If you love using your pressure cooker, then you simply must try this recipe for Instant Pot Baby Back Ribs. Moist, juicy & fall off the bone deliciously easy. Soon to be a favorite for dinner.
Do you love ribs? We are a family that can’t seem to get enough. Each & every year we really look forward to grilling season because ribs are easy to find & we make them quite often.
After years of making our tried & true recipe, I decided to stray from the norm & put my Instant Pot to the test. We created these Instant Pot Baby Back Ribs that definitely gave our usual recipe a run for its money. We may never go back – check it out. You might also like our Slow Cooker Barbecue Ribs.
**Pair these with our Texas BBQ Sauce!
You see, we usually bake our ribs in a tightly sealed roasting pan for a couple hours before finishing them off on the grill for a little char. This method has given us consistently amazing results for years.
But that Instant Pot, it’s so quick & keeps me from having to turn on the oven in the heat of summer. So I just had to give it a go & I was so pleased with the result.
Pressure Cooker Baby Back Ribs
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You just season your ribs & place them sideways (curled up) in the pot. Add your liquid & cook for about 30 minutes depending on how many racks you add in there.
Release naturally for about 15 minutes & then quick release. Then pull them out, brush with a little bbq sauce & place on the grill (or broil in the oven) for about 5-7 minutes on each side. That’s it. So incredibly easy.
Here are some commonly asked questions
Can I use frozen ribs?
Yes and no. Normally I would say to just increase the cooking time by 5 minutes and follow the rest of the recipe as written.
But the issue is how to bend the frozen rack of ribs so you can get it into the pot. If you can do that, then yes you can cook these from frozen.
I suppose if you had them partially thawed that would work.
How many can this serve?
That will depend on portions and appetites. But we can get away with 1-2 racks for our family of 5 adult appetites with usually no leftovers.
recipe for Instand Pot ribs
Can this recipe be doubled?
Unfortunately no. Because of the space constraints of the pressure cooker, it doesn’t turn out well. I tried squeezing 3 racks in there once – only the edges of the ribs cooked.
I ended up having to pull them out flat, bake them in the oven and dinner was several hours delayed. It would have been much faster to just cook the racks in the pressure cooker back to back instead of trying to do it all at once.
HOW DO YOU MAKE Instant Pot Baby Back Ribs?
- Season ribs & place them sideways (curled up) in the pot on top of the trivet. You can nest them within one another.
- Add your liquid, seal the lid & cook on manual/high for about 25-30 minutes depending on how many racks you add in there.
- Release naturally for about 15 minutes & then quick release.
- Pull them out, brush with a little bbq sauce & place on the grill (or broil in the oven) for about 5-7 minutes on each side.
- Note: Increase the cooking time by 1-2 minutes for high altitude & decrease by 1-2 minutes for low altitude. *Increase your cooking time to 30-35 minutes for spare ribs.
So what if you want to make spare ribs instead of baby back ribs?
You can definitely make spare ribs instead of baby back ribs and the pressure cooker makes it easy. Just increase your cooking time to 30-35 minutes.
What if I live in high or low altitude, does this change the method?
A little. Just increase the cooking time by 1-2 minutes for high altitude & decrease by 1-2 minutes for low altitude.
*This recipe was created using the 6-quart instant pot. If you are using a different size pot or a different pressure cooker brand entirely, cooking times may be off by a couple of minutes.
**Live at High Altitude – Because water boils at a lower temperature at high altitudes, and pressure cooking requires water to boil in order to work, some foods may need a little more cooking time. When pressure cooking at high altitudes you want to make sure to add 5 percent to your cook time for every 1,000 feet above 2,000 feet elevation.
For example, when we lived at 4,000+ feet I would add 10 percent to my cook time. For a recipe that called for 20-minutes of cooking time, I would then cook for 22 minutes. When pressure cooking, 1-2 minutes can make all the difference in a recipe, unlike when cooking by traditional methods.
Instant Pot Pork Ribs
What is the best way to store leftover baby back ribs?
Place them in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days. To reheat, place them on a microwave-safe plate, cover and reheat in the microwave for 1-2 minutes or until hot.
To make Instant Pot Baby Back Ribs you will need…
- baby back pork ribs
- water
- apple cider vinegar
- granulated garlic
- salt
- pepper
- bbq sauce
Products I love when making Baby Back Ribs in the pressure cooker…
This Baby Back Ribs recipe is SUPER EASY and delicious – and if you’re like me this time of year, then you maybe already have some of these items on hand OR maybe you have never made ribs in the pressure cooker before, & you might be a bit nervous – but you’re going to love it. I have made a list below of the things I absolutely can’t live without when it comes to making this rib recipe.
- baby back pork ribs
- water
- apple cider vinegar
- granulated garlic
- salt
- pepper
- bbq sauce
- Instant Pot
My friends – you will NOT be disappointed. ENJOY!
Here are my favorite Instant Pot Tools and Accessories!
- Instant Pot
- 5-Piece Accessory Set
- 3-Piece Bundt Pan Bundle Set
- Stackable Stainless Steal Insert Steamer Pans
- Glass Lid and Sealing Rings
HOW TO MAKE BABY BACK RIBS IN AN INSTANT POT
If you love this Easy Instant Pot Baby Back Ribs recipe, you’re going to love these other pressure cooker recipes too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!
Pressure Cooker Caramel Dulce de Leche
pork ribs pressure cooker
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Instant Pot Baby Back Ribs
Ingredients
- 3 pounds baby back pork ribs 1-2 racks depending on the size of your IP
- 1 cup water
- ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp granulated garlic - per rack
- 1 tsp salt - per rack
- 1 tsp pepper - per rack
- ¼ cup bbq sauce - per rack
Instructions
- Season ribs & place them sideways (curled up) in the pot on top of the trivet. You can nest them within one another. (you can also cut the racks into halves or thirds to make them fit.)
- Add your liquid, seal the lid & cook on manual/high for about 25-30 minutes depending on how many racks you add in there.
- Release naturally for about 15 minutes & then quick release.
- Pull them out, brush with a little bbq sauce & place on the grill (or broil in the oven) for about 5-7 minutes on each side.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate. Please double-check with your own dietary calculator for the best accuracy. We at Yummi Haus cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
Tamar Strauss-Benjamin says
That’s a great way to cook ribs!
Miz Helen says
I just pinned your fabulous Baby Back Ribs! Hope you are having a great week and thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday.
Miz Helen
Karly says
Now these are some good looking ribs! Can’t wait to try this!
Gina Kleinworth says
Thanks Girl!!! Ribs are my weakness!!! Hope you have an AWESOME holiday- hugs
Glen says
I love this. Just tried it for the first time. Came out amazing. When I was done with the instapot process I put them on my smoker for about an hour. Fall off the bone. Big hit thanks
Jodi says
These are perfect every time—our favorite. Thanks for the recipe.
Sheri says
These were the best ribs I’ve ever had!
Thank you for sharing your recipe. It’s a keeper!
INSTANT POT BABY BACK RIBS says
These ribs were fantastic! So tender and moist. I did dry rub, then added the vinegar and water to the pot. I poured BBQ Sauce on the ribs when they were in the pot and cooked 25 minutes under pressure. After 15 minutes natural release I. Opened the steam valve. Then it’s just a matter of adding BBQ sauce and broiling. YUMMY!
Cheryl says
Most delicious ribs ever!! One thing the recipe did not say is to cut the ribs up. I did that and it turned out fantastic!