Name: Oven Baked Ribs
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 3 h
Total time: 3 h 15 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 Full racks of Baby Back Ribs; 1 cup Ketchup; 1 cup Red Wine Vinegar; 1/2 cup Brown Sugar; 1/4 cup Molasses; 1 1/2 tsp Liquid Smoke; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/4 rounded tsp black pepper; 1/4 tsp garlic powder; 1/4 tsp onion powder

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Oven Baked Ribs – super tender, fall off the bone ribs that are cooked low and slow in the oven. A super easy, fool-proof method that anyone can master!

Baby back ribs have been one of our favorite things for years and years. These says most of the time I make Smoked Ribs, but in the middle of winter that can be a pain, and not everyone has a smoker. Which is where these oven baked ribs come in handy.

We have been making this recipe since before we were married. It was the first way we ever learned how to make them at home, and they quickly became a huge favorite!

Do you remember the restaurant Tony Roma’s? Back when I was in high school it was the go-to place to go for ribs. Back in the day, this was the method we found online and the smoky barbecue sauce we found that gave us the closest results to them.

The ribs are wrapped in foil and cooked low and slow, they turn out super tender and fall off the bone. You don’t get quite the same smoky flavor as cooking them on the smoker, but the barbecue sauce adds that smokiness and lots of great flavor.

What You’ll Need

Baby Back Ribs or St. Louis Style Ribs – they are both very similar and will cook in the same amount of time. St. Louis Style Ribs are a little meatier and flatter than baby backs. They are very similar and will taste almost identical, so use what you can find!
Ketchup
Red Wine Vinegar
Brown Sugar
Molasses
Liquid Smoke
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Salt & Pepper

If you have a sauce you love, you can definitely use that in place of the one in the recipe card. All you need then is ribs and sauce. This homemade sauce comes together in just minutes and is rich, smoky and delicious!

How To Make Oven Baked Ribs

To make the barbecue sauce whisk together all of the ingredients in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, and then reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes until it is nice and thick. Remove from the heat and let it cool.
Preheat the oven to 250º F. And prepare your ribs.
Place the ribs so the meat side is down. Use a butter knife get under the membrane that coats the bone side of the ribs. Use a paper towel or something that helps you get a grip in the membrane and remove it.
Brush both sides of the ribs generously with sauce and wrap them in foil.
Place them on a baking sheet and bake for 2-3 hours. This time will vary, depending on how thick and meaty your ribs are. You can take them out to test and use a fork to see how tender the meat is. If you want it more tender, just put them back in the oven for longer.
Remove the ribs from the oven once they are done and place them on a super hot grill. Baste with additional sauce and cook for 3-4 minutes per side to caramelize the sauce. Alternatively you can use the broiler for this step.
Serve ribs with additional sauce.

Making ribs in the oven is a super easy way to make them any day of the year, with equipment you already have. No need for a smoker or grill or anything extra! Just a rack of ribs, your favorite sauce and some aluminum foil.

Oven Baked Ribs Recipe Tips

Make sure to securely wrap the ribs in foil. It doesn’t have to be tight around the ribs, but you do want to make sure that you don’t have anywhere that air can get in. This traps the moisture inside and keeps the ribs from drying out and makes them very tender and delicious.
Removing the membrane is optional, some people like to leave it on. I think you get more tender ribs without it. So I like to take the time to remove it from the back of the ribs.
Both baby back and St. Louis Style ribs work great with this method. Depending on how thick and meaty your ribs are will determine how long they need to cook. So after 2 hours check them and see. If they aren’t pulling away from the bone and you can’t stick a fork in them easily, add another 30 minutes and check again.
This recipe doesn’t call for a dry rub, it just brushes them with the sauce. If you like a dry rub on your ribs, use this Best Dry Rub For Ribs, it adds tons of great flavor.
If you have a favorite barbecue sauce you can use it in place of the recipe listed below.
You can make as many racks of ribs as you want with this method and the time won’t change. If you can fit them in your oven, and they aren’t super crowded, you can make 4 racks instead of the 2 called for in the recipe. I just like to cut them in half so they are easier to manage.

What To Serve With Ribs

There are lots of ways to make ribs, if you have a pressure cooker Instant Pot Ribs are another great way to get them tender, in much less time.

And if you have a sous vide you can make Sous Vide Ribs and they are some of the most tender ribs I have ever had.

More Tasty Pork Dinner Recipes

Yield: 4

Oven Baked Ribs

Oven Baked Ribs - super tender, fall off the bone ribs that are cooked low and slow in the oven. A super easy fool-proof method that anyone can master!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 3 hours

Total Time 3 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients

2 Full racks of Baby Back Ribs

Smoky Barbecue Sauce

1 cup Ketchup
1 cup Red Wine Vinegar
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Molasses
1 1/2 tsp Liquid Smoke
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 rounded tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder

Instructions

To make the barbecue sauce whisk together all of the ingredients in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, and then reduce the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes until it is nice and thick. Remove from the heat and let it cool.
Meanwhile preheat oven to 250º F.
Place the ribs so the meat side is down. Use a butter knife get under the membrane that coats the bone side of the ribs. Use a paper towel or something that helps you get a grip in the membrane and remove it. Cut each rack of ribs in half, so you have 4 portions.
Brush both sides of the ribs generously with sauce and wrap them in loosely in foil.
Place them on a baking sheet and bake for 2-3 hours. This time will vary, depending on how thick and meaty your ribs are. You can take them out to test and use a fork to see how tender the meat is. If you want it more tender, just put them back in the oven for longer.
Remove the ribs from the oven once they are done and place them on a super hot grill. Baste with additional sauce and cook for 3-4 minutes per side to caramelize the sauce. Alternatively you can use the broiler for this step.
Serve ribs with additional sauce.

Notes

If you want to season your rubs use The Best Dry Rubs For Ribs before brushing on sauce.

Nutrition Information

Yield

Serving Size

4 Servings
Amount Per Serving Calories 722Total Fat 34gSaturated Fat 12gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 20gCholesterol 132mgSodium 1256mgCarbohydrates 65gFiber 0gSugar 59gProtein 37g

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Erin S

Welcome to Dinners, Dishes, & Desserts where my love of food meets my busy life. My name is Erin and I’m a casual home cook who loves to feed people. On this blog, you’ll find hundreds of quick and easy recipes made mostly from scratch. My days are spent in the kitchen, creating new recipes to share with family and friends.