These Instant Pot St. Louis ribs are melt-in-your-mouth delicious with bold flavor, finger-licking good, and from the comfort of your own kitchen using your Instant Pot!
With an Instant Pot, some seasoning, and fresh pork ribs, you can make these barbecue ribs in under an hour, and with plenty of flavor to spare.
Why You'll Love This BBQ Ribs Recipe
BBQ ribs cooked in the Instant Pot take less than one hour to make, yet packs amazing flavor into every bite.
With simple ingredients and prep and go, these fall-off-the-bone ribs are sure to be a hit with everyone at the dinner table.
And best of all, almost all of the cooking is done in one pot - leaving you more time for other activities instead of slaving away over a stove-top or grill!
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Instant Pot Ribs Ingredients
Keep reading to learn more about how easy it is to whip up these homemade ribs in the Instant Pot. I've also included a note for baking these ribs in the oven, in case you don't have an Instant Pot.
For The Instant Pot Ribs
- Rack of ribs - about 3.5 to 4 lbs. Alternatively you can also use baby back ribs as well.
- Water - processing liquid for the Instant Pot.
- Apple Cider Vinegar - processing liquid for the Instant Pot.
For The Dry Rub
- Salt
- Black pepper - use regular fine ground or a coarser grind.
- Cumin - ground.
- Paprika - look for a sweet domestic paprika, as Hungarian paprika, even those labeled 'sweet' have quite a heat kick.
- Thyme -dried leaves, cut or crushed fine.
- Dry mustard - ground mustard like Coleman's.
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions for these ribs are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How To Make Instant Pot Ribs
Our easy, step-by-step guide will take the mystery out of creating this traditional barbecue rub for ribs, so that anyone from novice home cooks to seasoned pit-masters can make these tender and flavorful ribs in no time at all.
Prepare The Dry Rib Rub
- First combine all the spices into a small bowl to prepare the dry rub for the ribs.
- Coat the ribs generously and evenly with the dry rub.
Instant Pot Ribs Instructions
- Pour the water and apple cider vinegar in the Instant Pot for processing liquids. Next, place the trivet in the bottom of the Instant Pot.
- Place the pork ribs into the Instant Pot, curling them so that they wrap around the interior.
- Lock the lid on the Instant Pot, setting to 'SEAL". Hit the manual setting and set to "HI", with time set to 18 minutes.
- After the 18 minute cooking time is over, allow to Naturally Release for 10 minutes, then carefully manually release the remaining pressure and remove lid.
- OVEN BAKED INSTRUCTIONS: Place your barbecue seasoned ribs on an aluminum foil lined rimmed baking sheet. Cover the entire baking sheet and ribs with aluminum foil, sealing tightly around the edges of the baking sheet. Bake at 350 F for 3 ½ to 4 hours. Remove and finish with the same finishing instructions as the Instant Pot method.
Finish With Barbecue Sauce
You can also use our Kentucky Bourbon BBQ Sauce recipe for a real kick of barrel aged maple bourbon flavor!
- Turn your oven on to the 'high' broil setting and line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- Transfer the ribs from the Instant Pot to the aluminum lined baking sheet. Coat the ribs with the barbecue sauce.
- Place ribs under the broiler to 6 to 7 minutes, turning half way, and let the barbecue sauce on the ribs caramelize crispy on the edges.
- Remove from oven. You can add another coating of barbecue sauce if you want, and then cut into portions or serve whole on a platter. Enjoy these ribs by themselves, with fries, or with any favorite side.
Tips for Success
- Coat the raw rack of ribs generously and evenly with the dry rib rub, or other dry spice rub blend before cooking.
- Don't overcook the ribs when caramelizing the barbecue sauce finish!
Substitutions and Variations
You can use pork Baby Back ribs instead of the St. Louis ribs. Consider the spice blends below for more flavor options:
- Carolina Mustard Ribs - Rub the raw rack of ribs with a dry mustard, salt and pepper, and garlic powder mixture (1 equal part each). Cook and finish the ribs with a South Carolina Golden Mustard BBQ sauce.
