Name: Instant Pot BBQ Ribs
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 28 min
Total time: 33 min
Ingredients: 3 lbs baby back ribs (membrane removed); 1/4 cup brown sugar; 1 Tbs smoked paprika; 2 tsp garlic powder; 1 1/2 tsp chili powder; 1/2 tsp onion powder; 1/4 tsp cumin; 1/4 tsp thyme; 1 Tbs kosher salt; 1 tsp ground black pepper; 1/2 cup water; 3 Tbs apple cider vinegar; 1/2 tsp liquid smoke; 1 cup BBQ sauce (divided)

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If you are a rib lover then you have to try these Instant Pot BBQ Ribs. They are tender, flavorful and delicious. With a dry rub and BBQ sauce you can’t go wrong with these.

Ribs are my love language. If I had to choose one thing to make over and over again it would be ribs. It is something that we absolutely love around here and you can’t go wrong with.

These Instant Pot BBQ Ribs come out tender and juice and have amazing flavor. We love making ribs this way as it cuts back on the time and you don’t have to worry about firing up a grill.

Now I do love myself some grilled ribs and we make them often in the summertime, but winter here in Minnesota does not allow us to do that but we still want to enjoy them as much as we can.

We are lovers of dry rub on our rib recipes, so we always use them and then we like to slather in BBQ sauce and broil them so you get that charred and delicious stickiness.

Some of my other favorite rib recipes we have on our website include Fall of the Bone Ribs, Baked Country Style Ribs and Slow Cooker Beef Short Ribs!

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:

Minimal ingredients help this come together quickly.
You can use any kind of BBQ sauce you like.
We make our own dry rub but you can use your own favorite rub!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE BELOW):

Baby back ribs
Brown sugar
Smoked paprika
Garlic powder
Chili powder
Onion powder
Cumin
Thyme
Salt
Pepper
Water
Apple cider vinegar
Liquid smoke
BBQ sauce

HOW TO MAKE INSTANT POT BBQ RIBS:

In a small bowl mix the brown sugar, paprika, garlic powder, chili powder, onion powder, cumin, thyme, salt and pepper. Spread it evenly over the entire rack of ribs, careful to press it on.
Add the water, vinegar, liquid smoke and ½ cup of BBQ sauce to the instant pot and mix.
Place the ribs in the instant pot in a standing position.
Close the vent and set the meat setting to 23 minutes.
When the timer is finished, let the meat slow release for 5 minutes, then do a quick release and remove from the instant pot.
Turn the oven to broil at 500 degrees F or high. Line a cookie sheet with tinfoil and place the ribs on the pan.
Spread the remaining BBQ sauce over the ribs. Place under the broiler and watch carefully.
When the bbq sauce is bubbly and slightly browned, it is finished. This may take 2 to 5 minutes and can burn quickly.
Remove and enjoy with your favorite side dishes

See how easy these Instant Pot BBQ Ribs are?! Like you can’t get much easier than this and they are so quick to whip up so when I’m wanting a quick rib recipe this is where I go!

WHAT SIDE DISHES GO WELL WITH RIBS?

There is so much that can be served alongside these Instant Pot BBQ Ribs but some of our go-to recipes include:

HOW MANY RIBS CAN FIT IN AN INSTANT POT?

Technically you can fit about 2 racks of ribs in the instant pot, which we have done before you just stand the ribs around one side and wrap around then wrap the other rack on the other side around, they will be touching and overlapping, thats ok.

You do not need any additional time to cook two racks, the 23 minutes on these is sufficient enough!

WHAT TYPE OF RIBS DO I USE?

For this recipe we used baby back ribs, they are and always have been our go-to recipe, but you can also use spare ribs, they are a little more tough.

If you want to use spare ribs you will want to cook for about 35 minutes and a full natural release on these, they need more time to cook and doing this helps with that.

Just look at that broiled on BBQ sauce, how can you say no to that! That is my favorite part, we always like to broil our ribs when we don’t grill them to get that sauce nice and sticky.

This Instant Pot BBQ Rib Recipe is seriously delicious, I highly recommend that you try it! It’s just another reason to use your instant pot, who doesn’t want to find more reasons to use that!

CAN I BAKE THESE?

You absolutely can, you can use my recipe linked above on how we bake your ribs other wise you will want to follow the directions on the recipe here until you place them into the instant pot.

Wrap your ribs in foil making sure there is no part showing then place in a 300 degree F oven on a foil lined baking sheet. Bake in oven for 3 hours until tender, remove, brush with bbq sauce and broil for 3-5 minutes.

HOW TO STORE:

Ribs need to be stored in the refrigerator once they are fully cooled, we either place in an airtight container and sometimes vacuum seal them (this holds in moisture) and they will last in there for up to 3-4 days.

These can also be frozen, we like to store in a freezer bag and remove as much as out as possible, these should keep for up to 3-4 months.

To reheat your ribs from refrigeration, cover and place on baking sheet and heat at around 300 degrees until heated through. For frozen, let defrost in refrigerator and reheat the same way.

TIPS AND TRICKS:

Make sure you remove the silver skin (membrane on these) this is an important step that you do not want to forget.
We make these with baby back ribs, but you can use spare ribs as well, please see my notes above on how to cook those.
These can be frozen, see above on how to freeze.
You can use the rub provided or use your favorite rub.
These ribs can also be baked, see my notes above on how to bake them.
You can use any kind of bbq sauce that you like, our favorite is honey BBQ.

If you want a fun and easy bbq recipe then you need to whip up these Instant Pot BBQ Ribs! You will not be disappointed!

If you like this recipe you might also like:

If you’ve tried these INSTANT POT BBQ RIBS or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and what shenanigans I’m getting into!

Instant Pot BBQ Ribs