32 Rib Recipes That Are Fall-Off-the-Bone Tender and Packed With Flavor

When it comes to ribs, you've got options. Pork or beef? Racks of baby backs in the oven, marbled spare ribs on the grill or comforting short ribs from your Dutch oven? It can be difficult to decide when you've got so many delicious choices. That's why we've rounded up some of our favorite recipes. They'll help you find exactly what you're looking for, from BBQ ribs for a backyard cookout to slow-cooked mains for a good, old-fashioned Sunday dinner.

Even a barbeque purist can't scoff at these foil-wrapped, baked-and-glazed beauties. They're satisfyingly sweet, savory, smoky and flavorful. The meat falls off the bones! Plus, baking in foil also reduces the amount of clean up. You’ll be busy enjoying these ribs — who has time for dishes?!

This is a reimagining of those fast-food rib sandwiches — but when you make one yourself with excellent ingredients, it's even better than your drive-thru memories.

Sunny Anderson's Easy BBQ Short Ribs are fall-off-the-bone tender with just 10 minutes of prep, slow-roasted low and slow in a tangy homemade sauce of ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire and mustard. It's the kind of hands-off comfort food that makes any weeknight or backyard gathering feel like a celebration.

These grilled ribs are tender and meaty with a great combination of savory flavor, sweet glaze and smoky char. This recipe is heavily inspired by the signature reddish pork ribs found in Cantonese barbecue restaurants that are often hung next to the ducks and other meats in these establishments. A quick marinade infuses the meat with deep flavor, and the technique of cooking the ribs over an open flame or in a special oven is easily adapted here to your backyard grill. The result is succulent ribs with irresistible flavor, classic red color and a glossy, sticky finish.

Yes, you can cook ribs in a slow cooker! In this easy recipe, the seasoning paste transforms into a savory dipping sauce. Slather it on the ribs and pop them on the grill just before serving for a final char.

These thinly sliced, bone-in short ribs are marinated overnight in a sweet and savory blend of soy sauce, brown sugar, Asian pear and sesame oil, then grilled to perfection in just minutes. Kalbi is a beloved Korean BBQ classic that delivers bold, caramelized flavor with surprisingly little effort.

The pellet grill might be the best thing to happen to barbecue since fire was invented! With no need to constantly tend a fire or monitor smoke and heat, it makes smoking much easier. We tested out baby-back ribs, spareribs and St Louis-style ribs. Overall, we preferred the St. Louis style, although you can substitute spareribs. For the sauce, we went with a balanced blend of vinegar and sweetness that really lets the smoky flavor of the meat shine.

Sear your short ribs before adding them to the slow cooker to achieve the caramelization you want. Then let the slow cooker (plus ancho chiles and brown sugar for sweet-meets-heat flavor) do the rest of the work. Fill warm tortillas with the shredded meat and top with Mexican crema or sour cream to complete the meal.

When you're looking for an impressive yet low-maintenance recipe, braised short ribs are a guaranteed success. Using a hearty red wine in the braising sauce imparts even more robust flavor to these intensely meaty, bone-in ribs.

No need to fire up the grill for this sticky, meaty dish. With the Instant Pot®, finger-licking short ribs are ready in no time. If you miss that charred flavor, a quick trip under the broiler will satisfy.

These rich and juicy pork ribs are falling-off-the-bone tender after slowly braising in a mixture of soy sauce, star anise, cinnamon and rock sugar. The dish originated in the town of Wuxi (pronounced woo-shee) located outside Shanghai. It’s a popular dish in Shanghai-style restaurants but quite easy to make at home with just a bit more than an hour of braising time needed for irresistible results. The ribs with their thick, sweet-salty sauce pair well with a bowl of rice and a vegetable side. Wuxi spareribs are traditionally sweetened with rock sugar, but brown sugar is a good substitute if you can’t find it.

As Katie says, “there’s no shame in having a rack of ribs to yourself.” She roasts her ribs low and slow, then browns them on the grill for just a few minutes more.

