These slow cooker BBQ pork ribs are tender, saucy, and made with just three ingredients: pork ribs, bottled barbecue sauce, and regular cola. The foil packet keeps everything juicy while the slow cooker does the work, and you’re going to love how easy cleanup is.
Why You’ll Love It
- Just three ingredients — pork ribs, bottled barbecue sauce, and regular cola.
- Hands-off cooking — the slow cooker does the work while the ribs get tender.
- Juicy, saucy ribs — the foil packet traps steam and keeps the meat from sitting in a watery puddle.
- Easy cleanup — the foil packet keeps barbecue sauce contained.
- Flexible flavor — use sweet, smoky, spicy, or tangy barbecue sauce.
Ingredient Notes
Use baby back ribs or St. Louis-style ribs—either one is fine here. Baby backs are a little smaller and usually a bit leaner; St. Louis ribs are flatter and meatier. I buy whatever looks decent and isn’t priced like it has a college degree.
For barbecue sauce, pick one you actually enjoy straight from the bottle. Since there are only three ingredients, there is nowhere for a weird sauce to hide. I tend to reach for a smoky-sweet sauce, usually Sweet Baby Ray’s if I’m telling the truth.
The cola needs to be regular cola, not diet. The sugar helps give the sauce that sticky, dark glaze. I use Coca-Cola most often because that’s what is usually rolling around in the back of the fridge. Pepsi works too. This is not the hill I’m dying on.
Heavy-duty foil is worth having for this recipe. Regular foil can work if you overlap two sheets well, but a leaky packet is a nuisance, and I’ve had enough nuisances in my life without adding barbecue juice to the list.
Ingredients
- 3 to 4 pounds pork ribs, either baby back or St. Louis-style, cut into 2- to 3-rib sections if they need help fitting
- 1 1/2 cups bottled barbecue sauce, any kind your family likes
- 1 cup regular cola, not diet—save the diet soda for drinking, if that’s your thing
- Heavy-duty aluminum foil, for making the packet; not technically one of the three ingredients, but obviously we need it
Instructions
- Line the bottom of your slow cooker with one large sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil, leaving plenty hanging over the sides so you can pull it up and seal everything later. If your foil isn’t wide enough, overlap two sheets generously. Do not skimp on this part—I once had sauce escape into the slow cooker and spent a perfectly good Tuesday scraping caramelized goo out of the crock.
- Pat the ribs dry with paper towels. If there is a thick silvery membrane on the back of the ribs, you can loosen one corner with a knife and pull it off using a paper towel for grip. It helps make the ribs even more tender, but I’m not going to pretend I do it every time. Sometimes that membrane comes off like a dream; sometimes it acts like it pays rent there.
- Lay the ribs in the foil-lined slow cooker with the meaty side facing up. Cut them into smaller 2- or 3-rib sections if needed so they fit snugly. A little stacking is fine, especially if you have one of those oval slow cookers that somehow seems both too big and too small for every recipe.
- Whisk the barbecue sauce and cola together in a bowl or large measuring cup until smooth. It will look a little thin at first, and that is exactly right. The cola sweetens the sauce and loosens it enough to flow around the ribs while they cook.
- Pour the sauce mixture evenly over the ribs, making sure the exposed meat gets coated. I use a spoon to drag some sauce over the top pieces, because apparently I enjoy creating one extra dish for myself. Make sure there is sauce down between the pieces too.
- Bring the foil up over the ribs and fold and crimp the edges together tightly to make a sealed packet. You want to keep the steam and juices inside—that’s how these ribs get so soft and glossy. Put the slow cooker lid on top, even if the foil packet looks a little bulky. Mine usually does.
- Cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours, or on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours, until the ribs are very tender and the meat starts pulling away from the bones when you nudge it with a fork. I strongly prefer LOW when I can manage it, but HIGH has rescued many a day when I forgot what I was making until lunchtime. No judgment here.
- Carefully open the foil packet with oven mitts, peeling it back away from your face because that steam is no joke. The ribs will be fragile, so lift them gently if you are moving them. Spoon some of the thickened sauce from the packet right over the top—this is the part where they start looking like you knew what you were doing all along.
