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In our home, we are partial to a takeaway or two! This has led to quite a large amount of money spent in recent years and we are working to cut this down now. I’ve been testing out lots of takeaway style recipes in my slow cooker recently and this slow cooker BBQ ribs recipe has become a new family favourite!
These ribs are tender, and will melt in the mouth. They take VERY little effort and can be in the slow cooker within a few minutes.
If you’ve got a Ninja Foodi then why not give my Ninja Foodi BBQ ribs a try instead?
Be sure to check out my slow cooker tips while you’re here too.
Scroll down near the end if you’ve like to skip straight to the recipe card!
Ingredients for slow cooker BBQ ribs
500g ribs (I used pork but you can use an alternative if you prefer)
200ml BBQ sauce (I make my own!)
1 tsp of brown sugar
1/2 tsp of garlic puree
Splash of Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper
Method for slow cooker BBQ ribs
If you’re using a full rack of ribs you want to start by removing the membrane if it has one. This is the white skin on the back of the ribs.
It is usually best removed with a blunt cooking instrument, like a fork, and you should be able to pull it back almost like a piece of paper, although with slightly more effort!
Mix all of your ingredients together. Keep back about 1/3 of the liquid.
Spread over all of the ribs ensuring even coverage the best you can.
Place into your slow cooker.
Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. The longer you cook them the more tender they will be!
Optional: Pour over the last 1/3 of the liquid at the end of cooking and grill for a couple of minutes.
Alternatively, use the sauce as a dipping sauce by warming it through before serving.
Products I use when making my slow cooker BBQ ribs:
What to serve with these slow cooker BBQ ribs?
Ribs are SO good served with air fryer chips! We also love air fryer prawn toast as part of a Chinese style Fakeaway. If you’re looking to go a little fancier then bacon mac and cheese pasta bake is a real winner.
I’ve also served this with no yeast 3 ingredient flatbreads, cornbread, coleslaw, corn on the cob, air fryer frozen sweet potato fries, air fryer loaded fries and even air fryer jacket potatoes.
Ribs are a real messy meal, and go great with a stack of lovely carbs to soak up all of those delicious juices. The remaining barbecue sauce is delicious poured over a stack of fries or even some air fryer mashed potatoes.
Can you make this recipe with beef ribs instead?
Yes, absolutely! This recipe works perfectly with beef ribs also, and you won’t need to change any of the methods or ingredients.
Want to use a dry rub for your ribs instead?
I love to mix together equal parts of salt, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, black pepper and paprika. This makes a lovely smoky style rub that is perfect for massaging into your ribs and can be re-applied shortly before serving (just retain 1/4 of the dry rub in a bowl and sprinkle this over just before grilling).
Like this slow cooker BBQ ribs recipe? Why not try some of my other delicious recipes? Here are some great ones:
Slow cooker chicken casserole or slow cooker sausage casserole
Slow cooker chorizo loaded potatoes
How to make rice in the slow cooker
Slow cooker vegetarian lasagne recipe
Jacket potatoes in the slow cooker – so simple!
How to make the ultimate junk food – a burger pie!
Why not try one of these fantastic slow cooker accessories:
ALL of the slow cooker recipes on this website have been cooked using a Ninja Foodi OL750UK, or the previous model, but you can use ANY slow cooker, as timings should be very similar.
How to cook easy slow cooker BBQ ribs:
slow cooker BBQ ribs
BBQ ribs that are tender and succulent with delicious sauce
Ingredients
- 500 g ribs I used pork
- 200 ml BBQ sauce
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp garlic puree
- Splash Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Instructions
-
Remove the membrane from your ribs if you’re using a full rack of ribs.
-
Combine all of your ingredients apart from the ribs.
-
Keep back about 1/3 of the liquid.
-
Spread over all of the ribs ensuring even coverage the best you can.
-
Place into your slow cooker.
-
Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. The longer you cook them the more tender they will be!
-
Optional: Pour over the last 1/3 of the liquid at the end of cooking and grill for a couple of minutes.
Alternatively, use the sauce as a dipping sauce by warming it through before serving.
Note: All calorie information is for demonstration purposes only and is based on the specific uncooked ingredients that I used when creating the recipe.
If you enjoyed this post I’d love it if you could pin it on Pinterest!
Sue Mcguigan
Saturday 7th of January 2023
Thank you so much, im going to love making your delicious recipes, so glad i came across this site xx
katykicker
Saturday 7th of January 2023
That's so kind of you to say Sue, thank you!