BBQ ribs will forever remind me of my little sister, who when other 5-year-olds were ordering mac n’ cheese off the kids’ menu at restaurants, would order a big ol’ rack of ribs. Can’t blame the kid; everyone loves a good plate of saucy ribs. For me, ribs have always been a special occasion food. My favorite way to cook them was long and slow in the crockpot and then charred on the grill or under the broiler, like this popular recipe that many of you love. However after pulling out my pressure cooker, I made a dangerous discovery: you can make tender, juicy, fall-off-the-bone ribs pretty much every night of the week in under an hour.
With only 30 minutes of pressure-cooking time, the meat is so tender and the sauce so flavorful, you will be amazed. And then you will make ribs 3 times a week and not even feel a tiny bit bad about it.
Start with a sweet and savory dry rub of smoked paprika, brown sugar, chili powder and a little salt and pepper and rub it all in.
You’ll build your sauce right in the pressure cooker. Start with a little oil- I’m using our Bacon Extra Virgin Olive Oil, which is pretty much made for this recipe.
It adds a really nice, subtle smoky flavor here.
Next goes in: ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce (sidenote: I’ve literally never correctly spelled that word in my life. I always just spit out a bunch of semi-related letters and hope that spellcheck picks it up), apple cider vinegar (use a good one- I recommend Bragg’s), dry mustard, and kosher salt.
Stir the sauce all together and then add a few ribs at at time and gently coat them in the sauce and then arrange them upright with the meat-side facing out, like this:
If you can reach down to the bottom of the pot with a spoon, grab some of the sauce and pour it on top of the ribs. Then secure the lid and cook on high pressure for 30 minutes. Take the ribs out and then turn the saute feature back on your pot and bring the sauce to a simmer for about 10 minutes to thicken, if needed.
If you like, you can place your ribs under the broiler for a few minutes to brown and char the tops a bit.
Because the meat cooks IN the bbq sauce, the sauce becomes super flavorful.
Serve any extra sauce on the side, but make sure to slather lots on top!
This is the pressure cooker I have, and I love it! —> Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker
Pressure Cooker BBQ Ribs
Ingredients
- 2 racks baby back ribs about 1.5-2lbs each
Rub
- 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1.5 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
BBQ Sauce
- 1.5 cups ketchup
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
- 1 large onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced or pressed
Instructions
- Line a large baking sheet or cutting board with foil (for easy clean-up). Cut ribs into 2-rib sections and lay out on foil.
- Combine all rub ingredients and sprinkle over ribs. Use hands to rub into both sides of meat. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together ketchup, 3 tablespoons brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, apple cider vinegar, mustard powder and 3/4 teaspoons salt. Heat pressure cooker to saute function and add oil and onion. Saute for 3-4 minutes, until soft. Add garlic and cook for another 30 seconds, stirring often. Add the ketchup mixture and stir to combine. Add a few ribs at a time and use tongs to gently coat them in sauce. Then arrange ribs standing upright with meat-side facing outward (see blog post for visual).
- Secure lid on pressure cooker and set to high pressure for 30 minutes cook time.
- When finished, turn pressure cooker off (or remove stovetop pressure cooker from heat) and let naturally release pressure for 15 minutes. Manually release any remaining pressure and then open pot. Place ribs on platter and coat with sauce.
- Optional: Arrange cooked ribs meat-side up on baking sheet and broil for charred exterior.
Questions & Reviews
These are awesome. I used regular pork ribs.
In my pressure cooker now. The instructions didn’t break down between rub and sauce, lol, so I just mixed everything together and the ribs are cooking fully dressed. I’ll put on a baking sheet when done and pour any liquid on them and pop under the broiler for a few moments….smells really good.
Oh my goodness those ribs were absolutely delicious! I will definitely do this recipe again….. maybe tomorrow hehe
This is delicious!! I made this recipe with country style pork ribs! I followed your directions to a T and it worked out perfectly! Thank you!!
I haven’t tried your recipe yet but have tried a couple recipes with cooking in Apple jc, and little ASV, (between 2-3 cups) Last night for 30 min and less the time before. Also finished off under broiler w BBQ sauce. They keep coming out really dry! Seems like all the flavor and fat and moisture come out of the meat into the juice! I can’t fig out what in the world I’m doing wrong! It seems your recipe doesn’t have much liquid and wondering about the amount the ribs cook in? Thanks!
You don’t need 2-3 cups of liquid (generally speaking) but how about your cooking time? Are you maybe overcooking?
Last night 30 minutes, the time before 20. Frustrating when I keep reading how good others turned out. My husband has a smoker but not always time so was hoping for this alternative. Would you say your liquid ingredients is less than 2 cups? I use instant Pot too. Thanks much!
I’m new to the instapot and this is my first time using it. The first thing I”m not sure I did right is that I didn’t know if it should be on “venting” or “sealing”…. so it is on venting and I’m watching it and realized that it possibly need to be on sealing – so I just switched it at 22 minutes…. I hope I didn’t mess up dinner tonight! LOL! It smells really good.
The pot always needs to be on sealing to cook. That’s what seals the pot and creates pressure. Venting is for after, when you release the steam! Hope that helps!
Just made this recipe and I can already tell it’s going to be delicious for tonight’s dinner (sautéing not the rib as I write this). This recipe is a keeper!
Well I have to say the recipe is fantastic!! I don’t eat much pork but do make it for my family all the time. I even liked the ribs which is unusual!! This is a keeper!! Thanks for sharing
I just bought an Instapot and this was my first recipe in it. The fat from cooking the ribs made the sauce extremely runny and oily. I was so excited to try this, but the ribs really weren’t great and the sauce was a waste. I used baby back ribs and followed the recipe exactly. Any suggestions?
Hey Kristy, I’m so sorry it didn’t turn out for you! It sounds like you had some extra fatty ribs. My only suggestion would be to try again and maybe the cut will be better. You could also trim off any excess with a sharp pair of scissors. Mine usually turn out well so I’m not sure what else may have happened for you!
Oops, just checked the recipe! I’ve look at so many and this is the one I chose. Head swimming with pressure cooker rib recipes