These slow cooker 3-ingredient BBQ country style ribs are the kind of meal my brother begs me to make every weekend. They come out fall-apart tender, sticky, and saucy with almost no effort at all. This is one of those small-town, busy-family recipes that’s been passed around at potlucks and game days because it uses just three simple ingredients and the slow cooker does all the work. If you’re looking for a foolproof, crowd-pleasing dinner that tastes like you fussed all day, this is it.
These ribs are wonderful piled onto a plate with creamy coleslaw and buttery mashed potatoes or baked beans to soak up the extra sauce. For a lighter option, serve them with a simple green salad or roasted vegetables. They’re also great tucked into soft sandwich buns with pickles and a little extra BBQ sauce for an easy game-day spread. I like to set out a tray of the ribs right in the foil pans with some tongs so everyone can help themselves family-style.
Slow Cooker 3-Ingredient BBQ Country Style Ribs
Servings: 6
spicy BBQ sauce or stir 1–2 teaspoons of crushed red pepper flakes or hot sauce into the bottled sauce (this does add an ingredient, so keep it optional if you’re sticking to the 3-ingredient base). You can also swap brown sugar for honey if that’s what you have on hand, though it will be slightly less caramel-like. If your ribs are boneless, reduce the cook time slightly and start checking for tenderness about 30–45 minutes earlier. To make this more like pulled pork for sandwiches, shred the cooked ribs right in the slow cooker, stir them into the sauce, then pile onto buns. For easier weekday prep, assemble the ribs and sauce in the slow cooker insert the night before, refrigerate, then set it in the base and start cooking in the morning. Leftovers reheat well in a covered dish in the oven or in a skillet on the stovetop with a splash of water or extra BBQ sauce to keep them moist.
