Honey Balsamic Slow Cooker Pork Ribs
These slow cooker pork ribs are fall-off-the-bone delicious! The slow cooker makes them incredibly tender and moist, and the honey balsamic glaze just doesn’t need an explanation. Does it?? They are SO easy to make!
Today is the primary election in California and I realized that I accidentally threw away my mail-in ballot. In an effort to keep my house clutter free, I’ve become ruthless in the past few years when it comes to throwing stuff away. I don’t know who I think I am throwing away my voting ballot, but I’ll blame it on the pre-vacation cleaning frenzy.
You know, the crazy eyes cleaning where everything has to be spotless before you leave? (Click that link, you will die laughing)
I have a friend who told me that her mom would clean for HOURS before they left for a vacation. She has a memory of everyone (all 6 kids) being in the car while her mom was in the house doing some last minute tidying, except she wasn’t just rinsing the breakfast dishes or something, she was on her hands and knees cleaning the grout in the entryway tile.
I’m sure Eric held up the voting ballots the day we left for our trip and said, “hey we should vote” and I went something like, “WE DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THAT NONSENSE, THROW IT AWAY AND START SCRUBBING THE GROUT!!”
Also I totally feel like Meg Ryan on You’ve Got Mail. Remember when she admits to her boyfriend that on election day, she went to get a manicure and forgot to vote? He’s like, “I forgive you.” and Meg’s like, “You FORGIVE ME??”
Don’t worry, I can’t actually NOT vote. I don’t have enough Meg Ryan in me. I’ll have to make it over to a voting center somewhere today, which will be loads of fun I’m sure. Wish me luck!
At least I’ll have these ribs to come home to! These AMAZING slow cooker pork ribs are from my friend Natalie’s new cookbook, The Big Book of Paleo Slow Cooking. Natalie’s blog is called Perry’s Plate, and I’ve been following her since forever! She’s so talented.
I don’t eat Paleo, but I do love cooking with normal ingredients. I’ve gone through a few of my grandma’s old slow cooker books and almost all of them have some kind of cream-of-soup in them. I’m not a huge stickler about it (let’s be honest, cream of chicken soup is kind of amazing) but I don’t want to eat it every time I use my slow cooker!
Natalie has lots of options for healthy slow cooker meals that are KILLER. I tried a sweet potato curry that was also delicious, and I’m trying the Strawberry Balsamic Chicken next!! This book would actually be a really nice Father’s Day gift, if you have a guy who likes to cook. There are a lot of manly meat recipes.
How to make slow cooker pork ribs
I was super excited to try these slow cooker pork ribs, and they did not disappoint. Honey balsamic is just such a fabulous flavor combination! The ribs get SO TENDER in the slow cooker. I’ve actually never made pork ribs in the slow cooker (I know, who am I?? I usually do oven, then grill) but I’m a huge fan. Such a good way to get some summer-lovin food without even venturing outside to the grill, where there is no air conditioning.
The best part about the recipe is that after they have slow cooked all day, you brush them with glaze and crisp the edges in the broiler. It gives them that perfect sticky outer edge. Then you douse them with more glaze at the table. Give me all the glaze!
I served this with My Favorite Coleslaw and Literally the Best Mac and Cheese. Summer just has the BEST side dishes, right??
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One year ago: Blender Hollandaise SauceÂ
Two years ago: Mississippi Mud Cake < family favorite
Three years ago: Blackberry Balsamic Grilled Chicken
Six years ago: Brazilian Cheese Bread << these would actually go with today’s ribs really well!
Slow Cooker Honey Balsamic Ribs
Ingredients
For the ribs
- 1 rack spare ribs, full rack of spare or back ribs
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 1 large lemon
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
- 6 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup water
For the glaze
- 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup honey
Instructions
- In a 6-quart or larger slow cooker that has not been turned on, add the ribs. Cut and layer as necessary to get them to fit.
- In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice, salt, mustard, garlic, onion powder, thyme, and black pepper.
- Use your hands to rub the mixture into the ribs, top and bottom and all over.
- Place the lid on the turned off crockpot and let the ribs sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, add 1/4 cup water to the bottom of the slow cooker. Try not to wash the rub off of the ribs, add the water near the edge.
