These Oven Baked Ribs is the easiest rib recipe you’ll ever make. Rubbed with a simple but flavourful spice rub, slathered with a barbecue sauce, and baked low and slow in the oven, you’ll love this super tender oven baked ribs recipe.
Want to make ribs for game day but don’t have fancy equipment? Not to worry because these oven baked ribs will knock your socks off. While I’ve made Instant Pot Ribs, Instant Pot Short Ribs Recipe, and Slow Cooker Ribs, this oven baked rib is a simple equipment-free method that is just as moist and delicious. All you need is a simple baking sheet and some tin foil!
Want more delicious oven baked recipes? Try my Easy Oven Pork Chop Recipe, Oven Baked Salmon, Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings, Baked Chicken Breast Recipe, or my Garlic Butter Baked Tilapia Recipe.
These really are the BEST ribs (fall-off the bones ribs) and you’re going to wonder why you haven’t been making ribs this method more often.
Preparing the Ribs to be Baked
Before we do any cooking or seasoning the ribs, we should always remove the membrane. You’ll see in the photo below that the membrane is very thin and located on the back of the ribs. It only takes a few seconds to remove and it helps make your ribs more flavourful and keeping it on will give the ribs a tough texture.
To remove the membrane:
- Slide a butter knife under the membrane and over a bone.
- Then lift and loosen the membrane until it tears.
- Grip the membrane and pull it off. Then, pat dry the ribs with paper towels before adding the spices.
Ingredients to make oven baked ribs
- Baby back pork ribs
- Beef broth
- Sugar-free Barbecue Sauce — or your favourite store-bought sauce.
- For the rub: garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, cracked black pepper, cumin, and chili (or cayenne pepper). Feel free to mix in a little brown sugar for a touch of sweetness, if desired! You can also add some mustard powder.
Instructions to make Ribs in the Oven
Prepare the Equipment
- Preheat oven to 300° and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Remove the Membrane and Apply the Rub
- Peel off tough membrane on the back of the ribs.
- In a small bowl, mix together garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, black pepper, cumin and chili powder.
Bake the Ribs
- Place the ribs on prepared baking sheet. Cover with foil and bake until very fork tender, 2 hours.
- Set the oven to broil. Remove foil from ribs and brush both sides with barbecue sauce. Broil until sauce just starts to caramelize, 2 to 4 minutes.
- Enjoy your oven baked ribs!
Recipe Tips
- Don’t forget to remove the membrane from your ribs. It’s super tough and will make enjoying your oven baked ribs nearly impossible.
- To keep ribs moist, be sure and cover the ENTIRE rack with seasonings before wrapping in foil. The seasonings mix contains salt which helps the meat retain moisture.
- Wrapping your ribs in foil before baking is the key to fall-off-the-bone results.
- You don’t have to use baby back ribs for this oven baked ribs recipe, you can absolutely use spare ribs or St. Louis style.
Storing Leftovers
- To Store: If you have leftover oven baked ribs, simply place them in an airtight container and store it in your fridge for up to 5 days.
- To Freeze leftover oven baked ribs: You can freeze these oven baked ribs once they’ve been cooked! After they’re done cooking, let them cool to room temperature before packing them up in an airtight bag or container. Freeze them for up to three months and when ready to enjoy, thaw the frozen oven baked ribs overnight in the fridge before reheating. Reheat them in the microwave or in the oven.!
- To Reheat: Simply thaw overnight in the refrigerator or on the countertop for a couple of hours (if you stored leftovers frozen). Reheat the oven baked ribs in the microwave or oven, until warmed through completely.
What Ribs Do I Buy for Oven Baked Ribs?
Baby Back Ribs vs Spare Ribs vs St. Louis-style Ribs
There are three types of ribs: baby back ribs, spare ribs, and St. Louis-style ribs. They all have their pros and cons but my favourite to use are the baby back ribs. While baby back ribs are a little small than the other two, they have more meat on them as well as being less fatty due to being from the loin region. Spare ribs are from the pork belly so if you prefer fattier ribs, that’s your rib of choice!
Baby back ribs do cost a little bit more but I think that it’s worth it. If you can’t find baby back ribs, you can use the other types but you might have to adjust the time a bit. They’re all just as delicious so not to worry if you need to swap with different types of ribs for this oven baked ribs recipe.
What Can I Serve with These Oven Baked Ribs?
These tender oven-baked ribs go with a lot of different sides! Here are some ideas:
- Serve with a side salad! I’ve got tons you can try like this simple arugula salad, corn salad, spinach fruit salad, healthy potato salad, cauliflower “potato” salad or egg salad. And don’t forget a batch of this creamy coleslaw.