Red wine is the star of Ina’s comforting dish. She uses a whole bottle to make the rich, flavorful sauce for her short ribs

No grill? No problem. These instantly craveable ribs are made from start to finish in the oven. Using peach preserves instead of the fresh fruit in the savory glaze means this pantry-friendly meal can be made year-round, not just during the summer.

These easy ribs are roasted in the oven, then coated with a black tea and citrus glaze. For a classic side, mix up quick lemony potato salad while the ribs cook.

Kansas City-style barbecue is all about the sweet tomato-based sauce — and this homemade version can't be beat.

Take your tastebuds on a trip with these Memphis-style beef and pork spareribs. If you're a dry rib fan, serve these with a little extra of the Neelys' barbecue seasoning blend on top. If you prefer wet ribs, mix up a batch of the Neelys' homemade barbecue sauce and serve alongside.

Sandra's short ribs become tender and juicy when slow cooked, resulting in a truly comforting dish.

Get a double dose of ginger beer flavor in these sticky-sweet, fall-off-the-bone baby back ribs. We use the drink for both the marinade and the sauce. Fresh ginger brings its own spicy note.

These slow cooker ribs take inspiration from Chinese barbecue ribs and the char siu (Cantonese roast pork). Finishing them in the broiler helps give the ribs a browned and crunchy crust, while coleslaw, a distinctly American addition, serves as a creamy and refreshing accompaniment.

A brown sugar spice rub is the key to these tender, juicy ribs. Just before smoking, spray the ribs with a mixture of apple juice, Worcestershire sauce and apple cider vinegar — it adds a touch of acid to the dish.

Brine your ribs and make a brown-sugar topping tonight for a lazy-day barbecue meal tomorrow.

Tender littleneck clams, savory pork ribs and earthy new potatoes come together in an herbaceous tomato broth — the perfect dish for casual get-togethers.

Tyler doesn’t mess around when it comes to barbecue. To add extra oomph to his ribs, he flavors olive oil with bacon and thyme, which then becomes the base of the barbecue sauce.

The star of these dark, lacquered baby back ribs is a barbecue sauce rich with molasses and cola. The ribs get coated in a dry rub, baked until tender, then coated with the cola barbecue sauce. Baste and bake the ribs until caramelized and sticky-sweet.

It doesn’t get better than Ree’s five-star spareribs. Once the meat is done slow-cooking, Ree thickens the juices with a slurry (a mixture of cornstarch and water) and uses the sauce to baste her ribs, creating an extra-sticky glaze.

Trisha adds flavor to her ribs in multiple layers: a marinade ensures a finished product that isn't dried out, and a sticky-sweet barbecue sauce that gets slightly charred under the broiler for that smoky flavor you want, without the charcoal grill.

A simple sheet of foil is the key to Ree’s easy-as-pie recipe. After wrapping baby back ribs in a foil pack, she bakes the meat for two hours. While that’s in the oven, she whips up a fresh pineapple relish to serve on top. Bonus: Thanks to the foil, there’s almost no cleanup!

You can forget the bottled stuff — all you need is a bottle of cola to make your own thick and delicious barbecue sauce. Brush some over the ribs before grilling, then serve the rest on the side.

Alex cuts spareribs into tiny bites to prepare this easy appetizer. For a sticky, gooey and oh-so-yummy glaze, she simmers the meat in a honey-soy sauce mixture that no one can resist.

Mayonnaise can wear many hats. Typically, it's found slathered on deli sandwiches or folded into potato salad, and it's often touted as the fat of choice when making a grilled cheese sandwich. Here we spread a hefty layer of it--jazzed up with spices galore--over a rack of baby back ribs. Not only does mayonnaise complement the hearty flavor of the pork, but it also coats the ribs in a way that helps release them from the grill without sticking. An easy tangy-sweet barbecue sauce gets brushed on before serving as a final layer of deliciousness.