Slow Cooker Dr. Pepper BBQ Ribs are Country Style Pork Ribs, slow cooked in Dr. Pepper, then baked to caramelize the Dr. Pepper BBQ sauce. Only 3 ingredients!
I am what you would call a fair weather winter person. Growing up in the Midwest, it doesn’t seem right to NOT have snow on the ground at Christmastime, but by the time mid-January hits, I am tired of the dreary grey skies and the cold and the white stuff that has now turned a not so pretty white.
I long for long summer days with sunshine and patio sitting and GRILLING.
^Love it? PIN It!^
My son has been home from college for the last month, and he returns this weekend. I have been letting him get in his dinner requests this week. Yesterday though, I thought I would wing it. I had some boneless country style pork ribs in the freezer, so I defrosted them and decided to have barbecue. My family NEVER argues about barbecue, it’s something I know that everyone will be happy about.
I typically boil my ribs in beer before I grill them. You can find my recipe for those pork ribs HERE. Yesterday though, more white stuff was falling from the winter sky, and I decided dinner would not be getting made on the patio. I tossed the ribs in my slow cooker, and dumped a can of Dr. Pepper over the top.
After they cooked slow all day, becoming so tender I could barely move them to my baking rack, I knew they would be awesome. I transferred them to a rack over a cookie sheet, and brushed them with a combination of BBQ sauce and more Dr. Pepper. The sauce was super yummy! I baked them for 30 minutes to caramelize the sauce, flipping them once and adding more sauce.
Cheesy Cornbread Drop Biscuits – A fluffy and slightly sweet in the middle biscuit, full of flavor with a crisp exterior. They make the perfect pairing to soups and salads.
They were sensational. I served them with hash browns, cheesy cornbread drop biscuits and sweet corn. My husband said “This is the best dinner you have made in a long time!” (He’s partial to the entire menu, so I had no doubt he would be thrilled!) I love making him and his tummy happy!
Did I mention this recipe only requires three ingredients?
What three ingredients do I need to make these Slow Cooker Dr. Pepper Ribs?
- Boneless Country Style Pork Ribs
- Dr. Pepper Soda (Cherry Dr. Pepper is good, too!)
- Barbecue Sauce
Yep! That’s it! The crock pot does all of the work making them tender then you bake them to caramelize the sauce on them before you eat them. You could also do that step on the grill if you aren’t suffering through a freezing January like we are.
I like to buy the boneless ribs. If you prefer the ones with the bone, they work, too! I prefer pork ribs over beef, as I think they just have so much more meat. Plus, pork is seriously economical!
Place the ribs in your slow cooker, and pour a can of Dr. Pepper over the top.
The lid goes on, and you can either cook them on low all day, or you can cook them on high in half the time.
When they are nice and tender, carefully remove them from the crock pot and place them on a wire rack over a foil covered cookie sheet.
Combine your favorite BBQ sauce with some more Dr. Pepper. We love our Sweet Baby Rays!
Brush BBQ sauce on them and bake them for 15 minutes. Flip them and do the same to the other side.
All set!! Don’t they look amazing?
Dig in!!
If you love Dr. Pepper and you love BBQ Ribs — here are a couple more recipes you need to try!
DR. PEPPER BBQ PORK SANDWICHES Make these mouthwatering BBQ Pork Sandwiches right in your crock pot. Pork loin roast, slow cooked all day, making it’s very own Dr. Pepper BBQ Sauce. Make sure you grab a napkin!
BBQ Pork Ribs – Boiled in beer until tender, grilled and covered in homemade sauce, these Country Style Pork Loin Ribs are fall apart, finger licking delicious!
CRAZY ABOUT BARBECUE! Grab a napkin, a cold brew and dig in to some All-American Barbecue! Here are 20+ recipe you can make with a bottle of BBQ Sauce!
A Few Other Great Dr. Pepper Recipes:
Let’s Dig in!
Slow Cooker Dr. Pepper BBQ Ribs
Ingredients
- 4.5 pounds boneless country style pork ribs
- 2 cans Dr. Pepper soda, divided
- 3/4 cup BBQ sauce (your favorite, we love our Sweet Baby Ray's!)
