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Grab some napkins and make these super easy, super delicious Slow Cooker Honey-Garlic Baby Back Ribs!
Today I’m so pleased to share this delicious Slow Cooker Honey-Garlic Baby Back Ribs recipe from the new cookbook, Real Food Slow Cooker Suppers.
This fantastic new cookbook is written by my friend and fellow food blogger, Samantha Skaggs from Five Heart Home. You’ll find the recipe for these amazing Slow Cooker Honey-Garlic Baby Back Ribs in Real Food Slow Cooker Suppers, plus 80 other recipes for hearty and healthy slow cooker meals made entirely from real, fresh, unprocessed ingredients.
Like me, you’ll be sure to drool over every recipe in the book including:
- Dinnertime Classics such as Swedish Meatballs and Teriyaki Chicken Breasts
- Comforting Main Dishes including Bacon-Wrapped Peach Jalapeño Pork Loin
- Soups, Stews, Chilis & Chowders such as King Ranch Chicken Soup, Beefy Three-Bean Chili, and Chicken & Dumplings
- Sandwiches, Tacos, & Wraps, Holiday Helpers, and a bonus chapter on Homemade Seasonings & Stocks
Click here to watch Samantha’s appearance on In the Kitchen With David on QVC!
Your family is sure to love the recipes in the Real Food Slow Cooker Suppers. The family-friendly main dish recipes are influenced by a variety of cuisines – some are easy weeknight dinners and some are fancy enough for those nights when you have dinner guests!
After coating the ribs in a flavorful spice rib (using spices you probably already have in your cabinet), the slow cooker does all of the work so you can go about your day. Once the ribs are tender, brush on some of Samantha’s honey-garlic sauce, then caramelize the ribs under the broiler (or on the grill) for just a few minutes. Serve with more of that luscious honey-garlic sauce!
These Slow Cooker Honey-Garlic Baby Back Ribs couldn’t be any easier to make – or any more delicious! The recipe for these ribs is below.
You can order your own copy of Real Food Slow Cooker Suppers on Amazon or anywhere else books are sold.
We love seeing what you made! Tag us on Instagram at @afamilyfeast or hashtag #afamilyfeast so we can see your creations!
Slow Cooker Honey-Garlic Baby Back Ribs
Recipe reprinted with permission from Page Street Publishing Co.
Ingredients
- 2 (2 1/2 – to 3-lb) racks pork baby back ribs (5 to 6 lb total)
Rib Rub
- 3 tablespoons paprika
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon mustard powder
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Sauce
- 1 1/2 cups honey
- 3/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 3/4 cup all-natural ketchup
- 10 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Optional
- Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
Instructions
- Cut each rack of ribs in half. In a small bowl, prepare the spice rub by combining the paprika, smoked paprika, garlic powder, mustard powder, ginger, salt, allspice and cayenne pepper until well blended. Rub the spice mixture all over both sides of each rack of ribs, coating them evenly.
- Stand the ribs along the walls of a large oval (or round) slow cooker (with wide ends down and meaty sides facing the exterior). Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, until the ribs are tender. (You can tell the ribs are done when the meat starts to separate as you bend the ribs.)
- While the ribs are cooking, prepare the sauce by combining the honey, soy sauce, ketchup, garlic and crushed red pepper flakes in a large saucepan. Over medium-high heat, bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes or until the sauce has thickened and reduced by about a third.
- Position an oven rack 8 inches below the heating element and preheat the broiler. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Use tongs and a metal spatula to transfer the ribs to the prepared baking sheet, meaty-side down. Spoon or brush the sauce over the ribs and broil them for 4 minutes. Carefully turn the ribs over, generously brush them with additional sauce and continue to broil for about 8 minutes, or until the ribs are browned and the sauce is caramelized, brushing with sauce once more about halfway through the cooking time.
- (Our notes: Although not included in the original recipe, we noticed that Samantha’s photo in the cookbook included some sesame seeds sprinkled over the top of the cooked and glazed ribs. We loved this idea and included sesame seeds in the ingredients list above. Once the ribs come out of the oven, sprinkle sesame seeds on top.)
- Tent the ribs with foil and allow them to rest for 10 minutes before transferring them to a cutting board and slicing. Serve the ribs with leftover sauce.
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White Barbecue Sauce Pork Ribs
I made these tonight omg. They were amazing thank you for such a fantastic recipe! I will definitely make them again😍
So glad you enjoyed the recipe Cathy!
We LOVE these ribs! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe! We often make these camping, makes us feel super glam 🙂
So glad you are enjoying the recipe Renee! 🙂
My ribs are already precut ( so ever robin is individual) would this still work ? Does the slow cooker by need any liquid to keep the ribs moist ?
Hi Heather – I think it would still work and I’m guessing that the individual ribs will cook a lot faster than if they were still all attached as a rack. No liquid necessary!
This is the best rib recipe ever. Its my go to recipe. Everyone loves it.
Thanks Penny – so glad the recipe is a hit!
I made these tonight and they were amazing. The honey garlic sauce was so good and the ribs were tender and tasty. This recipe is a keeper. Thank you.
You’re very welcome Lorraine! Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Hello! Did you broil on high or low?
Fantastic!!!
Hi Elizabeth – You can do either – we broiled on high a rack down from the top to avoid over caramelizing (aka burning) he ribs.
This is one if the easiest rib recipes I have ever found; the end result beats or equals the restaurant prepared ribs I have had in the past.
If you don’t have access to an oven/salamander/broiler, remove the ribs from the slow cooker, dip them in the sauce to coat, and serve hot.
I added sesame oil to the sauce instead of topping with sesame seeds; this added a subtle and pleasant enhancement to the flavour.
Great ideas Mira! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Do you think 10 hrs would be too long? If I turn on before I leave for work it would be ten hrs before I get home
Hi Janine – If you are doing the full 6 pounds of ribs and your slow cooker can be set to turn to ‘warm’ rather than continuing to cook for the full 10 hours, you might be ok. I’m guessing the meat will be so tender at that point it will fall off the bones as you lift it out, but you could still drizzle the sauce on top and broil it a bit to caramelize. Good luck!
These look beautiful! What could I use instead of smoked paprika?
Thanks Renee – Are you hoping to avoid a smoked flavor? If so – then regular paprika. Do you still want a smokey flavor? If so – a few drops of liquid smoke could be added. Hope that helps?!
I don’t do pork. Would beef ribs work? Also, how necessary is the allspice? I don’t want to buy it just for this recipe.
Hi – We’ve only made this recipe with the pork ribs, but I’m guessing that the beef ribs will work too (the cook time might vary). You can modify the seasonings however you’d like to suit your tastes.