Slow Cooker Apple Butter BBQ Ribs

An easy and delicious slow cooker recipe: Slow Cooker Apple Butter BBQ Ribs.

Slow Cooker Apple Butter BBQ Ribs

Here’s a slow cooker recipe I tried out on my family on one of our nights of kid-sport’s activities. Ribs are my son’s favorite, so I knew he’d be super happy with this one. The sauce is a little sweet because of the apple butter, so completely appealing to the kiddos. And, if you use Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce, well… everyone loves that one, right? It’s our favorite. You’ll need to plan ahead because the ribs marinate in their spices overnight. Then just pop them into your slow cooker in the morning!

This recipe comes from a cookbook called, The Classic Slow Cooker- Best-Loved Family Recipes to Make Fast and Cook Slow by Judy Hannemann (BakeatMidnight.com). I’m always drawn to a slow cooker cookbook because I have a desire to find as many easy recipes as possible to feed my family. The slow cooker makes dinner easy on busy days, and I have a lot of those! Here are some recipes in the book that I have bookmarked to try: Hot Jalapeno and Chile Popper Dip, Cheeseburger Soup, Chicken with Creamy Mushroom Rice, Pork Chop Stroganoff, Ginger Beef with Mandarin Oranges, Five Cheese Lasagna, Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole, Donut Bread Pudding and Slow Cooker Brownies. A good slow cooker recipe is a KEEPER. This is a good book to have in your collection!

🛒Ingredients needed:

• pork baby back ribs
• brown sugar
• garlic and onion powders
• thyme
• salt and pepper
• cayenne pepper
• barbecue sauce
• apple butter

✏️How to make Slow Cooker Apple Butter BBQ Ribs:

1. Prepare the ribs by removing the thin membrane (silver skin) covering the bone. This prevents the ribs from curling as they cook.
2. In a small bowl, combine the rub ingredients. Rub all sides of the ribs with rub mixture.
3. Place the ribs in a large plastic zip bag and refrigerate overnight.
4. In a small bowl, combine the barbecue sauce and apple butter; set aside.
5. Cut the ribs into 2-rib portions to fit inside the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high 3 to 5 hours (or until ribs are 170℉).
6. Remove the ribs from the slow cooker and drain off any liquid. Wipe the slow cooker dry. Place the ribs back into the slow cooker. Pour about ½ cup of the sauce over the ribs. Cover and cook on high about 30 minutes or until glazed. Serve with remaining sauce (warmed), as desired.

➡️Recipe Tips:

• Not sure how to remove the silver skin? Don’t worry, it’s totally easy. Just slip a knife under the membrane, wiggle it loose from the rack and pull it to remove.
• If you’re really thinking ahead, you can make your own Crockpot Apple Butter a day or two ahead of time.
• Don’t worry if your final step goes a little longer. The glaze will keep the ribs moist and you can switch off the slow cooker. The ribs should stay warm for at least another 30 minutes.

✔️What to serve with Slow Cooker Apple Butter BBQ Ribs:

• I love these ribs with coleslaw!
• They also go well with this beautiful fresh corn salad.
• Some Cheesy Garlic Bread on the side perfectly rounds out this meal.

★How to Store:

Store leftovers tightly wrapped in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. You can gently reheat them in the microwave, if desired.

❤️Why I love this recipe:

1. I’m always happy to have found another “keeper” slow cooker recipe and this is definitely one of those.
2. That combination of BBQ sauce and apple butter is a flavor powerhouse. I need to find other recipes to use it in! 
3. My son loves these ribs and making him a meal he’s excited to sit down to is always a win in my book. 🙂

More slow cooker ribs!

• Slow Cooker Root Beer Baby Back Ribs 
• Slow Cooker Sriracha-Cranberry Baby Back Ribs 
• Slow Cooker Tropical Ribs 
• Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Ribs 

5 from 2 votes

Slow Cooker Apple Butter BBQ Ribs

By RecipeGirl.com (shared with permission from The Classic Slow Cooker: Best- Loved Family Recipes to Make Fast and Cook Slow by Judy Hannemann: The Countryman Press, Copyright 2015)

After marinating overnight and cooking all day these turn out deliciously sweet and spicy.

Prep: 25 minutes mins

Cook: 5 hours hrs

Marinating Time: 8 hours hrs

Total: 13 hours hrs 25 minutes mins

Servings: 6 servings

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Ingredients

RIBS

• ▢ One 3 to 4 pound slab pork baby back ribs

RUB

• ▢ ½ cup brown sugar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• ▢ 2 teaspoons onion powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon thyme
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon pepper
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper

SAUCE

• ▢ ½ cup good barbecue sauce (like Sweet Baby Ray's)
• ▢ ¼ cup apple butter

Instructions 

• Prepare the ribs by removing the thin membrane (silver skin) covering the bone. This prevents the ribs from curling as they cook.
• In a small bowl, combine the rub ingredients. Rub all sides of the ribs with rub mixture.
• Place the ribs in a large plastic zip bag and refrigerate overnight.
• In a small bowl, combine the barbecue sauce and apple butter; set aside.
• Cut the ribs into 2-rib portions to fit inside the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high 3 to 5 hours (or until ribs are 170℉).
• Remove the ribs from the slow cooker and drain off any liquid. Wipe the slow cooker dry. Place the ribs back into the slow cooker. Pour about ½ cup of the sauce over the ribs. Cover and cook on high about 30 minutes or until glazed. Serve with remaining sauce (warmed), as desired.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 512kcal, Carbohydrates: 34g, Protein: 32g, Fat: 27g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g, Monounsaturated Fat: 11g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 115mg, Sodium: 593mg, Potassium: 528mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 30g, Vitamin A: 118IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 81mg, Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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