This Slow Cooker Barbecue Ribs recipe is so easy to make and only requires three ingredients. The result is fork tender, delicious BBQ ribs!
This recipe is inspired by my friend Becky who made this kind of BBQ ribs for me and my kids.
When our kids were little and our husbands would be away for work, we used to get together for dinner in the evening. It was fun to cook for each other and the kids enjoyed playing together.
Before she made these slow cooker barbecue ribs for me, I never realized there was such a thing as country style boneless ribs and now I prefer them because they are easier to eat.
How To Make Slow Cooker Barbecue Ribs
Step One: Seasoning
Sprinkle all sides of about 2 1/2 pounds of boneless, country style pork ribs with cajun seasoning.
Step Two: Slow Cooker
Spread one cup of barbecue sauce over the bottom of your slow cooker. Add the seasoned ribs.
Step Three: BBQ Sauce
Top with another cup of barbecue sauce.
Step Four: Cook
Cover and cook for 5-6 on high or 6-8 on low, depending on your slow cooker, until fork tender.
Remove the barbecue ribs from the slow cooker and top with additional barbecue sauce, if desired.
The slow cooker barbecue ribs were fork-tender and full of flavor!
Try serving these barbecue ribs with oven roasted potatoes and corn on the cob.
Slow Cooker Barbecue Ribs FAQs
1. What size slow cooker should I use? I used my 3.5-quart oval CrockPot for this post but they work just as well in my 6-quart CrockPot.
2. Can I use beef ribs instead? Yes! I typically buy the country style pork ribs but have accidentally purchased the country style beef ribs and they’ve turned out great as well.
3. Can I use bone-in country style ribs? Yes, they will work just as well.
4. What brand of barbecue sauce did you use? I used Sweet Baby Ray’s Original Barbecue Sauce but any brand or even your homemade barbecue sauce can be used instead.
5. Can I make more than 2.5 pounds of slow cooker barbecue ribs at once? Yes! Just add more ribs and more barbecue sauce. Unless you really stuff your crockpot, the cooking time should be about the same.
6. Can I add the barbecue sauce AFTER cooking the ribs instead of BEFORE? Yes. Season the ribs and put them in the slow cooker with 1/4 cup of water. Cook the ribs, drain the water, and then add the barbecue sauce.
7. How can I make gluten-free slow cooker barbecue ribs? Make sure the cajun seasoning is gluten-free or make your own seasoning mix. Also, use a gluten free barbecue sauce.
8. Do you have any tips for lessening the extra liquid from condensation? Try removing the lid for the last 30 minutes of cooking. Or drape a couple of paper towels over the crock pot before adding the lid like in the image above.
Made too many slow cooker barbecue ribs?
Shed the leftover barbecue ribs and use them in one of the following recipes.
- Hawaiian BBQ Pork Walking Tacos
- Cheesy Barbecue Dip
- Hawaiian Barbecue French Bread Pizza
- Pulled Pork Pizza
Slow Cooker Barbecue Ribs Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ½ lbs boneless, country-style pork ribs
- ½ tablespoon cajun seasoning
- 2 ½ cups barbecue sauce divided
Instructions
- Sprinkle all sides of the boneless, country-style pork ribs with cajun seasoning.
- Spread one cup of barbecue sauce over the bottom of your slow cooker.
- Add the seasoned ribs.
- Top with another cup of barbecue sauce.
- Cover and cook for 5-6 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low, depending on your slow cooker, until fork tender.
- Remove from slow cooker and top with remaining 1/2 cup of barbecue sauce, if desired.
Video
Bill Claussen says
We been making these this way for about 10+ years. We’ve had time to tweek it some by adding raw onion rings to the bottom of the pot and then raw rings to top off the pot. It just adds a whole layer of flavor to a recipe that’s quite good to start with.
cristina hart says
im gonna make these tonight for dinner they look AMAZING i am a food addict and these look YUMMY!!!!!!
Linda Scott says
Making these now! Can’t wait for dinner!!!!
Lenore DeLitizia says
I always make my own BBQ sauce simply because the bottled ones are so high in sodium and have way too much HFCS.
Donna says
what is your BBQ Sauce recipe
Carol says
I appreciate the tip for thickening the sauce. There are some bbq sauces without sugar or HFCS, which we all should be interested in getting out of our diet. Or make your own!
Lorilei73 says
I tried these and the flavor is great, but I have a problem. Maybe I’m doing something wrong? No matter what I do every time I try a Crockpot recipe my sauces are always flavored colored water. Any suggestions on how I can keep my sauces thickened?
Hannah says
I used to have a similar problem, but what I did to fix it was to cook for about 30 minutes UNCOVERED on high at the end of the recipe. That will allow most of the excess liquid to evaporate as steam, and then your sauce will be at the perfect thickness.
Rose says
Put paper towel under your lid to catch condensation. this will eliminate extra liquid in the pot.
Works for me, always use it.
Shelle Royle says
I have heard if you put two to three layers of paper towels over the crockpot then put the lid on it helps to keep the moisture out of the sauce.
