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These Instant Pot Ribs are so tender, flavorful, and delicious, it's really hard to believe they cook in just about 30 minutes! Another great, easy recipe made with your pressure cooker.
Instant Pot Ribs
Cooking tender, bbq ribs at home is one of those dinners that will always, always make me feel like a rock-star for how amazing they turn out, and how little work was required on my part.
My go-to ribs recipe is usually these slow cooker ribs, but the instant pot also makes fantastic ribs and it's perfect for those of us that don't always plan dinner out early enough to pull the slow cooker out in the morning.
My favorite quality about the instant pot (and the area where the instant pot really shines) is how it can take hefty cuts of meat and cook them to tender in such a short amount of time. These instant pot ribs are the perfect examples of the type recipe that cooks GREAT in the pressure cooker or instant pot. Learn all of my instant pot tips!
How to make Instant Pot Ribs:
- Season the ribs all over with a dry spice rub.
- Add liquid to the bottom of the instant pot.
- Curl the ribs around the instant pot, with the meat side facing out. If your ribs are already cut in sections then stand them up in the same manner, lining them up around the pot.
- Cook them on high pressure. Cooking times will vary just slightly depending on the type of ribs you use, your elevation, and if you want them tender to the bite, or fall-off-the-bone tender.
When the ribs are finished cooking you can slather them in your favorite store-bought or homemade bbq sauce.
I also like to stick them under the broiler for just a few minutes, to let the bbq sauce caramelize and char a little bit. YUM!
Tips for the perfect instant pot ribs:
What type of ribs to use:
I prefer baby back ribs but you can also use spare ribs. It's important to not that your cooking time will vary, depending on your altitude and what type of ribs you choose.
How long to cook ribs in the instant pot or pressure cooker:
- Baby Back Ribs: 25-30 Minutes
- Spare Ribs: 30-35 Minutes
- For low altitude, use the lower number, and for high altitude cook them a little longer.
- Also, the longer you cook them, the more “fall-off-the-bone tender they will be. If you want them tender, without falling off the bone, use a slightly lower cook time.
What size instant pot for instant pot ribs?
Any 6 quart or larger instant pot will work!
Removing the membrane from the ribs:
Depending on where you buy your ribs, they may still have the white, shiny membrane connective tissue on the back (bone side) of the ribs. I buy mine from Costco and they already have the membranes removed. Check to make sure the membrane on your ribs has been removed and if it hasn't, follow these steps to remove it:
- Just flip the ribs so the top (meaty part) is face down.
- Slide your fingers or a butter knife under the membrane and rip it off.
- No special skills needed here, just use your fingers to yank it up and off the ribs.
Consider serving with a Side Dish. Here are some of my favorites:
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Instant Pot Ribs
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1-2 racks pork ribs, (*see note below)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon light brown sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup apple juice, , or ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke, , optional*
- 1 cup barbecue sauce, , homemade or store-bought (*see note)
Instructions
- Remove membranes from the back of ribs, if needed.
- Rubs seasonings over both sides of ribs.
- Place wire trivet rack in the bottom of the instant pot.
- Add water, apple juice (or apple cider vinegar) and liquid smoke (optional, but recommended for that great smokey flavor).
- Place the ribs upright, with the meat side facing out. If you’re using one large rack of ribs, then circle them around the pot.
- Secure lid and close vent.
- Press “manual” or “pressure cook” and cook on high pressure for 25 minutes.
- When the timer beeps, allow the pressure to naturally release for 15 min, then turn the valve to quick release.
- Carefully remove ribs to a large, foil-lined baking sheet and slather them in BBQ sauce.
- Optional: broil them in the oven for 2-3 minutes to caramelize the bbq sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE this recipe and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
Excellent recipe! Turned out delicious!! Its my staple instapot pork ribs recipe.
WOW!!! We LOVED these ribs!! I did take liberty with the rub. I added some allspice, Ceylon cinnamon, a little cayenne pepper and dry yellow mustard. FANTASTIC!!!
