These bbq air fryer ribs are incredibly good! Ready in just 30 minutes they are crisp on the outside and moist and tender on the inside. Made with pork baby back ribs and barbecue sauce you will love how easy these ribs are to make.
One of the best things about air fryers is how good they are at cooking meat like air fryer pork belly and air fryer lamb chops, and today I am sharing how to make the best air fried ribs!
Table of Contents
Why you will love these ribs:
- These air fryer pork baby back ribs are so so good! Slightly crisp on the outside yet moist and tender on the inside with the best smoky, barbecue flavour.
- They're incredibly easy to make, are ready in just 30 minutes. Plus you only need 4 ingredients to make them and there is no dry rub required.
- This is a healthy rib recipe that can easily be modified to your dietary needs including being made gluten-free, paleo, keto, low carb, or Whole30 compliant.
Ingredients and substitutions:
For the full ingredient list and exact measurements refer to the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Jump to Recipe- Baby back pork ribs - I prefer to use pasture raised pork ribs but you can use any type of pork you prefer. I have only tested this recipe with baby back ribs and do not recommend trying another type of pork ribs.
- Bbq sauce - you can use any type of barbecue sauce that you like for this recipe including both homemade bbq sauce and store bought barbecue sauces.
- Seasonings - sea salt and ground black pepper are the only seasonings you need.
Recipe variations and add ins:
- Feel free to add other spices to these air fryer ribs such as onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, seasoning salt, or cumin powder to give them a different taste.
- For gluten-free: use a gluten-free barbecue sauce.
- For paleo: use a paleo compliant bbq sauce such as my paleo bbq sauce.
- To make these air fryer ribs Whole30 compliant: use a bbq sauce that is Whole30 compliant. My Whole30 BBQ sauce is a great option or you can use a pre-made barbecue sauce such as Good Food for Good sauce or Primal Kitchen BBQ Sauce.
How to make air fryer ribs:
- Step 1: First, remove the membrane from the ribs (if you prefer to leave the membrane on you can and simply skip this step).
- Step 2: Then coat both sides of the ribs with sea salt and ground black pepper, to your liking.
- Step 3: Place the ribs in your air fryer, meat side down, and cook for 15 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Step 4: Coat both sides of the ribs in the barbecue sauce, flip them over, and cook for another 15 minutes at 390 degrees Fahrenheit.
Top Tips:
- This recipe has only been tested for baby back pork ribs. If you try using other cuts of meat you will likely need to adjust both the cooking time and temperature and I cannot guarantee they will work out.
- Depending on the size of your rack of ribs you may need to adjust the cooking times slightly.
- The amount of bbq sauce, salt, and pepper you will need will depend on the size of the ribs you use, which is why I haven't included the amounts in the recipe card.
- You do not need to preheat your air fryer for this rib recipe. If you do preheat it decrease the cook time by a few minutes.
- Storage: store any leftover ribs in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- To reheat: to reheat ribs in the air fryer, cook them at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 2-4 minutes, until the meat is warm.
Serving ideas:
These air fryer ribs are delicious served as is as either an appetizer or main dish but you can also pair them with may different side dishes including:
- Caesar salad or a mixed green salad such as my kale apple salad.
- Air fried French fries, air fryer sweet potato fries or crispy air fryer onion rings.
- My Whole30 potato salad or dairy free broccoli salad.
- With gluten-free cornbread or paleo cornbread muffins.
Air fryer ribs FAQs:
No you don't. I have made this recipe both with the membrane removed and the membrane on, and both ways turn out equally as good!
Ribs need to be at least 145°F to be safe to consume, but they turn out better when they are between 180°F and 195°F. The collagen and fat will not melt into the meat at the lower temperatures so the connective tissues will still be tough and the ribs not very tender at 145°F.
I recommend starting with the meat side down, and then flipping to the other side after the first 15 minutes. This ensures both sides get cooked evenly.
When you cook ribs in the air fryer they don’t get as tender as when you bake them or slow cook them but instead have a bit of a crispier outside with a nice tender inside.
Other air fryer recipes you will love:
Recipe
BBQ Air Fryer Ribs
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 rack of baby back pork ribs
- bbq sauce (the amount you need will depend on the size of your ribs)
- sea salt (to taste)
- ground black pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Remove the membrane from the back of the ribs.
- Sprinkle both sides of the ribs salt and pepper (you can also add other spices if you like).
- Place the ribs in the air fryer, meat side down and cook for 15 minutes at 400F.
- Take the ribs out and coat both sides in bbq sauce.
- Place the ribs back in the air fryer and cook for another 15 minutes at 390F.
- Let the ribs cool for a few minutes and then serve and enjoy! Feel free to add a little extra bbq sauce if you like as well.
Notes
- Nutritional values are estimates and will vary depending on the specific ingredients you use.
- This recipe has only been tested for baby back pork ribs. If you try using other cuts of meat you will likely need to adjust both the cooking time and temperature.
- Feel free to add other spices to the ribs such as onion powder, garlic powder etc.
- Depending on the size of your rack of ribs you may need to adjust the cooking times slightly.
Kristie
My mouth is watering!