• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
BeeyondCereal
  • Recipes
  • Summer Recipes
  • Resources
  • About
  • Subscribe
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Summer Recipes
  • Resources
  • About
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • Summer Recipes
    • Resources
    • About
    • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×
    • a wooden spoon scooping into apple pie baked beans.
      Apple Pie Baked Beans
    • spoon holding a scoop of caramel over a jar.
      10 Minute Salted Caramel Sauce
    • strawberry blueberry shortcake with fresh fruit and homemade whipped cream.
      Strawberry Blueberry Shortcake
    • plates topped with strawberry blueberry pancakes, fresh berries, and whipped cream.
      Strawberry Blueberry Pancakes
    • a red bowl filled with apple berry salsa on a plate of cinnamon sugar chips.
      Apple Berry Salsa
    • a strawberry blueberry parfait garnished with a mint leaf.
      Strawberry Blueberry Parfait
    • a bowl of strawberry blueberry fruit salad.
      Strawberry Blueberry Fruit Salad
    • sourdough bagels on a wire cooling rack.
      Sourdough Discard Bagels
    • a spoon holding a bite ot egg drop soup over a bowl.
      Egg Drop Soup
    • two burger buns filled with cabbage tuna salad.
      Tuna Cabbage Salad
    • a fork poking into sliced pieces of spiral ham.
      Honey Baked Spiral Ham
    • a bowl of strawberry blueberry overnight oats.
      Strawberry Blueberry Overnight Oats
    BeeyondCereal » Recipes » Main Dishes

    Baked BBQ Pork Spare Ribs

    Modified: Oct 17, 2023 Published: Apr 20, 2023 by Nicole Durham This post may contain affiliate links. Leave a Comment

    Jump to Recipe Pin Recipe
    5 from 2 votes

    Slow cook your way to delicious baked bbq pork spare ribs. They're fall-off-the-bone tender. Made with simple ingredients and minimal prep, this is a great recipe to keep on hand.

    Recipe: $9.76 | Per Serving: $2.44 | Servings: 4

    sliced pork ribs on a wooden cutting board.

    This recipe has been my go-to for years, and you can imagine why. From the easy hands-on prep to the juicy tender results, these ribs are a summer staple food in our home.

    While we don't eat them too often, we always make sure to enjoy them here and there as a fun addition to our dinner menu plans. Ribs are such a great low-maintenance meal. It's perfect for a Lazy Sunday Dinner Idea and ca be paired with simple side dishes like Orange Creamsicle Fluff and Old Fashioned Creamed Corn.

    If you love ribs, you'll want to check out my Instant Pot Beef Back Ribs and Instant Pot Baby Back Ribs too.

    Jump to:
    • 🍯 Why This Recipe Works
    • 🥘 Ingredients
    • 🥣 Recipe Add-Ins
    • 🔪 Instructions for Baked BBQ Pork Spare Ribs
    • 🍴 Recipe Tips
    • 🍳 Reheating
    • 🥗 Side Dishes
    • 💭 Recipe FAQs
    • ❤️ More Delicious Pork Recipes
    • 📖 Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

    🍯 Why This Recipe Works

    1. Low maintenance. This recipe is actually pretty easy to assemble and hardly requires much work. With just a few minutes of prep, you can be on your way to some delicious barbecue pork ribs in no time.
    2. Simple ingredients. Besides the pork ribs, you'll just need some basic seasonings and your favorite BBQ sauce. The sauce is optional, of course.
    3. You can finish it off in the oven or on the grill. We like to broil our ribs after adding sauce to help get them nice and caramelized, but you can use your grill instead. This is especially yummy for getting that slight char taste.

    🥘 Ingredients

    labeled ingredients for making bbq pork spare ribs.

    Ingredient Notes:

    Pork Spare Ribs- For this recipe, you will need a rack of pork spare ribs that are about 3.5 pounds in size. Bigger or smaller ribs just means that you have to accomodate for size.

    Brown sugar- Adding brown sugar will give us a nice depth of flavor and add to the caramelization of flavors.