- If you want a more caramelized, backyard-barbecue sort of finish, transfer the ribs and a little sauce to a foil-lined baking sheet and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, just until the sauce bubbles and the edges darken a little. Watch them closely. Broilers go from “beautiful” to “well, that’s unfortunate” in roughly thirty seconds.
- Serve the ribs hot with extra sauce spooned over them. We like creamy coleslaw, baked beans, buttered corn, and warm rolls alongside. Soft white bread is good too, especially for swiping up the sauce nobody wants to admit they’re licking off the plate.
Variations
For a spicier version, use a spicier barbecue sauce and stir in a spoonful of hot sauce before pouring it over the ribs. The cola keeps the heat from being “mean,” which is a funny way to put it, but it’s right. You can also add 1 to 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes if your people like a little bite.
For a smokier version, use a hickory or mesquite-style barbecue sauce, or add 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke to the sauce and cola mixture. Go easy with the liquid smoke, though. I got overly confident with it once, and the whole kitchen smelled like a campground after a rainstorm. Not bad exactly. Just… intense.
Root beer or Dr Pepper can stand in for the cola if that’s what you have. Both make a slightly different sweet glaze. Country-style pork ribs work as well, though they are meatier and may have larger pockets of fat to trim. I tried this with a very lean rack once because it was on sale, and it was fine, but not nearly as luscious. Sometimes the cheaper choice has a way of reminding you why it was cheaper. Ain’t that the truth.
Storage & Reheating
Leftover ribs keep in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, with plenty of their sauce spooned over them so they don’t dry out. Pulling the meat off the bones before storing makes life easier later, especially if you’re planning sandwiches.
To reheat, warm the ribs gently in a covered skillet or baking dish with their sauce until hot. The microwave works too—of course it does—but use medium power if you can, unless you enjoy barbecue sauce splattered across the inside of your microwave like modern art.
The leftover meat is wonderful piled onto toasted buns with pickles and sliced onion. I’ve also stirred shredded rib meat into baked beans for an easy second dinner.
Final Notes
There are recipes you make because they’re impressive, and recipes you make because they make the house feel occupied in a good way. These ribs are the second kind. They quietly perfume the kitchen all day, and every now and then somebody wanders through and lifts the lid even though they know perfectly well they aren’t done.
Anyway—make the ribs. Put out some napkins. More than you think you need. And maybe don’t wear a white shirt to dinner, unless you’re feeling unusually optimistic.
Slow Cooker 3-Ingredient BBQ Pork Ribs
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Ingredients
- 3 to 4 pounds pork ribs Baby back or St. Louis-style ribs; cut into 2- to 3-rib sections if needed
- 1 1/2 cups bottled barbecue sauce Any kind your family likes
- 1 cup regular cola Not diet
- heavy-duty aluminum foil For making the packet
Instructions
- Line the bottom of your slow cooker with one large sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil, leaving plenty hanging over the sides so you can pull it up and seal everything later; overlap two sheets generously if needed.
- Pat the ribs dry with paper towels and remove the thick silvery membrane from the back if desired.
- Lay the ribs in the foil-lined slow cooker with the meaty side facing up, cutting them into smaller 2- or 3-rib sections if needed so they fit snugly.
- Whisk the barbecue sauce and cola together in a bowl or large measuring cup until smooth.
- Pour the sauce mixture evenly over the ribs, making sure the exposed meat is coated and sauce flows between the pieces.
- Bring the foil up over the ribs and fold and crimp the edges together tightly to make a sealed packet, then put the slow cooker lid on top.
- Cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours, or on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours, until the ribs are very tender and the meat starts pulling away from the bones when nudged with a fork.
- Carefully open the foil packet with oven mitts, peeling it back away from your face, and lift the fragile ribs gently if moving them.
- For a more caramelized finish, transfer the ribs and a little sauce to a foil-lined baking sheet and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, watching closely, until the sauce bubbles and the edges darken slightly.
- Spoon some of the thickened sauce over the ribs and serve hot with extra sauce.
