Oven-Baked Barbecue Ribs uses an easy oven method to cook baby back ribs, resulting in the most delicious and tender ribs every single time.

This easy recipe has just 5 ingredients, a few simple steps, and is perfect for busy days since the ribs slow roast in the oven.

Everyone loves barbecue baby back ribs, but not everyone has a smoker or the time to make them in a smoker. But you can get delicious ribs by wrapping the ribs in aluminum foil and slow-cooking the ribs in the oven. Then you quickly glaze them with your favorite store-bought sauce or an easy homemade bbq sauce.

Oven Baked Barbecue Ribs smothered in barbecue sauce and ready to eat.

Perfect for Sunday suppers and easy weeknight dinners, these oven-baked barbecue ribs are sure to be a family favorite.

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About This Recipe
What is Silver Skin?
Ingredient Notes
Substitutions & Variations
How to Make Oven-Baked Ribs
My Top Tips
What to Serve with Oven Baked Barbecue Ribs
Equipment
Make-Ahead & Storage
More Delicious Main Dishes
📖 Recipe
💬 Comments

About This Recipe

This is one of those recipes that has been kicking around with home cooks for a long time. My mom, in the 1960s, used to make spare ribs in the oven. We didn't have a grill or a smoker, so she cooked ribs in the oven low and slow and then glazed them with her own homemade barbecue sauce. Her ribs were always fall-off-the-bone tender, and no one would ever know that cooking them in the oven was the easiest way to cook spare ribs and still have great flavor.

Back then, pork was a very fatty meat and we always parboiled the ribs to render off some of the fat before slow cooking them. These days, pork is much leaner, and you can skip that step which makes preparing oven ribs even easier.

But what really makes this recipe shine is the sweet and tart barbecue sauce you slather over the ribs. Both the sweetness and the acidity of the sauce are super delicious with pork ribs, which still have a good bit of fat in them today.

Now, I do want to be clear. To make real barbecue ribs you must have fire and smoke. But these baby back ribs from the oven are the next best thing.

So are you ready to make these easy baked ribs? Great!

So, let's cook!

What is Silver Skin?

All ribs have silver skin, a thin membrane of connective tissue running along the back of the ribs. Removing it makes it much easier to cut the ribs after they are cooked.

Using a piece of a paper towel to remove the silver skin from the back the rack of ribs.

Although you can cook ribs with the silver skin on, it is a better experience for your guests to have it removed.

Ingredient Notes

The ingredients, clockwise from top: baby back pork ribs, salt, black pepper, and barbecue sauce.

Here's what you need to make this Oven Baked Barbecue Ribs recipe:

Pork Baby Back Ribs - This recipe is scaled for a single rack of ribs between 2 and 3 pounds. Choose ribs that are narrow and meaty.
Salt - Just regular table salt or you can use fine sea salt.
Black Pepper - Freshly ground is always more fragrant and best.
Barbecue Sauce - Use homemade barbecue sauce or your favorite sweet and smoky store-bought sauce.
Non-Stick Cooking Spray - I always spray a light coating of non-stick cooking spray on the aluminum foil, so the ribs do not stick to it. (not shown)

Please see the recipe card for the exact quantities.

Substitutions & Variations

Substitute St. Louis Ribs. Instead of baby backs, you can use hearty St. Louis style spare ribs.
Use a Dry Spice Rub. If you have a favorite dry rub recipe please feel free to use it instead of the salt and pepper.
Add Chili Powder. When you season the ribs with salt and pepper, you can sprinkle them with chili powder. If the chili powder contains salt, reduce the amount of salt.

How to Make Oven-Baked Ribs

Process Photo 1 - Aluminum foil longer than the length of the ribs is sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Step 1 - Preheat and Prepare Foil. Preheat the oven to 350°F/177°C. Cut a length of extra-wide aluminum foil about 8 inches longer than the length of the ribs. Spray the center of the foil with non-stick cooking spray.

Process Photo 2a - A small paring knife is used to separate the edge of the silver skin from the ribs at the small end.

Process Photo 2b - The silver skin is pulled from the ribs in one piece from the small end to the large end.

Step 2 - Remove Silver Skin. Remove the ribs from its packaging and place them on a double layer of paper towels. Blot all moisture from all sides of the ribs. Turn the ribs bone side up to remove the silver skin.

If You are Right-Handed - Place the ribs with the small end on the left. Use a paper towel to grasp the edge of the silver skin with your right hand and pull left to right to remove it. You can use a paring knife to free the edge of the silver skin, to grasp it.

If You are Left-Handed - Place the ribs with the small end on the right. Use a paper towel to grasp the edge of the silver skin with your left hand and pull right to left to remove it. You can use a paring knife to free the edge of the silver skin, to grasp it.

Process Photo 3a - The ribs are seasoned on all sides with salt and black pepper and placed on the prepared aluminum foil.

Process Photo 3b - The ribs are sealed in the aluminum foil.

Step 3 - Season Ribs. Salt and pepper both sides of the ribs and place them meaty side up, on the prepared sheet of aluminum foil.

Wrap the ribs in aluminum foil by folding the long edges together a few turns and crimping the ends.

Process Photo 4 - The foil wrapped ribs are placed diagonally on a large rimmed baking sheet and ready to be baked.

Step 4 - Bake. Set the foil-wrapped ribs diagonally on a large-rimmed baking sheet.

Bake the ribs for 1 ½ hours or until they are tender and the internal temperature is at least 145°F/63°C on an instant-read thermometer.

Process Photo 5a - The baked ribs are unwrapped and brushed with barbecue sauce.

Process Photo 5b - The barbecue sauce glaze is set after the ribs are baked, unwrapped in the oven.

Step 5 - Glaze. Remove the ribs from the oven and carefully unwrap them. Pour off any liquids. Spoon and brush the barbecue sauce evenly over the top of the ribs.

Increase the oven temperature to 400°F and cook the ribs, uncovered, for an additional 20 to 25 minutes or until the glaze is set. You can also broil the ribs on high to quickly set the barbecue sauce.

Step 6 - Serve and Enjoy. Remove from oven and transfer the ribs to a cutting board. Cut the ribs into sections or as individual ribs. Serve and Enjoy!

My Top Tips

♡ Each rack of ribs is unique and cooking times can vary and be longer by as much as ½ hour. The ribs should look slightly shrunken from the bone when they are ready to be glazed.

♡ An instant-read thermometer is very helpful in determining if the ribs are ready to be glazed. Look for an internal temperature of at least 145°F/63°C.

What to Serve with Oven Baked Barbecue Ribs

Each of these side dishes is a classic pairing with barbecue ribs:

Equipment

For this recipe, you will need the following tools and supplies:

Aluminum Foil. Cooking the ribs in foil makes clean-up a breeze.
Paring Knife. A paring knife is helpful when removing the silver skin from the ribs.
Paper Towels. Drying the ribs well helps the seasoning adhere to the meat. You can also use a clean, dry kitchen towel to dry the ribs.
Large Rimmed-Baking Pan. Although you could use a flat baking sheet, a rimmed baking pan will catch any juices if the foil is cut or torn.
Pastry Brush. A pastry brush is helpful to spread the barbecue sauce over the ribs. If you don't have one, you can also use a small spoon.

Make-Ahead & Storage

Leftover ribs can be stored in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap or aluminum foil in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

More Delicious Main Dishes

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Oven Baked Barbecue Ribs