Need a foolproof recipe for Dry Rub Baby Back Ribs in the oven? Here ya go. With a simple dry rub, you can make smokey ribs right in your oven that taste like they spent the day in a smoker.
We love our smoker and love smoked ribs but it takes an entire day to smoke a rack of ribs and we don't always have enough time. I wanted an easy way to get that nice smoke flavor and have tender dry rub ribs just by cooking in the oven.
How to Make Dry Rub for Baby Back Ribs
My secret to imparting food with a smoky flavor is smoked paprika. It is tied with roasted garlic powder for my favorite spice. Smoked paprika is great on low carb barbeque dishes because it gives so much flavor without adding any carbs.
How to cook ribs in the oven
My husband used the same 3-2-1 ribs recipe technique he uses when smoking ribs to cook dry rub baby back ribs in the oven. 3 hours uncovered on low, 2 hours covered on medium, 1 hour uncovered on high. Then I broiled them for about 10 minutes to get a nice crust on the oven ribs.
What to Serve with Ribs
We typically serve our dry rub baby back ribs with typical bbq foods like Cauliflower Salad, Broccoli Salad, Caesar Salad, Zucchini Salad, and raw vegetables with dip. Ribs are a rich, fatty, filling meat that go great with lighter cold salads and sides.
Ribs with dry rub are perfect as is or great with barbecue sauce! These ribs were literally falling off the bone when we were trying to cut them. That is how tender they are.
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Servings: 8
Calories: 441
Ingredients
- 4 lb baby back ribs
- ¼ cup smoked paprika rub
- 2 cups water
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar
Smoked Paprika Rub:
- 2 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 225. Rub the paprika rub on the ribs and place them on a stainless steel rack. Pour 2 cups of water and ½ cup apple cider vinegar in the tray. Bake for 3 hours uncovered on the rack.
- Remove the ribs from the oven and wrap in foil. Cook for an additional 2 hours at 225.
- Uncover the ribs, turn the heat up to 400 and bake for 1 hour.
- Optional: Broil on high for 5-10 minutes at the end to brown the ribs. Watch closely as they can burn.
Notes
To Reheat: heat the ribs in the oven at 250 degrees. Cover with tin foil and heat for 20 minutes or so until they are all the way hot.
To Freeze: wrap in tin foil and place in a freezer bag or container. They will last around 3 months and should be thawed before being reheated.
Substitutions: use any kind of rub you like or have on hand if you'd rather.
Nutrition
Calories: 441 | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 44g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 167mg | Sodium: 584mg | Potassium: 775mg | Fiber: 0g | Sugar: 0g | Vitamin A: 450IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 2.3mg
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jd says
worked perfect for me....loved! made Keto rub on one portion and non Keto for the rest. YUM! Tender!
Kalee says
I've been playing with some keto recipes - especially during parties when I tend to over do it on carbs. These baby back ribs are perfect to take a party! No one even recognizes it's on my diet! lol!
alyssa says
So good and so easy! Thanks for another great recipe!
Carolyn De Freitas says
Sorry. This was a big disappointment. Very dry when prepared per recipe. Didn't fall off the bone. Liquid gone after the first 3 house. Maybe should have added more as it dried up? Had to throw them out even after cooking again with liquid under foil for another hour at 225 degrees. Recently checked oven with thermometer and it's spot on. I admire you for posting recipes you believe will help others. This was just a miss for me.
Taryn says
Hi Carolyn, I'm not sure why that happened. It seems very strange to me that your liquid was gone so quickly. What size pan did you use? I'm sorry it didn't work for you.
Dan Stewart says
The nutrition data is "Per Serving". What is the serving size?
Taryn says
At the top of the recipe card it says there are 8 servings.
Emily says
How many ribs are a serving size? When you cover them do you cover the whole pan in foil or the ribs individually? Do you lay them meet side up or down??
Taryn says
Take the number of ribs you have and divide by 8. It is probably 2-3 per serving. Wrap them all together. Meat side up.
Ruth says
When you wrap the ribs for the second portion, do you wrap each rack individually or just cover the pan, rack, ribs and all with foil for 2 hours? Thanks
Taryn says
I just tented everything with foil.
Banksyboh says
These are delicious! Perfectly cooked. Mine weren’t as tender as you described but they pulled apart nicely. How do I get them to fall off the bone?
Taryn says
It might just be a difference in the ribs themselves. Or your oven temp might be off. To get them to go from pull apart easily to fall off the bone they need to be cooked longer.
Tammy says
These ribs turned out great. Thanks for the recipe.
Dellwynne says
Hi..is that 225 degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit?
Taryn says
Fahrenheit
JoAnne Doherty says
Is the smoked paprika rub composed of other spices as well, or simply smoked paprika?
Taryn says
It is smoked paprika plus onion powder, garlic powder, and salt. https://joyfilledeats.com/smoked-paprika-rub-perfect-pork-tenderloin/
Mary says
I am making these in one day, I put the dry rub on the ribs and put them in the fridge. Can they sit for a day? Also, I want to make them in the slow cooker what liquid can I use in the. Bottom of the cooker. I eat keto. Thank you.
Taryn says
You can put the rub on and let them sit for a day. You actually don't need to add any liquid in a slow cooker. The ribs release enough liquid. But if you prefer to add liquid a little water or broth is fine.
Renee says
I make a rib that is very similar to this. It's yummy!
Audrey says
I love ribs and I can't wait to try your recipe! I really like the idea of trying a dry rub.
Nellie Tracy says
Baby Back ribs are my favorite and the flavor on these ones is Amazing!!
Kristie says
Above in your blog you mention the 3-2-1 method which states 3 hours low covered then 2 hours medium covered.
In the recipe it states 3 hours uncovered at 225° then cover for 2 hours, but it doesn't say a new temperature.
Will you please clarify this for me. Is the first part covered or uncovered? Do we change the oven temp for the 2nd part?
Thanks Taryn!
Taryn says
Sorry that's so confusing. We changed the 3-2-1 method slightly for the oven. It is at 225 for the first two parts. 3 hours uncovered, 2 hours covered.
I'll edit the recipe to clarify. 😀
Crystal Trujillo says
This looks yummy, I think I will try it! One question- I counted up the hours of bake time and got 6. Cook time at the top says 4. Can you explain this? Thanks!
Taryn says
It is 6. That's a typo. Sorry! I'll edit asap.