A Crockpot Baby Back Ribs Recipe that is SO easy to make! Learn how to make slow cooker ribs that are delicious and fall off the bone tender!
Some people think the best ribs are made on the smoker or grill… but trust me when I say, these crock pot baby back ribs are way better!
Cooking ribs in the crockpot makes them perfectly tender, and they’re SO easy to do (seriously… anyone can do it!)
Why We Love This Recipe
- Super easy to make – Like most crockpot recipes, you can let the pot do most of the work. Just rub the pork ribs with some spices, cook in the crockpot and finish in the oven with some bbq sauce!
- Ribs are fall off the bone tender – Because the rack of ribs cooks low and slow, they are incredibly tender!
- Easy to customize – This slow cooker ribs recipe is very easy to customize if you eat paleo, keto, or are doing Whole30 (check the green box below for substitutions).
ingredients
Cooking slow cooker pork ribs is so easy. You’ll need a few basic ingredients like:
- baby back ribs
- brown sugar – you can skip brown sugar if you’re avoiding sugar, but it really adds alot of flavor.
- water (or beer, apple juice, chicken broth)
- barbecue sauce
- paprika, garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, salt, black pepper
Substitutions
Ribs: You can use St. Louis Ribs in place of baby back ribs. They might take a little bit longer to cook, so just ensure they have an internal cooking temp of 145°.
Salt: You can use less salt if you are watching your sodium intake.
Brown Sugar: You can use coconut sugar in place of brown sugar. If you are doing Whole30, you can skip the sugar but it really does add a lot of flavor!
Liquid: Any liquid will work in the crockpot. Water, beer, apple juice or chicken broth all work.
BBQ Sauce: You can use any kind of BBQ Sauce on these ribs.
How To Make Baby Back Ribs In A Crock Pot
- Mix together the spices. Spray ribs with olive oil. Then coat ribs with dry rub and press spices in.
- Pour the water into the crockpot and place the ribs in. Cook on low for 4-5 hours.
- After 4 hours, preheat oven to 425°, remove ribs, and place on a nonstick foil lined baking sheet. Brush ribs with barbecue sauce and bake for 15 minutes. Enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
Slow cooker baby back ribs get dry when you overcook them or cook them too high. We don’t recommend cooking for more than 5 hours. We also recommend cooking your slow cooker baby back ribs on low vs high to avoid them from drying out. Cooking ribs with liquid at the bottom of the pot helps to keep slow cooker baby back ribs from drying out.
If you slow cook baby back ribs for too long, they may start to dry out and can be tough. The ribs could also completely fall off the bone which would make them difficult to eat.
Crockpot ribs will be done after 4-5 hours. They’ll start to get darker brown in color and more tender. You want the ribs to be flexible, but not falling off the bone.
Yes, you can overcook ribs in the crock pot. They will just become fall off the bone, and almost too tender. They’ll still be delicious! If you really over cook the ribs, they may become dry, but this would only happen over 10+ hours of cooking.
You slow cook ribs bone side down.
Yes, you can stack ribs in the slow cooker. You can also curl them in the crockpot.
You can cook ribs in a slow cooker without liquid, but we don’t recommend it. The liquid in the slow cooker helps to steam the ribs and make them super tender.
What to serve with Crockpot Ribs
These Crockpot Ribs are super filling. They can be eaten as an appetizer or a meal. Here are some of our favorite things to serve them with:
- Corn Tomato Avocado Salad
- Crispy Smashed Potatoes
- Caprese Pasta Salad
- Healthy Mac and Cheese
- Vinegar Based Coleslaw
- Spinach Strawberry Salad
- Best Potato Salad Recipe
- For even more ideas, check out these Healthy Side Dishes
Storage & Reheating Instructions
Refrigerator: These ribs will last for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
Freezer: We haven’t tried freezing these ribs but I don’t think they would freeze very well.
Reheating: It’s best to reheat crockpot ribs in the oven or in a toaster oven until warmed through. We wouldn’t recommend microwaving them or reheating them on the stove.
Other healthy crockpot recipes:
Love your crockpot? Check out these 40+ Healthy Crockpot Recipes. Click here to grab our free healthy crockpot cookbook.
Crock Pot Baby Back Ribs Recipe
Ingredients
- 2.5 lbs baby back ribs
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ cup water OR beer, apple juice, broth
- ¼ cup BBQ sauce
Instructions
- Remove the membrane from ribs. The best way to do this is to stick a butter knife under the membrane and pull the membrane from the back with a paper towel (it’s hard to grip and the paper towel helps!)
- Mix together dry rub of salt, pepper, brown sugar, paprika, garlic powder, cumin, chili powder.
- Spray both sides of ribs with olive oil cooking spray
- Coat both sides of the ribs generously with the dry rub. You can gently press the rub into the ribs so it adheres. Optional: let the ribs sit with the dry rub for 5-10 minutes.
- Pour the liquid in the crockpot. Place the ribs in a greased crockpot. You can lay flat if they’ll fit or curl so that they fit in the crockpot.
