Easy Instant Pot BBQ Ribs
by Chungah
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The easiest ribs ever made in less than 1 hr! So saucy, sticky, and tender, it just falls off-the-bone! So good.
Featured Comment
I’ll be completely honest with you. We had to recipe test these ribs a minimum of 3 times to completely perfect them. So I came home with 2 racks of baby back ribs on 3 separate occasions. In a span of 2 weeks, of course.
That being said, we can really thank my husband for this recipe. He was an avid recipe tester here, thoroughly eating through all the ribs each and every time. And he’s truly helped us create the most perfect, tender, fall-off-the-bone, juicy ribs each and every time in less than one hour.
Why you’ll love these Easy Instant Pot BBQ Ribs
- Made in half the time. Thanks to the Instant Pot®, the cook time is cut down by more than half, and these ribs are ready in less than 1 hour.
- Fool-proof recipe. This recipe is absolutely fool-proof, even for first-time cooks out there who have never made ribs before! The end result is fall-off-the-bone, finger-licking goodness with minimal hands-on time. And the quick broil at the very end helps caramelize the BBQ sauce so it’s super sticky, and well, just perfect.
- Convenient make-ahead recipe. The ribs can easily be made ahead of time, prepped + seasoned with the dry rub and placed in the fridge overnight, perfect for quick weeknight meals and summer entertaining.
different types of ribs
Spare ribs
Spare ribs are larger and meatier than baby back ribs, but take much longer to cook through to get tender.
Baby back ribs
Smaller than spare ribs, baby back ribs are generally leaner and more tender.
St. Louis ribs
St. Louis ribs are trimmed spare ribs and are often times cheaper than baby back ribs.
Which BBQ sauce is best?
This is really dependent on personal preference – sweet, spicy, tangy, etc. – but we personally love a sweet BBQ sauce for this recipe, particularly Stubb’s and Sweet Baby Ray’s. Honorable mentions include Trader Joe’s BBQ Sauce and Bachan’s.
how to make the easiest ribs in the instant pot
- Prep the ribs. Remove and discard the membrane from the ribs. To do so, slide a dull butter knife underneath the membrane to pry it up and peel it off using a dry paper towel (for grip). Some membranes will be more stubborn than others (ex. St. Louis-style spare ribs).
- Make the dry rub. Combine the dry rub ingredients in a small bowl – brown sugar, salt, onion powder, chili powder, mustard, paprika, thyme, oregano, garlic powder, black pepper, cumin and cayenne pepper. Brown sugar will help yield that gorgeous caramelized crust!
- Season the ribs. Season the ribs thoroughly on both sides. If prepping ahead of time, cover and store the seasoned ribs in the fridge overnight.
- Add the liquids. Add the chicken stock and apple cider vinegar. You must always add liquid to the Instant Pot when cooking ribs for it to build steam and come to pressure. Both liquids also infuse so much flavor into the pork while it cooks under pressure.
- Pressure cook. Coil the ribs on top of the metal trivet as pictured above (to prevent burning and soggy ribs), seal and set the Instant Pot to 25 minutes on high pressure. Natural release to seal in all the juices, keeping the ribs ultra-tender. If the ribs are tough, cook for an additional 5 minutes.
- Broil. Remove the ribs from the Instant Pot, brush on your favorite BBQ sauce and broil on a sheet pan until sticky, caramelized and slightly crispy.
Cooking times for different types of ribs
- Baby back ribs: 23-25 minutes
- Spare ribs: 30-35 minutes
- St. Louis-style ribs: 30-35 minutes
- Frozen ribs: 35-45 minutes
what to serve with the sauciest bbq ribs
Tools For This Recipe
6-qt Instant Pot®
Easy Instant Pot BBQ Ribs: Frequently Asked Questions
The membrane will be tough and chewy, and will not allow the meat to be seasoned and flavored properly. Removing the membrane is optional but will allow for more tender, flavorful results.