- Turn the crock pot on and turn the heat to low. Cook for 5-6 hours. The meat should be tender and shred easily with a fork.
- Line a large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Transfer the ribs to the baking sheet.
- Make the glaze: Pour 1 and 1/4 cups of the cooking juices from the crock pot into a small saucepan and set over medium high heat. Add the balsamic vinegar and honey. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Let simmer and bubble actively for 6-8 minutes, until the glaze has thickened and looks syrupy. It should coat the back of a spoon.
- Preheat your broiler to high heat and move the oven rack to the top, so that it's just a few inches away from the heat source.
- Brush some of the glaze over the ribs. Broil in the oven for 2-3 minutes. Brush the ribs again with the glaze, rotate the pan, and return to the broiler. Broil for another 2-3 minutes. Don't walk away! Set a timer! Can you imagine burning your ribs at this point after waiting this long??? All the tears.
- Serve ribs hot with the extra glaze!
- I served these with My Favorite Coleslaw and Literally the Best Mac and Cheese I've Ever Had. Soooo good.
Notes
This recipe is from my friend Natalie's new cookbook, The Big Book of Paleo Slow Cooking. Natalie's blog is called Perry's Plate, and it's awesome!
Nutrition
More summer dinner recipes you will love!
Nana’s Fall Off the Bone Ribs and “Barb”-ecue sauce << these are a huge family classic!
Brown Sugar Balsamic Pork Tenderloin (Crock Pot) << this is an old standby.
Balsamic Grilled Chicken with Spicy Honey Bacon Glaze << I just made this again last night!
More slow cooker ribs to love!
Slow Cooker Balsamic Short Ribs from Your Homebased Mom
Slow Cooker BBQ Country Style Ribs from Amanda’s Cookin’
Crock Pot BBQ Ribs from Tried and Tasty
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My goodness…what a wonderful recipe.!
I remember my Mom cooking ribs in the oven for a very long time. Fell off the bone but she never seasoned anything!
These are a “blue ribbon” winner!
So glad it was a hit Rebecca! I do love oven baked ribs, they are so tender. But it is nice to have a slow cooker hack recipe! Thanks so much for commenting!
HELP!! I made this ribs in the slow cooker on Sunday. They finished cooking after midnight so I put them in the fridge, went to bed, and left the cooking liquid in the cooker, planning to finish baking them the next day. Wrong! To my horror, my son woke up early and cleaned the kitchen and…emptied the liquid from the slow cooker, in the process. Arggghhh! Why?? Now what can I do, without that liquid-just add water to the balsamic/honey mixture and boil?? That doesn’t sound good; all the flavour has gone down the drain!! Just use barbeque sauce from a bottle to finish them off? Thanks, Karen, for all your wonderful recipes! HELP!!
Oh no Fredda! That’s tragic! How dare your son do something nice and throw away your perfectly good sauce!! ;) I’m sure this is too late to be helpful, but yes, I would probably just use a pre made sauce to glaze at that point. I hope they ended up ok!
I made these for the family last night and it was a huge hit! Served with garlic mashed potatoes and broccoli! Thanks for the awesome recipe and so easy to do too.
Ooh good side dish choices! So glad you liked the ribs Sheryl! Thanks for commenting!
Wonderful flavor and so easy. Cooking crockpot method really tenderizes the ribsÂ
For the first 30 minutes, do you put it on high or on low?
Hi Kasia! As stated in the recipe, the first 30 minutes are just with the slow cooker turned off. You’re marinating the meat before cooking. Enjoy!!
I made these ribs and loved them. Now I want to make this recipe using short ribs. How should I modify if at all?
Thanks
Norma
This was a perfect recipe to add my files, Iove making balsamic vinegar glazes.
With the ribs, I put some onions and jalapenos in the crock and added a tad of chili powder.
I made three times the glaze cause I wanted extra with some hot sauce, plus its good to have in the fridge. I cooked it for about 25 minutes came out nice and thick. I did the roasted peppers and some slaw this was excellent and awesome, The only issue, every time I open an email from a food blog, ( you are in a five-way tie for the best # 1 ) I keep forgetting the diet my Dr. put me on.
Thank you…..
