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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!!!
So happy I stumbled upon your recipe! Ribs came out perfect. Thank you!
These are fall of the bone ribs. My whole family enjoyed them. I was able to do 2 racks of ribs in my 6 quart instant pot at the same time. It took longer to pressurize and I would let them get to room temperature before putting them in the pot next time. Wish I could share a picture with you. These were very easy. Thanks.
Love, love, love this recipe!!! It is so delicious and so easy to make. My family loves them!!
Thank you for the amazing recipe! Everyone loved it. This is the second meal I made in the instant pot (first one was a hot mess and total failure) and it was so good that it’s going in our recipe box! My dad thinks that next time (since there WILL be a next time) we should put them on the grill for a few minutes after or leave them in the oven longer than 2-3 minutes. Maybe I’ll try using the liquid smoke. Anyway, thank you! I plan on trying some of your other instant pot recipes as well.
Thank you Lauren for sharing your Instant Pot Ribs recipe and instructions. I’ve always spent a chunk of my day prepping and cooking ribs and your instant pot suggestions are great! I made these last night and they turned out wonderfully. When my husband says, “I vote yes” I know it’s a keeper. Thanks again!
I’m so glad it got you and your husband’s stamp of approval! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I made these a few weeks ago and they were so delicious, I could not wait to make them again. Tomorrow for guests, I’m going to do the same recipe but with two racks of baby ribs in my Instant Pot. Per another post, I’ll up the liquid smoke a little. I also used our favorite BBQ sauce, Bulls- Eye Original. We live in a city apartment, so it’s wonderful to have something taste like it came off the grill.
One of the main advantages to using a pressure cooker is that altitude no longer has an impact.
This is cool. Look yummy! I will try this out soon. Thanks for your recipe. My friends and husband will love for sure. I will be back with my review. I will try to add some more ingredients to test out!
I am going to try this tomorrow, it sounds great. A big NO on the recommendation of Sweet Baby Ray’s though. It is so full of high fructose corn syrup(First ingredient!!!) that it is disgusting, one of the worst BBQ sauces on the market.
These were perfection! I was planning to roast/bake 6.5 lbs of St. Louis ribs (pre-seasoned from Costco), but didn’t get home in time for the 3-4 hour mess. Found your recipe online and gave it a shot in my Instantpot Lux, doing one rack around the perimeter and another inside of that one. I used a combo of the juice and vinegar and upped the Liquid Smoke to a tablespoon for that amount of ribs. I set it to Meat for 38 minutes and they were perfectly cooked….falling off the bone but not mushy. Broiled as directed with Sweet Baby Ray’s and the fam was pumped. There were only four of us for dinner, but I wouldn’t bother making any less than amount as it makes excellent leftovers. Thanks!
Thanks so much! I’m so happy your family enjoyed them, and I’m happy you found my website! Hope you get to try more recipes (and IP recipes) here soon!