Baby-back ribs, you say? In the Crockpot? Isn’t that, like, sacrilegious? No, no, it’s not, and let me tell you why Crockpot baby-back ribs will be some of the best ribs you’ve ever tasted. What is a rib lover looking for in the perfect rib? Bangin’ flavor? Falling-off-the-bone tender meat? Super saucy sauce?
This recipe gives you all that without setting up a smokehouse, using a billion ingredients to make your own rub or sauce, or making a mess in the kitchen. It’s the best of both worlds! My rib-loving husband was happily surprised by this recipe, and I think you will be too!
The Secret to Easy and Flavorful Crockpot Baby-Back Ribs
Y’all, these Crockpot baby-back ribs are seriously easy to make but taste like they’ve been slow-smoked for hours. Let’s break it down step by step to create your next family favorite!
The Rub
This is a super simple rub that only requires 4 spices! You probably even have them on hand already. How is that for easy?
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/2 Tablespoon black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon Kosher salt
- 2 Tablespoons paprika
Ribs this weekend. What's for tonight?
Marmie's Meat Loaf covers tonight.
Step 1: Mix and Apply the Rub
Mix these together in a small bowl, using a fork to break up any chunks, and make sure it is mixed thoroughly.
Get out your trusty rib rubbers (aka your hands!) and smother the ribs in the rub on both sides. Press the rub into the meat on all sides.
Step 2: Place Ribs in the Crockpot
Now put the baby-back ribs into the Crockpot with the meaty part of the ribs facing the wall of the slow cooker. This is important to do because it will ensure that the meat gets cooked thoroughly. Set the slow cooker on LOW. If you don’t have a slow cooker yet, you really should get one! It will change your cooking life!
The Sauce
Now, grab your favorite BBQ sauce. Maybe you have a favorite BBQ joint in town that bottles their sauce: go get it! Find a sauce that you just can’t get enough of. The kind of sauce that makes you want to lick your fingers AND your plate! But in case you’re out of ideas, store-bought BBQ sauce is perfectly fine. In fact, I like Sweet Baby Ray’s, and it’s fairly inexpensive.
Step 3: Coat Ribs with Sauce
Pour 2 to 3 cups of your favorite sauce onto the ribs, dousing them on all sides. Make sure there is plenty of sauce between the meaty ribs and the wall of the Crockpot so that the meat won’t adhere to the pot and burn. Cover and cook the ribs on LOW for 7 hours. If possible, continue to coat the ribs with the sauce (it is cooking in) throughout the 7 hours to keep the meat as moist as possible.
The Final Product
Step 4: Check and Broil (Optional)
When the Crockpot baby-back ribs are done, they should be nice and brown around the edges. If you insert a knife between the bones, the meat should fall off without any effort. If you would like to caramelize the sauce, broil the ribs in the oven for 5 minutes or so at 400-450 degrees or on your broiler setting.
The meat on my ribs was so tender that I couldn’t keep it on the bone!
I tried to get a snazzy picture to impress ya’ll, but it kept falling right off. I guess that’s a good thing, right?
Why These Crockpot Baby-Back Ribs Are a Hit
These Crockpot baby-back ribs were finger-lickin’ good! My husband ate more than half the rack himself and STILL wanted more! Dan is a big rib fan and can be a little picky when it comes to his meat. But his comment about these ribs was that they could only be better if they were slow-smoked in a smokehouse for 24 hours over hickory or mesquite wood. Well, well, aren’t we the little rib connoisseur? Since I don’t have that option (though Dan is probably drawing up plans on how to build his own smokehouse, being the engineer that he is), the Crockpot is the next best and easiest thing!
I served these baby-back ribs with roasted parmesan red potatoes and steamed green beans. But if I were to make these for friends or at a BBQ, I would accompany them with my 3-cheese baked macaroni and cheese or my shredded hashbrown cheesy potatoes. They would also go well with oven-roasted Brussels sprouts or apple, broccoli, and horseradish slaw. And don’t forget traditional fluffy yeast rolls to sop up all the extra sauce!
Ribs go with pretty much everything, right? Besides, you can’t be fancy with ribs… nor does anybody want to be! Go ahead and pin this picture so you can reference it later. Happy Cooking ya’ll!
Crockpot Baby-Back Ribs
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar, black pepper, kosher salt, and paprika, using a fork to break up any chunks until thoroughly combined.
- Using your hands, smother the ribs with the rub on both sides, pressing it into the meat on all sides.
- Place the ribs in the Crockpot with the meaty side facing the wall of the slow cooker so the meat cooks thoroughly. Set the slow cooker to LOW.
- Pour the BBQ sauce over the ribs, dousing them on all sides. Make sure there is plenty of sauce between the meaty side and the wall of the Crockpot so the meat does not stick and burn.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 7 hours. If possible, spoon the sauce back over the ribs a few times during cooking to keep the meat moist.
- The ribs are done when they are browned around the edges and the meat falls off the bone when you insert a knife between the bones.
- Optional: to caramelize the sauce, broil the ribs in the oven for about 5 minutes at 400-450°F or on the broiler setting. Serve with extra sauce.
Notes
- Any BBQ sauce you love works here, store-bought or from your favorite local BBQ joint.
- Serve with roasted potatoes, green beans, mac and cheese, or fluffy yeast rolls to sop up the extra sauce.
3 comments
Blayne
I have recently been trying to rediscover my joy for cooking, it’s something I have always loved since I was a kid but with the stresses of work and life and the state of the world today, it has kind of been lost in the cacophony. I wanted to challenge myself to learn and hone a new cooking style and then perfect a dish. I landed on ribs since they are such a versatile dish with so many different preparation methods and recipies and ways to get creative and make it your own. So far I have baked them, grilled them on charcoal and on gas, made them in the pressure cooker and even air fried them but I hadn’t tried slow cooking them in a crock pot until this last week and I have to say that, while I have used a slow cooker for plenty of other dishes, I was skeptical about doing the ribs this way and thought it would probably be my least favorite preparation. I could not have been more wrong! As far as ease of preparation goes, they are easy enough to justify doing them any night of the week and, following your method, they came out so tender and flavorful that my boyfriend is already asking me when I am going to do them again. Thanks very much for sharing! I did change up the sauce and rub and I finished them off on the grill instead of in the oven since we had been making some other things already and the coals were hot and ready but I have no doubt the oven would have done the job just fine. 10/10 Would recommend trying!
Bob Swanson
I’ve been doing ribs for 25 years on the grill, never again!! This process is the one I will be using from now on, fall off the bone and so tender. Broiled for 5 minutes @ 450*. Thanks for the heads up !!
Heidi Davison
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the ribs