Can’t wait to make these ribs.  They look delish.  Also love your zucchini recipes today.
I’ve made these for years. Instead of water, I use red wine, and it is a lot better. Make sure you season the liquid too. Then layer onions and garlic slices on top of the ribs, and put a few in the wine. Cook on low for 8 hours, then broil with whatever glaze or sauce you want. Amazing!
This would be amazing with wine, Curry! Thanks for the idea!
DELICIOUS! Pleasantly surprised after making these: and about to make them for the 2nd time!!!Â
Thanks Jena! I just made these the other night too, they are addictive!
I am almost done making the glaze. It takes way more time to become syrupy and needs to be on full boil to get there. Hopefully the recipe will work otherwise. Â I am frustrated right now.
Hey Alice! The recipe does indeed call for a full boil, and should be bubbling for a good 6-8 minutes. I’m sorry you’re frustrated!
I made it and it was quite good. Used fresh thyme (because I had some) and chicken broth (because I had some) and they were great! Cook them for the whole 6 hours for maximum tender. The glaze was good but I never get ANY of them to thicken like the recipe says. Would make this again.
Hey Paul! Fresh thyme sounds amazing, great idea. The glaze on this recipe doesn’t thicken up a ton, just a little bit. You are always welcome to add more cornstarch and cold water to make it thicker. Thanks for the review!
Made these a few days ago for the first time! They were so good, my hubby couldn’t get enough of them! I’ll be making these for company next, I’m sure they’ll love, love them!Â
Thank you for sharing your recipe….
Hey Val, I’m so glad the recipe was a hit! Hard to go wrong with fall off the bone ribs :) Thanks so much for commenting, it’s great to hear from you!
I tested this recipe for the 4th, it was a HUGE hit 😋!
Woohoo! We always make ribs on the 4th too! Hope you had a great holiday! Thanks for the review :)
One more thought . . . . I actually use my crock pot on my DECK in the summer. On one of the lovely wrought iron chairs, next to an outlet. This way the house doesn’t get heated up even a little bit! Father’s Day our high was only 76 degrees, so I kept it inside, but in July, these babies will be simmerin’ on the deck! If you have large animals, you might need to thread broomsticks through the crock pot handles, then the chair handles, to hold it in place . . .
Okay, this is probably one of the TOP FOUR DISHES I have EVER made for my family!!! They loved it!!! They actually nearly finished off 3 $15 packages of baby backs!!! 8 people!!! These were just incredible!!!!!!!!! You’re right, cutting the ribs in half & stacking them in my large oval crock pot was much cooler than heating the oven all day. I’ve never used mustard in a rub before, but it was TO DIE FOR! I actually used my favorite Garlic Mustard. Heaven! This will get made over, and over, and over again! It’s our new favorite food. I love you for making me look so good. You’re a hero!
I just got my mail-in ballot today! I’ll throw it away so I can be just like you!!
Holy peppers in the background. Those look as good as the main dish. Yummmmm
Bahaha yes please do and then you will have to go find an in person voting center because I know you can’t not vote either :) And yes, the peppers that I grilled alongside the Balsamic Grilled Chicken that I linked to are so delish!
these look AMAZING. definitely going to make.Â
Yay!! Let’s make them this week Lina!
Wow! Â This looks sooo gooood!
Thanks! Hope you get to try them out!
My husband’s bday is next week. Between that and Father’s Day, these ribs will definitely be happening. A couple of those pics made me want to pick the rib up and get allll that meat right off the bone. YUM!!!
Yes that is a double whammy of manly occasions that need some ribs to happen with it ;) Ribs are meant to be eaten with your hands, get out your bib and dig in!!! Hope you love them!!
I clicked the link for the crazy-eye lady – what the heck?!! Hilarious!
I’m going to try these ribs, which I have rarely done, as I’m not so good at the bbq. You got me with your throw-away line, “…get some summer-lovin food without even venturing outside to the grill, where there is no air conditioning.” That is my criteria for food in the summer – INSIDE, where the AC is!
Isn’t that video hilarious?? It’s so weird but I die laughing every time. And yes, you will love these ribs because there is no grilling required! Just turn on the slow cooker and put your feet up :) And blast the AC while you’re at it.