This is hands down the best ribs recipe I’ve ever made! The secret to incredibly tender ribs is baking them low and slow. Baking ribs in the oven is so easy. 95% of the cooking time is spent relaxing while your ribs transform into fall-off-the-bone perfection.
My family loves this oven baked ribs recipe! It’s the best, easiest way to guarantee fall-off-the-bone tender ribs! I bake my ribs in a 275°F oven for two to three hours. Then, I slather them with a simple homemade barbecue sauce (or you can use your favorite sauce instead).
This simple recipe guarantees tender ribs every time! I use the same method when I make my Asian sticky ribs with a hoisin glaze and these incredible beef ribs!
Key Ingredients
- Pork Ribs: I use baby back ribs, but other ribs, such as spare ribs, country-style, or St. Louis-style, will also work with this recipe. The cook time should be similar, but keep an eye on them to see how they’re progressing.
- Seasoning: A generous amount of salt and pepper is all you need, but feel free to use your favorite BBQ spice rub or seasoned salt.
- BBQ Sauce: I make my own sweet and spicy BBQ sauce (recipe below), but you can use your favorite homemade or store-bought sauce for these ribs. We use a similar sauce for our BBQ chicken wings. I also love this sweet and tangy BBQ sauce.
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Cook Ribs in the Oven
We learned how to make oven-baked ribs from Steamy Kitchen and haven’t looked back since! These baked ribs are incredibly easy! All you need is time.
For the most tender ribs, you’ll want to remove the thin membrane from the back of the rack. This membrane can become tough when cooked. If your butcher hasn’t already removed it, here’s how:
- Gently slide a knife under the membrane.
- Use your fingers to peel it away from the bones.
- If it’s slippery, use a kitchen towel to help grip and pull it off.
Once you remove the membrane, generously season both sides of the ribs with salt and pepper (or my homemade seasoned salt). Then, wrap them tightly with aluminum foil. Bake the ribs low and slow at 275°F for 2 ½ to 3 ½ hours or until they’re perfectly tender.
Finally, just before serving, I slather the baked ribs with my favorite barbecue sauce and broil (or grill) them for a few minutes until the sauce bubbles and caramelizes a bit. That’s it! These will be some of the best ribs you’ll ever make.
Serving Suggestions
My family loves potato salad, creamy coleslaw, and cornbread with ribs. A simple pasta salad or macaroni salad are great, too!
These are also amazing next to roasted potatoes, mashed potatoes, or mashed sweet potatoes, and I love them with a nice, big salad (try our honey mustard dressing, creamy blue cheese, or my favorite ranch dressing)!
More Pork Recipes
- Skillet Pork Chops – they turn out so juicy!
- Baked Pork Chops
- Tender Oven Pulled Pork
- Slow Cooker Pulled Pork
- Or, see 20 of our best pork recipes!
Easy Fall Off the Bone Oven Baked Ribs
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
Baking low and slow makes these oven-baked ribs fall off the bone tender. Once baked, we add our sweet and spicy BBQ sauce to the ribs, but you can use whatever you love. For the most tender ribs, we remove the thin membrane covering the back of the rack. Depending on where you purchased the ribs, this may already be done for you. If not, instructions are in the tips below the recipe.
For the same tender results, but a different sauce, try our hoisin sticky ribs (made with an Asian-inspired sauce)!
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
2 to 2 ½ pounds baby back pork ribs
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup finely diced onion
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon hot chili sauce like Sriracha
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Salt and ground pepper, to taste
Directions
1Preheat your oven to 275°F (135°C). Set aside a large roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet and aluminum foil.
2Season the ribs: If your ribs still have a thin membrane on the back, remove it. (See the tips section for instructions.) Generously season both sides of the ribs with salt and pepper. If using a spice rub, apply it evenly.
3Wrap with foil: Place the ribs, meatiest-side down, in your roasting pan. You may need to cut the ribs in half to fit. Cover the pan or baking sheet tightly with aluminum foil. The ribs must be well-sealed to prevent drying out. If your foil isn’t large enough, wrap the racks of ribs individually in tight foil packets and place them on the baking sheet. After making this recipe so many times, we find that keeping the meatiest side of the ribs facing down is best. The rendered fat and juices from the meat above drip down, creating a natural basting effect that keeps the meat moist and prevents it from drying out, especially during long, slow cooking, like in this recipe.
