Instant Pot Ribs are fall-off-the-bone tender in under an hour! Make the best beef or pork ribs in a pressure cooker with a homemade BBQ rub. With this Instant Pot Ribs Recipe you can sit back and enjoy the summer instead of manning the grill for hours.
Instant Pot Ribs
Ribs are the star of every summer barbecue. This is the best ribs recipe as they’re both tender and full of flavor. Use this Instant Pot recipe with either beef ribs or pork ribs. Both will yield succulent ribs with minimal effort.
Like rib recipes? Check out our recipe for Beef Plate Ribs, Sous Vide Short Ribs and 3-2-1 ribs.
Ingredients
Here are the main ingredients you need to make ribs in the Instant Pot:
Rack of Ribs – Either beef or pork
BBQ Sauce – Either homemade or store bought
Beef Broth – You can always sub in water
Rib Seasonings – brown sugar, chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, and cayenne
How to Make Ribs in the Instant Pot
Here’s a quick overview of how to make Instant Pot Ribs:
Prep the Ribs – First, clean up the ribs! Remove the silver skin from the boney side and, if necessary, cut the slab so it can fit in your Instant Pot. Then slather it with the rib seasoning.
Prep the Instant Pot – add beef broth to the bottom of the pot, cover it with your trivet, and put the ribs on top. If you have 2 slabs now, place them in a teepee formation with the meaty side facing out.
Cook the Ribs – Cook at high pressure from the required time and natural release for 5 minutes.
Slather the Ribs – Put the ribs on a lined baking sheet and slather them with your favorite barbecue sauce
OPTIONAL – If you want a little extra char on the sauce, pop the ribs under the broiler for a few minutes! These super juicy and tender ribs take a fraction of the time of a smoker recipe but taste just as good!
How To Calculate The Cook Time
The ideal cooking time for Instant Pot Ribs varies depending on the type of meat you use, how you like your ribs, and where you live. Make sure to take a look at the below chart to see what time setting works best for you.
Baby Back Ribs (Pork or Beef): 25-30 Minutes
For a bit of a bite go with a shorter timer, for more “fall-off-the-bone” go with a slightly longer time. If you live in a high altitude location, you’ll need at least 30 minutes.
Spare Ribs (Pork or Beef): 30-35 Minutes
For a bit of a bite go with a shorter timer, for more “fall-off-the-bone” go with a slightly longer time. If you live in a high altitude location, you’ll need at least 35 minutes.
Read up on the differences between St Louis Ribs vs Baby Back Ribs.
Recipe Tips
- Use Your Favorite Sauce. You can use homemade barbecue sauce or store bought for this recipe. Truth be told, we love Sweet Baby Ray’s so much we usually keep a bottle on hand for nights we’re too lazy to mix up a batch of our own.
- Add Some Char. While not necessary, if you want a little “char” to your sauce plug them in the oven for 5 minutes when done in the Instant Pot. It’s totally not necessary however as the ribs will heat up the barbecue sauce. It’s a personal preference thing.
- Know Your Instant Pot. Higher altitudes usually take a bit longer to cook, so select the higher number when figuring out your cooking time.
- Tip – use the leftover trimmed meat (from St. Louis Ribs) in Sancocho Dominicano.
- If you haven’t tried the air fryer yet, you should! These Air Fryer Ribs are amazing.
Side Dish Ideas
Just add Dill Pickle Pasta Salad, Ensalada de Coditos, Ensalada de Papa or Instant Pot Mac and Cheese on the side for a killer meal!
More Instant Pot Recipes
Instant Pot Chicken Adobo
Instant Pot Jambalaya
Instant Pot Meatballs
Instant Pot Roast Beef
Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff
Easy Instant Pot Ribs
Equipment
Ingredients
Instant Pot Ribs
- 1-2 racks pork or beef ribs
- ½ bottle barbecue sauce, homemade or store bought
- 1 cup beef broth or water
Ribs Seasoning Mix
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp cayenne
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- Remove the silver membrane from the back of the ribs.
- If necessary, cut the slab in half to fit inside the Instant Pot.
- Mix all the seasoning ingredients together and rub on both sides of the ribs.
- Add beef broth (or water) to the bottom of the Instant Pot followed by the metal trivet.
- Place the ribs in the Instant Pot, in a teepee formation, with the meaty layer facing outwards.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot and make sure the valve is in the “sealed” position.
- Press "manual" or "high pressure" and set for the required time length (Note 1)
- When the timer beeps, let the pressure natural release for 5 minutes.
- Transfer the ribs to a foil lined cookie sheet and cover with barbecue sauce.
- OPTIONAL: Broil them in the oven (high) for 3-4 minutes to add a little “char” to the sauce.
Absolutely fantastic! One of my all-time favorite rib recipes! Ribs fall right off the bone.
These ribs came out amazing! Cooked perfectly and literally fell off the bone. Thanks!
I don’t normally comment on recipes but my family loved this. My daughter who doesn’t usually eat ribs, couldn’t stop. Great recipe.
I made these with boneless ribs and they came out great! The spices were on point. Thanks for the idea!
OMG!!!! Best recipe ever. I used country style pork ribs and placed dry ingredients in plastic bag, shake n bake style. Came out oh so good. Thanks for the awesome recipe!!!
I really need to get myself an instant pot. It looks like there are so many things you can make in it and my husband loves ribs!
Wow! Those are instant! 5 minutes prep is a dream come true!
I am 100% obsessed with my Instant Pot… and I LOVE ribs! I will definitely be making baby back ribs in my instant pot this summer. I just didn’t know how before. Thanks for this recipe. pinning!
I love how quick pressure cooking makes awesome dishes come to life like this. Great recipe!
These instant pot ribs are making me so happy! I love my instant pot and now I can make your delicious ribs! I love how easy and delicious they look!