3-Ingredient Slow Cooker BBQ Ribs

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Square feature photo of baby back ribs just out of the slow cooker (crockpot). Fork holding a bite of the rib meat.

3-Ingredient Slower Cooker BBQ Ribs are delicious and so easy to make!

Make them as an appetizer or serve them for dinner with a pile of mashed potatoes. The best thing about this recipe is that you only need three ingredients and a Crock-Pot (slow cooker).

My family loves ribs. It’s one of our favorite meals to order when we eat out so I started making them at home. Now we can have them more often.

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3-Ingredient Slower Cooker BBQ Ribs – Video

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The easiest, most fail-proof, tastiest way that I found to cook ribs is in a slow cooker!

I’ve slow-cooked both pork spareribs and baby back ribs. Both come out tender and flavorful. Just remember to pick a good BBQ sauce. Our family likes Stubb’s Sticky Sweet BBQ Sauce because it doesn’t contain high-fructose corn syrup but use any barbeque sauce you like! Buy an extra bottle because you’ll need to use the first one for cooking and you’ll definitely want a second bottle to have extra sauce to serve with your ribs. Who doesn’t like more BBQ sauce!

Photo of baby back ribs on aluminum foil dripping with barbeque sauce, just after broiling.

With either cut of meat, you’ll want to do a little prep before putting them into the slow cooker. I like to cut excess fat off of my spare ribs if there is any (totally optional) and you’ll need to remove the silvery membrane on the bone side of baby backs. Below is a video that shows how to do that.

Get the easy recipe for 3-Ingredient Slower Cooker BBQ Ribs below.

Related: Two more quick and easy meals to try… 3 Ingredient Salsa Chicken & One Skillet Beef Stroganoff.

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3-Ingredient Slow Cooker BBQ Ribs

Course

Main Dish

Prep Time

15 min.

Cook/bake time

7 hrs.

Servings

3

Here's What You'll Need

Slow Cooker (Crock-Pot)
Aluminum foil and a baking sheet
Cooking tongs
Paper towel

INGREDIENTS

3-4 lbs. pork baby back ribs or pork spareribs
About 4-5 tablespoons seasoned salt
Two – 18 oz. bottles barbeque sauce (one for cooking and a second bottle for extra dipping sauce)

Directions

Photo of baby back ribs being patted dry with paper towel.
1. Place ribs on a foil-lined baking sheet and pat dry with paper towel.
Photo showing the bone side of baby back ribs with the membrane being pulled off.
2. Remove the membrane from the bone-side of Pork Baby Back ribs or cut away any excess fat (optional) on Pork Spareribs. The easiest way I have found to remove the membrane on Pork Baby Back ribs is to start at the smallest end, find the edge of the membrane and pull it off with a paper towel. See the video above for more detail.
Season salt bottle shown with baby back rib meat that has been sprinkled and patted with season salt.
3. Season the meaty side of you ribs with a generous amount of season salt. Pat the seasoning into the meat.
Photo of baby back ribs, full rack cut in half so it can fit in the crockpot. Two halves on an aluminum foil lined baking sheet.
4. To fit in the slow cooker, you may need to cut the ribs into two (or three) pieces.
Photo of pork baby back rib being place in a crockpot with a little bbq sauce at the bottom.
5. Drizzle about 1/4 cup of barbeque sauce in the bottom of your slow cooker and place a rib half on top. Pour about a cup of barbeque sauce over the rib half and layer the second half on top. Pour about one cup of barbeque sauce over top of the second rib half.
Placing the lid on the slow cooker (crockpot) to cook ribs.
6. Cook for about 6-7 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high. Ribs are done when they bow when you hold them by the middle with tongs and slightly pull away from the bone. And, the temp should be between 195°F to 203°F
Digital screen on range showing Boiling-High at 500-degrees Fahrenheit readout.
7. Remove the ribs from the slow cooker and place on a clean foil-lined baking sheet. Broil for about 5-minutes on high for a charred-sear on top.
8. Serve with extra barbeque sauce and enjoy!