Instant Pot Ribs

Instant Pot Ribs are the most tender and flavorful pork ribs smothered in homemade BBQ sauce or use a store bought one. So easy and ready in only 1 hour!

Other family favorites are Instant pot carnitas and Instant Pot pork chops. Pork is ultra good when pressure cooked!

Instant Pot Ribs Recipe

These Instant Pot ribs are fall off the bone tender, super flavorful and coated in the best homemade BBQ sauce that causes sticky, finger licking good, one of a kind ribs experience. Husband approved BIG time!

Instant Pot pork ribs come out wonderfully tender with minimal effort. A lot of fat drains to the bottom of the pot – bonus! And then we brush ribs with mega easy homemade barbecue sauce or you can use store-bought.

What Types of Ribs to Use for Instant Pot Ribs Recipe?

We are talking about pork ribs.

• Baby back ribs: I use baby back ribs. These are ribs cut from the top of rib cage and have less meat on them.
• Spare ribs: Spare ribs are more meaty with more marbling between the bones than baby back ribs. They also have less meat on top.
• Frozen ribs: You can use frozen ribs. Make sure to cut them into smaller sections so they fit in your Instant Pot. Also run under water and then sprinkle with spices, otherwise dry rub will not stick to meat.

Other Ingredients for Instant Pot Ribs

• Dry rub: Chili powder, smoked paprika, onion powder, pepper and salt.
• Homemade BBQ sauce: Tomato paste, applesauce, molasses, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, onion and garlic powder, prepared mustard, cayenne, liquid smoke and salt.

Cook’s Tip: To make Instant Pot ribs recipe easy, you can skip making BBQ sauce and buy one. Low sugar store-bought barbecue sauce brands are Stubb’s, Primal Kitchen and Annie’s. Also better ingredients with no high fructose syrup on the list.

How to Make Instant Pot Ribs

New to Instant Pot? Check out my Instant Pot guide. Don’t have one yet? See which one I recommend to buy.

• Remove membrane: Your pork ribs may or may not have a membrane – shiny connective tissue at the back of the ribs that holds them together. You want to slide butter knife or handle of a spoon under to loosen it up a bit and then pull. If slippery, hold on with paper towel, remove and sicard both. Removing membrane helps dry spices penetrate the meat better resulting in more flavorful ribs. Yum!
• Season ribs with dry rub: A blend of chili powder, smoked paprika, onion powder, salt and pepper. I recommend to sprinkle it instead of rubbing because a lot ends up sticking to your fingers and not meat.
• Prep Instant Pot: Add trivet and 1 cup cold water. Trivet helps to lift ribs out of the water. And it doesn’t matter if trivet has handles or not.
• Cook for 25 minutes on High pressure: Curl up rack of ribs into a coil, set release valve to Sealing and press Pressure Cook on High pressure or Manual button.

• Make BBQ sauce and prep baking sheet: My recipe is super simple and consists of tomato paste, applesauce, water, liquid smoke and spices and ready in 15 minutes. Or skip and use store-bought. Also line baking sheet with silicone baking mat or parchment paper for broiling the ribs.
• Release pressure and carefully remove ribs: After 25 minutes is up, wait 15 minutes and then release remaining pressure by turning valve to Venting. Carefully remove ribs with silicone end tongs onto prepared baking sheet. Be careful as ribs are super tender and it is tricky not to break them in half. If they still broke, it is OK since we will slice them anyways.
• Brush with BBQ sauce and broil: Place under pre-heated broiler to 500 degrees F for 5 minutes on a middle rack. This step is optional and how much ribs will caramelize depends on a barbecue sauce you use.

Tips and FAQs

• How much ribs Instant Pot can fit? 6 quart or 8 quart Instant Pot can hold up to 2 regular size racks of pork ribs. 3 quart can fit in 1 rack. As long as you can close the lid.
• Do not worry about 2/3 max line: Ribs can stick up higher than 2/3 max line as it is used as a guideline only for liquids.
• Add even more flavor: To the 1 cup cold water, add 1 tsp of liquid smoke or sub 1 cup of apple cider. You can also use any broth.
• Don’t skip liquid smoke: If you decide to follow my recipe and make BBQ sauce, do not skip the liquid smoke. Although it sounds fancy, it is widely available in sauce section of most grocery stores or on Amazon. It is what makes Instant Pot ribs “ribs” in an hour without smoking for hours.
• BBQ sauce leftovers: I used half of BBQ sauce on 2 racks of ribs. You can refrigerate remaining half in a glass jar for up to 7 days.
• No trivet? If you don’t have a trivet, cut up large onion into quarters, spread on the bottom of the pot and arrange ribs on top.
• If cooking Spare Ribs: Spare ribs need 35 minutes cook time and full Natural Release because meat is tougher.
• Frozen ribs: Cook for 30 minutes.

Serving, Storing and Reheating

Serve traditionally: Serve ribs with mashed potatoes, creamy coleslaw or vinegar coleslaw and corn on the cob. The day I tested this recipe, I also made fresh and crunchy Asian salad. This exotic coleslaw went so well with ribs!

Other side dish ideas: Instant Pot mashed potatoes or Instant Pot baked potatoes (if you have 2 Instant Pots like me). Oh, and this corn avocado salad would be fantastic!

