If you are on the fence about buying the Instant Pot, then this Instant Pot BBQ Pork Ribs recipe is probably the reason that you should buy one. If the only recipe you make is bbq pork ribs in the instant pot, then I think that is more than worth it. Being able to make mouth watering and fall off the bones bbq pork ribs in less than 45 minutes is 100% game changing. This was one of the first recipes that I ever made (period), and is a great confidence booster when you are just starting to cook. Your family should love it, it isn’t hard to make, and it is super forgiving if you mess it up.

Tips for cooking BBQ Pork Ribs in the instant pot

Make sure you get your favorite BBQ sauce – I can’t emphasize this enough. If you go to the grocery store there are 100’s of brands of bbq sauces, all of which look awesome. If you are like me, then you pick up a random one that looks delicious and go on your way. This is probably the exact wrong way to go about picking bbq sauce. Instead next time you are at the grocery store pick 5 bbq sauces that sound the best to you and buy them. Then when you get home do a bbq sauce tasting activity with your family at home. After you have completed your tasting you will officially have the best tasting bbq sauce for your family. No more trying different bbq sauces, no more wondering what X bbq sauce tasted like, and no more being disappointed when you cook with a new one at home. Now whenever you get to cooking bbq chicken wings, bbq pork ribs, or anything with bbq you know what sauce to buy. If you want the pick that we settled on, it was Sweet Baby Ray’s Original recipe or Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey BBQ sauce.
Apple juice and apple cider vinegar – Unfortunately it really is necessary to add to your instant pot when making bbq pork ribs. I have made this recipe without the apple juice or apple cider vinegar and it just didn’t taste how I wanted it.
Overcook the first time – No one gets angry when your ribs fall off the bone too easily. They however are disappointed when you ribs are too tough. When you cook this recipe for the first time cook the full amount of time with the full amount of venting time. This makes sure you get super soft bbq ribs.

What to eat with bbq pork ribs

Rice or Mac salad – I feel like you need a little carb to go with all the sweetness of bbq pork ribs. My go to is steamed rice or a mac salad, I think they are both great.
Garden salad – I’m a big fan of romaine or something crunchy with ribs vs a spring mix. The crunchy is a good contrast with the bbq pork ribs.

If you have an instant pot, my favorite recipes to make in the instant pot are as follows:

Galbitang – If you enjoy making soup, then this Korean short rib and radish soup is amazing. It is a Korean soup served in a beef broth and super soft short ribs. If you are noticing a pattern with my recipes it is super soft meat.
Nikujaga – Japanese beef, potatoes, and carrot stew is perfect for a family that prefers a sweeter tasting recipe.
Dak Dori Tang – So good, so spicy, so awesome! This Korean chicken and potato stew is my favorite to make when I’m just cooking for myself or for a spicy audience.
Chicken Congee – When you don’t have a ton of ingredients but want something simple and easy then Chicken congee is the recipe to make. A great tasting and quick rice soup with chicken to give it more of a fuller flavor.

This recipe was adapted from Tastes better from scratch, and is my favorite bbq pork ribs instant pot recipe. Super quick, super amazing, and super easy!

Instant Pot BBQ Pork Ribs

This mouth watering, super soft, and tender Instant Pot BBQ Pork ribs recipe is a go-to weeknight dinner. With the Instant pot in about an hour you can have great restaurant quality BBQ Pork ribs.

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Servings

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 50

Equipment

Instant Pot
Baking pan

Ingredients

1 rack Pork ribs
1 tsp Garlic powder
1 tsp Onion powder
1 tsp Brown sugar
1 tsp Chili powder
1 tsp Ground pepper
1 tsp Kosher salt
1 cup Water
1/4 cup Apple cider vinegar
2 cups BBQ sauce

Instructions

Get ingredients. The bbq sauce is not shown as it is up to you what tastes great to you. My favorite is Sweet Baby ray's Honey or Original sauce.
Rinse your pork ribs, or defrost if they are frozen.
Remove the membranes from the back of the pork ribs. They're sometimes already cut off for you.
Prepare the dry rub by mixing the 1 tsp of garlic powder, 1 tsp of onion powder, 1 tsp of brown sugar, 1 tsp of chili powder, 1 tsp of ground pepper, and 1 tsp of kosher salt together.
Now rub over the top and bottom of the pork ribs. I would put a ton more of the seasoning over the the meatier part of the pork ribs, and not as much on the bone side.
Put your wire trivet into the instant pot.
Add your 1 cup of water, and 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar into the instant pot. Sometimes I forgot to put this before the ribs. Don't worry, just try not to get your ribs wet with the water or apple cider vinegar when pouring it in.
Add your bbq pork ribs in with the meat side facing outwards. When I put the ribs in they fit this way almost by themselves.
Close the lid and make sure it is secured. Make sure you have it on venting after you seal the pot.
Press the "Pressure Cook" button and set the timer to 35 minutes on high pressure.
After the 35 minutes are completed, wait for 15 minutes for the instant pot to go on natural release. Then after the 15 minutes are up feel free to move the release valve to venting to start the quick release. When you go to the quick release it can spit out liquid out the top, watch out it might be hot.
While the ribs are cooking, go and get a baking pan and line it with foil. Then pre-heat your oven to broil.
When the ribs are done put them onto the foil lined pan. Be careful the ribs are going to be super tender so they can fall apart while you pick them up with tongs.
Now put as much bbq sauce as you want on the cooked ribs. If probably use at least half of a 28 oz bottle, so about 2 cups of bbq sauce if not more.
Put your bbq pork ribs in the oven for 5 minutes on broil. If you want the sauce more liquid form them take them out after 2-3 minutes. If you want the sauce more caked on, then take them out after 5 minutes.