A super easy Instant Pot pork ribs recipe that produces juicy tender pork with a sticky glossy glaze just like real-deal barbeque pork. It takes merely 10 minutes to set it up, and your dinner will be done in 30 minutes. An Asian style dry rub and BBQ sauce are included, but you can use your own favorite seasonings in this recipe as well. {Gluten-Free}
You might not believe it, but yes you can make perfect pork ribs in an Instant Pot!
I love my Instant Pot. It prepares amazing dishes in about half the time of an ordinary appliance. For example, I’ve made some of the best curry beef stew using shockingly easy preparations. It makes fall-apart meat with little time and effort, like the Asian-Style Instant Pot Pulled Pork, Chinese Oxtail Soup, and Instant Pot Bolognese (Hong Kong Style).
But you can imagine my surprise when I discovered that it even has the capability to make amazing pork ribs! I always thought you had to have a massive oven, or an outdoor grill, and loads of time to make glossy fall-off-the-bone barbecue pork ribs. These Instant Pot pork ribs take less than half an hour to reach perfection. Amazing, right!?
Why this recipe
- Make tender juicy pork ribs in less than 30 minutes.
- The cooking process is extremely hands-off. You need 10 minutes to set things up and that’s it.
- The oven finish-up gives the ribs a glossy glaze so the result is like properly barbequed pork!
- The recipe includes a simple dry rub. The burst of Sichuan peppercorns, chili flakes, and ginger add a lovely Asian feel to this classic North American dish. But you can use your own favorite dry rub to make this dish as well.
Cooking process & notes
Cooking Instant Pot pork ribs only involves two steps, both of them super easy.
(1) Coat the pork ribs with the dry rub. Cook it in the Instant Pot until tender.
To cook ribs in an Instant Pot, the best way is to use the steaming rack that comes with the pot. Simply add water to the pot, place the rack into it, and let the ribs “stand” on the rack in a circle. The best thing about this method is, you don’t need to cut the ribs and you can cook two racks of ribs at a time.
I find that adding a splash of liquid smoke into the water also works wonders with the Instant Pot method, adding a musky wood flavor to this addictive centerpiece.
(2) Brush the cooked ribs with BBQ sauce and broil until glossy
The Instant Pot cooked pork ribs will be tender and flavorful, but they will get so much better after this step. The surface will be lightly charred and coated with a glossy sauce, just like the real-deal BBQ ribs.
For the full Chinese BBQ pork rib experience, check out my Chinese BBQ sauce recipe and use it to glaze the pork. Of course, you can use your own favorite BBQ sauce to make this recipe as well.
More delicious Instant Pot recipes
- Pressure Cooker Curry Beef Stew (An Instant Pot Recipe)
- Instant Pot Eggs (Perfect Hard-Boiled & Soft-Boiled Eggs)
- Asian Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup (A Pressure Cooker Recipe)
- Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Lettuce Wrap
- Asian Instant Pot Chicken and Rice (A Pressure Cooker Recipe)
If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it (once you’ve tried it), and take a picture and tag it @omnivorescookbook on Instagram! I’d love to see what you come up with.
Instant Pot Pork Ribs (Chinese-Style)
Ingredients
- 1 rack (2 to 2.5 lbs / 1 kg) baby back ribs , or spare ribs
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke (Optional)
- 1/4 cup Homemade Chinese Barbecue Sauce (or store bought char siu sauce, or your favorite BBQ sauce)
Dry rub
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons Chinese chili flakes (or paprika powder for a non-spicy dish)
- 4 teaspoons garlic powder
- 4 teaspoons ginger powder
- 4 teaspoons freshly ground Sichuan peppercorns (or ground black pepper)
- 2 teaspoons salt
Instructions
- Combine all the dry rub ingredients in a small bowl. Stir to mix well.
- Rub the dry mix over the ribs, coating all sides.
