Close-up of sliced slow cooker baby back ribs on a white plate, glistening with BBQ sauce, with a slow cooker blurred in the background.

These delicious Slow Cooker Baby Back Ribs are rubbed with spices, slow-cooked, and finished under the broiler for sticky, caramelized BBQ perfection—no grill or smoker needed.

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Prep Time10

Cook Time5 3

Total Time5 13

Servings

Table of Contents

Ingredients Overview For Crockpot Baby Back Ribs
How to Cook Ribs in A Slow Cooker
What to Serve with BBQ Ribs
Make-Ahead Tips
More Recipes For Ribs
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Here’s your new secret weapon for stress-free dinners: melt-in-your-mouth Slow Cooker Baby Back Ribs. They’re the kind of ribs that taste like they’ve been smoked for hours — except the slow cooker does all the work. Rubbed with spices, cooked low and slow, and then broiled until the BBQ sauce is caramelized and sticky. No grill, no smoker, no sweat. Just fall-apart, easy ribs that are pure magic on a plate.

Close-up of tender, juicy slow cooker BBQ baby back ribs stacked on a white plate, glistening with caramelized barbecue sauce. A slow cooker is blurred in the background, and bold text over the image reads “Slow Cooker BBQ Baby Back Ribs” with a star graphic.

🔥 #1 Tip For Making Baby Back Ribs – Instead of laying the rack flat, curl the ribs into a circle with the meaty side facing outward and stand them up along the sides of the slow cooker.🔥

Ingredients Overview For Crockpot Baby Back Ribs

Overhead image of ingredients for slow cooker BBQ baby back ribs on a marble surface. A rack of raw baby back ribs lies on parchment paper. Surrounding it are labeled bowls with 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 3 teaspoons kosher salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, ½ teaspoon cumin, 2 teaspoons paprika, and 2 ½ cups BBQ sauce.

Ingredients Needed

3 to 3.5 lbs pork baby back ribs
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
3 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
½ teaspoon cumin
2 ½ cups BBQ sauce

Homemade BBQ Sauce

You can absolutely stick with your go-to store-bought BBQ sauce — no shame in that game. But if you’re in the mood to level things up, these homemade sauces bring serious flavor.

Carolina Mustard BBQ Sauce – A tangy, vinegar-and-mustard-based sauce with a kick of spice. 👉 Get the recipe

Fireball BBQ Sauce – Sweet, smoky, and spiked with Fireball whisky for a bold flavor. 👉 Get the recipe

Perfect Pork Ribs For This Recipe

Baby back ribs are perfect for slow cooking — they’re leaner and more tender than spare ribs, and they cook evenly in a slow cooker.

Prepping the Meat

Before adding any seasoning, start by removing the opaque membrane from the underside of the ribs. This thin layer is tough and chewy, and removing it significantly improves both the texture and flavor.

To do this, use a small sharp knife to lift a corner of the membrane. Carefully slide the knife underneath to loosen it, then grip it with your fingers (or a paper towel for better grip) and peel it away in one piece if possible.

For food safety, it’s a good idea to wear disposable gloves when handling raw meat.

How to Cook Ribs in A Slow Cooker

baby back ribs being seasoned, placed into a slow cooker with bbq sauce, cooked, and then placed on a aluminum foil lined tray

Spread rib rub on the top and bottom of a rack of ribs
Place the sauced ribs in the crockpot, then sauce the bottom side. Pour more sauce over the top.
Slow cook the ribs for five hours, then prepare to place under them under the broiler.
Base with the remaining sauce, then broil until bubbly and caramelized.

What to Serve with BBQ Ribs

These slow cooker baby back ribs are the star of the show, but no BBQ plate is complete without a few crave-worthy sides. Here are some of our favorite easy recipes that bring the full cookout vibe — no grill required:

🫘 Classic Baked Beans – These baked beans are rich, sweet, and savory, making them the perfect complement to BBQ ribs.👉 Get the recipe

Bonus – If you serve your ribs with baked beans, the slow cooker drippings can be added to the beans for extra flavor.

🌽 Grilled Corn on the Cob – Sweet and smoky, this grilled corn on the cob is a simple side that pairs wonderfully with any BBQ dish. 👉 Get the recipe

🥔 Green Beans and Potatoes – Tender potatoes and fresh green beans simmered with smoky bacon — rustic, hearty, and full of flavor.👉 Get the recipe

🌽 Corn Casserole– Sweet and fluffy with just the right amount of crunch around the edges — the kind of dish that disappears fast. 👉 Get the recipe

🥗 Pasta Salad – Classic and creamy, with crunchy veggies and just the right tang. A cold, refreshing contrast to saucy ribs. 👉 Get the recipe

Plate of slow cooker BBQ baby back ribs served with baked beans in a white ramekin and a cob of corn, on a white marble surface. The ribs are coated in a glossy barbecue sauce and appear tender and juicy. A slow cooker and additional plate of ribs are visible in the background.

