A Simple Recipe for Crockpot Barbecue Ribs!
Hey friends! In this post I’m sharing my Crockpot Barbecue Ribs recipe. Now I know what you’re thinking…” Ribs in the Crockpot?!”…Yes hunny – I’m taking it there!
It all started years ago when I lived in an apartment and had no room to grill. Not that it mattered because I had zero knowledge of grilling anyhow! I refused to let anyone know that I couldn’t grill. I simply faked it by using my slow cooker and a few ingredients that give a misleading grilled taste.
One of the ingredients I use for my Crockpot barbecue ribs is root beer. I know it sounds funny, but just trust me on this! The root beer is not going to make the ribs taste like “soda”. It’s going to add that nice sweet brown sugar taste, and it also adds a little color to the ribs. My second secret ingredient is liquid smoke. It’s a must!! This ingredient is going to give the ribs the smoked flavor that the grill would have. I personally love hickory liquid smoke, but you can use a different flavor if you choose.
Here are a few tips :
- If you need to buy liquid smoke, it can be found in the seasoning aisle at any big chain store (Walmart, Target, Safeway, etc).
- If you’re not a fan of root beer, you can substitute it with Dr. Pepper.
- You can jazz this recipe up by adding onion, garlic, etc, if you choose.
- Use a smokey flavored barbecue sauce.
- You can use any slow cooker, such as a Hamilton Beach, etc.
- You can use beef or pork ribs.
Watch my Crockpot Barbecue Ribs video for visual instructions! Let’s get to cooking!
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Crockpot Barbecue Ribs
Ingredients
- 5 lbs pork or beef ribs
- 2 tbsp of your favorite barbecue seasoning or seasoning salt
- 1 liter of root beer soda
- 3 cups water
- 2 tbsp liquid smoke hickory
- 1- 1 1/2 cup barbecue sauce
Instructions
- Remove the membrane from the ribs, and cut off any excess fat.
- Season each side of the ribs with the barbecue seasoning or seasoning salt.
- Roll the ribs up, jelly roll style, then place them into your slow cooker.
- Pour in the root beer, then the water, then pour in the liquid smoke.
- Set the slow cooker on high for 4 hours.
- After four hours, carefully remove the ribs from the slow cooker.
- Place the ribs on a foil lined cookie sheet.
- Brush the ribs with barbecue sauce, then place in the oven UNCOVERED on broil.
- Broil each side twice for three minutes, or until you reached the desired the appearance for your ribs.
- Enjoy!
now rosie ive been subscribed to you for years on youtube and didn’t know about this website lol ( ive got it bookmarked now!) girl imma have to go buy me a crockpot because im FIENIN for bbq now i have a small outside grill but im in my girly girl phase so im NOT goin out to grill this is the answer for now (til i get a guy friend to come fire it up for me) Thank You Rosie!
Hello There! Don’t feel bad, a lot of people are saying the same thing. I guess they assumed, I was only on YouTube, LOL. I’m glad you came by! XOXO
Hi Rosie, I’m going to try this recipe this weekend. The recipe calls for 1 liter of root beer. Do I pour the whole liter in the crock pot at one time with the water OR do I pour a little with the water and add the rest as the ribs cook? I couldn’t tell how much root beer you used in your video.
Love you website and your recipes, keep them coming.
Trish
Rosie this recipe is the best I cook it every Sunday its great in between church services thank you for all the recipes
Thank YOU for giving the recipe a try! XOXO
Hi Rosie, just dropping some Louisiana luv… Love the way these ribs come out… The rootbeer twist adds a nice flavor… Just put some in the crockpot while I’m typing this (3rd time making and good every time), better than the pit… Keep doing your thing, ready to try more of your recipes….
Hi Duane! I’m glad that you like the recipe!
Do you broil on high or low?
What kind of stove are you using?
Thank you for this recipe. Made them 2 nights ago and they were the best ribs I’ve ever made and I have struggled with making good ribs. This recipe is a keeper.
Awesome Shelly! I’m glad that you liked my recipe!
Thank you Rosie! I knew you’d have just the recipe I needed. I got some pork ribs on sale and I surely didn’t want to bake them and standing over the grill in this heat didn’t sound too great either. So the crock pot it is! I’m making this tomorrow 🙂
Awesome! Enjoy!
This recipe is fantastic and so simple. The ribs were the best ever. My sister rarely comments on food, but cannot stop talking about them. I plan to make them again very soon. Thanks so much for sharing.
Thank you for trying my recipe Pat! XOXO
I’ve made these twice now. I’ve used Sprite and Coca Cola. So happy with how great they turned out. Hubby was shocked at how tasty and tender they were. Thanks for making me the Queen rib cooker in the house.
Rosie,
Love, love, love. This is my go to recipe whenever we want ribs. They are fantastic and yes, the recipe is so very easy. I reduce my cook time since my quantity is less than called for in the recipe. Otherwise, the meat is literally floating in the crock pot. We no longer buy our ribs from the restaurant.
Thanks much. Keep the recipes coming.
Another one of my favorites definitely like them better then grilled ribs