Instant Pot Spare Ribs

These Instant Pot Spare Ribs are one of our favorites. Fall off the bone tender bbq ribs that are packed with flavor. We use a homemade dry rub to smear over all the rib meat, to marinade for optimal flavor. Instant Pot ribs are your new favorite recipe.

Love your Instant Pot? If you are like us, we have a few more recipes for you to try out. Instant Pot Coffee CreamerInstant Pot Chicken recipe or this Instant Pot rice pilaf. Try these spare ribs in the Instant Pot today.

We love how this method shrinks hours of smoking into under an hour of hands-on time — good for a weeknight that still feels like a treat

Pressure cooker ribs are so popular. With minimal work on your end, you can have ribs that are tender, juicy, and full of flavor.

We used our popular dry rub recipe, which you allow to marinade the pork to help add more flavor to the ribs.

What stands out

Plus, you’ll get that beloved barbecue flavor even without firing up the smoker or spending all afternoon at the grill.

Tender – These are fork-tender ribs that fall right off the bone. It is a must-try recipe to help speed up the cooking time of ribs.

Flavorful – Now, these are not like ribs you cook on the grill. They are going to have a bit of a different flavor, but broiling in the oven after creates a sticky glaze on the outside which makes them insanely good.

Easy To Make – Simple and easy to make, with no significant steps. The most important step is prepping your pork ribs by trimming the fat.

Ingredients You Will Need

Pork Dry Rub – Now we used our own pork dry rib rub. You are welcome to buy a rub or make ours. Our homemade pork rub has brown sugar, salt, pepper, chili powder, dry mustard, etc. The full ingredient list and measurements are below.

Ribs – we used spare pork ribs. You can swap with any cut of ribs you have.

Apple Cider Vinegar – Here is what will help tenderize your ribs but also add a nice tangy flavor to the meat.

Liquid Smoke – Liquid smoke is going to help give the ribs a smoky flavor without tossing it on the grill.

BBQ Sauce – We used a Kansas City blend BBQ sauce, but feel free to use any flavor of sauce you want.

What To Use for Dry Rub Ribs

• Brown sugar
• Pepper
• Kosher salt
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Chili powder
• Dry mustard
• Smoked paprika

This pork dry rub is great for these ribs or even a rib roast that you smoke. Then you use apple cider vinegar, liquid smoke, and water in the Instant Pot.

You can tenderize the meat with apple cider vinegar, and the liquid smoke helps to add a bit more flavoring to the ribs.

They are not as good as smoked ribs, but they are pretty close.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Start by working on your dry rub, and then set it aside. You will use this on your rack of ribs.
2. Now trim and prep your pork. You can see how we prepped in the video. We worked on cutting fat, and pulled the silver skin off (removed the membrane) from the back of the ribs.

1. Rub your dry rub on both sides of the ribs. Then wrap and allow to marinate for an hour in the fridge.
2. Pour your water, apple cider vinegar, and liquid smoke into the Instant Pot. Then add in your trivet, place ribs, and pressure cook!

1. Once the ribs are done, remove them, baste them with BBQ sauce, and then air fry or broil your BBQ ribs!

1. Slice and serve up these sticky barbecue ribs. Instant Pot pork ribs are a game-changer!

Storing Leftovers

Store your leftover ribs in the fridge for a few days. Then, when you want to eat, eat cold or place it in the microwave to reheat.

If you want you can also cover in aluminum foil and then wrap tight and reheat in the oven! Heat till it is warm.

What to Serve With BBQ Pork Ribs

For a full bbq evening, don’t forget a crisp cold brew (or lemonade) and maybe skip the heavy sides and go with something light and bright to balance the rich ribs.

• Baked Beans
• Coleslaw
• Fresh Veggie Salad
• Zucchini Pie
• Rainbow Bean Salad
• Cornbread

Practical notes

What are spare ribs?

Spare ribs are one of the cuts of popular pork ribs. You will hear spare ribs, St. Louis Style Ribs, or baby back ribs are the most popular.u003cbru003eSpare ribs are a larger piece of meat. It is cut off the rib on the belly side. Pork spare ribs will have a slab of tender pork meat along with the bone area. It does have a flap of meat on the backside that you slice off as it will overcook.

