These slow cooker country style ribs come together so easily! They're fall-apart tender, moist, and flavorful, with the added bonus that they can be prepped for the crockpot in minutes. These country style pork ribs will be your new favorite weeknight dinner for the whole family!
If you need a recipe for a busy weeknight, you need to make this crockpot country style pork ribs. It is perfect for prepping ahead of time and one of the easiest slow cooker recipes you can whip up!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- These country style ribs are so easy to prep before heading out to work or a long day of errands. Let the slow cooker work its magic, and you'll have the bulk of your dinner ready to go around 6 to 8 hours. You barely have to do any work! You can get these ribs in the crockpot in under 10 minutes.
- This is a pretty budget-friendly recipe! They're a cheaper cut of meat but thanks to the slow cooker, you can make these super tender, moist, and flavorful!
- You can easily customize these country style ribs in so many ways! Grab a different flavored bbq sauce, change up the seasoning, or change the side dishes you make with it. It's so easy to keep things from getting boring, that you can make these pork ribs weekly!
Ingredients You'll Need
onion — I love adding an onion to the bottom of the slow cooker. In my experience, you can dice it up if you want the onions to melt into the bbq sauce, but I like to have a bit of texture, so I chop the onions roughly into wedges. I personally prefer a sweet onion but you can also use a yellow onion.
seasoning — I use a blend of ground mustard, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. You can play around with this combination if you want to change things up to keep this country style ribs recipe fun and fresh when making it on repeat!
brown sugar — I like dark brown sugar, but regular brown sugar is fine too. It adds a lovely deeper caramel flavor if you use a darker brown sugar.
country style ribs — fun fact, country style pork ribs aren’t ribs at all! Country style ribs are actually cut from the shoulder blade near the loin, where the shoulder and loin meet. They’re called ribs because they are similar to standard ribs in terms of their flavor and consistency. They're also budget-friendly!
barbeque sauce — use your favorite barbeque sauce. Some days, I crave a tangier sauce, but other days, I prefer a sweeter sauce.
How To Make Slow Cooker Country Style Ribs Recipe
- Lightly grease a crock pot with cooking spray and pat dry the ribs with a paper towel.
- Combine the ground mustard, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, dark brown sugar, salt, and pepper, and rub onto the ribs until fully coated.
- Add the onions to cover the bottom of the pot.
- Place country style ribs in a slow cooker.
- Pour 2 cups of the BBQ sauce over top of the meat to cover.
- Cook ribs for 6-8 hours on low.
- For crispy, caramelized ribs, once done cooking, transfer only the ribs only on a foil-lined sheet pan and brush with additional bbq sauce (the extra ¼ cup) and broil for 3-5 minutes or until they have crisped up to your liking, making sure not to let them burn.
Recipes Variations
- Add some heat to the country style ribs by adding some hot sauce or sriracha to the bbq sauce. You can also add some cayenne pepper or red chili pepper flakes to the seasoning rub.
- There are so many different types of bbq sauces you can play around with. There are tomato-based sauces, vinegar-based sauces, mustard-based sauces, and mayonnaise-based sauces. Each type of bbq sauce has a range of flavors, ranging from sweet and tangy to hot and spicy.
Tips and Notes
- Avoid buying pork country style ribs with large, tough-looking chunks of fat, as these won’t break down as easily when they slow cook.
- For the best results, you want to cook these ribs low and slow. For melt-in-your-mouth tender meat, you want to cook them for the full 6 to 8 hours on low. That's why it's such a great recipe to prep ahead of time! Throw them in the crock pot before work and you'll have the best dinner when you're home.
- Sometimes, I like to shred the leftover meat and use the shredded pork as a filling for tacos or burritos!
Storage Tips
- Leftovers: Once the meat has cooled, store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge.
- Reheat: I like to reheat my leftovers in the air fryer, but you can reheat in the microwave or oven until warmed through.
- Freezer: You can freeze these crockpot country style pork ribs! Wait for them to cool and freeze in a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 3 months. Thaw before reheating.
Serving Suggestions
There are so many side dishes you can serve with these slow cooker country ribs! Here are a few of my favorites:
- Skillet Cornbread
- Copycat Panera Broccoli Cheddar Mac and Cheese
- Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
- Purple Cabbage Slaw
- Avocado Corn Salsa
- Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes
- Boursin Mashed Potatoes
- Cilantro Lime Rice
- Air Fryer Garlic Bread
Recipe
Slow Cooker Country Style Ribs Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 sweet onion, quartered
- 2 teaspoons ground mustard
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or more
- ¼ teaspoon pepper, or more
- 3 to 4 pounds country style ribs
- 2¼ cups BBQ Sauce, ¼ cup set aside
Instructions
- Lightly grease a crock pot with cooking spray and add the onions to cover the bottom of the pot.
- Pat dry the ribs with a paper towel.
- Combine the ground mustard, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, dark brown sugar, salt, and pepper and rub onto the ribs until fully coated.
- Place country style ribs in a slow cooker and pour 2 cups of the BBQ sauce over top of the meat to cover.
- Cook ribs for 6-8 hours on low.
- For crispy, caramelized ribs, once done cooking, transfer only the ribs only on a foil-lined sheet pan and brush with additional bbq sauce (the ¼ cup) and broil for 3-5 minutes or until they have crisped up to your liking, making sure not to let them burn.
Nutrition
More Recipes You May Like
- Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken
- Slow Cooker Chicken and Corn Soup
- Slow Cooker Carnitas
- Slow Cooker Chicken Drumsticks
More places to find me: @onepotonlyrecipes on Instagram and One Pot Only on Pinterest.
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