Instructions
Place ribs in the bottom of your slow cooker, pour 1 can of soda over them. Cover and slow cook for 7 hours on low or 4 hours on high.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cover a cookie sheet with foil then place a wire rack over the top.
Combine 3/4 cup BBQ sauce with 1/2 cup Dr. Pepper soda.
Carefully remove the ribs from the slow cooker, placing on rack. Brush tops with sauce. Bake for 15 minutes, flip and brush other side. Bake 15 minutes more.
Serve remaining sauce at the table.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
11 ouncesAmount Per Serving: Calories: 1029 Total Fat: 63g Saturated Fat: 22g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 37g Cholesterol: 327mg Sodium: 619mg Carbohydrates: 28g Fiber: 0g Sugar: 25g Protein: 90g
This recipe has been updated from it’s original post … if you followed this old photo here, you are still in the right place! 🙂
If you make this recipe, I’d love to know! Snap a picture, share the photo on social media with the hashtag #AnAffairFromTheHeart – I’d love to see what you made! – Michaela
Jenna says
January 3, 2019 at 2:15 pmNever thought about putting BBQ sauce and Dr. Pepper together! These are making me so hungry. Saving for an upcoming BBQ party.
Amy | The Cook Report says
January 3, 2019 at 2:21 pmI’m really not a fan of the weather this time of year either, these ribs look like the perfect thing to warm you up!
Katie says
January 3, 2019 at 2:57 pmI’ve heard of using Coca Cola in something like this before, but Dr. Pepper sounds good too- with the extra flavors. Great idea!
Rae says
January 3, 2019 at 3:40 pmThese ribs seem almost to easy to be real life. Next time I find Dr Pepper in the house I will certainly try this great recipe! The meat looks so tender and delicious.
Edyta at Eating European says
January 3, 2019 at 6:45 pmMy husband would love this recipe. He loves both Dr. Pepper and ribs. You can’t go wrong with that 🙂
Taylor Kiser says
January 3, 2019 at 8:14 pmThese ribs look crazy delicious! And super easy with only 3 ingredients! This would be great for game day eats!
Chichi says
January 3, 2019 at 8:20 pmThis is absolutely delicious. My hubby would love this recipe. So yummy! Will try it.
Saima says
January 5, 2019 at 9:44 pmWow! Just three ingredients can make such a beautiful dish! Your photos are very helpful too!
Monica | Nourish + Fete says
January 5, 2019 at 10:15 pmYum, no wonder your family was so thrilled with these, they look delicious, and so easy to make! Lucky son, eating like this on his break from college! 🙂
TIsha says
January 5, 2019 at 11:21 pmThese look absolutely perfect for game day!!!
Natalie says
January 6, 2019 at 6:23 amLooks so tempting and delicious! Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry says
January 6, 2019 at 6:32 amThese look so mouthwateringly delicious! I love the use of Dr Pepper for maximum taste sensation!
Pat Overackefr says
January 13, 2019 at 3:56 pmI made the ribs for my family and they loved them. Will definitely make them again
Michaela Kenkel says
January 13, 2019 at 4:09 pmSo happy you liked them!
Mary Hansen says
January 13, 2019 at 4:05 pmCan these be done using diet Dr Pepper? I don’t do sugar.
Michaela Kenkel says
January 13, 2019 at 4:09 pmSure thing!
Teresa says
January 13, 2019 at 4:17 pmcould you use beef ribs in place of pork? BF doesn’t like pork very much. thank you
Michaela Kenkel says
January 13, 2019 at 4:32 pmYou can. Beef ribs don’t have near as much meat, that’s why I buy pork. But they will still be good!
Brigitta Barnes says
January 27, 2019 at 5:42 pmCould you add a little BBQ sauce in the slow cooker to merge with the Dr Pepper to allow the BBQ flavor to soak into the meat during the cooking phase?
Michaela Kenkel says
January 28, 2019 at 3:40 pmYou sure can — but it isn’t necessary!! Feel free to customize it however you like! 🙂
Susan says
February 3, 2019 at 4:15 pmEasy…simple and oh so yummy.
Susan says
February 3, 2019 at 4:17 pmEasy, simple and oh so delicious!!