Make-Ahead Tips

These ribs are slow-cooked perfection — and luckily, they’re super make-ahead friendly.

✅ Slow cook the ribs as directed, then let them cool slightly. Store them (with juices!) in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.

✅ When you’re ready to serve, brush the ribs with BBQ sauce and broil for approximately three minutes until heated through and caramelized on top. This brings back that sticky, fresh-off-the-grill feel.

✅ To reheat, place ribs in a baking dish, cover with foil, and bake at 300°F for 20–25 minutes, or until warmed through. You can also brush on more BBQ sauce before reheating to keep them moist and flavorful.

🥪 Repurpose Into Something New

Shred the leftover rib meat and turn it into something new — pile it onto soft buns for BBQ pulled rib sandwiches, tuck it into warm tortillas with crunchy slaw for tacos, load it over baked potatoes with cheese and sour cream, or scatter it on flatbreads or pizza for a smoky, saucy twist.

Close-up of juicy, fall-apart BBQ baby back ribs coated in thick sauce, served on a white plate fresh from the slow cooker.

And there you have it — fall-off-the-bone, sticky, saucy ribs made right in your slow cooker. No grill, no fuss, just ridiculously tender meat and big BBQ flavor that’ll have everyone licking their fingers clean.

Serve it up with a couple of easy sides, pour yourself something cold, and enjoy the kind of dinner that feels like a cheat code. This one’s a keeper.

More Recipes For Ribs

Slow Cooker BBQ Baby Back Ribs

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These delicious Slow Cooker Baby Back Ribs are rubbed with spices, slow-cooked, and finished under the broiler for sticky, caramelized BBQ perfection—no grill or smoker needed.

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 5 3

Total Time 5 13

Servings

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Equipment

6 to 7 quart slow cooker

Ingredients

3 to 3 ½ lbs pork baby back ribs (my rack of ribs was 3.25 lbs)

BBQ Rub

2 tablespoons light brown sugar
3 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
½ teaspoon cumin

BBQ Sauce

2 ½ cups BBQ sauce, your favorite brand (Divide 2 cups and ½ cup)

Instructions

Before coating the ribs in the BBQ rub, you will need to carefully remove the opaque membrane that covers the underside of the ribs with a small sharp kitchen knife. Removing this tough chewy membrane helps improve not only the texture of your ribs, but also the flavor. Lift the corner edge of the membrane and carefully slide the knife’s edge underneath. Continue lifting the membrane up while cutting. Once you have this process started, you should be able to use your fingers to pull the membrane away. (I also recommend wearing disposable gloves while handling any raw meat as a general safety precaution)
In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, kosher salt, paprika, onion powder, pepper and cumin and stir to combine.
Spread ⅔ of the rub over the meaty side of the ribs, and then spread the remaining ⅓ over the underside where the membrane was removed.
Spray a 6 to 7 quart slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.
Use either a spoon, or a basting brush to spread 1 cup of the BBQ sauce over the meaty side of the ribs.
Place the coated meaty side of the ribs against the sides of the slow cooker.
Next spread ½ cup of the BBQ sauce on the inside of the ribs.
Pour ½ cup of the sauce over the top ridge of ribs. (This will leave ½ cup for coating before you place the finished ribs under the broiler)
Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low for 5 hours.
Just before the 5 hours on the slow cooker are up, preheat the oven to broil. Line a baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil, and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
Using tongs and/or a large spatula, transfer the ribs from the slow cooker to the prepared baking sheet. (The ribs will be very tender, and you may have to transfer in sections)
Baste with the remaining BBQ sauce and broil for about 2 to 3 minutes until the sauce is bubbling and caramelized. Monitor closely since broilers can vary greatly in intensity and could burn the sauce quickly. Serve while hot.

Notes

If you prefer, you can use the slow cooker drippings in place of the ½ cup of BBQ sauce when placing the ribs under the broiler.
You can skip the broiling step and just serve immediately after the slow cooker time.
It is important to remove the thin membrane that covers the underside of the ribs. If not removed, the ribs texture will go from a tender, melt in your mouth rib, to a tough to chew rib. It’s well worth the effort.
You can line your slow cooker with a liner instead of spraying with nonstick cooking spray. This will make a quick job of cleaning up.
If you serve your ribs with baked beans, the slow cooker drippings can be added to the beans for extra flavor.

Nutrition

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This recipe was developed, tested, cooked and photographed by the Spaceships Kitchen. From our dinner table to yours, we hope you think it's out of this world!

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Slow Cooker Baby Back Ribs