Make these flavorful fall-off-the-bone tender Oven Baked Ribs. This recipe can be prepped in about 10 minutes time and requires no grill or smoker. They bake perfect every time!

 

Making ribs in the oven is so incredibly easy. My easy recipe requires NO BOILING of the meat beforehand making for less mess and cleanup. They cook low and slow resulting in the most taste bud pleasing ribs that you will make over and over again.
Try these ribs with your favorite BBQ sauce or make a super easy Homemade 3 Ingredient Barbecue Sauce for the BEST Ribs.

Ribs are one of our favorite meals to make because my entire family loves them. I often make Slow Cooker Coca Cola Ribs when I am not eager to heat up the kitchen. During the fall and winter months, these Oven Baked Ribs are my go-to.

The key to the recipe is adding simple spices along with some onion and garlic. The oven allows the ribs to cook until incredibly tender with delicious flavor. I personally love a local favorite BBQ sauce. But, the results will be great with your favorite flavored sauce.

I always use Baby Back Ribs (Pork Back Ribs) as they are our favorite. I like to stock up when they are on sale. This oven ribs recipe can be made with side ribs but you they may require more baking time.

Oven Baked Rib Ingredients

A lot of homemade rib recipes call for all sorts of interesting ingredients, especially if you don’t have a smoker. You don’t have to worry though: we wanted to keep making ribs from scratch as easy as can be so the ingredients are kept simple- no mustard rubs or liquid smoke needed! To make our Oven Ribs, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• Spices – Any sort of BBQ recipe needs a good spice blend! For our quick rib rub, we used paprika, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. You’re welcome to experiment and try adding other seasonings- maybe mustard for some southern BBQ twang or some cayenne pepper for a bit of spicy kick.
• Ribs – We used 2 racks of baby back ribs for this rib recipe. Most oven baking sheets aren’t going to fit two full rib racks, so don’t worry if you have to grab a second sheet or cut them in half to make them fit.
• Onions – Go with yellow onions or sweet Vidalia onions. In a pinch, white onions might also work but we’d avoid using red onions here.
• Garlic – Minced garlic from the jar is perfectly fine here.
• Barbecue Sauce – We like to use a sweet BBQ sauce on our ribs, so we reached for a local favorite: Montgomery Inn BBQ sauce. You’re more than welcome than to use whatever your favorite BBQ sauce is instead. Maybe even try going homemade with our 3 Ingredient BBQ Sauce recipe!

See recipe card for quantities.

How to make Ribs in the Oven

Making ribs at home is actually pretty easy- especially if you go with Oven Baked Ribs! There’s no checking on a smoker, spritzing your meat, or any weird liquid smoke steam tricks going on here: just simple, oven baked, slow cooked ribs. Here’s all you have to do to make ribs in the oven from scratch:

• To start, add all the spices and seasonings together to a bowl. Whisk together until combined into a consistent spice rub blend. Set aside.

• Now it’s time to prep your ribs. For starters, remove the membrane from the back of the rib rack. Use a paper towel for extra grip when pulling rib membrane- it makes it way easier.

• After removing rib membranes, cut ribs into smaller pieces to fit on baking sheet. Evenly coat ribs with rub you made before. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil before transferring ribs to sheet.

• Over on a cutting board, slice onions into thin rings or strings and mince or crush garlic if using fresh. Cover tops of ribs evenly with garlic and onion rings/strings.

• Cover ribs with aluminum foil before transferring to an awaiting 275 degree oven. Let ribs slow cook for 2 hours or until ribs are tender. Remove from oven, remove top layer of foil, and discard garlic, onion, and any juices on the bottom of the sheet before brushing ribs liberally on both sides with BBQ sauce.

• Make sure you turn ribs meat side up before continuing. Set oven to low broil and return ribs to oven. Let broil for 5-7 minutes to caramelize BBQ sauce before removing from oven, serving, and enjoying!

Storage / Freezing

Storage: Let any leftover ribs cool completely before storing them. Put your ribs in an airtight container or Ziploc bag and keep in the fridge. BBQ Oven Baked Ribs are safe to eat for 3-4 days after baking- 5 days if you want to push it.

Freezing: To keep ribs in the freezer, your main goal is to prevent freezer burn. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and/or aluminum foil- alternatively, keep in a freezer bag and squeeze out any excess air. Keep frozen for 2-3 months for best flavor, thaw in fridge overnight, and reheat with a splash of water/beef broth while wrapped in foil in a low oven.