The Best Instant Pot Baby Back Ribs

I’m so excited to finally be sharing this amazing Instant Pot Baby Back Rib recipe with you. Prepare them with a flavorful dry rub, steam them to tender perfection in a large 8qt Instant Pot, then finish them off with a glaze of charred barbecue sauce on the grill or in the oven for perfect ribs any time of year!

Start by making the dry rub, which is very simple, but adds a lot of flavor. Kosher salt, smoked paprika, dry mustard powder, granulated onion, granulated garlic, and chili powder.

Mix well.

Mmmm.

Sprinkle the dry rub over all 4 half-racks of ribs.

Rubba-dub-dub the ribba-rub-rub.

Get both sides.

Put the stainless rack in the inner pot of your Instant Pot and pour in 1 1/2 cups water. Add the half racks, standing them up the best you can. You should be able to fit 4 or 5 half racks depending on the size of your Instant Pot. Some people keep the racks whole, but I find they tend to fall apart after cooking so I think they’re easier to handle if you cut them in half. But that’s just me.

Cook for 45 minutes on “manual” or “high pressure”.

Enjoy!

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• Instant Pot https://amzn.to/3rDFh9l

• silicone brush https://amzn.to/34scqfw

• half sheet pan https://amzn.to/3JkoiyI

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The Best Instant Pot Ribs

makes 2 racks of ribs (5-6 pounds total)

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 racks baby back ribs, cut in half, membranes removed from underside (5-6 pounds total)

• 1 1/2 cups water

Dry Rub:

• 4 teaspoons kosher salt

• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika

• 2 teaspoons dry mustard powder

• 2 teaspoons chili powder

• 2 teaspoons granulated garlic (or powder)

• 2 teaspoons granulated onion (or powder)

Barbecue Sauce:

• 1 1/4 cup ketchup

• 1 cup brown sugar (light or dark), packed

• 1/4 cup water

• 1/4 cup molasses

• 1/4 cup pineapple juice

• 2 tablespoons water

• 1 tablespoon hickory flavored liquid smoke

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

• 2 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard

• 2 teaspoons paprika

• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Make the dry rub by combining the dry rub ingredients together and sprinkle evenly over both racks of ribs, front and back; rub the seasoning in well.

2. Place water and rack inside Instant Pot; stand ribs up on rack.

3. Seal Instant Pot and cook on “manual” or “pressure cook” for 40 minutes; allow pressure to release naturally.

4. While ribs are cooking, make the sauce by whisking all the barbecue sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan over high heat; bring to a boil, then reduce to a heat and simmer at a gentle bubble until the mixture thickens, about 20 minutes.

5. Remove ribs from Instant Pot and place on a foil lined half sheet pan; brush with bbq sauce and place ribs under broiler for 5 to 10 minutes (watch carefully to prevent burning). Alternatively, this step can be completed on a charcoal or gas grill.

Notes

• Store leftover barbecue sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

• St. Louis-style ribs can be substituted, but increase cooking time to 60 minutes.

• For more than one rack of ribs, use an 8-quart or larger Instant Pot.

More Instant Pot Recipes:

Instant Pot Pork and Sauerkraut

Do you enjoy pork on New Year’s Day? Pork Roast? Tenderloins? Sausage and Peppers? Pork and Sauerkraut is our family’s go-to meal to celebrate New Year’s Day, but it’s always taken some advanced planning to make in the oven (4 hours), or in the slow cooker (low 6 hours; high 12 hours). But using an Instant Pot, the cook time is drastically reduced down to only 1 hour, and it tastes amazing!

Start by browning the boneless country-style pork ribs**. You can do this right in your Instant Pot if it has a “saute” function, or you can do it in a skillet. My IP has a saute function, but I prefer to use a skillet for this part because I’m short, and the larger surface area of my skillet means I can get the job done faster.

**2-inch cubes of pork shoulder (aka Boston Butt) can be substituted.

If browning the pork in a skillet, transfer it to the Instant Pot when both sides are brown.

Spread the sauerkraut over the browned pork. By the way, if you use an 8-quart IP, you’ll have enough room to steam some red bliss potatoes (I place them in a small stainless steel mesh basket on top of the sauerkraut).

Skillet users - don’t let all those tasty brown bits go to waste….

Turn off the heat and pour the French onion soup into the skillet. The residual heat from the pan will allow the soup to deglaze the pan (dissolve all those yummy brown bits).

Add the brown sugar too; stir everything together.

Scrape the bottom of the pan to make sure all of those tasty brown bits have dissolved.

Pour the soup mixture over the sauerkraut and give everything a mix.

On a side note, I love my cast iron skillets!

Back to the recipe, put the lid on the Instant Pot and make sure the vent is set on “sealing”.

Depending on which IP model you have, push either the “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” button.

Cook for 30 minutes on “Manual” or “High Pressure”, then allow the pressure to release naturally for 15 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• Instant Pot https://amzn.to/33cToJp

• French onion soup https://amzn.to/3ssYjOZ

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Instant Pot Pork and SauerKraut

makes 8 servings

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

• 3 pounds boneless country-style pork ribs (or pork shoulder, Boston butt, picnic shoulder)

• 1 1/2 pounds sauerkraut, rinsed and drained

• 10 once can French onion soup

• 1/4 cup brown sugar (light or dark)

• Kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Using the saute function in your 6-quart or larger Instant Pot, heat oil, season pork with salt and pepper, and brown on all sides (see notes below if your IP doesn’t have a saute function).

2. Add sauerkraut; stir together brown sugar and French onion soup (undiluted) and add to Instant Pot.

3. Seal Instant Pot and cook on “manual” or “pressure cook” for 25 minutes; allow pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

• If your IP doesn’t have a saute function, brown the pork in a large skillet on the stovetop. Place browned pork in IP and pour soup into skillet to deglaze all the tasty brown bits before adding to IP.

• Alternatively, a single recipe will fit in a 9x13 casserole dish and can be baked in the oven (cover with foil and bake at 350F for 4 hours). OR cook in slow cooker (6 hours on low, 12 hours on high).

• If you don't have French onion soup on hand, you can substitute an equal amount of water and 1/4 teaspoon of onion powder or minced dried onion.