by HollyInstant Pot Ribs are the most tender, succulent, fall-off-the-bone ribs ever!
Not only are they delicious, but they’re also so easy to make and are so fast to make compared to a traditional rib recipe!
We sauce these up with our favorite BBQ sauce or even just salt & pepper them for a dry rib!
Ribs for the Instant Pot
Baby back ribs are cooked in the Instant Pot to achieve the most tender ribs in the least amount of time!
You can read more about the Instant Pot here (in a nutshell, the Instant Pot is a new and easy to use pressure cooker)! You can find them at most stores (or get one online here).
What Kind of Ribs to Buy: Baby back ribs are truly my favorite (and the king of pork ribs). They’re perfectly tender and delicious and great on the grill (or broiled if you live in a place that’s snowy half the year like I do).
Side ribs will work too and are more budget-friendly but baby-back is worth the splurge if you can swing it.
How Long to Pressure Cook Ribs
I cook pressure cooker ribs for about 23 minutes (26 if they’re extra meaty) and about 32 minutes from frozen.
To Make Ribs Tender: Ribs aren’t hard to cook, they just take time. As far back as I can remember, I have cooked my ribs in the oven low and slow. Much like a pork shoulder or tough cut of meat, a low slow heat breaks down the fibers and creates a tender juicy rib.
When boiling or pre-cooking ribs, you’re looking at least a couple of hours at least to get them totally tender. In walks Instant Pot: mic drop.
Instant Pot baby back ribs are not only just as amazing as oven-baked ribs, but I might like them more because they’re SO fast! They’re falling off the bone, melt in your mouth, gimme some more, amazing and tender.
Cook from Fresh or Frozen
You can cook Instant Pot ribs right from frozen. You’ll want to make sure you cut them into the right size and add the rub prior to freezing.
Just pop them into the Instant Pot frozen and follow the recipe as directed. They’ll need about 5-7 minutes extra if they’re cooked from frozen.
How to Make Instant Pot Ribs
The best Instant Pot ribs start with baby back ribs as they’re so tender.
PREPARE THE RIBS
I always rinse the ribs (to remove any bone chips or debris) and then remove the membrane. The membrane very thin and located on the back of the ribs. Simply slide your knife under it to get ahold of it and then pull it off. If you can’t seem to find it, ribs sometimes come with the membrane already removed and some people leave it on (it’s ok to cook with it on).
Once you’ve pulled it off, cut your slabs of ribs into two or 3 pieces (depending on the size) as they’ll need to fit into the Instant Pot. Combine your spice rub and massage it into the ribs on both sides.
ADD TO THE INSTANT POT
A trivet ensures the ribs are not sitting in the liquid if you don’t have one you can prop them up on the onion slices.
Finally add the liquid to the bottom of the slow cooker and the ribs, seal, and cook (23-26 min on high for defrosted or fresh ribs).
FINISH THE RIBS
Once the ribs are nice and tender, allow them to naturally release for a little bit.
Add salt & pepper or bbq sauce and either broil or grill them for a few minutes to crisp up a bit.
How to Natural Release on an Instant Pot
When making an Instant Pot recipe, you’ll need to either quick release or natural release the pressure before opening it.
Natural release on the Instant Pot means you allow the pressure to gradually release without opening the valve.
Once your Instant Pot finishes the cooking, it will beep, and then it will start counting up on the keep warm mode. This recipe has a natural release time of 5 minutes so once the timer shows 5 minutes, you can then open the valve to release the rest of the pressure.
Serve these easy Instant Pot Ribs with Dill Pickle Pasta Salad, some garlic bread, and corn on the cob for the perfect meal!
More Favorite BBQ Sides
- The Best Baked Beans
- Classic Coleslaw Recipe
- Grilled Potatoes in Foil (potato packets)
- Easy Grilled Asparagus (with Parmesan)
- Grilled Corn on the Cob
Did you love these Instant Pot Ribs? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Instant Pot Ribs
Prep Time 15 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 rack baby back ribs about 1 ½- 2 pounds
- 1 cup broth or water
- ½ teaspoon liquid smoke optional
- 4 cloves garlic sliced
- 1 onion sliced
- 6 tablespoons dry rub
- barbecue sauce optional
Dry Rub
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons lemon pepper
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons oregano
Instructions
- Rinse ribs and pat dry. Remove the thin membrane from the back of the ribs.
- Cut slab into 2-3 pieces (enough so they fit into the Instant Pot) and coat with dry rub massaging it into the meat.
- Place trivet (or rack) in the bottom of your Instant Pot. Add broth or water and liquid smoke if using.
- Set ribs upright on the trivet (so they are not stacked on top of one another). Sprinkle with onion and garlic.
- Close lid and select manual pressure and set the timer for 23 minutes (25 minutes if they’re extra meaty). Once done, allow the instant pot to natural release for 5 minutes.
- Open valve to release remaining pressure.
- Brush with barbecue sauce (or olive oil/salt/pepper for dry ribs) and broil or grill until slightly charred.
Nutrition Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)
OMG, We have to go out to eat (prior to today) as ribs were always hit or miss, love, Love, LOVE this recipe. Had very meaty ribs, 25 + 10 minutes and popped them under the broiler. I removed the membrane and dry rubbed, put minced onions and garlic, prior to cooking,, used Sweet Baby Ray’s Vidalia onion BBQ sauce for the broiler. We have a different brand IP, cooked on meat/high pressure. We will never eat them any other way, nor have them out to eat…the BOMB, TYTYTYVM!
So glad you love the ribs so much Lori! We just had these ourselves – so good!
Just made these tonight and they turned out amazing! My husband is a rib connoisseur and already demanded i make them again. One question: are there any uses for the liquid and onions left in the Instant Pot after they’re done? It feels wasteful to throw away all that flavor!
I have not done anything with the broth Susan, although I’ll admit that I’ve contemplated making rice (or scalloped potatoes) with it! Maybe other readers have some ideas!
How long would I cook center cut beef ribs and how would I need to change the recipe?
I haven’t tried this with beef ribs yet so I can’t say for sure.
The meat fell off the bones. I will make this again.
What temp and how long do you broil for?
You can find this information in the recipe along with other details.
Close lid and select manual pressure and set the timer for 23 minutes (25 minutes if they’re extra meaty). Once done, allow the instant pot to natural release for 5 minutes.
This was amazing!! Thank you, Holly.
Why??? when I ask for insta pot BEEF ribs, all I get is short rib and baby back rib recipes. Doesn’t anyone cook BEEF, like from a steer, ribs???
I don’t have beef ribs but we do love them! I’ll add them to my list of recipes to create and hopefully you’ll be able to find them next time you’re looking!
My instant pot doesn’t have a manual pressure setting, it has a low and high pressure setting, do I use those?
You can cook these on high pressure.
I bought an Instant Pot this week and this was my first recipe that I tried with it. I was very happy with the results. The meat was fork tender, super delicious. Thank you so much. Will definitely do it again.
So delicious! Thank you for the great recipe will definitely be making this time and time again
This Rib recipe is delicious!!
I have made it numerous times and it turns out perfect every time!!!
Thank you so very much!! :))
so where does the whole sliced onion come into play?
It is added in step 4.
Yum!!! I didn’t follow the rub recipe exactly- based on what was in my pantry- basted with Sweet Baby Ray’s then finished on the grill. Delicious! Two racks of ribs fit perfectly in the instant pot. Manual pressure for 25 mins and 5 mins slow release. Thanks for another awesome recipe, my husband was in Father’s Day heaven!