Slow-Baked BBQ Short Ribs
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BBQ short ribs make an easy dinner that pleases kids and adults alike.
For easy, family-pleasing comfort food, you can’t beat meltingly tender short ribs in a sweet and tangy barbecue sauce. Inspired by Sunny Anderson’s BBQ short ribs, this simple recipe requires just 15 minutes of hands-on prep, and then the oven does the rest. Unlike many roast or stew recipes, it’s not necessary to sear the meat first. Instead, you season the meat with salt and pepper and slather them with a quick homemade BBQ sauce – a mixture of ketchup, brown sugar, cider vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and seasoning. Then you put the dish in the oven to bake for 3 hours, go about your day, and let deliciousness ensue. Serve with mashed potatoes or cornbread and a roasted vegetable.
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need To Make Slow-Baked BBQ Short Ribs
Count on about one pound of boneless short ribs per person. I know it seems like a lot but they shrink significantly while cooking, and people tend to eat generous portions. If you can only find bone-in short ribs, they will work but may take a bit longer to cook.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by cutting the short ribs in half and seasoning them with salt and pepper. Place them in a 9×13-inch baking dish.
Next, make the homemade BBQ sauce by combining the ketchup, dark brown sugar, cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard and spices in a small bowl.
Whisk to combine.
Slather about 2/3 of the sauce all over the meat, and reserve the rest for the finished dish.
Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake at 300°F for about 2-1/2 hours.
Remove the foil, pour off some of the cooking liquid and cook for 30 minutes more, or until the meat is tender and browned.
Transfer the meat to a platter, leaving the cooking liquid behind, and slather with the reserved BBQ sauce.
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Video Tutorial
Slow-Baked BBQ Short Ribs
BBQ short ribs make an easy dinner that pleases kids and adults alike.
Ingredients
For the Ribs
- 4 pounds boneless beef short ribs, cut into 4-inch long pieces
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
For the BBQ Sauce
- 1 cup ketchup
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 1½ tablespoons cider vinegar
- 1½ tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1½ tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1½ teaspoons chili powder
- ¾ teaspoons garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F.
- Season the ribs all over with salt and pepper, then arrange in a 9x13-inch baking dish (it will be a tight squeeze).
- Combine all of the ingredients for the BBQ sauce in a small bowl and stir until smooth.
- Pour ⅓ of the sauce (about ½ cup) over the ribs. Using tongs, flip the ribs over and spoon another ⅓ of the sauce over top. Reserve the remaining BBQ sauce to spoon over the cooked ribs. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and roast for 2½ hours. Remove the foil and, if the cooking liquid is covering the meat, use a large spoon or ladle to remove some of the liquid so that the tops are exposed. (Note: the meat will look unappetizing at this stage; don't worry, it will look much better once it's done!) Cook for 30 minutes more, uncovered, until the meat is tender and browned. Cut off any excess fat that remains around the short ribs. Transfer the short ribs to a serving platter. Discard the cooking liquid, as it will be very greasy. Slather the reserved BBQ sauce over the short ribs and serve.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The ribs can be frozen for up to 3 months. Reheat them tightly covered with foil in a 300°F oven until heated through.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 1,320
- Fat: 87g
- Saturated fat: 37g
- Carbohydrates: 59g
- Sugar: 54g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 80g
- Sodium: 2327mg
- Cholesterol: 331mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Is it okay to use bone in short ribs?
Sure Michele, bone-in will work fine.
Hello! I want to make these a day ahead. I plan to drain the cooking liquid off and cover with BBQ sauce as I read in another question/answer. My question is – do you think they would reheat nicely in a crockpot instead of the oven? Or do you feel like they really need an extra sizzle from the oven heat when rewarming?
I’m taking this to a friend’s house for Christmas, and I know we need the oven for other things we are making.
Thanks so much! Looks fabulous!
Hi Lorraine, I do think they need that extra time in the oven to brown — it adds flavor and also makes them look much more appetizing. But I think you could make them entirely ahead and then just reheat them in the crockpot. They are pretty hard to overcook :).
Hi, I’m making these boneless short ribs the day before so should I leave them in their cooking liquid overnight and reheat in the liquid or transfer to clean plate and refrigerate overnight then reheat using remaining bbq sauce? I’ll rate after trying it tomorrow.
Hi Michelle, you can leave them in sauce. They should be delicious the second day!
The short rib recipe sounds wonderful and I plan to make it for friends on Sunday. The instructions say to cut the ribs in half, but I’m not exactly sure what that means – make them thinner?
Will review the recipe after I have made it.
Thanks for many good recipes
Hi Peggy, I cut them in half so that they’re not as long (not thinner). Hope that clarifies!
