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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.
Vivien says
So I totally read “apple cider” as “apple cider vinegar” and ended up using 1/2 cup of that instead ????? They still tasted great but I had to pull them out earlier because they were already falling off the bone after 7 hrs on low. Is that the only issue with the apple cider vinegar? It just makes the meat more tender?
Karly says
Hi Vivien! All slow cooker cooks differently – some are hotter than others, so yours probably just cooked faster. The apple cider vinegar wouldn’t affect them much in that manner, but would add more of a tangy flavor.
bk says
actually the connective tissue in meat breaks down a lot quicker when cooked in acidic liquid
Elaine says
Do you stand up the ribs in the crockpot or layer them flat? They look delicious. I can’t wait to try them!
Karly says
We lay them on top of each other.
Di says
My husband, my father-in-law and my husband’s uncle all love these ribs! I am not sure how you manage to get them out of the crock pot to take a photo without them falling apart. They may not look as pretty as yours but they sure are tasty!
Karly says
Oh, sounds like they just cooked a bit too long! They should be tender, but not falling apart…although that tastes delicious too! 🙂
Ib says
Hvor mange celcius grader skal benene have på høj 4 timer og på lav 8 timer,
venlig hilsen
Ib
Karly says
We don’t have temperature settings on our slow cookers. There is just a high and low setting.
Tammy Ward says
Help. I am making these right now. I don’t have apple cider. I too thought is was apple cider vinegar. Thank goodness I read this. I have chicken broth or beef broth or I could just use water. What are your thoughts…
Karly says
Hi Tammy! I’d probably use chicken broth. 🙂
Melissa Rossin says
What can i use besides apple cider on the bottom if the crockpot for my ribs
Karly says
Chicken stock would probably work fine, though we like the little bit of sweetness from the apple cider.
Jessica says
I put this in my crockpot and accidentally put the bbq sauce in with it. Hopefully it still turns out okay
Karly says
I hope they turned out for you!
Katie says
These are INCREDIBLE. Since I first made them a few months ago, my boyfriend asks for them at least once a week. We’re in a teeny NYC apartment with no outdoor space so it’s great to have recipes that make great BBQ without a grill. We make them with spare ribs a lot and they’re great that way too.
Karly says
So glad you guys enjoy these! 🙂
Nancy says
I’m serving 16 people and would like to make the ribs ahead of time. Any thoughts on how they would turn out if I made the ribs in the crockpot and froze them. When I need to serve, I would put the thawed ribs in the broiler with the barbecue sauce…
Karly says
Hi Nancy! I’ve never tried this, so I’m really not sure how well they’d work. I don’t think the time under the broiler would be enough to fully heat them through either way though.
Jules says
I LOVE these ribs so much! I’ve made them 3 times now, 1st time like many others, I accidentally used apple cider vinegar, my picky eater said they were the best ribs ever and the rest of the family agreed, really good. 2nd time I used apple cider and even tastier for sure! But still pretty close to when i used the vinegar. 3rd time I didn’t have apple cider again so I used these Spiced apple cider packets(you make them like tea) and WOW even better than the last time! My picky eater again was like “oh man these are even better than before I didn’t think they could get better!!” Thanks for the radiator karly
Karly says
Oh wow, so glad they’re such a hit! I’ll have to try with the apple cider packet sometime! I’m always out of apple cider myself. 🙂
Kristen Terhune says
My ribs have been in the crockpot 5 hours on high and are still not fall off the bone tender… wonder what went wrong!
Karly says
Hi Kristen! They just need to cook longer…sounds like your crockpot runs a little cooler than most or the ribs were extra large? Either way, if the meat isn’t tender, it likely just needs more time. 🙂
Cecilia Osladil says
Hi Karly. Thanks for posting this super easy recipe! My husband woke up thinking about last nights ribs. Luckily I made a big batch! I had to make a substitution (no parsley) and I’m glad I read your note about apple cider versus apple cider vinegar. Again, Thanks for sharing!
Diana says
It came out fantastic. I slow cooked it at home wrapped it up took it to our cabin and finished it up on the grill. Funny thing is I did not read the recipe very well and did use apple cider vinegar instead of apple cider juice and it still came out awesome. My guests thought it was absolutely fantastic and so did I.
Karly says
So glad you enjoyed this one – even with the vinegar! 🙂
Matt says
These are the best comments ever!!! I’m so happy I have common sense!!! I love everybody!!!
Katie Quan says
Like so many others I made the mistake of using Apple cider vinegar ?????They have 20 minutes left in the slow cooker so I guess there is no changing it up now. Just hoping they aren’t terrible
Karly says
Uh oh! I hope they turn out.
Sadie says
Made these yesterday, they were great! Didn’t have apple cider or apple juice so I used half a bottle of flat coke I have in my fridge. Worked perfect! Loved the rub, will use again for sure.
Karly says
Great swap!! So glad you enjoyed the recipe.