Make the best, most fall-apart tender Instant Pot Ribs with this easy fail-proof recipe! You only need a rack of ribs, apple juice, bbq sauce and my simple, flavorful dry rub for ribs to make delicious, fall-off-the-bone, baby back ribs at home!
If the silver skin, or membrane, has not been removed from the ribs, use a small, sharp knife to loosen it at the corner, then use a paper towel to pull it off of the ribs and discard it.
Rub the ribs with the dry rub. You’ll want a light coating underneath the ribs and a thick coating on top of the ribs, on the meaty side.
Pour apple juice in the bottom of an Instant Pot.
Place the seasoned ribs standing up on the Instant Pot trivet in a circular motion, with the meat side facing the sides of the Instant Pot.
Secure the lid on the Instant Pot and set the pressure release valve on top to the “sealing” position. Use the manual button to cook the ribs on HIGH For 30 minutes.
Allow the pressure to naturally release for 15 minutes. Release any remaining pressure, then remove the lid.
Use tongs to remove the ribs from the Instant Pot and place them, meat side up, on a large foil-lined baking sheet.
Preheat the oven broiler to high.
Brush the top, meat-side, of the ribs with the bbq sauce, then place them in the middle rack of the oven under the broiler for 2-3 minutes to caramelize the sauce.
Remove from the oven, rest for 5-10 minutes, then slice between the ribs and serve.
Notes
If you don’t have the trivet that came with the Instant Pot, or you have another pressure cooker, roll up a large piece of foil, then pull the two ends together to form a ring shape. Place it in the bottom of the Instant Pot and arrange the ribs on top of that. You just want to prevent the ribs from sitting in the liquid in the bottom of the Instant Pot.
If your ribs are extra meaty, add 5 minutes to the cooking time.
If your ribs are on the smaller, thinner side, you can remove 5 minutes from the cooking time.
To add a smoky flavor to the ribs, add 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke in the Instant Pot with the apple juice.
You don’t have to broil the ribs when they come out of the Instant Pot. They will be fully cooked, but broiling them with bbq sauce does add a wonderful sticky sweet caramelization on the outside.
You can also finish the ribs on the grill. Instead of using the broiler, place the ribs, meat-side-up, with the bbq sauce on the meat, on the grill grates and grill at medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes.
To cook frozen ribs in the Instant Pot, you’ll need to complete a couple of steps before you freeze the ribs. You will need to cut the ribs into 2-3 sections, so they’ll fit in the Instant Pot. When frozen, the ribs won’t bend around the circular pot, like they will when they’re not frozen. You’ll also need to season the ribs before freezing them. The dry rub will not stick to frozen ribs. If you already have frozen ribs in the freezer that you want to use for this recipe and they’re not cut into sections or seasoned, I recommend defrosting them first. You can defrost them in the fridge for 24 hours, or quickly in the microwave using the defrost setting.
Store cooked Instant Pot Ribs in the refrigerator, in an airtight container, for up to 5 days.
To reheat the ribs, I recommend wrapping them in aluminum foil and placing them in the oven at 350°F for 10 minutes, or until warmed throughout.