Last updated on July 5th, 2019 at 08:59 pm
These Pressure Cooker Ribs (Instant Pot Ribs) are fall off the bone tender and cooked in 30 minutes! Seasoned with a simple dry rub and then smothered in BBQ sauce. These BBQ ribs are quick, easy and delicious!
I love pork ribs recipes! Baby back ribs recipes, spare ribs, country style ribs – I love them all! There is something special about tender and succulent ribs smothered in a lip smacking sauce. They are irresistible and thanks to this instapot recipe you can have ribs ready in very little time.
For many years, my go-to pork rib recipe has been these BBQ Ribs in the Oven. They are incredibly delicious and very easy to make but, they require a bit of time to reach tender perfection. Since I don’t always plan ahead and my desire to eat ribs for dinner can suddenly hit on a weekday – one hour before dinner time – there is nothing more convenient than reaching for the Instant Pot!
How Long Do you Cook Ribs in a Pressure Cooker?
Times will vary depending on the type of ribs you are using. Baby Back Ribs take between 20 to 25 minutes to cook in an instant pot. Meatier ribs like country style ribs, take between 30 to 35 minutes to become fall off the bone tender.
The times above do not include the time the instant pot takes to come to pressure or any pressure release time. For this reason, I always plan for my rack of ribs to be ready in one hour or less!
How To Make Pressure Cooker Ribs
- Remove the membrane from the back of the ribs. The easiest way is by using a knife to free a corner of the membrane. Lift the loose part of the membrane and with a paper towel rip it off.
- Season the ribs with the dry rub.
- Place the ribs into the instant pot. Use the trivet to keep the ribs from touching the bottom of the pot. If you don’t have a trivet (it comes with the pressure cooker), you can elevate the pork by rolling aluminum foil into a ball.
- Add some liquid. A combination of water and apple cider vinegar is what I usually use.
- Remove the ribs from the pressure cooker and place them on sheet pan (I line the sheet pan with aluminum foil for easy clean up). Brush the rib rack generously with the BBQ sauce.
- Place under the broiler for about 5 minutes until the top is bubbly and a bit charred.
Kathy’s Notes
- Do you love Instant Pot Recipes? I do! Check these out:
Instant Pot Pulled Pork
Pressure Cooker Whole Chicken Rotisserie Style
Pressure Cooker Split Pea Soup with Ham - Serve these mouthwatering ribs with
Creamy Cilantro Lime Coleslaw
Mexican Three Bean Salad
Creamy Mayo Free Caesar Style Potato Salad (West Via Midwest)
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Pressure Cooker Ribs with BBQ Sauce
Ingredients
For the Spice Rub
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons salt
For the Ribs
- 1 rack baby back pork ribs
- 1 1/4 cup apple juice
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
For the BBQ Sauce
- 1/2 cup BBQ sauce (store bought)
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup Maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce (like Texas Pete)
- 1/4 cup ribs cooking liquid *see notes
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix the spice rub ingredients.
- Rinse ribs and pat dry with paper towels. Remove the membrane on the back of the ribs.
- Season the baby back ribs generously on both sides with the spice rub.
- Place the trivet (or rack) in the bottom of your pressure cooker. Add the juice and the apple cider vinegar.
- Place the ribs inside the pressure cooker, standing up and wrapping around the pot. Close the lid and set the pressure cooker to Meat/stew and set the timer for 23 minutes (25 if they are meaty).
- Once done, allow the instant pot to natural release for 5 minutes, then open the valve to release the remaining pressure.
- While the ribs are cooking, prepare the BBQ sauce. Place all the ingredients (except the ribs cooking liquid) in a small saucepan and stir to combine. Simmer on low heat for about 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the ribs are done, remove 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid and add it to the sauce. Stir and simmer on low for an additional 5 minutes.
- Remove the ribs from the pressure cooker and place them on an aluminum foil lined baking sheet. Brush them generously with the BBQ sauce (on both sides), and place them under the broiler for about 5 minutes or until slightly charred. Serve with the remaining BBQ sauce.
Video
Notes
- Ribs Cooking Liquid - after the ribs are completely cooked, I add 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid (from the bottom of the instant pot) to the BBQ sauce. It adds a bit of delicious meaty flavor. You could add broth, apple juice or water to the BBQ sauce instead. If you like the BBQ sauce to be thick you can omit this step.
- Nutritional information is a rough estimate and may vary greatly depending on products used.
Nutrition
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If you’ve tried this or any other of my recipes, don’t forget to rate the recipe and to leave me a comment. I love hearing from you!
OH my gosh, these ribs must be SO tender. I was actually at a BBQ a few weeks ago, and I don’t know how the ribs were prepared, but they were so tough, I could barely even cut the meat off of the bone, let alone have it fall off. I think I need to erase that experience with a batch of your Instant Pot ribs! That spice rub and BBQ sauce sound like perfection, too. Sounds like dinner tomorrow night is set! 🙂
Thank you Amanda!
My Instant Pot does not have a meat/Stew setting, only pressure high or pressure low. I am presuming it would be pressure high on mine….right?
That is correct!!!
Hi Kathy,
I have done ribs in the pressure cooker before and found they were too moist and somewhat greasy. Your tips to place the ribs on the trivet and then finish in the oven were great and gave me much healthier ribs since they were not sitting in grease.
Thanks so much Kathy!
Violet
So glad you like the ribs! Thank you for the feedback! Much appreciated.
I made these last week and we can’t stop thinking about them so I’m making them again today!
Yay! Your message made my day! Thank you so much!!
What other liquid can I use if I do t have apple juice?
You can use any broth. Vegetable, chicken or beef.
We LOVED these,Definately making them again!
Thank you Sandi!
I just loved it, I’m not only going to give it 5 stars. But, I’m going to share it with all my website’s followers on the social media. Thank you for giving me something useful to share it today!
Thank you. You are welcome to share a link to the original recipe.
I look yummy!
I love it. thank you for sharing complete guide. Will definitely try.
Kathy, looks like a wonderful recipe which I am sure will turn out mouthwatering delicious! I applaud your strategic use of alternate colors to perhaps make the ingredient list more interesting, however those of us in the older population segments with tired eyes have too much difficulty with reading the light green text. And also as I am typing this in light grey I can only say it is worse. Please make your site more elder friendly so as we can also enjoy your recipes and partake in delectable meals.
Thanks Debra, the blog will get a face-lift this fall! I wish my talents included web design but my expertise is mostly in the kitchen. I do appreciate the feedback. Good news is, some very qualified professionals will tackle the design project for me. Until then, I will research how to make the site less bright and see if I can make some changes. Thank you!
I made these tonight and they were delicious! Never tried them in the pressure cooker before. Thank you!
I made your recipe today and it was delicious! The meat was so tender, falling off the bone. Your BBQ sauce was fantastic! For a side I made the creamy cucumber salad which complimented the ribs! Definitely your recipe is a keeper and I will do it again! Not to mention the short cooking time and the minimal mess to clean up!
I love IP ribs! I am so happy you do too! Thanks for the feedback.
Hi! This recipe looks great. However, I usually pre-cut my ribs before freezing them and freeze them in packs of a rack and a half (it’s pretty much the perfect size for my family). Could I still use this recipe if my ribs are already cut before cooking?
Yes you can!