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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.
Natasha says
I made these ribs and they were so frickin good!!!! I am just curious but how much degrees do you broil these bad boys at?
Karly says
I use a gas oven which doesn’t have a temperature setting for the broiler. Flames just come out of the broiler. I would guess around 500 degrees though? Just keep a close eye on them.
Syndi says
Made these tonight! They were awesome! Best… Easiest ribs ever! Thank you!
Karly says
So glad you gave them a try!
Grif says
Is it just apple cider or apple cider vinegar??
Karly says
Apple cider! That’d be an awful lot of vinegar in there. 🙂
Linda says
how much liquid to I use – please be specific. It says apple cider vinegar in the recipe. How much. I always have that around. I don’t want to buy a whole bottle of apple cider if I’m only going to use a little bit. Thanks! My husband loves ribs, but I said I didn’t know how to make them, so I want to try this as it looks so easy. We like fall off the bone ribs, not the chewy ones where you have to gnaw on the bone
Karly says
The amounts are all located within the recipe card. I would not use apple cider vinegar for this recipe.
Mimi says
Well they do look spectacular! I need to use my slow cooker more often! This is genius!
Christopher Synol says
Do you lay the ribs down in the crock pot or stand them up in the cider?
Karly says
Just pile them all in there. You can see how I did it in the video in this post.
Maggie Martin says
I am a die hard charcoal griller, but you have never let me down so I am going to give this a try, I will let you know.
Thanks Karly
Maggie
Kay says
Can I make this with non-baby-back ribs, such as pork country spare ribs?
Karly says
I think that would work fine, though I haven’t tried it myself.
Robert says
Hi I had to try your recipe and I use them on my country ribs and OMG! so tender, as I was taking them out of crock pot to broil them most of the bones fell off in the pot. I didn’t have apple cider so I used orange juice and cook them on low for 7 hours great flavor, thanks…
Filmoracrack.com says
I tried that and want to tell you that it was so delicious that i tried that 3 days regularly 🙂
Thomas Chandler says
I used to do my ribs this way .. 4 hurs and so yummy, but discivered a new way this year …. ans a lot quicker.
Use an electronic pressure cooker… dry rub in the pot with a little liquid at the bottom and 20 minutes at pressure and they are equiva;lent to 4 hours in warm oven or slow cooker… Ribs on the table in an hour or less
Lisa says
Thomas Chandler – pressure cooker version sounds like a brilliant variation! Thanks for sharing the tip.
Liz says
I made the ribs ! They were delicious, but they didn’t need 8 hours, the mest was falling off the bone ?
Karly says
Hi Liz!
Every slow cooker cooks a bit differently – some run hotter than others. You’ll know to adjust for next time. 🙂
Jessica says
I really want to try this recipe but I’m doing only 2 pounds of spare ribs. How long on low would you suggest I do them for?
Karly says
I think it will likely take a similar amount of time. Maybe an hour less, if that.
Megan | 3 Scoops of Sugar says
These look absolutely delicious!! I can’t wait to try these! Thanks for sharing!
Michele says
I love ribs and these look so good. I have never tried them in the slow cooker. I’m going to have to try these ribs.
Brooke says
They are in the Crock-Pot now! Can’t wait! Just out of curiosity…why apple cider vinegar? Does it add flavor sitting in the bottom?
Karly says
Hi Brooke! You add apple cider, not apple cider vinegar! And it does add flavor. I’d try to dump the vinegar if you can…those ribs might be a bit tangy otherwise.
Connie Herm says
OMG! I made the same mistake! I just dumped the apple cider vinegar out after about 1/2 hr in the crock pot. I didn’t have cider so I replaced it with beef bouillon.
I’m so glad I came back to this site to read the reviews!
I’m hoping for the best outcome.
I’ll make note after they are ready to eat.
Karly says
Ooh, good luck! Hope you caught it in time!
John Epps says
I did at apple cider vinegar since I didn’t have apple cider. Will tell you later how they come out. Barbecue sauce may take the tangy out will see
Sam says
I used apple cider vi what every time I made them bc I obviously didn’t read the fine print… turns out amazing every time! You’re safe if you used vinegar!
kristy riley says
Omg I guess I’m not the only person who go it wrong. Used apple cider vinegar instead of apple cider…2 hours into the cooking. Had to go take the ribs out of the cooker and dump out the apple cider vinger. Thanks for sharing the recipe but i agree, might need to reword that part of the result of the recipe since a LOT of people are messing up. Totally my fault for not reading though. Hopefully it turn out ok. I pour it put and add chicken stock instead.. wish me luck
Lauren @ Lemon & Mocha says
I love ribs, but I’ve never made them at home. This recipe looks so good and definitely do-able! I’ll have to try it out! Thanks 🙂
Milena says
This is my kind of recipe! The dry rub has such amazing flavors and you cannot beat using the slow cooker to do the heavy lifting. Love it, pinned!
nancy buchanan says
Oh my goodness!! SLow cooker baby back ribs – I love it!! With the eating machine (aka my son) comes home for the summer this weekend – this recipe is going on my list to make ASAP – those ribs look fabulous!!
Karly says
Thanks, Nancy!
Di says
These are now one of our favorite meals. I mix in about 1/4 cup of liquid smoke into the bbq sauce before slathering it onto the ribs before broiling them. My husband swears they taste just as good as ribs that come off a smoker. And that’s a bold statement t in the land of bbq.
Karly says
Yay! Love hearing that!
Mag says
Can you place them on a grill instead of a broiler?
Karly says
I’m sure you could! Great idea.