Easy Baby Back Ribs in Oven

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These tender fall-off-the-bone baby back ribs are baked in the oven in a delicious barbecue sauce. Add your favorite sides for the perfect Southern supper.

Oven-baked baby back ribs served with sides.

I’ve always loved ribs but growing up my dad was the one who made them. He’d spend hours outside around a hot grill or smoker, basting and fussing with them until perfection was reached. They sure were good. But I’m on my own now and daddy lives an hour away. When a rib craving hits I’m not about to stand over a hot grill for hours on end. Instead, I make them the easy way and am just as happy with the results.

Now there are countless ways to make juicy ribs and there is never a shortage of folks to tell you that their way is the only right way to do things. But the way I see it, your kitchen = your rules. So today I’m gonna show you how to cheat at ribs. No grill and no sweat needed, but you’ll still end up with fall-off-the-bone juicy results.

Intrigued? Let me tell you, tender baby back ribs in the oven are a game changer. All you need is a rack of ribs, some barbecue sauce, and a little bit of time. This is such an easy baby back ribs recipe to make and the results speak for themselves. Add your favorite Southern side dishes (I’ve included lots of options below) and you have the perfect supper, at least in my books!

Ingredients for baby back ribs in oven.

Recipe Ingredients

How to Make Baby Back Ribs in Oven

Remove white membrane from back of ribs.

Now the trick is to remove that white membrane on the back of the ribs because that will help them be all nice and tender when they cook and when eatin’ time comes.

The way I do this is to slice into it with a sharp knife and then grab it and pull it off as best I can.

Removing the white membrane from the ribs.

This is me removing a good bit of it.

There is still some left but at least I got the main layer off. Sometimes I have better luck than others but as long as you get the majority of it you’ll be fine.

Just think: cavemen made ribs. They can’t be that complex to prepare.

Baste ribs with half of the bbq sauce.

Now you’ll notice that I have the rack of ribs laying on a baking sheet I’ve lined with aluminum foil. This is important because we are fixing to baste them and seal them up all nice and tight.

Baste both sides of them using half of your bbq sauce. We’ll use the other half after they cook for a while.

Ribs basted in bbq sauce.

There we go, all ready for the oven!

Cover ribs in foil and bake.

Now seal that up really well. Don’t be skimpy on the tin foil here!

Bake in a 300-degree oven for 2 hours.

Remove from oven and open foil.

Remove from oven and open foil.

Baste baby back with remaining sauce and bake in oven, uncovered, for another hour.

Baste generously with the rest of your sauce on just the top.

Return to oven, leaving the foil opened like this, for another hour or until that sauce is nice and thick.

Baby back ribs straight out of the oven.

Oh goodness, this smells so good. Gotta love some sticky pork ribs.

Enjoy!

My husband, who normally does not care for ribs, ate three helpings of these!

Storage

  • Store leftover pork ribs in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in a 300-degree oven or air fryer until heated through. You might want to add some extra sauce.
  • You can also freeze leftovers for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating as above.

Recipe Notes

Some baby back rib recipes include a dry rub before the bbq sauce for added flavor. If you want to add one, here’s an easy homemade dry rub recipe, but you’ll need ingredients like brown sugar, smoked or regular paprika, black pepper, salt, chili powder (or cayenne pepper), onion powder, and garlic powder.

Recipe FAQs

What do you serve with oven-baked baby back ribs?

Here are some great side dishes to serve with your easy oven-baked ribs:

What kind of ribs do I use?

Look for ribs that say “back” in them, either baby back or pork loin back or something of the like. This is referring to where they come from and means they will have a lot more meat on them and less bone. Spare ribs have more bone and less meat.

What’s the best temperature for baking baby back ribs in the oven?

A low temperature makes for truly tender bbq ribs, which is why we bake them in a 300-degree oven for 2 to 3 hours.

You may also like these recipes:

Slow-Roasted Beef Brisket in the Oven

Slow-Cooked Pork Roast in Crock Pot

Crock Pot Pulled Pork Recipe, Southern-Style

North Alabama Style Pulled Chicken BBQ

Sheet Pan Ribs and Veggies

Crock Pot Beef Ribs (Tender and Delicious)

Oven-Baked Baby Back Ribs

These tender fall-off-the-bone baby back ribs are baked in the oven in a delicious barbecue sauce. Add your favorite sides for the perfect Southern supper.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours
Total Time: 3 hours 5 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: ribs
Servings: 4
Calories: 697kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 rack pork back ribs
  • 1 jar BBQ sauce

Instructions

  • Using a knife, slice into the membrane on the back of the ribs (the white part) and use your hand to pull it off.
    1 rack pork back ribs
  • Place the entire rack of ribs in the center of the foil and brush it with bbq sauce on both sides. Wrap well in foil to seal and place on a baking sheet.
    1 jar BBQ sauce, 1 rack pork back ribs
  • Bake in a 300-degree oven for two hours. Remove from oven and open foil. Baste top with remaining bbq sauce and place back in the oven, with the foil still open, for an hour, or until the sauce is nice and thick.

Nutrition

Calories: 697kcal
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353 Comments

  1. Funny how you posted this some time ago and its 4/8/15 first time I have ever visited your site and looked for baby back ribs in oven because its been raining for days and tornado warnings everywhere. Thank you for a wonderfully easy way to make super ribs. Obviously no chance of BBQing any time soon. Thanks again!

    1. OMG my ribs were fantastic as I used Ray”s Baby Back Ribs Honey Barbeque Sauce…………….Thanks so much

  2. Ms. Jordan:

    First and foremost: GREAT RIBS!! Thank you for the recipe. I’ve never made ribs in the oven, but I think I will going forward.

    Second: Have you ever considered making an app (iPhone, Android, and Windows) to complement your website? Having that on a tablet while in the kitchen would be great!! I’m a software engineer and would love to discuss with you the possibilities for this. Feel free to email me any time about that.

  3. Thank you for this recipe. This is the third time that I have made them and my family loves them like this. Just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your help. I have been learning how to cook for the last couple of years and this is now one of the great dishes I can rely on. I also love the comment, even cave men cooked ribs, because it gave me hope that I might get it right!

  4. Hi Christy,

    I will be making your “tornado” recipe just outside of Boston during our 2/15/15 blizzard! Given the replies, I am confident that we will be enjoying some tasty ribs later today. Thank you for this technique for cooking ribs in the oven, and also to those who posted the rub and other pre-seasoning tips that I just might try, as well as the “finish in the broiler” idea, and ways to deal with the membrane. My husband routinely grills in the winter in all kinds of weather, but not today! Thank you again for enabling us to have a lovely taste of summer on a stormy winter day.

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