    Seasonings- You will want to use a blend of chili powder, paprika, onion powder, salt, and pepper.

    BBQ sauce- You will want to use your favorite barbecue sauce for this recipe. You can use homemade BBQ sauce or storebought.

    For specific ingredients and measurements, please see the recipe card below.

    🥣 Recipe Add-Ins

    If desired, you can add some peeled garlic cloves and a thinly sliced onion to the pork ribs before tenting them in foil and baking. This is optional, and I almost never do this.

    🔪 Instructions for Baked BBQ Pork Spare Ribs

    Step 1: Preheat the oven to 275°F.

    Combine brown sugar and seasonings in a bowl. Whisk to combine.

    Step 2: Add your brown sugar, chili powder, paprika, onion powder, salt, and pepper to a small bowl (Image 1).

    Step 3: Whisk well to combine (Image 2). Set aside.

    Place ribs on board, remove back membrane. Trim tough parts. Cut where necessary.

    Step 4: Lay your ribs on a large cutting board or baking sheet (Image 3) and then flip over to reveal the backside of the ribs.

    Step 5: Remove the white membrane from the back of the ribs (Image 4). It should peel off easily, but a sharp paring knife can help with the trickier areas.

    Step 6: Cut off any "silver skin" that you see on the back of the ribs (Image 5). This is stuff that just hardens and becomes chewy when baked.

    Step 7: Removing it from the back of the bones will help the meat to fall off the bone when tender. A trick I use is to simply cut or slice through it where it's too hard to remove completely (Image 6).

    Season ribs. Place on foil. Wrap, creating tent peak, seal foil tightly by rolling and crimping.

    Step 8: Add your rub seasoning blend to the ribs (Image 7).

    Step 9: Season well to coat both sides (Image 8). Add seasoned ribs on a large piece of foil. The foil should be wide and long enough to wrap the ribs completely.

    Step 10: Pull the foil up over the ribs, creating a tent peak along the top middle (Image 9). You may need two pieces of foil lying side by side to accomplish this. Overlap them slightly so that the bottom of the ribs is on top of both pieces without exposing the meat.

    Step 11: Fold the tent peak downward to crimp and seal the foil. Roll and crimp the two open ends as well (Image 10). You want the ribs to be well contained.

    Step 12: Place on a baking sheet, angling it from corner to corner, if needed.

    Bake ribs. Drain juices. Add BBQ sauce, brush to coat. Broil on high for finishing touch.

    Step 13: Place the ribs into the oven for 2 hours (Image 11). Carefully unseal the ribs and check for tenderness. Bake for another 20 minutes if they're not tender yet.

    Step 14: When your ribs are done, drain the juices from the pan and then add your favorite BBQ sauce (Image 12).

    Step 15: Brush the BBQ sauce around to coat everything well (Image 13).

    Step 16: Place in the oven and broil on high for 6-7 minutes or until the sauce begins to caramelize (Image 14). Or Grill until charred.

    Slice and serve.

    Enjoy!

    Baked pork ribs, sauce-covered, arranged around sauce-filled bowl.

    🍴 Recipe Tips

    Temp when done. Ribs are safe to eat at 145°F, but for optimal tenderness, aim for an internal temperature of 190-200°F. At 165°F, collagen in the bones starts breaking down, resulting in increased tenderness. Be cautious not to overcook, as they may become mushy.

    🍳 Reheating

    How to reheat pork ribs:

    • I have had success reheating 1-2 rib pieces at a time in the microwave on a microwave safe plate for 1.5-2 minutes.
    • Cooking them in the air fryer is another option. Just cook at 375 degrees F for about 3-5 minutes.
    • If reheating large portions of pork (like a full rack or half rack of ribs), then place them on a baking sheet and tightly cover them with foil. Cook in the oven at 250 degrees F for about 30 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 140F.

    🥗 Side Dishes

    If you're wondering "what goes with pork ribs," then you're in luck. Just about anything can pair well with ribs. For example, Dill Pickle Potato Salad, Cornbread Bundt Cake, and Instant Pot Steamed Broccoli are all great ideas, especially if you wash it down with a summer favorite like Creamy Lemonade.

