Instant Pot Ribs

If you’ve never had Instant Pot Ribs, you’re in for a real treat. This will be your go to recipe. They’re so tender and juicy; they just melt in your mouth. Fall off the bone ribs, that are packed full of flavor.

This pressure cooker ribs recipe takes under an hour start to finish! Talk about an incredible recipe you can make any night of the week.

You can use baby back ribs or spare ribs. Plus what sets this recipe apart from others is the homemade dry rub you will slather all over your ribs.

Why This Recipe Works

Quick Cook Time | When you compare making ribs on the grill or even in the oven, you will find pressure cooker ribs help to shave off time! You won’t lack on flavor or texture by reaching for your Instant Pot.

Fall Off The Bone Tender | Nothing is worse than eating ribs that are tough and chewy. With this recipe, the ribs literally fall off the bone! The texture of the ribs is exactly what you want.

Easy Prep | One reason I always reach for my Instant Pot is how easy it is. You get that hands off approach just as if you were tossing them in the oven to bake.

🥩 Ingredients 

Ribs – For this recipe, we are using baby back ribs which are coming from the higher portion of the back of the pig. You can also use spare ribs which come from the lower part of the back.

The spare ribs are the most common ones seen at the grocery store. Both of these will fit perfectly in the Instant Pot. 

Red Wine Vinegar – Wine vinegars are fermented wines that allow you to up the flavor with no additional calories or fat. You can always use a wine white vinegar as a substitute here. 

Honey BBQ Sauce – This adds a bit more sweetness to the ribs versus a traditional BBQ sauce. By all means, use your favorite!

🍽️  Detailed Instructions

This is one of those meals that you won’t soon forget. Incredibly, you can make ribs in your Instant Pot, and it’s genuinely so easy. Take a look at these simple directions:

Step One: Create a rub by mixing together the brown sugar, garlic salt, seasoned salt, seasoned pepper, onion powder, chili powder, ground mustard, cumin, Italian seasoning, and paprika in a small bowl. Combine well. 

This is your homemade dry rub that you will slather on ribs. You can opt for a store bought mix, but I promise this rub is worth the couple of minutes it takes to mix together.

Step Two: Remove the membrane from the underside of the ribs by grabbing one corner and pulling it off. It should come off as one single sheet.

You need to remove the white membrane or it will cause your ribs to be chewy. Here is a YouTube tutorial on exactly how to prep pork ribs, if you need more guidance.

Step Three: Add the rub to both sides of the ribs. Use your hands and make sure to get a nice even coating. 

Pour in the chicken broth and red wine vinegar in the Instant Pot. Add the metal trivet to the pressure cooker and add in the ribs. Bend the ribs to follow the shape of the Instant Pot and form a circle.

Then, add the lid to the pressure cooker and make sure the valve is in the sealing position. Cook on MANUAL for 25 minutes and let the pressure release naturally.

Allowing a natural release will give the ribs the best flavor and texture possible. Remove the lid once all the pressure has been released, and the float valve is in the down position. 

Step Four: Line a baking dish with heavy aluminum foil. Place the ribs on the dish and add the barbecue sauce.

Coat them well and broil for 5-6 minutes or until the ribs are caramelized. Take the ribs out of the oven and add some more sauce. 

Step Five: While the ribs are cooking, prepare the garlic mashed potatoes. Peel 3-4 pounds of white potatoes and chop them into pieces. Put the potatoes in a roaster pan and add cold water.

Sprinkle in two tablespoons of salt. Cook on high and boil for 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are fork-tender. 

Step Six: Drain all but ¼ of the water from the potatoes. Leave the potatoes in the pan, then mash them with a potato masher.

Add a stick of butter, one tablespoon of minced garlic, ½ cup of heavy cream, one tablespoon of coarse ground garlic salt, and one teaspoon of coarse ground black pepper.

Stir the garlic mashed potatoes well and keep them on low. Keep them covered until you are ready to serve. 

Step Seven: Add the ribs on top of the mashed potatoes. Serve with some homemade breadsticks and some of your favorite barbecue sauce. Enjoy hot! 

⏲️ Meal Prep Instructions

If you are meal prepping, prepare the seasoning ahead of time. Keep it in a sealed jar for several weeks. 

The night before cooking, add the seasoning to the ribs and keep them refrigerated. This will save you time to prepare the meal. 

Another option is to cook the ribs and mashed potatoes the day before. Then, save them both in the fridge for up to four days.

Reheat by covering with a paper towel and warming in the microwave. It’s that easy! I do this a lot on Sundays when I know that work and school will make my evenings challenging.

🍴 Variations 

Easily make a few variations to this recipe to change up the flavor completely. 

• Use a jar all purpose rub that you love in place of this one. 
• Use your own BBQ sauce or buy your favorite jarred sauce.  
• Leave out the BBQ sauce altogether. Some people don’t love the sauce on ribs. 
• Skip the garlic mashed potatoes and serve this with potato salad or baked potatoes. 

📌 Tips

After you learn how to make ribs in the Instant Pot, it will become a favorite, especially during those cold winter months when you don’t want to spend time at the grill.

Here are a few tips for cooking ribs in the pressure cooker to give you the best results. 

• Don’t put too many ribs in the Instant Pot. It’s important not to put more than two racks of ribs in the pot at a time. Any more than that and they won’t be able to cook properly. If you need to make a lot, then work in batches or get a second Instant Pot. We all need a second one at some point, right?
• It’s important to put in the trivet in the bottom of the pot. If you skip this step there is a strong chance that the ribs will burn to the bottom of the pot. Then you will end up with a burnt mess. Let’s not ask me how I learned that lesson, ok?  
• Don’t skip out on broiling. The pressure cooker will make them tender and juicy, but broiling them will give them that caramelized deliciousness we all crave! 

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