Thanks, Jenn. Made the short ribs for guests on Sunday and, when I offered the leftovers to my husband on Monday, he said “they’re so good, we can have them every night.” And that’s from someone who rarely eats beef. Everyone loved them and they truly are “easy.” Served them with maple-glazed roasted butternut squash and Parmesan roasted cauliflower, so everything was done in the oven – thanks again for great recipes.
Sorry I forgot to select 5 stars which they deserve. *****
These short ribs come out delicious! I am mouth watering just thinking about them. They are so tender and YUMMY!!!
I accidentally bought light brown sugar. It’s in the oven now so I never tasted it yet. What difference will it make?
It will be perfectly fine, Felicia. No worries!
This is the second time that I have used this recipe and it was just as good as the first time even though I had bone in short ribs this time. I didn’t change a thing and they came out tasty and tender. The bones literally fell away from the meat while they were cooking. Thanks again for your foolproof recipes Jennifer!
Wow! Such a great change of pace! I got the ribs from Whole Foods, on sale! Three hours did the trick for tenderness….I then put the ribs in a clean pan, and once they were room temp, refrigerated them. An hour before serving, I will pop them in the oven while I roast the carrots, and cook and mash the potatoes…done and done!!!
I snuck a taste, and the sauce is soo worth making…try this one, its worth the calories!!!
I’ve made this dish 3 times already. It’s such a great make ahead dish and heats up easily in the oven especially when you’re having guests over and don’t want to fuss with the meal preparation and cleanup. My guests have commented on how good and flavorful it is. It’s a pretty forgiving dish so you can actually play with the flavors quite a bit. My tips for this dish are 1) If you’d like to save some time, buy your favorite bbq sauce instead of making it, I like a little asian flavor in it so I used bbq korean sauce with it or some hoisin bbq sauce 2) It’s a really nice dish to make ahead because the flavor gets better after a day or so 3) Try buying a nice cut of boneless short ribs, I bought mine at a few places but found that the one at Costco was best, either way they were all still perfectly delicious.
Will this recipe apply to country style pork ribs, as well? Thank you.
Hi Nancy, Yes, pork country style ribs should work fine here. Cooking time will be about the same, but taste to be sure they are getting tender after 2 1/2 hours before you remove the cover. If not, cook another 30 minutes and check them again.
Is the calorie count really per serving?! Yikes … hoping that’s for the entire recipe 🙂
Hi Lindsay, I wish it were for the whole dish, but it is per serving. (This dish is a definite indulgence!)
We have a Thermador professional 6 burner stove. Would I need to reduce the temp. so they won’t dry out?
Hi Deb, Maybe I’m misunderstanding your question, but these are baked in the oven (as opposed to being cooked on the stove).
If I want to do just a pound of these what should I cut the cooking time back to?
Hi David, I would encourage you to make more than one pound of these as they shrink A LOT! That said, if you’re using less than the 4 pounds, the cook time may be a little (but not significantly) shorter. Just make sure to use a dish that just fits the ribs/sauce as you don’t want too much extra space in the pan.
Is this recipe really 1300 calories per serving?
It is– It’s delicious but a definite indulgence!!
Oh my gosh! This recipe is SO delicious – and easy!
I made it the first time exactly as per the recipe and it was amazing. The second time I made it, we were camping. My little RV oven doesn’t heat consistently – or well – so I brought my slow cooker and slow cooked it during the day, with the 1/2 hr top off in the oven at the end. It came out just as good as the first time. This will definitely be put in our “go- to” book!
I’ll start by saying i love your recipies and on the whole have great luck so for that, THANK YOU!
Regarding these ribs however…I checked my ribs at the 2 hour mark. The meat was clearly done and very tough. Any ideas why? Maybe to lean? I am following the recipe so they are back in the over to brown which i dont think will help. Whether the butcher didnt know what a short rib was or the meat just wasnt good, this meal will be an expensive mistake. I will say the sauce is great and one i will make again.
Hi Jennifer, Even though they look done much sooner, short ribs really do need to cook for the full 3 hours to get tender. Hope they turned out well in the end!
This was way, way too sweet! Tasted liked candied bacon.
Is it ok to season and add the barbecue sauce in the morning, refrigerate and then put in the oven later that day? I won’t be home and would like my husband to get the ribs started since they take 3 hours to cook. Thanks!
Sure Laura, that would be fine. If there’s time, I would have your husband take it out of the fridge about 45 minutes before putting it into the oven.
What temp/how long would be the equivalent for a crock pot? Thanks!
Hi Laura, I think this recipe is best made in the oven because you need to be able to brown the meat at the end, otherwise it will look very unappealing. You could make the ribs up to that point in the slow cooker, then transfer them to the oven to brown, but that seems to be more trouble than it’s worth.