4Bake the ribs: Bake for 2 ½ to 3 ½ hours or until the meat easily falls from the bones. I check the ribs after 2 hours to see how they’re doing. Ribs are ready when the meat is cooked through and very tender.
5To check if they are done, pierce them with a sharp knife. There should be little to no resistance. You can also gently bend the ribs. If the meat looks like it will easily pull away from the bone, they’re ready. If the meat is still tough, they are likely underbaked (your oven might be cooler than mine). Continue baking and consider increasing the temperature to 300°F (150°C).
6Make BBQ Sauce: While the ribs are baking, prepare your sauce. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat, then add the onions and cook until they’re soft and translucent, which should take about 5 to 8 minutes.
7Stir in the cumin and cook for another 30 seconds. Next, add the ketchup, hot chili sauce, brown sugar, and apple cider vinegar. Stir everything to combine, season with salt, and cook for 2 minutes. Set the sauce aside while the ribs finish baking.
8Brush the sauce onto the ribs: Remove the ribs from the oven, discard the aluminum foil, and generously brush both sides with barbecue sauce.
9Broil the ribs: Move an oven rack near the top of the oven and turn your broiler to high. Broil the ribs until the BBQ sauce begins to caramelize, about 3 to 4 minutes. Keep a close eye on them during this step to ensure the sauce doesn’t burn. Enjoy!
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Ribs: We call for baby back ribs in the recipe, but spare ribs, country-style, and St. Louis-style will work with this recipe. Cook time should be similar. We recommend you check on the ribs while they cook to see how they are progressing.
- Remove the membrane: Place the ribs meat-side-down on a cutting board. Locate the thin membrane covering the rack, then use a knife to gently slide underneath it. Pull the membrane away from the bones using your fingers. If it’s slippery or difficult to remove, use a kitchen towel to hold and pull it off.
- Multiple racks of ribs: Cooking time should stay the same with multiple racks of ribs. I wrap each rack tightly with foil and then place them onto a large baking sheet. You can fit two racks on one baking sheet, so my oven can bake four racks at a time.
- Storing: Store baked ribs in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days, or freeze for up to 3 months (I double-wrap them before freezing). Thaw frozen ribs overnight in the refrigerator.
- Reheating ribs: Place the ribs (thawed), wrapped in foil, in a 275°F oven for 20 to 30 minutes or place them on the grill over medium heat. Slather the warmed ribs with BBQ sauce before serving (you can also broil or grill to caramelize the sauce, as shared in the recipe).
- Ketchup: The BBQ sauce is best when made with thicker varieties of ketchup that contain no high-fructose corn syrup. Use homemade ketchup or opt for organic and natural options, such as Hunt’s 100% Natural or Heinz Simply.
- Back in the day, we were contributors to Betty Crocker. We shared a similar version of this recipe with them. We loved it so much that we had to share an adapted version with you.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates, which include the barbecue sauce and 1 teaspoon of salt.
Absolutely fall-off-the-bone baby back ribs – Delish! I added 1/2 cup of apple cider to the bottom of the pan and backed as instructed. Applied BBQ sauce & broiled. Thank you.
Can I use a little liquid smoke if I wrap them individually?
That sounds great, Dave!
Happy cooking! Found your recipe on Google search, family wanted ribs n potatoes. Ribs were perfect, my daughter enjoyed seasoning them, so tender, yummy! Will definitely add your recipe to our family menu.
That’s fantastic, Kathy! Thank you for coming back and letting us know how it went.
Good recipe
I put the ribs down in the pan. I hope it works that way.
That’s great!
My Ribs came out great using this recipe!
The ribs were delicious and so easy! Thank you for this recipe. I have already decided this will be served at our family reunion. Glad to see I can cook them, refrigerate them and just put them under the broiler before serving.
