These pork ribs in the air fryer make a quick and easy meal. The ribs are cooked until tender and brushed with a delicious BBQ sauce. Serve them with your favorite sides for a delicious dinner everyone will love!
These 3-ingredient ribs are gluten-free and cooked to perfection in just 40 minutes. Cooking ribs in the air fryer allows you to enjoy a healthier and less messy version of this delicious favorite without sacrificing flavor!
This dish was inspired by my air fryer pork tenderloin and pairs well with many fantastic side dishes!
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🥘 Ingredients
- Country style ribs - bone-in work the best
- Gluten free pork dry rub - I used the Sublime Swine Seasoning Blend from Amazon
- Gluten free BBQ sauce - we like Sweet Baby Ray's
See the printable recipe card at the bottom for quantities.
🔪 Instructions
STEP 1: PREPARING THE PORK RIBS RIBS
First, preheat your air fryer to 360 degrees Fahrenheit.
Next, use paper towels to pat the ribs dry. If buying a full or half rack, you will need to cut them (see notes)
After that, sprinkle both sides of the ribs with the dry rub and pat it on the ribs with clean hands.
Following that, wrap the ribs in aluminum foil to seal the moisture in. Place the ribs in a single layer in the air fryer basket and cook for 20 minutes on one side.
STEP 2: COOKING YOUR AIR FRYER PORK RIBS
Once they are done, flip them over with a pair of tongs and cook for an additional 20 minutes or more until they are cooked the way you prefer.
Finally, brush the cooked ribs with the BBQ sauce and air fry them again for an additional 1-2 minutes to lock in the flavors.
STEP 3: SERVING YOUR AIR FRYER BBQ RIBS
Spread on some more barbecue sauce if you prefer, or you can use some extra for dipping sauce.
You get to eat these ribs with your hands. Don't be afraid to get a little messy!
Hint: Air fryers vary, so you may need to adjust the cooking time depending on how your air fryer cooks and the size of your air fryer.
🧂Substitutions
- Boneless pork ribs - you may just need to cook them a bit longer.
- Beef ribs - if you cannot find pork ribs or you prefer beef, that's fine! You may just need to adjust the cook time a bit.
- Different flavors of BBQ sauce - be sure to use your favorite bbq sauce. Just make sure it's gluten-free.
- Various flavors of dry rub - you could try a Jamaican jerk rub or a cajun rub. Experiment to find your favorite!
📖 Variations
- Spicy - use a spicy rub and/or bbq sauce to make spicy pork ribs.
- Dry - leave off the bbq sauce if you prefer a perfectly seasoned, dry rub rib.
- Sweet - use a sweet bbq sauce (or even add some brown sugar to your rub) for extra sweet and juicy ribs.
- Extra saucy - add as much additional bbq sauce as you like to make these ribs extra saucy.
🍽 Equipment
🥣 Storage
You will want to make sure to keep your leftover ribs in an airtight container, a ziplock bag with the air removed, or even a vacuum-sealed bag in the fridge for 3-4 days.
You can also store your sealed or tightly wrapped ribs in your freezer for up to 3 months.
👩🏻🍳 Expert tips
- Cutting: insert a sharp knife carefully into the soft flesh between the ribs, then slice through each rib to sever it from the breastbone. This will give you a rectangular rack of ribs with nothing but bone and meat, ready for easy eating.
- Easy cleanup: the foil should contain most of the mess, but for extra easy cleanup, use some air fryer safe parchment paper.
- Reheating: reheat your leftover ribs in the air fryer or oven for the best results. Just wrap them in foil and heat until warmed through.
- Serving: serve these juicy air fryer ribs with your favorite sides! Some sides that we love include mashed potatoes, roasted green beans, and creamed corn.
- Prevent toughness: to prevent tough ribs, make sure to only cook them for 20 minutes on each side in your air fryer at 360 degrees F to prevent them from being too tough to eat.
- Most tender ribs: to prevent your ribs from drying out and to have tender meat inside with the outside crisp, add one tablespoon of oil to the ribs.
💭 FAQ
For oven-baked ribs, wrap them in aluminum foil and place them in your oven at 330 degrees F for 15 minutes. Once the ribs are done cooking, make sure that they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
If they have not reached the proper temperature, rewrap them, place them back in the oven, and recheck them every 5 minutes.
This is totally up to you, but before cooking air fryer pork ribs, it is suggested to remove the membrane (aka silver skin) off the back of the ribs. This helps make your pork ribs tender and delicious.
To do this, carefully loosen one end with a knife and use a paper towel to pull it off gently. Scrape any remaining pieces with your knife before seasoning and cooking.
Use a meat thermometer to check that the internal temperature of the ribs has reached the proper temperature before serving. The FDA recommends pork to be cooked to an internal temperature of 160°F. Just make sure to insert the thermometer in the meat away from the bone to get the proper reading.
🍳 Related recipes
Looking for more air fryer recipes? Try these:
📖 Recipe
Pork Ribs in the Air Fryer
Equipment
- Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 2 lb country style ribs bone-in
- 2 tablespoon pork dry rub gluten free
- ½ cup BBQ sauce (gluten free) use as much sauce as you like
Instructions
- First, preheat your air fryer to 360 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Next, use paper towels to pat the ribs dry. If buying a full or half rack, you will need to cut them (see notes)
- After that, sprinkle both sides of the ribs with the dry rub and pat in on the ribs with clean hands.
- Following that, wrap the ribs in aluminum foil in order to seal in the moisture.
- Cook the ribs for 20 minutes.
- Once they are done, flip them over and cook for an additional 20 minutes or more until they are cooked the way you prefer.
- Finally, brush the cooked ribs with the BBQ sauce and air fry them again for an additional 1-2 minutes to lock in the flavors.
- Serve the ribs with your favorite sides and enjoy!
Notes
- Cutting: insert a sharp knife carefully into the soft flesh between the ribs, then slice through each rib to sever it from the breastbone. This will give you a rectangular rack of ribs with nothing but bone and meat, ready for easy eating.
- Easy cleanup: the foil should contain most of the mess, but for extra easy cleanup, use some air fryer safe parchment paper.
- Reheating: reheat your leftover ribs in the air fryer or oven for the best results. Just wrap them in foil and heat until warmed through.
- Serving: serve these juicy air fryer ribs with your favorite sides! Some sides that we love include mashed potatoes, roasted green beans, and creamed corn.
- Prevent toughness: to prevent tough ribs, make sure to only cook them for 20 minutes on each side in your air fryer at 360 degrees F to prevent them from being too tough to eat.
- Most tender ribs: to prevent your ribs from drying out and to have tender meat inside with the outside crisp, add one tablespoon of oil to the ribs.
Nutrition
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Jessica says
This Country Style Ribs in The Air Fryer recipe is made in the air fryer for a quick and easy meal. The ribs are cooked until tender and then brushed with a delicious BBQ sauce. Serve them with your favorite sides for a delicious dinner everyone will love.