- Pair any kind of potatoes: Creamy mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, potatoes au gratin, roasted potato salad or even some air fryer potato wedges with creamy avocado sauce for dipping.
- You can’t go wrong with bread! Try my low-carb dinner rolls with butter, a loaf of crunchy garlic bread or even some cornbread with honey.
- How about some veggies? Garlic butter sauteed zucchini, balsamic roasted vegetables, roasted green beans, cauliflower bites and so much more.
- A few more tasty ideas: these cauliflower tots or broccoli tots would be so good with ribs! I also highly recommend this cheesy cauliflower casserole!
More Game Day Eats You’ll Love
- Crispy Baked Chicken Wings Recipe
- Spicy Baked Sweet Potato Fries Recipe
- Low-carb Cauliflower Tots Recipe
- Easy Slow Cooker Carnitas Recipe
- Sloppy Joes
Frequently Asked Questions
It is very common to wrap the baby back ribs in aluminum when cooking ribs in the oven but some people skip this step. I personally suggest you keep it wrapped so that the ribs don’t dry out in the oven. The foil helps prevents surface evaporation from the ribs and helps keep it moist.
I use a bbq sauce from Primal Kitchen that is sugar-free, making it keto-friendly and low carb. You are more than welcomed to use whatever bbq you have on hand or a homemade barbecue sauce.
Let’s talk about this spice rub. The spice rub on these oven baked ribs are so finger-licking good. The spices are simple but when combined and rubbed onto the ribs, they are divine. On top of that, the optional chili powder adds such a great kick to it. I recommend you try it with the chili powder!
For fall of the bone ribs, I recommend covering them while baking. I use aluminum foil to cloak my rack of ribs because it traps moisture and helps keep the meat from getting dry. Ribs should be cooked to an internal temperature of 190-200°F, you can use a meat thermometer to check, but after 2 hours the ribs should certainly be fully cooked!
Make sure to apply your dry rub all over the meat side and back of your rack, including the sides of the ribs. This seasoning blend contains salt, which helps create moist, tender ribs through osmosis. It also helps to cook ribs with an aluminum foil cover because it traps moisture. Finally, cook low and slow for two hours until your oven baked ribs are fall off the bone tender!
You can easily make tender oven baked ribs with store bought meat, and there’s no need to add any high calorie oil! Simply apply a flavorful dry rub and cover with some aluminum foil, then bake at a low temperature with a long cooking time.
Oven Baked Ribs
Ingredients
For the ribs
- 2 pounds baby back pork ribs
- 1/2 cup sugar-free Barbecue Sauce or your favorite store-bought sauce.
For the rub
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300° and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
- It’s important to peel off the membrane on the back of the ribs to bring more flavor to the ribs. You remove it by sliding a dull knife under the membrane and over a bone. Then, just lift and loosen the membrane until it tears. Grip the membrane and pull it away.
- In a small glass bowl, mix together garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, black pepper, cumin and chili powder. Sprinkle seasoning and rub it front and back of the ribs.
- Place the ribs on prepared baking sheet. Cover with foil and bake until very tender, 2 hours.
- Set the oven to broil. Remove foil from ribs and brush both sides with barbecue sauce. Broil until sauce just starts to caramelize, 2 to 4 minutes. Enjoy!
Tips
- Watch the Web Story HERE.
- Do not skip removing the membrane as it will become tough and unpleasant.
- Feel free to use spare ribs or St. Louis-style ribs if you do not have baby back ribs.
- To store: Place the leftover ribs in an airtight container and it’ll keep for up to 5 days in the fridge.
- To reheat: You can reheat ribs in the oven or the microwave. I recommend covering them in tin foil in the oven to keep them from drying out.
- To freeze: Let the ribs cool before transferring them to a freezer-safe bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.
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Watch the Web Story HERE.
Robbie Laws says
Love all your inspirations! Thank you. Just a quick hint, I live in Texas and we eat a lot of catfish. I use my catfish skinning pliers to ‘skin’ my ribs. Works great! Give Thomas another Happy Birthday from Texas! for me and y’all have a blessed year.
Olivia says
You’re so sweet. Thank you 😉
Monique says
Is there any harm in placing the sauce on the meat beforehand and marinating it (on top of the seasonings)? I usually marinate everything for at least 24 hrs and pierce the meat with a thin fork to make sure the flavor permeates the tissue. I know this recipe calls for the sauce near the end, but I couldn’t help but wonder if prepping this way would do any harm.
Thanks in advance!
Olivia says
You can totally place the sauce on the meat beforehand 🙂
Joanne Hanka says
AWESOME !!!
Olivia says
Happy you liked it!