Keep warm for parties: Just remove a bit of liquid from the pot so it sits below the trivet, stack cut up ribs, close the lid and press Keep Warm button. Ribs will stay warm for up to 10 hours. Perfect for potlucks and outdoor summer parties. Plus your kitchen stays cool!

Storing and reheating: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days. To reheat through, if it is small amount just use a microwave. And if it’s a full rack, place in Instant Pot on a trivet along with 1/2 cup water. Press Saute, close the lid and let it simmer for 3 minutes. Then press Cancel and let ribs warm through with steam for 5 minutes. This way sauce and ribs will not dry out and you will avoid using more sauce. But who can resist more BBQ sauce, to be honest?! Enjoy!

More Instant Pot Recipes

• Instant Pot BBQ chicken
• Instant Pot pulled pork
• Instant Pot pot roast
• Instant Pot beef stew
• Browse all Instant Pot recipes.

Instant Pot Ribs {Tender, Healthier and Easy}

Instant Pot Ribs are the most tender and flavorful pork ribs smothered in homemade BBQ sauce or use a store bought one. So easy and ready in only 1 hour!

5 from 13 votes

Print Save Rate

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: North American

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Pressure Up & Down Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 519kcal

Author: Olena Osipov

Ingredients

For Ribs and Rub:

• 2 racks of baby back ribs
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt

For Homemade BBQ Sauce:

• 1 cup cold water
• 6 oz can tomato paste low sodium
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 3 tbsp molasses
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp honey or maple syrup
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp prepared yellow mustard
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp liquid smoke
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• In a small bowl, add chili powder, smoked paprika, onion powder, pepper, salt and whisk with a fork.
• In Instant Pot, add 1 cup water and place trivet inside.
• Remove membrane from the back of the ribs by sliding butter knife or spoon handle under. If slippery, use paper towel to pull off membrane. Some ribs might not have it.
  
• Sprinkle each side of ribs with spice mixture. Don't rub as a lot of seasonings will end up sticking to your fingers.
  
• Place ribs in Instant Pot, on their side and curling in a circle. Close the lid, set pressure valve to Sealing and press Pressure Cook on High or Manual for 25 minutes.
  
• While ribs are cooking, combine water, tomato paste, applesauce, molasses, apple cider vinegar, honey, onion and garlic powders, mustard, liquid smoke and cayenne pepper in a small pot and stir. Bring to a boil and cook half covered on low heat for 10 minutes. Set aside.
  
• After 25 minute cook time is over, let pressure in wait for 15 minutes and then turn valve to Venting to release remaining pressure.
• Preheat broiler to 500 degrees F and position oven rack in the middle. Also prep baking sheet by lining with parchment paper or silicone baking mat for broiling.
• Ribs will be very tender. Open the lid, remove ribs carefully using silicone end tongs and place on baking sheet. They probably will fall apart in half, no worries. So tender!
  
• Brush top and sides with generous amount of BBQ sauce and broil for 4-5 minutes. Cut with serrated knife between bones.
  
• Serve ribs traditionally with mashed potatoes and corn on the cob. The day I tested this recipe, I also made fresh and crunchy Asian salad. This exotic coleslaw went so well with ribs!
  

Keep warm: You can put ribs back in Instant Pot on a trivet and Keep warm for up to 10 hours. Perfect for parties, summer BBQ, beach picnics etc.

Video

Notes

• Baby back ribs tip: I use baby back ribs. These are ribs cut from the top of rib cage and have less meat on them.
• Spare ribs tip: Spare ribs need 35 minutes cook time and full Natural Release because meat is tougher.
• Frozen ribs: You can cook frozen ribs for 30 minutes. Make sure to cut them into smaller sections so they fit in your Instant Pot. Also run under water and then sprinkle with spices, otherwise dry rub will not stick to meat.
• No trivet? If you don't have a trivet, cut up large onion into quarters, spread on the bottom of the pot and arrange ribs on top.
• Instant Pot size: You can fit up to 2 racks of ribs into 6 quart or 8 quart Instant Pot and 1 rack into 3 quart. Ribs can stick out higher than 2/3 max line. As long as you can close the lid.
• BBQ sauce leftovers: I used half of BBQ sauce on 2 racks of ribs. You can refrigerate remaining half in a glass jar for up to 7 days.
• Add even more flavor: To the 1 cup cold water, add 1 tsp of liquid smoke or sub 1 cup of apple cider. You can also use any broth.
• Don't skip liquid smoke: If you decide to follow my recipe and make BBQ sauce, do not skip the liquid smoke. Although it sounds fancy, it is widely available in the sauce section of most grocery stores or on Amazon. It is what makes Instant Pot ribs "ribs" in an hour without smoking for hours.
• Storing and reheating: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days. To reheat through, if it is small amount just use a microwave. And if it's a full rack, place in Instant Pot on a trivet along with 1/2 cup water. Press Saute, close the lid and let it simmer for 3 minutes. Then press Cancel and let ribs warm through with steam for 5 minutes. This way sauce and ribs will not dry out and you will avoid using more sauce. But who can resist more BBQ sauce, to be honest?! Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 519kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 38g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 100mg | Sodium: 692mg | Potassium: 507mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 339IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 3mg

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