Crock Pot Ribs come out melt in your mouth tender and so full of flavor. They’re perfect for busy weeknights or easy weekend dinners with the slow cooker tenderizing in baby back ribs. A quick brush of bbq sauce and a flash grill (or broil) finishes these off beautifully!
Crock Pot BBQ ribs are always a hit and perfect served alongside our favorite Coleslaw Recipe, corn on the cob and Baked French Fries!
How To Prepare Crock Pot Baby Back Ribs
I’m pretty much known for my Instant Pot Ribs and my succulent Barbecue Ribs in the Oven so it’s only natural I’d share my fave crockpot rib recipe!
For all the methods, the process is similar, allow the ribs to cook low and slow so the meat becomes buttery and tender and finish up with sauce and a grill (or broil).
- Prep the ribs by removing the silver membrane from the back (photo below). You can just slip a knife under it and pull (a piece of paper towel can help you grip it if it’s slippery). If you’re having trouble finding the membrane in this step, your ribs may already have it removed. Once in a while you’ll buy ribs that have it already removed.
- Inspect the rack of ribs for bone pieces/shards as they can sometimes be present from the butcher cutting the ribs.
- Cut the racks into manageable pieces that will fit into your slow cooker. I usually do halves or thirds depending on the size.
What Kind of Ribs to Buy for Crock Pot Ribs. I use pork baby back ribs (or back ribs). They’re the most tender and flavorful, side ribs also work however they have smaller white bones towards the end that I’m not a fan of (and they may need a little bit of extra time).
How to Cook Ribs in a Crock Pot
- Combine rub mix and massage into prepared ribs.
- Place onion, garlic and ribs in the slow cooker with a touch of water (or broth). Close the lid and let the crock pot work its magic.
- Once tender, brush the ribs with sauce (or just olive oil, salt and pepper if you’d prefer) and broil (or grill) for 3 to 5 minutes to get a little bit of char.
- Gently remove from the pan, cut ribs apart and serve!
How Long to Cook Ribs in a Crock Pot
Crock Pot Pork Ribs (I use pork baby back ribs) are easy to make as long as you cook them low and slow. We prefer the meat on our ribs to be fall off the bone however, if you’d like a little but more ‘chew’ to your ribs, reduce the time a little bit.
- Slow Cooker Ribs On Low will need to cook for about 8 hours
- Slow Cooker Ribs On High will need to cook for about 4 hours
Remember not to lift the lid and peek, this can increase the cooking time substantially.
Perfect Rib Side Dishes
- Twice Baked Potato Casserole – fully loaded with bacon and cheese!
- Loaded Cauliflower Salad – low carb potato salad style side
- The BEST Mashed Potatoes – great under ribs!
- Easy Oven Roasted Potatoes – crispy side dish
- Homemade Garlic Bread – of course!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 racks baby back ribs about 3 to 4 pounds
- 1 onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- ½ cup water
- 2 to 3 tablespoons rib rub or homemade rib rub in the notes
BBQ Rib Sauce
- ¼ cup ketchup
- ½ cup chili sauce
- ½ cup barbecue sauce of choice
Instructions
- If making homemade rub, combine all rub ingredients according to the recipe below.
- Remove silver membrane from the back of the ribs. Rub front and back of the ribs with spice mixture.
- Place onion, sliced garlic, water and ribs in a slow cooker.
- Cook ribs on high 4 hours or low 8 hours or until fork tender.
- Preheat broiler. Combine ketchup, chili sauce and barbecue sauce.
- Brush ribs with sauce mixture and broil (or grill) 3-5 minutes or until charred.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Main Course
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
gonna do ribs in crock pot
You will have to let us know what you think, Sherri!
I love being able to cook ribs in crock pot. they come out perfect
This is the highest rating I have ever given an online recipe. Simply delicious and quite easy to do. Might try adding a little heat next time.
I live alone. Can your leftovers be frozen
I haven’t tried freezing this recipe but it should work well.
absolutely delicious!!
these were easy and delicious! I slow-cooked them the day before company came, so I could just pop them on the grill! the dry-rub is perfect, thank you.
I enjoyed making this recipe! The rub was flavorful, and the barbecue sauce was delicious !!
Thank you !!
The family thoroughly enjoyed the ribs, definitely my new go to recipe! I did half the amount of normal paprika and added smoked paprika to the recipe as well. The house smells wonderful, even the neighbour’s could smell how yummy our dinner was .
I cooked mine for 7 hours on low . They were tender and delicious!!! Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you for this delicious recipe! What do you recommend doing with the onions/garlic/sauce from the crockpot?
You can serve it with the ribs or discard if you prefer.
I made this for dinner yesterday and and it was delicious – 8 hours was perfect and falling off the bone yummy :)
I found my summer time ribs when the weather is too hot for the oven. Just finish off on the grill.
I didn’t use the rub recipe, but I did use the sauce recipe, I will try the rub on the next round.
These were excellent.
Thanks for posting this recipe.
Love your recipes. I am just doing the ribs in the crockpot tonight for tomorrow thank you. Great recipes.
So easy and so delicious!!!!! Thanks so much for sharing!! My whole family enjoyed- didn’t have any leftovers!
I made these this summer for a group of eight, everyone loved them. To me the interesting part was adding Ketchup and chili sauce to whatever BBQ sauce you like. Thanks for the recipe.
I’ve always been skeptical about ribs because I’ve never had them and they were good, but let me tell you…. THESE WERE SOOOOOOOO GOOD. I’m going to make this a weekly meal for my family. I have two younger kids and we didn’t have any left overs. I’m definitely going to have to the double the recipe so we can have some to snack on the following day. AMAZING!!!
So happy to hear that, Natalie! I am glad you enjoyed it.
This was a great thank you. I left them on low for 8 hours but they burned a bit. Still we’re delicious. I checked them at 7 hours and looked great. When I came back an hour later they were a bit burnt but still a hit !
the most delicious fall off the bone ribs!!!! what a great idea of using the crockpot first!
Holly I love your recipes this is my favorite app
I am so glad you are enjoying the recipes Mary!
I make this recipe for my family, and it was wonderful. I also wanted to say, when I look for recipes and I see spend with pennies by Holly I know the food will be good, Holly has not failed me yet.
So, thank you for all the great recipes!!
Thank you for the kind words D! I am so glad you are enjoying the recipes.
This recipe was so easy and very delicious – especially if using bottled/purchased BBQ sauce. It was such a delight to come home to after a long day of work. We forgot to put the rub on the ribs, but they were still delicious with the sauce. The ribs were fall-off-the-bone coming out of the crockpot. Broiling them with sauce made them restaurant worthy and finger-lickin’ good! This will be made go-to rib recipe in the future. Thank you so much!
So easy and so delicious. Will definitely make again!