- Cook on low for 4-5 hours. We don’t recommend cooking on high.
- After 4 hours, preheat the oven to 425.
- Gently remove the ribs from the crockpot and place on a nonstick foil lined baking sheet.
- Top with barbecue sauce and bake for 15 minutes.
- Slice & enjoy!
Jann Forrest says
My crockpot has option to sauté inside. You put items that need softened and put the liner on the stove top. I added the ribs and slightly browned on each side. Then finished per recipe.
BTW I love this Hamilton Beach 6-quart crockpot. No extra dirty dishes to clean and the pot is really lightweight to life. Sorry I must sound like an “ad”.
Liz Marino says
This is a great idea, Jann! Glad that you enjoyed them!
Barbara Farrell says
Made these crock pot ribs and they turned out perfect. It was my first time using a crockpot to cook ribs and was really tasty!
Liz Marino says
So happy to hear this!
Jon says
Made these today. They were terrific, tender and seasoned just right. We will definitely make these again. The only issue was in the “liquid”:direction. The punctuation makes it unclear. Is it 1/2 c both apple juice and beer? Is it 1/2 c total? Or 1/4c beer, 1/4 apple juice? Overall it was easy and delicious.
Liz Marino says
The directions say 1/2 cup water OR beer, apple juice, broth. You can use any liquid!
K Burkart says
These ribs were absolutely delicious! Will definitely make them 💕💕 thank you for sharing this recipe.. doubled the sauce and used stella beer with west baby rays.. was finger licking yummy
Cathie says
I have made this a few times for my family & it is a Huge hit! It super easy to make and always comes out great!
The hardest part is taking the ribs out of the crockpot because the meat is so tender it does fall right off the bone! Will never make ribs any other way!
Judy says
We typically grill ribs so this was a different approach. The ribs were tender and the taste was great. I did reduce the salt considerably.
This will be a repeat during our miserable winter months. Thank you.
Candi Smith says
Our neighbor gave us some ribs,I saw this recipe and decided to try it. I am SO GLAD I did! These are absolutely the BEST! I used beef broth for the liquid and followed to the T. Thank you so much for a GREAT recipe!
Pam Oakes says
My husband said these were the best ribs he ever had. He ate a whole 1/2 rack by himself.
beverly f says
I want to make these. Will 6 lbs fit in crockpot?
The Clean Eating Couple says
I haven’t tried that but that feels like alot of ribs for one crockpot. It might not cook correctly. Without testing it I can’t be sure!
beverly fishbaugh says
I cut them into 4 ribs sections, doubled recipe, i”m thinking if I move them every hour might work. I have company. any suggestions?
The Clean Eating Couple says
I’m sorry but I don’t really have a suggestion. I’ve never tried it so I have absolutely no clue how it will turn out. If you try it – let me know!
Kay says
We absolutely tore these up. Best ribs I’ve had in along time
Vanina says
Love love love this recipe. It was a hit at home – so much flavor and easy to make!
Thank you 😊
Tracy says
Made these for the Super Bowl and they were delish!!! Will make them again!!!
Ray says
Hi, I want to try this with 7 pounds of ribs-in the same crock pot, do I need to add cooking hours? Thank you!
The Clean Eating Couple says
I don’t think 7 lbs of ribs will fit in the crock pot unfortunately!
Carol says
it is ok to layer ribs in crock pot–and it shouldn’t take more time—I have done this. But to make sure you have a good seal you should put foil across the top then put on lid.
Billie says
I wish I would’ve thought and got a picture but I didn’t think I’d like them. I’ve tried eating ribs one time in my life hated them and I had never tried them again.I’ve only fixed them one time besides this time. They smelled so good while cooking in crockpot so when I did get them out and started to put them in pan to add bbq sauce to them a piece fell off the bone (it was so tender it all was falling off bone) I can’t stand eating anything with bones in it. Anyways I ate that bite and omg it was delicious.this recipe will be used alot in my home from now. I did leave them in crockpot for around 51/2 to 6 hours because I was fixing fried apple pies I did use a whole can of beer I didn’t have any brown sugar so the bbq sauce I had just so happened to be hickory and brown sugar idk if that would be the same or not but it was still delicious. Thank you for sharing this recipe
Niki says
Hands down, the best ribs my family has ever had. I used to avoid making them at home, but I’ve used this recipe twice so far—ribs always come out super tender and flavorful. Thank you!!!
Melissa says
Blown away at how amazing these were!!
Christine M. says
Made these ribs for the Super Bowl last night and they were FANTASTIC!!!! I forgot a few ingredients (forgot to put olive oil on ribs before seasonings and forgot the brown sugar in the seasoning mix) but they still tasted delicious! I cooked mine in the crockpot for the full 5 hours as my rack of ribs was closer to 3 lbs vs the 2.5 lbs called for in the recipe. They were very juicy and tender and came right off the bone when we were eating them……DEFINITELY will make these again!!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Thanks, Christine!