- Place the steaming rack (the one that came with the Instant Pot) in the bottom of a 6-quart (or larger) Instant Pot. Add water and liquid smoke (if using). Place the ribs in a standing-up position onto the steaming rack, so the side is on the rack and the ribs form a circle in the pot (see the picture above in the blog post). You can cook more ribs (2 to 3 slabs) by letting them stand up in the same position.
- Cover the Instant Pot and seal the valve. For baby back ribs, cook on high pressure for 25 minutes. For spare ribs, cook on high pressure for 28 minutes.
- Turn on the broiler of your oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (or tin foil).
- Once done cooking, allow the pressure to release naturally for 5 minutes, then use quick release using a long spatula to carefully move the valve to the open position. Be careful of the hot steam coming out of the valve.
- Carefully transfer the ribs onto the lined baking sheet. Brush both sides with BBQ sauce. Cook under the broiler for 2 minutes. Check on the ribs. The sauce should char slightly. Broil for another 2 minutes if needed.
- Serve hot as a main dish.
I just made this recipe using the same ingredients listed here. I do not have an Instant Pot so I used my T*****r Power AirFryer XL. I was able to make juicy and tender pork ribs. The meat fell off the bones. All I had to do is watch the temperature and the time.
Easy recipe to make and enjoy. Thank you for the great recipes!
I am going to make this tonight. I am so looking forward to it.
Hi! What vegetable side should I serve this with?
Hi Milly, I would serve the ribs with steam rice, a simple veggie dish, and a simple soup such as egg drop soup (http://omnivorescookbook.com/chinese-egg-drop-soup/).
Here are some Veggie sides
https://omnivorescookbook.com/easy-chinese-broccoli-recipe/
https://omnivorescookbook.com/fried-cabbage/
https://omnivorescookbook.com/recipes/chinese-style-green-vegetables
If you’re feeling fancy, you can also make a very fast fried rice to go with it.
https://omnivorescookbook.com/egg-fried-rice/
Sounds amazing, thank you!
Very good recipe. This is how I will precook all my ribs in the future. One thing, if your brown sugar is lumpy it will stay lumpy and feel gritty on the ribs. Best thing is to put the spice mixture in a coffee grinder or spice mill to insure the sugar is pulverized.
This was delish! I added a bit more seasoning at the end. Thanks.
This recipe was a winner – plates cleared!
These ribs were delicious!!!! I also used your recipe for the Chinese bbq sauce. Also amazing! I went with the non-spicy route (paprika) and halved the Sichuan peppercorns since I was worried about the heat/numbing effect. Next time, I’ll use the regular amount of peppercorns and try the Chinese pepper flakes.
Oh, Maggie! I made this tonight and my family went wild. It was so so so good! It is the best thing that I have made so far in my instant pot–I’ve only had it a month. Thank you for the recipe and I look forward to trying more.
Dawn Stacy
Ste[ 5, Turn on the broiler of your oven”
Step 7. Cook under the broiler for 2 minutes
Can you tell me what temperature should the broiler be set for the spare ribs?
Can I use a toaster oven when I have a small portion (1 slab) of spare ribs for 2 people ?
You should set the broiler at 550 F. I think a toaster oven will be fine as long as you can fit the ribs in it.
How to cook Chinese spare ribs quickly without using an instant pot?
I don’t have a super quick recipe for the ribs if you want them really tender.
I have two slow roasting recipes that use the oven:
https://omnivorescookbook.com/recipes/oven-baked-five-spice-ribs (one of my favorites)
https://omnivorescookbook.com/chinese-bbq-ribs/
It might look like a slow recipe but the result is SO GOOD because the meat is juicy and super tender.
I also have a stovetop braised rip recipe that is faster:
https://omnivorescookbook.com/moms-best-braised-pork-spare-ribs/
But frankly I really think the oven slow cooking method is really easy and the result is fantastic.
This is definately the way to do ribs. I’ve done variations on this recipe depending on what I have on hand and it always comes out fantastic.Brush on the BBQ sauce and 10-15 under the broiler after the IP is done and they are fantastic. No one believed I cooked them in about 30 minutes in the IP.