Joseph Stamboni says
February 3, 2019 at 7:22 pmMichaela ; I made this today for dinner . Everyone liked it , A Lot ! Think next time I”ll skip oven step though. I prefer meat extremely moist and juicy . Thank You for this recipe , Will make again !
Michaela Kenkel says
February 5, 2019 at 4:28 pmI am so happy you liked them, Joseph! I like the way the oven or the grill caramelizes the BBQ sauce, but you could sure skip that part! They are 100% cooked, so why not!? 🙂
Meghan says
February 6, 2019 at 4:14 pmAbsolutely delicious! The only “issue” that I had was the meat was soooo tender, it fell off the bone…literally ha! I ended up with little riblets that were too small to bake on a wire rack. But it turned out just as wonderful on a baking sheet. Thanks for the idea! ?
Michaela Kenkel says
February 8, 2019 at 9:30 amMeghan – that sounds like a fairly “good problem” to have! LOL!! Maybe less time in the crock pot will help next time! I always buy the boneless country style ribs — If you get the meatier ones, that could help, too! Thanks for the feedback, it’s always welcomed!
Harold DeWayne says
February 23, 2019 at 9:27 amHi Michela —
I am a recently widowed single grandfather and I made these ribs… VERY good (and I haven’t cooked in over 20 years!). One thind I did differently though was since I was eating an orange while I was cooking, I threw the orange peel in the slow cooker along with the meat. Quite good and the orange peel added some color to the dish after I got through baking the bbs sauce on the ribs… served it with asparagus…. my problem was that I didn’t make enough… I only used about 1 1/2 pounds of ribs for myself and a 13 year old grandson. Looked REALLY yummy when I put it all together with the orange peel on top of the ribs and surrounded by the asparagus.
Thank you for posting this recipe. My wife was a great cook (as testified by my waistline) but even she never made this.
Michaela Kenkel says
February 24, 2019 at 9:14 pmHarold – you just melted my heart with your comment. Thank you for taking the time to let me know that you and your grandson liked the recipe. I think the addition of the orange was pure brilliance! I am trying that next time. I bet it did make for a pretty presentation! Next time you’ll have to double the amount of ribs, right? 😉 I am sure your wife was smiling down on you two while you enjoyed them. Michaela
Becky Compton says
February 24, 2019 at 1:54 pmThese are the Best Ribs! Second time we have made them! Thank you!
Michaela Kenkel says
February 24, 2019 at 9:05 pmBecky – Thank you so much for telling me you loved them!! I hope they are a longtime favorite!
May Jerzak says
March 11, 2019 at 7:23 pmI found this recipe on Pinterest and omg is it fall off the bone good! I followed the recipe exactly as written and I wouldn’t change a thing!!
Michaela Kenkel says
March 16, 2019 at 10:34 pmSo happy you enjoyed them, May!
Linda says
March 24, 2019 at 10:37 amHi! These look wonderful! One question. I’d like to double the recipe. Is it ok to layer the ribs then? Thx for your reply!
Michaela Kenkel says
March 24, 2019 at 10:30 pmIn your crock pot, yes!! Just make sure they are in a single layer when you bake them!
Kaylin says
March 29, 2019 at 6:17 pmI am in LOVE with this recipe!!! I left them in the crock pot while I was at work and baked them when I got home!! Super easy and oh so delicious!!!!!
Ken says
April 17, 2019 at 2:54 pmBake at what temp?
Michaela Kenkel says
April 18, 2019 at 4:28 pmI had to double check it was in the step-by-step recipe here, and it is. Whew! 400 degrees!
Bud says
May 13, 2019 at 10:47 amCan I use root beer instead of dr pepper ?
Michaela Kenkel says
May 13, 2019 at 10:11 pmYes!! It works great!!
Sue says
May 15, 2019 at 9:34 pmCan you use diet dr pepper? I’m a diabetic. Is there another option for the soda?
Michaela Kenkel says
May 16, 2019 at 1:27 pmSure you can!! Root beer works too!
Jamie says
May 23, 2019 at 1:58 pmThese look so delicious! I can’t believe you can use Dr. Pepper like that.