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St. Louis Slow Cooker Ribs is the easiest way to get bone tender ribs with only a few minutes of prep time all in the bottom of your slow cooker. Cooking ribs in the slow cooker is an easy way to make a delicious dinner recipe that everyone will enjoy during the summertime. These are truly finger-licking good and pair perfectly with any of your favorite sides and salad recipes!
About This Recipe
These St. Louis Style Ribs are the best ribs for a slow cooker. They are seasoned with amazing seasonings and bottles of BBQ sauce to create the best smoky flavors.
Recipe Ingredient Notes
To make our slow cooker ribs, you need the following ingredients:
- Brown sugar
- Paprika
- Garlic powder
- Salt
- Ground black pepper
- Cayenne pepper
- St. Louis-style pork ribs
- Water
- Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce
Equipment Needed
For this recipe, you only need a few simple kitchen tools. We recommend using the following equipment:
How to Make Our Slow Cooker St. Louis Ribs
- Make the dry rub. Whisk together the brown sugar, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper, and cayenne.
- Dry rub the ribs. Pat the ribs dry and rub the dry rub all over them (both sides). Let the ribs sit for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer. I like covering mine with plastic wrap and keeping them in the fridge overnight so that the flavors really sink in.
- Load the crockpot. Transfer the ribs to the crockpot. You’ll want to prop them upright so that they form a circle around the edge of the basin of the crockpot with their meatiest side facing out. Whisk together ½ cup water and ½ cup BBQ sauce and pour it into the center of the crockpot.
- Cook. Close the crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours.
- Prepare to broil. Line a rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan with aluminum foil and set a wire rack on top. Set an oven rack about 6 inches below your oven’s broiler. Preheat the broiler on high.
- Broil the ribs. Transfer the ribs to the wire rack set over the baking sheet and brush with ½ cup of BBQ sauce. Broil for 2-3 minutes. Remove the baking pan from the oven, flip the ribs, and brush with the remaining BBQ sauce. Broil for an additional 2-3 minutes.
Expert Tips
- Silver skin is fairly chewy. Depending on how you want your baby backs to turn out, you can choose to remove the connective tissue from the back of the ribs or not.
- Make sure to prep the ribs ahead of time with the spice rub. Make sure to get the spice mixture on all sides of the ribs.
- If you prefer beef ribs instead of baby back ribs like this, simply swap them out and still prep ribs the same way.
- For the best juicy ribs, allow for the longest cooking time to let the pork ribs marinate at the bottom of the slow cooker in the homemade barbecue sauce.
Recipe Notes
- For a recipe like this St. Louis style ribs, you can have the option to take the silver skin off or leave it on. The silver skin itself is edible, however it can prevent you from achieving flavorful ribs. It can stop the seasoning from penetrating the tough membrane to the meaty side of the ribs.
- For this rack of ribs, we like to use a dry rub recipe made with simple seasonings like garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, brown sugar, and more in a small mixing bowl for the best ribs with minimal effort.
Storage Suggestions
Fridge: After this crockpot ribs recipe is done cooking, allow the crock pot bbq ribs to cool down to room temperature. Place ribs in an airtight container, then store in the fridge for 4-5 days.
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.
- Maple and Brown Sugar Pork Tenderloin
- Slow Cooker Honey Balsamic Pork Roast
- Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Pork
- Slow Cooker Honey Ribs
- Slow Cooker Mississippi-Style Country Ribs
- Slow Cooker Parmesan Honey Pork Roast
- Slow Cooker Pineapple Glazed Ham
- Slow Cooker Pork Chops
- Slow Cooker Pork Chops and Gravy
- Slow Cooker Pork Stroganoff
- Slow Cooker Ranch Pork Roast
- Slow Cooker San Francisco Pork Chops
- Slow Cooker Short Ribs
- Slow Cooker Sweet and Tangy Pork
Slow Cooker St. Louis Ribs Recipe
These tender slow cooker St. Louis ribs are coated in a sweet, smoky spice rub and finished under the oven broiler.
Serving Servings
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon paprika
- 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
- ½ Tablespoon onion powder
- 1 Tablespoon salt
- ½ Tablespoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 7 pounds St. Louis style pork ribs
- ½ cup water
- 1 ½ cups Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce
Instructions
- Make the dry rub. Whisk together the brown sugar, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper, and cayenne.
- Dry rub the ribs. Pat the ribs dry and rub the dry rub all over them (both sides). Let the ribs sit for at least 30 minutes, preferably longer. I like covering mine with plastic wrap and keeping them in the fridge overnight so that the flavors really sink in.
- Load the crockpot. Transfer the ribs to the crockpot. You’ll want to prop them upright so that they form a circle around the edge of the basin of the crockpot with their meatiest side facing out. Whisk together ½ cup water and ½ cup BBQ sauce and pour it into the center of the crockpot.
- Cook. Close the crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours.
- Prepare to broil. Line a rimmed baking sheet or roasting pan with aluminum foil and set a wire rack on top. Set an oven rack about 6 inches below your oven’s broiler. Preheat the broiler on high.
- Broil the ribs. Transfer the ribs to the wire rack set over the baking sheet and brush with ½ cup of BBQ sauce. Broil for 2-3 minutes. Remove the baking pan from the oven, flip the ribs, and brush with the remaining BBQ sauce. Broil for an additional 2-3 minutes.
Notes
For a recipe like this St. Louis ribs, you can have the option to take the silver skin off or leave it on. The silver skin itself is edible, however, it can prevent you from achieving flavorful ribs since it can stop the seasoning from penetrating a tough membrane to the meaty side of the ribs.
Nutrition
Calories: 670 kcal · Carbohydrates: 26 g · Protein: 48 g · Fat: 41 g · Saturated Fat: 14 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 7 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 17 g · Trans Fat: 0.4 g · Cholesterol: 173 mg · Sodium: 1645 mg · Potassium: 772 mg · Fiber: 1 g · Sugar: 21 g · Vitamin A: 266 IU · Vitamin C: 2 mg · Calcium: 103 mg · Iron: 2 mg
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.
This is my new favorite slow cooker ribs recipe! So tender and flavorful!