April Buchwald says
Reply to Shelle Royle: Putting paper towels over the crockpot and food, with the lid on top … is a very bad idea!! The paper towels will get soft and end up in the food. The reason some recipes end up with excess liquid, is that the juices from the meat have added to the liquid or BBQ sauce, during the long, slow cooking process, making the sauce thinner. In addition the heat will thin out any bottled BBQ sauce. If you use very fatty meat there will be more liquid. You can thicken it with corn starch or flour like you would any gravy. Better yet is to cut off excess fat from your meat and buy leaner cuts. Example. Pork ribs will produce more juice than Beef ribs just because pork is a fattier meat than beef.
Gina Withrow says
I cant wait to gobble these suckers down… I am making them as I type this for the Browns Steelers game,, Going to be yummy!!!
Tonia says
I need to make them again soon! It’s been too long. I hope you all enjoyed them! ~Tonia
Renita says
What is the serving size for this amount being cooked?
Tonia says
Hi Renita, It really depends on how much meat everyone wants to eat but this would probably be enough for 4-5 people. Enjoy! ~Tonia
Doug says
Gary-Don’t worry about the HFCS. You’ll drive yourself nuts trying to avoid all the stuff in foods. By next week they’ll probably say HFCS is good for you. Moderation my friend.
Emily says
I made these earlier this week and they are delicious. I did have to substitute the Cajun for cayenne but still great! I wrote a post about it and linked the Gunny Sack to the post!
Thanks for the delicious meal!
http://autumnmusing.com/?p=112
Gary Allen says
Have you looked at the ingredients on Sweet Baby Ray’s sauce? It is nothing but a bottled of flavored High Fructose Corn-syrup ;-(
April Buchwald says
OH Gary, I know, I know. High Fructose Corn-Syrup is so very bad for us and I, like many, do read the ingredients and avoid this like the plague. However .. there is no better BBQ sauce than Sweet Baby Ray’s and since I don’t eat BBQ very often, I do succumb to this treat on occasion. Like chocolate,… eat in moderation and without guilt.
Emily says
Trader Joe’s has an Organic Brown Sugar BBQ sauce for $2.99.
I use it in place of Sweet Baby Ray’s all the time. Bit more than Ray’s per ounce, but not by much.
No HFCS in it!
Of course, this only works if you live near a Trader Joe’s, but even if you can only swing by once in a blue moon, stock up on this! It’s not going to go bad in your pantry anytime soon.
Carole says
For goodness sakes,,how about all you “whiners” go live on a island with health addicts!!! You only live once! Go find a “healthy” recipe website and quit crying!
CT says
Wa,wa,Wa,,,Life is too short to worry about a little HFCS in one recipe!!!!!! Find another recipe site that is healthy is you’re so worried!!!
Peter says
Hardly a good reason to give the recipe one star. For the record Sweet Baby Ray’s is notoriously one of the better sauces out there. Anyone who actually believes high fructose corn syrup is that much worse for you than sugar is fooling themselves. Our bodies process them the same way. If health is such a concern when treating yourself to BBQ maybe you should skip it entirely.
Genevieve says
We tried these last night and they were so yummy! The cajun seasoning added a subtle zip that you just don’t get with BBQ sauce alone. Thanks for sharing! I pinned that crockpot pecan pumpkin bread pudding that for when it gets cold again.
Tanya says
Made these today when I ended up with an extra package of country-style beef ribs. I used the Sweet Baby Ray’s Cola-Q sauce and had them with mashed potatoes. DELICIOUS and so easy 🙂 Fair warning, the Cola-Q sauce isn’t for everyone, but I’ll try them with other sauces and see how they do now that I know they come out great. Thanks!
Lynette says
I made these ribs last night, and they were fantastic! So very tender. You have a wonderful site! Now I’m scouring it for more delicious recipes. Thank you!
claire says
I chop a large Vidalia onion and place it on the bottom of the crock pot. then add bbq sauce and ribs. cook on high for 5 hours or low for 6 1/2 hours. simply delicious
Tonia says
Great idea Claire! I’ll bet that adds so much flavor!
Gary W Allen says
Sweet Baby Rays, KC Matasterpiece and most other popular Bar-B-Que sauces are made with High Fructose Corn Syrup which is just poisin in a bottle. Either make your own or buy brands without HFCS.
O says
Sugar and hfcs are the same thing to the human body.
You should make sure your tinfoil hat is on tight enough.
capturing joy with kristen duke says
Drooling! Just pinned!
Wendy Hampton says
Absolutely the best ribs I have ever had. I loved the BBQ sauce! it was just right and the meat was so tender! So glad to have this easy to make recipe for group gatherings!
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
These ribs look seriously amazing.. I bet they taste delicious. Thanks for the recipe Tonia, it’s one I have saved to recreate!
A Young Wife says
My husband requested ribs just this week. I have a great oven recipe, but I don’t want to leave the oven on all day when I am not home to cook them slowly to be tender. I have been looking for a crock pot recipe. This sounds perfect. The pictures made me hungry. I can’t wait to try it! We love Sweet Baby Rays too!
tanya says
I LOVE ribs, but never make them. Tonia you are right, these DO look fork tender, saucy and so delicious! I really want these!