Slow Cooker Baby Back Ribs

These Slow Cooker Baby Back ribs are fall off the bone, fork tender, and some kind of good. I’m talking melt in your mouth, finger licking good. They’re seasoned with a homemade dry rub and slow cooked in a semi-homemade smoky BBQ sauce with a splash of whiskey and brown sugar.

Place the racks of ribs in a large Crockpot Slow Cooker for 6-8 hours and you’re done. You get all of the flavor without all of the hassle of using a grill.

Love rib recipes? You’ve got to check out these Fall off the Bone Ribs and Red Wine Braised Short Ribs!

These are seriously the easiest and most delicious slow cooker ribs recipe you’ll ever make. Like the best ribs ever. You simply season, cook, and then broil in the oven for a good sear that caramelizes the BBQ sauce and gives these delicious pork ribs a nice crispy skin on top.

After you make these ribs in the crockpot, this will likely become your favorite and easiest method of cooking them.

Don’t get me wrong, I love grilled ribs. However, I hate grilling. In fact, my husband does all of the grilling because a live fire scares me. That’s where the Crockpot comes in (not to mention, I love an easy recipe).

It’s lightweight and easy to use and doesn’t heat up the house in the warm summer months. It also makes for an easy clean-up which saves me so much time.

Best of all, I can place these barbecue BBQ ribs in the slow cooker in the morning and have delicious ribs by dinner time.

It’s frankly a win-win for me. It’s all of the smoky flavor of grilled ribs without all of the hassle. Save this recipe for (unfinished sentence?)

Ingredients

For these slow cooker pork ribs, I used baby back ribs because they’re so meaty and tender. Baby back ribs are smaller than spare ribs which I’ve found work best for cooking in the Crockpot.

I also used:

dry rub seasonings: smoked paprika, chili powder, cayenne pepper, onion powder, ground mustard, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes. This mix of spices is the BEST.

brown sugar: to go with the tangy barbecue sauce and give the sauce some sweetness

apple cider vinegar: a little science for you, vinegar actually helps tenderize the meat and helps the seasonings really get into the ribs to maximize flavor! It’s a must.

Worcestershire sauce: for that umami flavor that we all love. This this ingredient is KEY. Some people use soy sauce, but I prefer this as it has a more vinegar based flavor.

Whiskey: whiskey adds deep caramel flavors to the braising liquid and pairs so well with the smokey barbecue sauce. *for an alcohol free replacement, use beef broth or omit entirely.

How to Make Ribs in a Slow Cooker

First things first, remove the silver skin on the back of the ribs. This is critical because if left on, the seasonings won’t penetrate the meat and the skin, after cooked, get super tough and leathery.

• Then start with seasonings. Build up that flavor by adding salt and black pepper to both sides of the ribs. Them combine garlic powder, smoked paprika, ground mustard, chili powder, cayenne powder, onion powder, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl.
• Mix seasonings together and coat both sides of the ribs with the dry rub. (Tip: you can let these ribs marinate overnight in the fridge for extra flavor)

• Pour your favorite BBQ sauce into the Crockpot slow cooker along with brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, a splash of whiskey, and some Worcestershire sauce.
• Whisk everything together, cut the slab of ribs in half, and then place half of the ribs on the bottom of the slow cooker.
• Spoon the BBQ sauce on top of the ribs and then cover with the lid.

How Long to cook ribs in a slow cooker – (Cooking Time) 

These slow cooker bbq BBQ ribs have varying cooking times depending on the desired result.

For super tender ribs that fall off of the bone, cook on low heat for 6-8 hours or high heat for 4 hours. For tender ribs that are tender but don’t fall apart, cook on low for 4 hours or on high for 2 hours.

Then place the ribs on a baking sheet and slather with the remaining sauce / braising liquid from the Crockpot. Broil in the oven for about 5 minutes.

What size Crockpot Slow Cooker should I use?

For this recipe, I used the Crockpot™ 7-Quart Cook & Carry Slow Cooker and the ribs fit perfectly when cut in half. If you have a smaller Crockpot Slow Cooker, simply cut the rack of ribs into smaller pieces to allow them to fit into whatever size slow cooker you have.

These crock pot BBQ ribs will turn out phenomenally either way. I promise, this easy ribs recipe is really hard to mess up!

What to eat with Crock Pot Ribs

The best way to enjoy these ribs is however you like. BUT – I love eating them with some of my favorite sides like potato salad, baked beans with ground beef, corn on the cob, coleslaw, greens, mac and cheese – you name it.

Dunk these ribs into this honey bbq sauce for extra deliciousness!

Put it all on a plate and you’ve got a delicious meal that the whole family will love.

Tips

• The slow cooker sauce is actually my favorite barbecue sauce. It’s such a delicious recipe. If you want to double the batch, save half of it to dip the ribs into the while eating them for a true country-style pork ribs experience.
• If you love that smoky flavor from the grill, add a little bit of liquid smoke to the BBQ sauce mixture – just a dash (about 1 tsp)! This will mimic that charcoal grilled flavor that we all love!
• If you’re running low on time, head to the grocery store and buy prepared sides. Yes, this is one of the easiest slow cooker recipes ever, but sometimes we’re busy and don’t have time to prepare sides.
• For MAX flavor, season the ribs the day before slow cooking and then cook them the next day. This give the seasonings time to sink into the meat.

FAQs

More crockpot slow cooker recipes

• Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork
• Slow Cooker French Onion Chicken
• Slow Cooker Pork Roast
• Oven Baked Chuck Roast
• Homemade Apple Butter in a CrockPot
• Crockpot Pulled Pork Chili

This blog post and recipe were made in partnership with CrockPot! I received compensation in exchange for this work. My opinions on their products are genuine. Thanks for your continued support!