There isn’t a better way to make ribs than this Instant Pot Fall Off the Bone BBQ Ribs recipe. When you make Instant Pot recipes like this, you can cut the cooking time in half and still get perfectly bone tender pork ribs slathered in the best sticky barbecue sauce.
You can use your favorite BBQ sauce and pour in apple juice with a sprinkle of seasonings and you will have the best ribs in a fraction of the time of slow cooker ribs with the use of the Instant Pot, still with just as much flavor.
So, when you are ready to indulge in some wonderfully delicious ribs, then just pair it with your favorite side dish recipe and you are ready to enjoy your new favorite go-to ribs recipe.
Ingredient Notes:
- Seasonings: salt (kosher salt) and black pepper will be use to enhance the flavors of the spare ribs
- Meat: pick a rack of beef ribs or pork ribs
- Sauce: you will need to use apple juice and your favorite bbq sauce or homemade bbq sauce
How to make Instant Pot Fall Off the Bone BBQ Ribs:
- Take the slab of ribs (make sure that they are defrosted) and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Leave them together or you can cut them into individual slabs (about 2-3 ribs each).
- Pour the Apple Juice into the bottom of the Instant Pot pan.
- Place the Ribs in the Instant Pot by folding them into a half circle, or if they are cut, place them on top of each other.
- Put the lid on the Instant Pot and cook on Manual for 25 minutes of pressure cooking on high pressure. (Make sure the knob is turned to sealing, not venting)
- After they are done in the Instant Pot, use tongs to gently pull them out (they will literally fall apart when you touch them).
- Gently brush the ribs with BBQ sauce.
- Place them onto a foil-lined baking sheet. Cook them on Broil for a few minutes (be sure to watch them)
- Serve immediately and enjoy.
Storing for this rib recipe:
Fridge: Carefully place any leftover rib into either an airtight container or ziplock bag and store them in the fridge for up to 5 days.
When making these pressure cooker ribs you will want to use apple juice because the Instant Pot requires the cup of liquid you need to make this recipe. If you used that much apple cider vinegar you will not enjoy the bone ribs nearly as much.
When you use the combination of your favorite barbecue sauce and apple juice, it provides all the flavor you need, so you no longer need to add a spice rub to these simple ingredients. They will still turn out great, and honestly, the fact that you only need 4 ingredients for this easy recipe is the best part.
If you are skeptical and making this recipe for the first time and want to bump up the flavor you can always add a little bit of one or more of these:
Brown sugar
Liquid smoke
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Chili powder (for a little kick)
Serving suggestions:
- Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potatoes Recipe
- Smashed Italian Red Potatoes Recipe
- Roasted Veggie Pasta Salad Recipe
- 3 Ingredient Easy Parmesan Rolls Recipe
Instant Pot Fall Off the Bone BBQ Ribs
Ingredients
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
- 2 pound rack of ribs, beef or pork
- 1 cup apple juice
- ½ cup bbq sauce
Equipment
Instructions
- Take the slab of ribs (make sure that they are defrosted) and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Leave them together or you can cut them into individual slabs (about 2-3 ribs each).
- Pour the Apple Juice into the bottom of the pan
- Place the Ribs in the Instant Pot by folding them into a half circle, or if they are cut, place them on top of each other.
- Put the lid on the Instant Pot and cook on Manual for 25 minutes. (Make sure the knob is turned to sealing, not venting)
- After they are done in the Instant Pot, use tongs to gently pull them out (they will literally fall apart when you touch them).
- Gently brush the ribs with BBQ sauce.
- Place them onto a foil lined cookie sheet. Cook them on Broil for a few minutes (be sure to watch them)
- Serve immediately and enjoy.
Notes
- Brown sugar
- Liquid smoke
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Chili powder (for a little kick)
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.
How much apple juice?
1 cup of apple juice
Do you quick relesse or natural release this recipe? I may have missed that somewhere, but not seeing it.
I would like to know this as well. I’m afraid to make this recipe without knowing for sure .
I am wondering this too
Hi, if I have no apple juice. Can I just use water or stock?
Water or stock will work, the flavor will be altered since the apple juice is sweet.
Hello,
Your video instructs to use the Meat/Stew button, but the online directions say to cook on Manual. Does it matter which you use? The amount of time for each is the same. Thanks!
Can I use short ribs with this recipe?
You can use any type of ribs with this recipe. Watch the cook time closely.
On her video post, she says she uses the SLOW release. She lets the pressure come down on its own.
https://www.facebook.com/SixSistersStuff/videos/318986025391486/
can you put two racks of ribs in the pot if you have a 8qt pot and if so would you change the cooking time. Thank you Shirey
I’ve made this recipe twice and each time my meat has been tough and not falling apart at all. What am I doing wrong? Does it make a difference if you quick release?
I tried this recipe tonight and my ribs, like another commenter, also came out tough and not falling off. I did quick release. Should I have let it come down on its own?
Kristen, I bought ribs with the intent to cook them in the instant pot. I looked at quite a few people’s takes on how to do it. I was leery about all of the instructions, so I came back to you because I’ve trusted your instructions on other things in the instant pot and they came out good. I have extensive chewing issues, so I really needed them to be tender.
I tried your method and they turned out tender and delicious. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
WIN!! So glad they turned out for you!!! We love the Instant Pot!
I don’t see any mention of removing the “Membrane” or “Silver” on the ribs. If this is intact you will likely have a tough chew to get through it when the ribs are finished. I always remove the membrane, using a slotted screwdriver (yes I just said screwdriver 😉 and a paper towel to grip the membrane as I rip it off the ribs. I learned this with my Traeger BBQ and the instructions that came for that.
Is there a place to find the nutrition facts?
We are slowly getting the nutrition info on all of our recipes on our new website. It will take some time. I’ll make a note to do this one soon.
I have a perfect method for ribs but it takes 2 hours in the oven in a cooking bag then sauce and broil. Super tender. I’m going to try this and see if it’s as good cuz a lot less time involved and no hot oven in the summertime😊