    💭 Recipe FAQs

    What pork ribs are the best?

    There are three types of pork ribs, including spare ribs, baby back ribs, and country-style ribs. Of them, baby back ribs are the most popular, but spare ribs are often considered more flavorful.

    What pork ribs have the most meat?

    Country-style pork ribs have more meat than other cuts of pork ribs. Baby back ribs are leaner and more tender, and spare ribs are somewhere in the middle range with more fat marbling, making them pretty tasty.

    Why do you wrap pork ribs in foil?

    Wrapping pork ribs in foil helps to seal in the flavor, hold in moisture, and speed up the cooking time. It helps to tenderize the meat too.

    sliced pork ribs on a wooden cutting board.

    ❤️ More Delicious Pork Recipes

    • a sliced honey mustard pork shoulder roast with rosemary and garlic cloves.
      Honey Mustard Pork Shoulder
    • sliced air fryer pork loin with green leaf lettuce on the sides and an air fryer in background.
      Air Fryer Pork Loin Roast
    • a white bowl filled with slow cooked cabbage and bacon.
      Slow Cooker Cabbage with Bacon
    • two crockpot cooked porkchops smothered in mushroom gravy and served next to broccoli and stuffing on a white dinner plate.
      3 Ingredient Crock Pot Pork Chops

    If you tried these baked BBQ pork spare ribs, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and share your feedback in the 📝 comments section below. I would truly appreciate it!

    📖 Recipe

    sliced bbq pork ribs on a wooden cutting board.
    Print Recipe
    5 from 2 votes

    Baked BBQ Pork Spare Ribs

    Slow cook your way to delicious baked bbq pork spare ribs. They're fall-off-the-bone tender. Made with simple ingredients and minimal prep, this is a great recipe to keep on hand.
    Prep Time 15 minutes mins
    Cook Time 2 hours hrs 6 minutes mins
    Total Time 2 hours hrs 21 minutes mins
    Servings: 4 servings
    Calories: 1194kcal
    Cost Recipe $9.76 / Serving $2.44
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Equipment

    • Small Bowl
    • Measuring Cups
    • Measuring Spoons
    • Baking Sheet
    • Pastry Brush
    • Aluminum Foil

    Ingredients

    • 2 Tablespoons brown sugar ($0.06)
    • 1 Tablespoon chili powder ($0.24)
    • 2 teaspoons paprika, regular or smoked ($0.16)
    • 1 teaspoon onion powder ($0.08)
    • 1 teaspoon salt ($0.01)
    • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper ($0.04)
    • 3.5 pounds pork spare ribs ($8.65)
    • ½ cup favorite BBQ sauce ($0.52)
    US Customary - Metric

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 275°F.
    • Add your brown sugar, chili powder, paprika, onion powder, salt, and pepper to a small bowl.
    • Whisk well to combine.
    • Lay your ribs on a large cutting board or baking sheet and then flip over to reveal the backside of the ribs.
    • Remove the white membrane from the back of the ribs. It should peel off easily, but a sharp paring knife can help with the trickier areas.
    • Cut off any "silver skin" that you see on the back of the ribs. This is stuff that just hardens and becomes chewy when baked.
    • Removing it from the back of the bones will help the meat to fall off the bone when tender. A trick I use is to simply cut or slice through it where it's too hard to remove completely.
    • Add your rub seasoning blend to the ribs.
    • Season well to coat both sides. Add seasoned ribs on a large piece of foil. The foil should be wide and long enough to wrap the ribs completely.
    • Pull the foil up over the ribs, creating a tent peak along the top middle. You may need two pieces of foil lying side by side to accomplish this. Overlap them slightly so that the bottom of the ribs is on top of both pieces without exposing the meat.
    • Fold the tent peak downward to crimp and seal the foil. Roll and crimp the two open ends as well. You want the ribs to be well contained.
    • Place on a baking sheet, angling it from corner to corner, if needed.
    • Place the ribs into the oven for 2 hours. Carefully unseal the ribs and check for tenderness. Bake for another 20 minutes if they're not tender yet.
    • When your ribs are done, drain the juices from the pan and then add your favorite BBQ sauce.
    • Brush the BBQ sauce around to coat everything well.
    • Place in the oven and broil on high for 6-7 minutes or until the sauce begins to caramelize. Or Grill until charred.
    • Slice and serve. Enjoy!