Not when its 95 out and I don’t want the oven on for 2-3 hours! :o) Thanks for the idea, using the crockpot and oven as a last step is exactly what I’m going to do.
if you do not want to start the oven on such a hot day, the same can be done outdoors… on your charcoal grill… (or gas grill, for those that don’t know how to control heat using coal)
use the snake method using charcoal to achieve a 300ºF temp, place your foiled disposable pan with the beef inside indirect (not over the coals or gas flames) and proceed as described above.
It’s a piece of cake.
Perhaps to sear them in olive oil and a little butter on all sides first and then transfer them to the slow cooker would be successful. You would need to cook them longer in the slow cooker. I am going to try this method myself.
This recipe is so easy and the ribs are filled with mouth-watering goodness- Fantastic ! Both times I used bone-in short ribs and they were delicious. I even froze some of the left overs ( cooking for one) and they were also perfect after freezing and thawing them !! They would be delicious with polenta or mashed potatoes but I served them with buttered noodles tossed with dill. Yummy ! Thank you , Jenn.
never cooked short ribs before so I was looking for a recipe and saw this. Your pictures make the ribs appear rather thick and mine are more like 3/4″ thick or less. should I reduce the cooking time?
Hi Linda, Yes, you may want to reduce the cooking time just a bit. I’d start checking them after about 2 hours.
Just finished eating these ribs. This is an awesome recipe. The ribs were cooked perfectly and the barbecue sauce was better than anticipated store bought.
I like your recipe’ it’s very similar to mine except I cut back a little on the brown sugar and add a touch of root beer or cola that has sugar not high fructose corn syrup. Adds another layer of flavor and caramelizes nicely. (in my humble opinion 🙂
This was delicious and super easy to make! Loved by my family, adults and kids alike. The BBQ sauce is now my go-to…forget store-bought.
I’ve shared the recipe with friends too. Yummy!
I’ve made this twice. The first time was a few weeks ago with boneless pork ribs, and they turned out great. The second time was for dinner tonight. I used pork loin cutlets in the Crock Pot on low with the sauce, then chopped/shredded them to serve as BBQ pork sandwiches. I made a double batch of the sauce so it could cook with the meat, as well as to spoon over the meat on the sandwiches. That sauce is soooo good! I could eat it with a spoon and skip the meat altogether! Ha ha! 😉 Thanks for sharing your delicious recipe.
Hi Jennifer, can I use bone short ribs? My kids love to hold the ribs’ bone.
Hi Erlina, Yes, you can use bone-in short ribs. The cooking temp will be the same. They might take a bit longer, but not much. Hope you enjoy!
Hi Jenn, I made these for my family last night, followed the recipe exactly, and my ribs were very dry. They looked extremely overcooked. Not sure where I went wrong. I used a slightly larger pan, so the ribs were not tightly fit. Could that have something to do with it? I bought high quality ribs, so I don’t think that has anything to do with it.
I’ve made SO many recipes from your site….it’s my go to several times a week for dinner ideas. This was the first recipe that didn’t turn out for me. Any advice would be great!
By the way, the BBQ sauce was a HUGE hit, even though the ribs were dry 🙂
Thanks!
Hi Jamie, Sorry to hear the ribs were dry! Yes, I suspect that it was the size of the pan that was the problem. The ribs are supposed to be surrounded (and cooked in) their own juices, so if the pan was too big, that would cause them to dry out. Next time, try using a pan where the ribs just fit.
Amazing!!!! I’ve had boneless ribs from a local supermarket that you cook at home and they were good but very expensive £7.50 a box and it only just serves 2. Made this recipe and my husband and friends all loved it. I couldn’t get hold of short rib, so my butcher recommended that I used ribeye steak instead it worked out perfectly and I’m making it again tonight. Fantastic crowd pleaser that’s easy and fuss free!!
I made the short ribs and they were excellent! The BBQ sauce was really good, my favorite now. My wife raved about how delicious and tender the ribs were. Easy recipe too, we’ll be having these again soon.
This BBQ short rib recipe is the best I’ve found. I’m always looking for the best of the best for any recipe & this is definitely it. I made them a while back for my son & some of his friends and they mysteriously always know when I’m cooking them so I always buy 3 times the ribs I normally do.
Hi Jenn,
Is there a substiture for sugar in this recipe?
warm regards
Christian
Hi Chris, you can use the equivalent amount of honey here. Hope you enjoy!
Can you leave this in fridge for a few hours before baking? In the sauce
Yes, that would be fine. I would take it out of the fridge about 45 minutes before you put it in the oven.
Just terrific!! Very tender and very easy to prepare! Thanks for another great recipe!!!
What temperature should I cook these ribs? You mentioned to preheat oven at 300 degrees.
