribs are big and meaty. I like baby back ribs the best for this recipe but you can use other types.
We’re using apple cider, but apple juice, Dr. Pepper, or Coca Cola all work well.
There’s no need to cover your ribs in liquid when slow cooking them. Add a bit to the bottom of the crockpot to keep things steamy inside the crockpot, but you won’t cover the ribs.
Ribs that aren’t tender are usually a result of undercooking. All slow cookers vary a bit, so keep an eye on things and test for doneness. When you can easily twist the bones around inside the meat, your ribs are done!
MORE CROCKPOT RECIPES!
If you love using the crockpot to make dinner time easy, I have some tasty recipes for you to check out below!
- My French dip sandwich is the most popular recipe on this site!
- Crockpot BBQ chicken, crockpot pork roast, and crockpot chicken and stuffing are on repeat at my house month after month.
- Serve these ribs with some cucumber tomato salad and crockpot mashed potatoes!
- These slow cooker chicken wings are perfect for gatherings or just as an appetizer!
Crock Pot Ribs
Ingredients
- 3 racks baby back ribs
- 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon parsley
- 1/2 cup apple cider
- 1/2 cup barbecue sauce
Instructions
- Remove the membrane from the back of the ribs and cut each rack of ribs in half or thirds so that they fit easily in the slow cooker.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the paprika, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and parsley.
- Sprinkle the dry rub over each side of the ribs and use your hands to press it into the meat.
- Add the apple cider to the bottom of a slow cooker and place the ribs in the slow cooker.
- Cook, covered, on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.
- When ribs are very tender, but not quite falling apart, carefully remove them from the slow cooker to a large baking sheet. Brush with barbecue sauce.
- Place under the broiler until the sauce has thickened and begun to caramelize, about 5 minutes. Keep a close eye as the sugar in the sauce can burn quickly.
- Serve immediately.
Kevin Prather says
This is a great recipe!
I’m wondering if you can clear something up. You say apple cider vinegar works surprisingly well and then say that we should not use apple cider vinegar. Can you set me straight?
Karly Campbell says
If you use apple cider vinegar, you’ll lose the sweetness but it will help tenderize the ribs. You’ll want to cut it down to 1/4 cup. We always make a note in our recipe cards about not using ACV in place of apple cider, because we have an alarming amount of people use ACV in desserts or breads where apple cider is called for and it will obviously not work well there…sour apple cider donuts, for example, are not super popular as you can imagine. 😉
Ljubica Baotic says
what if I dont have brown sugar
Karly Campbell says
I’ve only tested this with brown sugar, but you could stir some molasses into granulated sugar for a similar flavor.
Brandon says
This recipe was simple and effective. I skipped the broiler step and they were still delicious. I only had sparkling apple cider from new years but it still worked like a charm. I will make this again. My whole family loved it. We had it with mashed potatoes.
Thank you for sharing this super simple and delectable recipe.
Casey says
This recipe is amazing! I am from Canada but have had people from Texas tell me the my are the best ribs they have ever had! I usually cook in the Crock Pot for 6 hours so the ribs don’t fall apart too much. I then usually finish on the grill to carmelize and get that bit of smoke.
Karly Campbell says
I’m so glad you and your family enjoy these! Thanks for the review!
Steph says
I love the recipe and definitely going to try to do them since im at work and would love to get home and dinner is almost done just to eat. Thank you.
Edie England says
I am trying this recipe today. Hope it turns out good. Will let you know.
Karly Campbell says
Hope you enjoyed the ribs!
Mike says
It turned out delicious. Thank you so much.
Wilma Glass says
Didn’t remove the ribs before they started falling off the bone! The meat was tasty. I will use the recipe again!
Jim in Cincy says
Just made these ribs today…did a slow cook for 8 hours while out for the day and then did the broil step with a couple of different bbq sauces. It turned out great! Such an easy recipe and it really does turn out delicious! Definitely keeping this recipe – thanks!!
Karly Campbell says
I’m so glad this recipe is a keeper! Thanks, Jim!
Kym W says
Best rib recipe,…. In the world!!!! I did have to use apple cider vinegar, and they came out even better!
Karly says
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Grammy says
I’ve made this recipe a few times a totally missed the note saying don’t use apple cider vinegar, consequently it’s what I used each time. Love the tang it gives. Love happy accidents!
Linda says
These were delicious but I only made one rack so it was done on low in 4 hrs. Put them in the frig then whe it was time to eat I put on the bbq sauce and under the broiler. Very good
Karly says
Awesome! Thanks for sharing!
Adriana says
I’ve had a rack of ribs in the freezer for months now. i finally decided i was going to do something with them and I’m so glad i found your recipe ! the ribs fell right off the bone. they were amazing and a total hit for lunch! thank you !
Karly says
So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Sounds like a tasty lunch! 🙂
Talia says
Can the Apple cider be replaced with anything? Broth maybe?
Karly says
Yep, you can just use broth.
Liz says
I am making these ribs again tonight having made them just 10 days ago however I cook them in a low-heat oven for a couple of hours as don’t have time for the slow cooker. I used the rub and covered them with foil. After a couple of hours I applied the BBQ sauce and increased the heat and put them back in uncovered, turning occasionally to get a nice crust. They are delicious! (I am skittish about a tablespoon of pepper so used a teaspoon or so). I’ll probably try the slow cooker version at some point when I’m more prepared.