    Notes

    Recipe Tips:
    • Cook ribs until internal temperature reaches 190-200°F for tenderness.
    Reheating:
    • Use microwave for 1-2 rib pieces at 1.5-2 minutes or air fryer at 375°F for 3-5 minutes.
    • For larger portions, oven at 250°F, covered with foil, for 30 minutes or until 140°F.
    Recipe Add-Ins:
    • Optionally add garlic and sliced onion to ribs before baking.

    Nutritional Information

    Serving: 1serving | Calories: 1194kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 62g | Fat: 94g | Saturated Fat: 30g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 16g | Monounsaturated Fat: 34g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 318mg | Sodium: 1307mg | Potassium: 1122mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 1167IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 89mg | Iron: 4mg
    Author Nicole Durham
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine American
    Tried this recipe?Mention @BeeyondCereal on Instagram and hashtag it #BeeyondCereal
    Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used. To view how this recipe was calculated you can visit my Pricing Disclosure Page for more information.

    More Main Course Dishes for Dinner

    • three chicken fajitas on a plate with tomatoes cheese and cilantro.
      Chicken Fajita Freezer Meal
    • hand holding a pot roast taco above a plate with more on it.
      Mississippi Pot Roast Tacos
    • a plate topped with mashed potatoes and shredded mississippi roast.
      Instant Pot Mississippi Roast
    • 4 cheap family meals collaged together.
      Cheap Family Meals Under $10

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    No Comments

    5 from 2 votes (2 ratings without comment)

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    A photo of Nicole from Beeyond Cereal

    Hey, I'm Nicole

    The proud owner and recipe developer behind BeeyondCereal. Here, I'm passionate about showing people how to navigate the kitchen with frugality in mind, whipping up family-friendly recipes that not only save money but also bring joy to every meal.

    Learn More→

    Summer Recipes

    • two loaves of snickerdoodle zucchini bread on a cutting board with two fresh zucchini.
      Snickerdoodle Zucchini Bread
    • strawberry blueberry shortcake with fresh fruit and homemade whipped cream.
      Strawberry Blueberry Shortcake
    • a white bowl filled with orange fluff sald and topped with marshmallows and orange slices.
      Orange Creamsicle Fluff
    • angled view into a glass of ice cold lemonade with sliced lemons on a wooden cutting board and fresh lemons to the side.
      Single Serving Lemonade

    Trending NOW

    • a white bowl filled with cooked canned green beans.
      The Best Canned Green Bean Recipe
    • a bowl of creamy 5 ingredient mac and cheese.
      5 Ingredient Mac and Cheese
    • roasted chicken, carrots and potatoes in a baking dish with a sprig of rosemary on top.
      Roasted Chicken with Potatoes and Carrots
    • sliced banana bread on a wooden surface.
      Eggless Banana Bread
    • a sliced beef roast on a cutting board with carving utensils.
      Poor Mans Prime Rib
    • cinnamon rolls with icing on top in an 8x8 baking dish.
      Small Batch Cinnamon Rolls

    As Seen In

    as seen in various articles and websites.

    Footer

    ↑ Back to Top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Affiliate Disclaimer
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Public Sharing Policy
    • Pricing Disclosure
    • Accessibility Statement

    Follow

    • Subscribe for FREE eBook
    • Follow on Facebook
    • Follow on Instagram
    • Follow on Pinterest

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Services

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2025 Beeyond Cereal --Theme by Feast Design Co.

    promotional graphic for Baked Bbq Pork Spare Ribs

    Rate This Recipe

    Your vote:




    A rating is required
    A name is required
    An email is required

    Recipe Ratings without Comment

    Something went wrong. Please try again.