Yep. Perfect. Turned off oven and left ours in for an hour to dry out a bit more (we like them crispier).
My husband is a strict smoker of ribs. Hes not home tonight, so I thought O would try this recipe. It is AMAZING!! The ribs ar seasoned beautifully and so tender. Honestly, I was skeptical because the rack was taller than my 6qt. I just circled and folded a little and they are perfect!! So excited I can have ribs whenever I want now. We don’t sauce before eating, but I did put them under the broiler for 3 minutes just to brown.
Thanks Jill!
Okay these are hands down the best ribs ever! Thank you so much!
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave positive feedback!
Amazing recipe! Ribs turned out perfectly.
Quick question- if I wanted to make these ahead of time for a dinner party do I just keep them in the instant pot till I’m ready to serve them and just broil them with the barbecue sauce when I’m ready to serve? Otherwise can I take the ribs out of the instant pot, put the barbecue sauce on the ribs, put them back in the instant pot on ‘keep warm’ and then broil before serving?
Thanks so much!!! I’m new to instant pot ribs…I’ve always done them in the slow cooker:)
I’m new to using my Instant Pot and am nervous cooking with it (is it too good to be true?) This recipe was AMAZING! I did the 25 minute and broil as instructed. They were tender but still had some bite to them. Making them again right now, actually. Thanks!
Our dry rub, slow roasted , then grilled ribs are so perfect, I’m reluctant to try them in the pot. I also don’t want the bone to come out when I pick them up, just want them tender to the bite, and it’s easy to check for doneness in the oven. The reviews are so good it makes me want to try…but I’m really concerned about overcooking them. (Falling off the bone.)
Ketokitty, you can always cut down on the pressure cooking time and the NPR time. That will keep them from getting to the “falling off the bone stage”. I tried this recipe a couple of weeks ago and it was really good. I am going to fix them tonight again. Only thing I am doing different is doubling the rub and really putting it on heavy because some of it is lost in the pressure cooking. Just a couple of thoughts for you.
Great rub, although I substituted Cajun for the Chili powder. Used a can of Labbatt Blue in place of the water and used the Apple Cider vinegar. I cooked 1.73 lbs of spare ribs for 75 minutes on high pressure then put in the oven with some Sweet Baby Rays BBQ, 7 minutes per side as suggested using HI broiler with just a dash of pepper. It was falling off the bone and the only other thing that I will do differently next time is to break up the big pieces up into smaller bite size when putting into the oven so that you get more of the BBQ cooked into the meat.
These look awesome. Mine will be cooking in just a few minutes. An easy way to get the silverskin (white membrane) off is to start them as you do but when you have about half an inch of skin separated, grab it with a paper towel and just pull. I have never had a problem removing it and it is so much easier and less frustrating. The skin tends to come off in one piece.
These are amazing and Oh-so-Easy! I bought the Costco ribs which already have the rub on them.
I couldn’t believe how good they were and definitely fall-off the bone tender. Definitely making again. Have shared the recipe with my Intant Pot friends!
Would make these again. Made these tonight with the changes I saw in the comments. Substituted one cup of beer for water (Yuengling) cause that’s what was in the fridge. Sliced one medium onion and put some rub on it and threw it in the middle of the pot. Cooked the ribs according to directions. Put them, the ribs and onions, in the oven after instapot at 400 with Baby Rays BBQ sauce for 7 minutes then turned for 7 more. Finger licking good. Threw some corn muffins in the oven also. Used some of the left over cooking liquid from the ribs to cook up some green beans in a pan, yummy. Saved the rest of the cooking liquid for something, not sure yet put in fridge will remove fat from top and get creative. Really good recipe, I highly recommend giving it a try. Thanks
What is the rack your talking about putting ribs on?
The instant pot brand of pressure cooker comes with a wire trivet rack. It looks like this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07K1Q6MCY/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=taste03e-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B07K1Q6MCY&linkId=b3bbc69c9365a2f0646f5f1471c20237 (affilate link). If you don’t have one you could roll up tinfoil, as others have done in the comments. It just helps elevate the ribs above the water.