Hi Jenn – just wondering if I am unable to get a hold of beef short ribs whether there are any other good options of beef or meat I could use for this recipe?
Thanks!
Hi Jennifer: I read your recipe for oven baked BBQ ribs and it looked so easy that I was certain that it couldn’t be THAT delicious …but, I have tried many of your recipes and they are ALL that delicious ! I was craving some comfort food and gave the short ribs a try last night. They are amazing , so easy , flavorful with melt in your mouth tenderness. They partnered well with noodles tossed with butter and dill. Thanks so much for sharing !
I’ve been searching for the best BBQ sauce and yours is it! Thank you for generously sharing your recipe.
Oh, forgot to mention. I used bison instead of beef and they turned out wonderful.
I too make this is in a smaller quantity (cooking for only 2) using only 1 pound of meat (yes, Whole Foods meat is the best) and by just dividing the sauce quantity amounts by 4 – but cooking time remains the same. It always comes out tender and delicious. This is now a family favorite. Thank you Jenn!
Overall these ribs were outstanding, particularly the BBQ sauce! Another winner from Jenn. My ribs came out a little tough, however. I used high quality ribs, but I wonder if I had to cook them longer? I shortened the cooking time overall because I used 2 lbs instead of 4 lbs of meat and my convection oven tends to cook things faster. They felt tender and looked very brown, so I was afraid they would burn and took them out early. In general, if I use less meat, do you think I should cook them a shorter time?
Hi Samantha, I know it’s surprising, but the cook time would actually be about the same so next time just cook them a little longer until tender. Glad you enjoyed them, though. 🙂
I’d like to start out my mentioning that I’ve made some of your other recipes and they’ve turned out beautifully. Unfortunately this one did not. I made the receipe on two occasions and both times the ribs were tough. It seemed like the fat layers did not melt. Should I have left the ribs in for longer? Not sure what went wrong. But, the BBQ sauce was amazing.
Yes, I think it will help if you leave them in a bit longer. They should be really tender when they’re done. Also, make sure you’re getting high quality meat for the best result.
Most tender beef ribs ever and the flavor was so delicious. My mom came over the next day and didn’t want to eat them because she thought they were pork ribs, once I told her they were beef, she still couldn’t believe it. She raved about them for days! Saving this recipe. Such easy prep and the whole family LOVES them!
Do you think I can place the short ribs on top of uncooked carrots so the fat mixes with the carrots while they are cooking?
This looks great and I will be making it soon!
Brian, I’ve never tried putting anything under the short ribs, but it sounds tasty :). If you prepare it that way, let me know how the carrots turn out!
OK Thank you!
The carrots were perfect after half the cooking time. Overall I could cook the meat at a slightly lower temperature for a little longer to make the meat even more tender. Thank you!
I’ve made at least 1,000 meals using recipes found online (including many from your website-all phenomenal), but this is my first review. In fact it’s my first review of anything ever. To say this recipe was a success is such an understatement. My 2 year old tried them and asked for more. Not knowing her you probably don’t know that this is pretty much the best compliment you could receive. She lives off of Raisin Bran, hummus, and pears and gags at the sight of meat. I don’t know if it was the brown sugar in the barbecue sauce or what, but wow!! I was blown away. Thank you so much!!!
I just served these for a party of 10. The butcher at Whole Foods recommended I get 7-8 pounds, given that half of the group were small-eating females. I can’t tell you how many rave reviews I got. Everyone wanted the recipe. And the amount was perfect; I had a few leftover but my husband took care of that problem the next night:) I’m sooooo happy I found this website, Jenn!!
I want to make this recipe for about 14 people, so I am planning on have about 14-15lbs of short rib… How long should I cook it for?
Thanks in advance!
The cooking time can remain about the same! Hope everyone enjoys!
Thank you so much for getting back to me, made this for 14 people, last night. Was absolutely delicious! Made small modifications, cooked slightly longer and added a couple other ingredients to the BBQ sauce.. Other than that this recipe was spot on and everyone enjoyed it!
This is an excellent recipe — The result is meltingly tender and unctuous. I froze the left over ribs individually on a parchment lined tray, and then bagged them in a ziplock freezer bag for easy microwaving in the future. Also froze potatoes that had baked along with the ribs — cut them in fat 1″ slices, froze and bagged them. Add a vegetable or salad and you have a wonderful dinner. : )
Excellent recipe my husband love these! So tender
Honestly the best thing I’ve eaten in a while. I uses pork ribs and skipped on the Cayenne Pepper and it was AMAZING!!!
Definitely a keeper!!!
What kind of pork ribs did you use?
Rachel, They are boneless beef short ribs. Hope you enjoy them!
I made these and they are super good!