Easy BBQ Ribs are one of our favorite, make ahead dinner recipes! Super tender, dry rubbed ribs that you can top with your favorite BBQ sauce!
We love rib recipes of all kinds! Be sure and try our Whisky Glazed Deep Fried Ribs or these addicting, finger licking Sticky Root Beer Ribs!
Easy BBQ Ribs Can Be Made Ahead Of Time!
Ribs are so easy to make for a crowd because you can pre-cook them low and slow in your oven and then finish them off on the grill when it’s time for dinner. You can even cook these barbecue ribs a day or two before your party!
Pre-cook your ribs, let them cool, them wrap them in foil and stash them in your refrigerator until dinner time comes.
The secret to getting super tender, fall off the bone ribs is to cook them in your oven at a low temperature for a few hours before getting them on the grill with your BBQ sauce. Then just throw the ribs on the grill, baste them with your BBQ sauce of choice and these bbq ribs will be done in just minutes!
What Kind Of Ribs Are Best For Making Barbecue Ribs?
Any type of pork rib will work for these Easy BBQ Ribs. Spareribs are cut from the belly, same place that we get our bacon and pancetta from. This cut is meaty, fatty and super tasty.
Baby Back Ribs are also ribs that are taking from the belly area, but baby backs are taken from the loin. They’re smaller than other types of ribs, hence the name baby back. Baby Back Ribs have lots of lean meat on both sides of the ribs, making this type a fan favorite.
St. Louis Style Ribs are that perfectly rectangle cut of ribs most people are familiar with. They have a little less meat than the other types of ribs but the meat is delicious, fatty and full of flavor.
When Do You Put The BBQ Sauce On Ribs?
This is where a lot of people get confused, don’t want to add the sauce to your ribs too early on in the game. Most BBQ sauce has a good amount of sugar in it so if the sauce is on the grill too long it will burn.
Get your ribs on the grill and give them a few minutes to warm through first and then, once they warm up you can start basting the ribs with your favorite BBQ sauce. Since the ribs have already cooked in the oven, the only job you’re doing on the grill is warming them up and basting them with sauce to finish.
And yes, we LOVE serving these Easy BBQ Ribs for parties, but we actually make them pretty often just for dinner too!
How Do You Reheat Leftover BBQ Ribs?
The oven is my favorite option, it warms the meat through again without making the meat tough like a microwave can. Microwaving is also fine, just do it in short bursts of time until the ribs are just warmed through.
You can also throw your leftover ribs back on the grill! Either right on the racks or wrap them in heavy duty aluminum foil. When we have leftover racks of ribs, it’s always a party.
What Sides Can I Serve With BBQ Ribs?
Here are a just few of our favorite options, but head over to our Side Dish Menu for many more ideas!
- Homemade Shoestring French Fries
- Oven Roasted Corn on the Cob
- Devilish Buffalo Pasta Salad
- Grilled Italian Street Corn
- Oven Roasted BBQ Potato Salad
- Classic Potato Salad
- Roasted Garlic Parmesan Potatoes
Easy BBQ Ribs
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Total Time: 3 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: 6 Servings 1x
These Easy BBQ Ribs are always a hit! Super tender, mouth-watering ribs recipe that worthy of parties and BBQ’s!
Ingredients
- (2) 3 lb. pork baby back ribs
- BBQ Sauce, your favorite kind
For the Dry Rub
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cumin
- 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 1 1/2 tablespoons paprika
- 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- Add all the ingredients for the dry rub to a small bowl and mix together. Divide the rub evenly between the 2 slabs of ribs and rub generously on both sides.
- Wrap the ribs tightly in foil then place onto a baking sheet.
- Bake in the oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours until tender.
- At this point you can cool the ribs and keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days before cooking.
- When you’re ready to grill the ribs, preheat your grill to medium heat, then place each slab of ribs onto the grill.
- Let the ribs warm up for a few minutes, then start to baste the ribs with bbq sauce on the bottom side of the rack. Let the sauce set on the bottom for 2-3 minutes, then flip the racks over to the top and baste with BBQ sauce generously. Close the lid and let the sauce set for 2-3 minutes on the top. Baste with one more layer of sauce and remove the ribs from the grill.
- Let the ribs rest for a couple of minutes, then slice into sections (2-3 ribs per sections) and serve with extra sauce on the side if desired.
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: mantitlement, bbq ribs, rib recipes, party food, pork recipes, ribs on the grill, ribs in the oven, barbecue ribs
BBQ Party Ribs has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.
Oh yumm!!! Those ribs look so delicious and I love how you’re making it so everyone can have their BBQ just the way they like it! I’m pretty sure I’d have to try all of those sauces!
★★★★★
Thank you Nicole! I can tell you that we tried them all…a few times!
It’s just not summer without ribs! These look great!
No it’s not! Thank you Dessert for Two!
I am loving this recipe, and what a fun and easy party!
Thanks Rachel! It’s so much fun to do at a party!
My mother in law loves barbecue ribs so we are totally doing this!!
★★★★★
Great Shadi – let me know how it goes!
Love grilling season!
Yes, me too! My favorite time of the year for sure.
Must try these sauces for our next BBQ!
They were really good! Let me know if you try them Courtney!
Those sauces look awesome!
Thanks Jocelyn – they were good!
I can’t wait to get a new grill and make some ribs!
New grills are the best – I’m jealous!
I would like to make these for Christmas, am I biting off more than I can chew? I live in a cold climate and was wondering if I can start them on the grill to get that flavor a day early and then cook them long and slow in my oven Christmas Day. What do you think?
If you oven bake them first they’re pretty much done, so I do think this is an easy recipe for the holidays! If you do all the work the day before, all you’d have to do Christmas Day is get them on the grill for a few minutes and they’d be ready to serve! I think the grill flavor would be lost after they bake in the oven.
These ribs are fantastic! Please everyone try this recipe and you can’ t go wrong!
★★★★★
So happy you like them! Thanks for letting me know!
Can I broil the ribs after baking them instead of grilling them with the sauce on?
Thank You
Yes you can!