The metal trivet is key to elevate the meat to avoid soggy, mushy ribs (when the ribs are submerged in liquid throughout the entire cooking process) and to avoid the dreaded burn warning. The trivet will also allow for better circulation for even cooking, ensuring juicy, tender ribs.
A 6-qt Instant Pot can comfortably fit 1-2 racks, whereas an 8-qt Instant Pot can fit at least 3 racks.
A quick release will abruptly drop the pressure inside the Instant Pot, forcing the juices out of the meat, making it rubbery. A natural release will slowly drop the temperature and pressure (providing a resting period), keeping the ribs juicy and tender.
If the ribs are tough and chewy, they may be undercooked. Put them back in the Instant Pot for an additional 5 minutes, releasing the pressure naturally.
Yes! The ribs can be prepped and seasoned with the spice rub beforehand and placed in the fridge, covered, overnight.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Easy Instant Pot BBQ Ribs
Video
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground mustard
- 1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¾ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 pounds baby back pork ribs, trimmed of excess fat, rinsed, and patted dry
- 2 cups chicken stock
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups barbecue sauce
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, salt, onion powder, chili powder, mustard, paprika, thyme, oregano, garlic powder, black pepper, cumin and cayenne pepper.
- Remove the membrane from the underside of the ribs, pulling it down the entire length. Season ribs with brown sugar mixture, rubbing in thoroughly on both sides.
- Add chicken stock and apple cider vinegar to a 6-qt Instant Pot®. Place metal trivet into the pot. Place ribs upright on top of the trivet, wrapping in a circle.
- Select manual setting; adjust pressure to high, and set time for 25 minutes. When finished cooking, allow a 10-15 minute natural release before a quick-release pressure according to manufacturer’s directions.
- Preheat oven to broil. Line a baking sheet with foil.
- Place ribs, meat side up, in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet; brush with barbecue sauce.
- Place into oven and broil until barbecue sauce is caramelized and browned, about 4-6 minutes.
- Serve immediately with remaining barbecue sauce.
Equipment
Notes
- Remove the membrane. Removing the membrane will ensure that the ribs are tender and flavorful. If left on, the membrane can be tough and chewy when cooked, while also preventing the rub (and BBQ sauce) to penetrate the meat properly throughout the cooking process.
- Start with a dry rub. A dry rub is ideal for ribs for that flavorful crust without adding too much moisture, sealing in the juices and preventing the ribs from drying out.
- Brown sugar is key. The brown sugar does not make these ribs overly sweet. It will add a subtle sweetness, while also caramelizing and adding moisture to the ribs, keeping the ribs tender and juicy.
- Use baby back ribs. Spare ribs can be used, but baby back ribs is generally preferred as they are tender and leaner, and cook much quicker than spare ribs.
- Use a metal trivet. Using a metal trivet will help keep the meat elevated, preventing any kind of sticking or that dreaded “burn” error. This will also allow for better steam and liquid circulation, ensuring more even cooking and tenderness of the ribs.
- Natural release first. A natural release will yield ultra-tender, fall-off-the-bone ribs (and avoids messy splattering!).
- Broiling is optional but highly recommended. Broiling is an additional step, but so worth it. With an extra brush of BBQ sauce, the broiling process helps create that favorited crisp, caramelized crust without burning. But be sure to keep a close eye on it – it caramelizes quickly!
- Reheat in the oven. Leftover ribs can be rubbery and tough when reheated. For best results with leftovers, a low, slow oven is the way to go to prevent the ribs from drying out. Let the ribs come to room temperature first (about 15-20 minutes), then reheat in the oven at 250°F, covered in aluminum foil until warmed through.
Did you make this recipe?
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I’ve made this recipe several times. I’ve found That adding an extra 3-5 minutes of IP cook time helps make the ribs more tender. The ribs have always been delicious and they’re done super fast compared to using my smoker.
Absolutely delicious! Made ribs in my instant-pot before but this recipe is by far the best. I only cooked one rack so I think maybe I should have cut down on the time, but other than that, PERFECTO!
Excellent and so easy, I have passed along receipe to my sister who was also impressed on how moist yet delicious in no matter of time. Thank you.
