Ribs are one of those foods that always intimidated me, and while I liked them, I was never brave enough to cook them for the first few years I was married. Then, one day, there was a huge sale on ribs at our local store, and having no better idea for dinner, I bought them. On the drive home, I realized that I didn’t have a grill at the time or a even a recipe for ribs, so after some online research, a slow cooker recipe was born. It turned out great and we’ve been cooking these ever since!
This is one of several variations that I make, and it might be my favorite. Adjust spices and sweetener to fit your own taste…
Slow Cooker Ribs Recipe
Servings
Ingredients
- 4 lbs beef ribs (or pork)
- 1 medium onion
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 15 oz tomato sauce
- 6 oz tomato paste
- 2 TBSP apple cider vinegar
- 2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
- ½ tsp all natural liquid smoke
- ¼ cup honey or molasses (or molasses or a dash of stevia, optional)
Instructions
- Cut the ribs into 3-4 rib sections so they will fit in the Crock-Pot.
- Dice the onion and place it at the bottom of the Crock-Pot.
- Sprinkle the ribs with chili powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper and put them in the Crock-Pot on top of the onions.
- Ina small bow, mix together the tomato sauce, tomato paste, vinegar, Worcestershire, liquid smoke, and sweetener if using and then pour evenly over the ribs.
- Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until tender.
- Toss in sauce before serving.
Nutrition
Notes
Like this recipe? Check out my new cookbook, or get all my recipes (over 500!) in a personalized weekly meal planner here!
Ever barbecued in your Crock-Pot? How did it turn out? Share your recipe below!
Has anyone done this in an instant pot?
I have a question. The recipe calls for separating the beef ribs but the beef ribs that I purchased are already separated. There are three ribs per pound in the package. Did I buy the wrong kind of ribs and/or will this affect the recipe if I use them? Any thoughts would be appreciated. Also, this recipe is almost identical to the soulful BBQ recipe in the new wellness mama cookbook but the one in the cookbook does not call for liquid smoke. Is it okay if I leave out the liquid smoke?
Yes, all that should be fine 🙂
Making these right now! So simple, can’t wait to have tonight for dinner.
These did not taste good at all. The bbq sauce tasted like tomato paste and was just a watery liquid and the ribs were flavorless. Will not make ever again.
This is awesome! We started doing paleo 3 weeks ago and looking for recipe for ribs. This recipe is phenomenal! Thank you so much for sharing.
These were delicious!
I modified the recipe slightly by using a tin of crushed tomatoes instead of tomato sauce, and added tomato paste which had herbs in it as that was all I had. Also added in a splash of tabasco sauce. The only thing I could have done is add more liquid smoke (mine’s been in the pantry for a while so may have lost its potency).
It turned out very tasty, meat falling off the bone. My boyfriend couldn’t get enough!
This was terrible – mushy meat with no flavor. I should have trusted my instinct (and usual slow cooker grassfed recipes from the Against All Grain cookbook) and browned the meat. There is too much fat otherwise to slow cook this well as a bbq recipe.