Slow cooker 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 falls right off the bone!
My husband is straight up obsessed with pork.
The man would eat it for every meal if I weren’t around to shove beef, chicken, and a stray vegetable or two at him every now and then.
Man cannot live on bacon alone, my dear husband.But, still, he tries.
Anyway, I’ve come up with some crazy amazing pork deliciousness over the years. My pulled pork is literally the best thing ever. I make it almost every time we have a big family get together, because not only does everyone love it, it’s easy.
Today I’m here with something porky, but different!
Crock pot ribs! Y’all are going to flip for how simple this one is.
My slow cooker ribs recipe starts with a homemade dry rub. You can use a store-bought version if you must, but I swear, my bbq rub is AMAZING and you really don’t want to miss out. 😉
How to make crock pot ribs:
This is the easy part, friends.
You literally just coat the ribs in my homemade BBQ dry rub.
The dry rub consists of brown sugar, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and parsley. Super easy stuff that you probably have in your cupboards.
Sprinkle that over your ribs and rub it all in on both sides.
Add some apple cider (or apple juice!) to your slow cooker, pop the ribs in, cover, and cook!
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 same as needed.
These slow cooker pork ribs get pulled out and popped on a baking sheet. Slather them in my Carolina BBQ sauce and then pop them under the broiler for a couple of minutes.
Once the barbecue sauce starts to caramelize, your ribs are ready!
These are seriously best slow cooker ribs!!
What to serve with crock pot pork ribs:
Oh goodness, there are so many tasty possibilities!
We always have my coleslaw recipe with ribs.
Jiffy corn casserole is a definite hit.
Cowboy beans, cauliflower potato salad, and crockpot hashbrown casserole are all amazing as well.
More crockpot recipes:
If you love using that crockpot to make dinner time easy, I have some tasty recipes you should try!
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!
Slow Cooker Ribs
Ingredients
- 3 racks baby back ribs
- 2 tablespoons 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 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 nearly 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.
- Serve immediately.
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.