Simply delicious. I’ve smoked, bbq, oven roasted ribs every which way. Never delivered this tender. These are the BEST.
Smoke the ribs on a pellet smoker for 1-2 hours. Pull, follow this recipe (take a few mins off, starting at a higher ambient meat temp) finish at max heat on the grill w/sauce…Wow… Tender. Smoky. Delish af.
Tried them… Damn delicious !!!A
If I am only doing 1 rack of ribs, do I half the liquid going in the instant pot, or should I leave it the same?
Looking forward to making these later this week!
Thanks!
I had 3lbs of pre-dryrubbed babyback ribs. I have an 8 qt instapot. I put 2 cups chicken broth, 1/2 cup vinegar as they state but didn’t have anymore broth so just added a 1/2 cup water. Pressure cooked for 35 min and 5 under the broiler with bbq sauce. FANTASTIC! THANK YOU.
Thank you for this info. I am a newbie to Instant Pot, as of yesterday. I bought an 8qt.
This was by far the best rub I’ve come across to make at home. I used a Kansas city bbq sauce & the ribs all disappeared!!
Great recipe! First time everything wonderful… second and third times the meat wouldn’t come off the bone!! Did anyone have varying success depending on how lucky they got with the baby back ribs?
Great receipe, use it over and over. Best ribs
This is a great recipe. We usually smoke ribs but I wanted them as a weeknight meal and we didn’t have the time. This was a great alternative to the smoke and you really don’t sacrifice flavor. I had mine under pressure for 23 minutes but they were a fairly thick slab of St Louis ribs. I think I’ll add 4-5 minutes the next time I cook since 23 minutes were still a little tougher than I like. All in all, a fantastic recipe and the apple cider vinegar and chicken stock were perfect for adding flavor. I’ll definitely use this recipe again!
Just amazing – ribs have always intimidated me, and I decided to try out this recipe. These ribs are amazing! So amazing, in fact, that they never made it to the table…we didn’t move them from the counter as my kids and husband ate them standing up:-) Thank you!
These were absolutely excellent, fall-off the bone tender. We made our own barbecue sauce, using the recipe you have on this site for barbecue chicken. And that was exceptional too.
I made these but put them in the oven instead they were delicious!!
These are the best ribs I have ever tried and I have tried some amazing ribs in my lifetime. I just wanted to say the the person who said to slow release them…. given I have used this recipe 3 times with a quick release…. you do not need to do a natural release. I agree…. typically it is better but I accidentally did that on my third time around and the meat was falling apart too much….
I highly recommend a fast release so the meat stays on the bone but it is SUPER TENDER AND DELICIOUSLY DELICATE
I Add liquid smoke to the broth and I use less cumin and less bbq but other then that… this recipe is perfect straight to the measurements, I just don’t fancy cumin.
This was soooo good
Why would you recommend a quick release for meat.
Doing a quick release raises the boiling point and dries out the meat. I suggest at least a ten minute natural release.
Ken T,
Not to get too deep into the Physics, but PV=nrT where decreasing the pressure while holding all other variables constant directly decreases the temperature. Water boils at a lower temperature as the pressure decreases, which is why it takes so long to cook oatmeal on mount Everest. Quick release slows the cooking process by decreasing the temperature.
@Andy H – Hahahahaha!!!! Thanks for not getting too deep. 🙂
“Not to get too deep into the Physics, but PV=nrT…”
This is the easiest, tastiest rib recipe I have ever tried! Delicious! You have to try it to believe it. If you have an IP, please give this recipe a try! You wont be sorry!
Delicious! Ribs are an occasional treat around our house because we are staying away from pork and beef but when we feel like it we go off the grid. This recipe is most definitely a keeper. The apple cider vinegar gives it a unique flavor. I prefer to go lo and slo on the Big Green Egg but when it’s cold or raining or when we want a quick fix this recipe makes our day. Thanks.
Can I use this for one rack of ribs? How would that change the recipe?
Scrumptious!