Instant Pot BBQ Pork Ribs (Low FODMAP, Paleo, Refined Sugar-Free)

Nothing screams summer more than these low FODMAP Instant Pot BBQ Pork Ribs with Homemade Barbecue Sauce! Juicy and fall-off-the-bone tender, these BBQ ribs are sure to be the stand-out dish of the summer. In addition to being low FODMAP, this Instant Pot BBQ Pork Ribs recipe is Paleo compliant and refined sugar-free.

Instant Pot: The Best Way to Cook BBQ Ribs

I haven't found a better way to cook BBQ ribs at home other than pressure cooking them with the Instant Pot. It's easy and doesn't heat up your whole kitchen the way oven-baking ribs would. With temps reaching 111° F (44° C) in Canada this week, not further adding to that extraordinary heat is indeed an attractive prospect. True, these ribs are finished off in the oven, but having the broiler on for a few minutes is way better than having the oven on for hours to achieve the same level of tenderness that these Instant Pot BBQ Ribs possess.

BBQ Pork Ribs Dry Rub + BBQ Sauce = BBQ Rib Heaven

The best way to achieve the best flavor for Instant Pot Barbecue Ribs is to use a dry rub first and finish them off with lots of barbecue sauce. Although it takes longer and is a bit more work to make the dry rub, the results are completely worth it as the ribs are flavorful as can be. My husband, Jeff, and I often "fight" over who gets the last few ribs. I typically win this "fight" as I am the one who cooks them.

The barbecue sauce I finish them off with is my low FODMAP Homemade Barbecue Sauce recipe. I have been tweaking this recipe for the last few years, and it is delicious and easy to make. If you have found another low FODMAP barbecue sauce you like to use, feel free to use that instead.

Necessary Equipment

The equipment I use to make these Instant Pot BBQ Pork Ribs includes:

• 6-quart Instant Pot, 8-quart Instant Pot, or a comparable electric pressure cooker
• Parchment paper
• Paper towels
• Small bowl
• Whisk
• Oven broiler
• Baking sheet
• Tinfoil
• Tongs

Instant Pot BBQ Pork Ribs: Ingredients & Success Tips

Pork Ribs

For this recipe, I use a 3-3.5 pound rack of pork baby back ribs, which makes about 4 servings at our house, but may feed more depending on how big of eaters you have. The meatiest, most economical ribs I've found are at Costco, where you buy a pack of two, 3-3.5 pound pound racks together. I typically will chop each rack in half in order to freeze them in large Ziplock bags until I'm ready to cook them.

I start making this recipe by preparing the ribs for pressure cooking. First, I place two pieces of parchment paper on the kitchen counter and place the ribs upon it, top side down. Then, I remove the membrane from the backside of the ribs. This can be made easier by taking a piece of paper towel in your hand and using it to grab hold of a corner of the membrane. If none of the membrane corners are coming up easily, I loosen one using a paring knife. Once I have a decent amount of corner removed from the ribs in order to grip it, I then use a paper towel to pull it the rest of the way. It should all come off in one piece, but if it doesn't, repeat these steps until all of the membrane is removed.

Pork Ribs Dry Rub

Once the membrane has been removed, I whisk together the following dry rub ingredients in a small bowl:

• Dried chives
• Chili powder
• Paprika
• Maple sugar - I order my maple sugar from Amazon, but if you are unable to locate it, coconut sugar is listed as low FODMAP by Monash University's Low FODMAP Diet App in servings of up to 1 teaspoon. Brown sugar can also be used, but the ribs will obviously no longer be refined sugar-free.
• Cayenne
• Kosher salt
• Black pepper

I apply the rub to the ribs on both sides and edges. Then, I let the ribs rest in the rub (marinate, if you will) for 30 minutes.

Homemade Barbecue Sauce

While the ribs are resting, I make a ½ batch of my homemade barbecue sauce recipe (or a full batch if I am planning on using the other half again in the next few weeks). That may seem like a lot of sauce, but the ribs soak it up fairly rapidly, so you will want a lot to slather it on liberally. Slather those ribs! Once done, I remove the sauce from heat and set it aside to cool until the ribs are ready.

Pressure Cook

Once the ribs are finished resting, I add 1 cup cold water, ½ cup apple cider vinegar and ½ teaspoon of liquid smoke (optional) to the Instant Pot. The apple cider vinegar has a tenderizing effect on the ribs when it steams but will be discarded along with the rest of the liquid in the pot once the ribs are cooked. Liquid smoke is optional but gives a nice smokiness to the ribs. It has not yet been tested by Monash University for FODMAPs, but the brand I use only contains water and hickory smoke concentrate, and it only takes a little bit to give a huge punch of smokiness. See my discussion on liquid smoke in my homemade barbecue sauce post.

I place the trivet in the Instant Pot and stand the ribs on top of the trivet with the ribs poking upwards. You cannot place the racks flat as they will not fit that way. If you haven't already done so, you may need to cut the rack in half to get them in properly as they may not bend sufficiently on their own.

Once the ribs are in the Instant Pot, I close the lid, set the pressure release valve to "Sealing," press "Pressure Cook," and set the timer for 25 minutes. Lastly, I turn the "Keep Warm" button off.

Once the cooking cycle has completed and the timer goes off, I set a kitchen timer for 15 minutes and allow the pressure to release naturally for that amount of time. When the 15 minutes are up, I naturally release the remaining pressure. While the pressure is releasing, I preheat my oven broiler and cover a baking sheet with tinfoil.

Slather & Broil

Using tongs, I place the ribs on the baking sheet, top side down. Sometimes they fall apart when lifting them out of the pot, so be careful. Then, I slather the backside liberally with barbecue sauce, flip them over, and slather the top side. I broil them top-side-up until the top gets a bit crispy, about 4-5 minutes. I remove them from the oven, slather them with more barbecue sauce, and then serve.

What can you eat these Instant Pot BBQ Pork Ribs with?

I recommend the following low FODMAP summer side dishes to go along with these Instant Pot BBQ Pork Ribs:

• Low FODMAP Coleslaw (Paleo, Dairy-Free, Refined Sugar-Free)
• Instant Pot Potato Salad (Low FODMAP, Paleo, Whole30)
• Broccoli Salad with Bacon (Low FODMAP, Paleo, Whole30 Option)

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