Will this recipe work with baby back ribs instead of spare ribs?

You can use this exact recipe with baby back ribs, you just adjust the cooking time. Spare ribs take a bit longer to cook than baby back ribs in the pressure cooker.u003cbru003ePair these ribs withu003ca href=u0022 zucchini cornbreadu003c/au003e, it is a dynamite duo.

Why are our ribs tough in the Instant Pot?

Sometimes if you buy too large of ribs, they can’t break down enough in the pressure cooker. Aim for 1-3 pounds of pork ribs at most in your pressure cooker or Ninja Foodi.

Is it better to slow cook or pressure cook ribs?

Pressure cooking ribs helps to give your ribs a quick cook while leaving your ribs nice and tender. Then broil at the end for a sticky barbecue sauce coating. Slow cooking can make your ribs fall apart and the flavor lacks a bit.

Should ribs fall off the bone?

When grilling ribs you do not want your ribs to fall off the bone. If that happens it means they were cooked too long. Pressure cooking ribs on high pressure can lead to fall off the bone ribs. They will be moist and flavorful, but also tender.

Can we cook two racks of ribs at once in the Instant Pot?

Yes — but you’ll want to check that both racks fit without overcrowding (so they steam properly). If you double the meat you might need to increase the liquid slightly and ensure natural release time is enough to finish tenderizing.

What if we don’t have a broiler or air-fryer to finish the ribs?

No problem: After pressure-cooking, you can brush the ribs with sauce, place them on a foil-lined baking sheet, and bake at 450 °F (232 °C) for about 5-8 minutes until the sauce bubbles and caramelizes. Keep a close eye so it doesn’t burn.

Ingredients

Makes 6 servings

Pork Dry Rub

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 2 teaspoon smoked paprika

Instant Pot

• 1 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 3-5 drops of liquid smoke
• 1/2 cup bbq sauce
• 1 Rack of Spare ribs, can do up to 2

Equipment

• MJIYA Silicone Kitchen Tongs (7 inch), High Heat Resistant to 480°F
• Silicone Sealing Ring for Instant Pot Accessories
• Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker

Method

1. Start by making your dry up. In a bowl add your brown sugar, pepper, salt, smoked paprika, chili powder, dry mustard, onion powder, garlic powder. Mix and set aside.
2. Now you will prep your spare ribs. Remove excess fat, cut off the membrane on the backside of ribs, and cut off the excess flap on ribs on back as well.
3. Once ribs are prepped you will use part of the rub on one side and then flip and massage the other part of rib rub on the other side of ribs. Wrap and then marinate in the fridge for up to an hour.
4. When ready to cook place the metal trivet in the Instant Pot, add in 1 1/2 cup water, 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, and 3-5 drops of liquid smoke.
5. Put your ribs in meat facing out, so the bones will face inward. Try to set them up on the metal rack. Mine spare ribs were a bit too big so we did have to push them in the water a bit.
6. Place Instant Pot lid on in sealing position making sure the valve is closed.
7. Pressure cook 35 minutes with a natural release of 15 minutes.
8. Remove ribs from the pressure cooker, and place on air fryer rack in duo crisp or a pan to broil in the oven.
9. Baste ribs with barbecue sauce, and then air fry to make sauce sticky or toss in the oven on broil. This takes just a couple of minutes to do.
10. Remove, slice, and serve these Instant Pot bbq pork ribs. We sprinkled ours with parsley and served.

Kitchen notes

Baby Back Rib Directions:

If you are cooking baby back ribs – pressure cook for 5 minutes with a 15-minute natural release. Seasoning Ribs – You truly can use any flavor of dry rub you would like. Feel free to make your own or buy a rub if you don’t want to use the one we made above. Broiling Ribs – At the end we broil the ribs after we smear on some sauce, this is going to create a sticky glaze on the pressure cooked pork ribs. Otherwise, they will lack a bit of flavor and texture.