- Traeger Ribs - After seasoning with the dry rub, smoke these ribs for 3 hours on your Traeger grill!
- Alabama White Sauce Ribs - Season the raw rack of ribs with a spice blend of equal parts salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and lemon pepper. Cook and finish your ribs with our Alabama white BBQ sauce.
Serving Suggestions
For classic barbecue ribs, serve these beauties with tangy coleslaw and crisp pickles. Add a side of smoky baked beans or creamy mac and cheese for ultimate comfort.
And no barbecue is complete without dessert. Apple pie with cinnamon ice cream or a tangy lemon cake offer the perfect sweet ending to your rib-roasting revelry.
No matter your style, let your Instant Pot BBQ ribs shine – and don't forget the napkins!
Serve these tender, fall-off-the-bone, finger licking ribs with some great salads or sides:
- Red Hot and Blue Potato Salad
- Cilantro Lime Coleslaw
- Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms
- Bob Evan's Mashed Potatoes
- Watermelon Fruit Salad
Storage Options
- Cover and refrigerate any left over ribs.
- You can also wrap the ribs in aluminum foil and freeze.
- To reheat, the aluminum foil wrapped ribs in at 200 F. oven for about 40 to 50 minutes.
Related Recipes
- Country Style Boneless Pork Ribs
- Air Fryer Pork Chops (No Breading)
- Instant Pot Chili No Beans
- Rustic Italian Instant Pot Tortellini Soup
- The Best Chili Seasoning Mix
Equipment
Equipment can have a big impact on how a recipe turns out. Below are some of my favorite pieces of equipment that I use when making this recipe for delicious, tender ribs.
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Frequently Asked Questions
St Louis ribs are flatter and straighter, whereas the baby back ribs are curved and shorter. Because they're flatter and easier to brown and get just right on the grill, they can cook more evenly, which is excellent.
From the 1930s through the 1960s, smaller meat packers in St. Louis created a new, more rectangular cut for pork spare ribs that included more meat and removed cartilage from the side of the ribs. They called them the St. Louis–style ribs cut.
To make Ribs in the oven: Place your seasoned ribs on an aluminum foil lined rimmed baking sheet. Cover the entire baking sheet and ribs with aluminum foil, sealing tightly around the edges of the baking sheet. Bake at 350 F for 3 ½ to 4 hours. Remove and finish with the same finishing instructions as the Instant Pot method.
More Delish Ideas
Instant Pot St. Louis Ribs
Equipment
Ingredients
St. Louis Rib Rub
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon thyme dry crushed leaves
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon mustard dry mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
St. Louis Ribs
- 3½ lb pork ribs St. Louis cut, or baby back cut
- ½ cup water for processing in Instant Pot
- ½ cup cider vinegar for processing with the water in Instant Pot
For Finishing
- ½ cup barbecue sauce any
Instructions
St. Louis Rib Rub
- First combine all the spices into a small bowl to prepare the dry St. Louis Rib Rub.1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, ½ teaspoon thyme, 1 teaspoon cumin, ½ teaspoon mustard, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder
St. Louis Ribs
- Coat the ribs generously and evenly with the St. Louis Rib Rub.3½ lb pork ribs
- Pour the water and apple cider vinegar in the Instant Pot for processing liquids. Next, place the trivet in the bottom of the Instant Pot.½ cup water, ½ cup cider vinegar
- Place the pork ribs into the Instant Pot, curling them so that they wrap around the interior.
- Lock the lid on the Instant Pot, setting to 'SEAL". Hit the manual setting and set to "HI", with time set to 18 minutes.
- After the 18 minute cooking time is over, allow to Naturally Release for 10 minutes, then carefully manually release the remaining pressure.
- Turn your oven on to the 'high' broil setting and line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- Transfer the ribs from the Instant Pot to the aluminum lined baking sheet. Coat the ribs with the barbecue sauce. Place rib under the broiler to 6 to 7 minutes, turning half way, to allow the barbecue sauce to caramelize and get crispy on the edges.½ cup barbecue sauce
- Remove from oven. You can add another coating of barbecue sauce if you want, and then cut into portions or serve whole on a platter. Enjoy!
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