Instant Pot Bone-in ribs are the best way to make delicious ribs with so much flavor and in a fraction of the time you normally need to cook a full rack of ribs, and are finger-licking good.
Use this Instant Pot recipe for a quick dinner recipe the whole family can enjoy during the weekend with only a few simple pantry ingredients. You can make these for your next barbecue or any time of the year! This easy Instant Pot ribs recipe is sure to be a star this summer for your family and friends.
Recipe Ingredient Notes
To make our Instant Pot bone-in ribs, you need the following ingredients:
- Protein: Get a good rack of ribs (I use pork loin ribs) from your local grocery store or butcher
- Seasoning: a simple combination of salt and black pepper for the dry rub
- Juice: Simple apple juice adds the most amazing flavor profile to this recipe
- Sugar: brown sugar works perfectly with the BBQ sauce for the best rib sauce
- BBQ sauce: get a bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce or make your own homemade BBQ sauce
Equipment Needed
For this recipe, you only need a few simple kitchen tools. We recommend using the following equipment:
How to Make Instant Pot Bone-In Ribs
- Prepare ribs: Season your ribs with salt and pepper spice rub on both sides of the ribs.
- Put ribs in the Instant Pot: Place your ribs at the bottom of the Instant Pot on top of the trivet.
- Make rib sauce: Combine apple juice and ½ cup brown sugar and pour over your ribs.
- Pressure cooking pork ribs: Place your lid on the Instant pot, turn your knob to sealing, and cook for 30 minutes. You can cut your racks of ribs into smaller sections if they do not fit around the bottom.
- Do a natural release for an extra 10 minutes of cooking time, and then do a quick release of the remaining pressure.
- Preheat oven to broil: After they are done in the instant pot, use tongs to gently (they are already falling off the bone) take them out.
- Turn your oven broiler on to HIGH. While the oven is warming up, mix together the bottle of BBQ sauce and the ¼ cup of apple juice you saved from earlier.
- Place the ribs gently on a foil-lined baking sheet and brush with BBQ sauce.
- Turn the ribs twice every three minutes or so, slathering with more sauce each time. The sauce will begin to turn sticky when they are done.
- Serve immediately and enjoy.
Storing Instructions:
Fridge: Any leftovers from the ribs can be put into an airtight container and stored in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Serving Suggestions
We recommend serving this recipe with our Creamy Pasta Salad, Easy Potato Salad, or Oven Roasted Parmesan Broccoli. You can find more classic American recipes here.
Frequently Asked Questions
For the best results, use pork loin ribs like the country style ribs or pork spareribs. Then you will get the most tender ribs with plenty of meat.
Traditional ribs are normally cut from the actual ribs of a bone rib cage, like baby back ribs, short ribs, or spare ribs, and have less meat on them. Country ribs are meatier as they are cut from the shoulder or loin cut of pork, which is a thick cut and boneless.
After you place ribs in the broiler and they have an internal temperature of 165 degrees F using a meat thermometer, then they will be safe to eat.
However most of the time these ribs will be so bone tender that the meat side of the ribs will be falling off of the bone.
For the easiest way to remove the membrane from the back of the ribs, use a butter knife, just get just under the layer and slide it up under and then work its way along the whole rack of ribs.
Since you will be using an Instant Pot with this recipe, you can add a teaspoon of liquid smoke to the BBQ sauce mixture to get a little bit of that smokey flavor.
Enjoy More Delicious Pork Main Dishes
Whether you like your pork cooked in the slow cooker, grill, or Instant Pot, pork is one of the most versatile main dishes. Check out our comprehensive collection of pork main dishes here.
- Green Chile Pork Tacos
- Instant Pot BBQ Country Ribs
- Instant Pot Country-Style Pork Ribs
- Instant Pot Cranberry Pork Chops
- Instant Pot Easy Sweet Pork
- Instant Pot Egg Roll Bowls
- Instant Pot Honey Chipotle Pork Tacos
- Instant Pot Honey Glazed Ham
- Instant Pot Pepperoncini Pork Roast
- Instant Pot Pork Chile Verde
- Instant Pot Pork Tips and Gravy
- Maple and Brown Sugar Pork Tenderloin
- Pork Carnitas
Instant Pot Bone-In Ribs Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 (2-3 pound) rack of ribs, (I use pork loin ribs)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 3 ½ cup apple juice, (reserving 1/4 cup for later)
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 (16 oz) bottle BBQ sauce
Instructions
- Season your ribs with salt and pepper on both sides.
- Place your ribs in the Instant Pot, on top of the trivet.
- Combine apple juice and ½ cup brown sugar and pour over your ribs.
- Place your lid on the Instant pot, turn your knob to sealing, and cook for 30 minutes. You can cut your ribs into smaller sections if they do not fit around the bottom. Let it naturally release for 10 minutes, and then do a quick release to let out the rest of the steam.
- After they are done in the instant pot, use tongs to gently (they are already falling off the bone) take them out.
- Turn your oven broil on to HIGH. While the oven is warming up, mix together the bottle of BBQ sauce and the ¼ cup of apple juice you saved from earlier.
- Place the ribs gently on a foil covered baking sheet and and brush with BBQ sauce.
- Turn the ribs twice every three minutes or so, slathering with more sauce each time. The sauce will begin to turn sticky when they are done.
- Serve immediately and enjoy.
Notes
Nutrition
Video
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
About how long do they take in the oven? I see it says when the sauce turns sticky, but just a ballpark for time.
Thank you for all your recipes!! Love love love!
Hi. The recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups brown sugar yet I can only find where 1/2 cup is actually used. Where do you use the other cup?
So delicious! I’ve always been intimidated by cooking my own ribs. This recipe was easy to follow and they turned out great. Ribs were moist and super flavorful. I will be making again.
Hi Kelly. We are so glad you like the ribs. They are so easy and delicious. Have a terrific week.
Apple juice is seldom in our pantry. What could I substitute for the apple juice?
If you don’t have apple juice you can use orange or pineapple juice, stock/broth or just plain old water. Just know the flavor will be different.
I was wondering about your nutrition values how are you rating them on serving or whole rack? And what size did you rate it on? My husband is a diabetic and i need to watch his carbohydrates. Please get back to me i want to try this so bad!!! Thanks love you
We have a nutrition calculator that figures it all when we add in our recipes. But you could put in more detailed info into MyFitnessPal to be more exact.
Can I use Diet Dr Pepper instead of apple juice? I can’t have high sugar fruit juice.
We have not tried this recipe with Diet Dr Pepper, so I’m not sure how it would taste.
The title is beef ribs but you use pork ribs?
The title is Instant Pot Bone-In Ribs. We used Pork ribs.
Yum!