I did your ribs recipe using fresh ground pink himalayan salt and ground pepper at 305° for 2.5 hours and the meat just falls off the bones. (Sorry, I didn’t get to start your recipe until 5:30pm and wanted to have dinner at 8pm) I used the Sweet Baby Ray’s barbeque sauce though I should have used their sugar-free version. Thanks again for a really delicious and quick easy recipe!
I want to make these for the Super Bowl tomorrow. Two questions. I want to buy the barbecue sauce which one do you recommend? I will be wrapping them in foil. It looks like you put something in between the meat and the foil. Can I just wrap them directly in foil?
Sweet Baby Rays is popular. Yes, you can wrap with foil (just make sure they are really well wrapped). I like to place the wrapped ribs onto a baking sheet to catch and drips if there are any.
The best batch of ribs I’ve ever made! So tender, fall off the bones before they made it to the plate. I did use a dry rub I had on hand. The sauce was also delicious, like something I’ve had at at BBQ joint. This recipe is a keeper!
This is our go to rib recipe. We’ve made it multiple times and use St. Louis style ribs and the juicy fall off the bone ribs are always a hit. We use a dry rub and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight covered before baking and also add a chug of your favorite beer to the foil pack for moisture and choose your favorite sauce to slather and broil. Thank you for the recipe, it is consistently delicious. Bravo!
Hi Rick, Thanks for coming back and letting us know! Love your additions!
I absolutely love this recipe! I’ve used it several times and plan to use it lots more!!
Hi, Looking to have this at superbowl with adults and kids. Does the Sriracha make it very hot. Thank you Eileen
Hi Eileen, Not very hot, but it does have a bit of spice. If you are worried, we also have this tangy bbq sauce that’s more milk and similar to store-bought sauces.
I have made this recipe over and over again and the meat turns out delicious everytime. Just wondering, when cooking the ribs do they have to be on the pan in a single layer or can you double them up on each other?
Hi Gail, I prefer them in a single layer, but a little layering should be okay.
2-3 hours is quite the range.Is it 2 or is it 3?
Hi Didi, For us, we usually are happy with the ribs around 2.5 hours, but since the oven temperature is so low, the baking time can range. Use our tips for telling whether they are tender enough in the recipe. Here’s an excerpt for you: “To check if they are done, pierce them with a sharp knife. There should be little to no resistance. You can also gently bend the ribs. If the meat looks like it will easily pull away from the bone, they’re ready. If the meat is still tough, they are likely underbaked (your oven might be cooler than mine). Continue baking and consider increasing the temperature to 300°F (150°C).”
I just wanted to comment and say hi, since this is the first time I have EVER seen another Didi in the wild… spelled the same way 🙂
My sister is a Didi too, and spelled the same way as well! <3
OMG! Delicious and easy too. Thank you
do you mean to keep bone side or underside of ribs on top and meat portion on pan on bottom when you say meatiest side facing down? Ive never done that so just checking
thanks
The bone side will be facing up.
Your video shows bone side down. I was also confused
Sorry to be confusing. They should be meatiest side down (although, clearly the recipe works either way). Just for the absolute best results, if you can, place them meaty side down.
Hello this sounds delicious!
I am making this today, would it work to do the baking part earlier in the day, refrigerate them & then broil or grill right b4 the meal?
Thank you in advance!
Yep, that definitely works!
Thank you so much, this was perfect, stand out amazing!!!
Just what we love to hear. Thanks for coming back and sharing, David.
Followed all steps of this recipe. It came out perfect! Meat just fell off the bone so delicious!! Thank you!!!
Wonderful! Glad you enjoyed it.
My absolute go to when it’s rib night in my home. Always come out so tender and juicy and just perfectly delicious!! Been with this recipe, religiously, for the last 3 years! So glad I found this gem. Thank you for sharing it!
That’s amazing, Vanessa. Thank you for sharing and supporting us for so long!
My first time EVERRRRR making BBQ n the oven…’n they were delicious 😋, juicy ‘n OMG meat fall’n off the bone.
I have been using this recipe for a couple of years now and it has never disappointed me! The baby back ribs turn out perfect every single time. My guests love ’em. Thank you