You don’t need a smoker or grill to make great ribs. Just your oven, some foil, and this simple method. These oven-baked baby back ribs come out tender, juicy, and fall-off-the-bone—no backyard pit crew required.
It works for baby back, St. Louis, or spare ribs. Wrap ’em in foil, bake low and slow at 250° or 275°F, and let the oven do the work.
Jump To (scroll for more)
- 🧡 Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- 🐖 Ingredients & Options
- 👨🍳Quick Overview: How to Bake Ribs in the Oven
- ⏰ How Long to Cook Ribs in the Oven
- 🌡️ When Are Ribs Done?
- 🌶️ Flavor Options & Variations
- ❓FAQs
- 📅 Make Ahead & Freezer Options
- 🍽️ Serving BBQ Ribs
- ❄️ Storing & Reheating Leftovers
- 📖 More BBQ Recipes to Try
- 📖The Recipe Card
Featured Comment by Jamie:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐"The rub was great and they cooked perfectly. Best ribs I’ve ever cooked myself. Thank you!"
🧡 Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Make ahead or freeze: Prep in advance, then bake straight from the freezer—no thawing needed.
- Fall-off-the-bone tender: Baked low and slow for juicy, pull-apart results.
- Beginner-friendly: Just rub, wrap in foil, and bake—no smoker or grill needed.
- Flexible cut options: Works for baby back, St. Louis, or spare ribs.
- Foolproof timing guide: Includes temps and times for standard or convection ovens.
🐖 Ingredients & Options
- Pork ribs: Baby back ribs are ideal, but spare ribs or St. Louis ribs also work. Not for beef ribs.
- BBQ dry rub: Use your favorite, or try my simple homemade version (brown sugar, salt, pepper, chili, garlic, and onion powder).
- BBQ sauce: Any sauce you love works. Try store-bought or my Memphis BBQ Sauce.
- Liquid smoke (optional): Adds smoky flavor without a grill.
✅ Pro Tip: Use good-quality liquid smoke—Wright’s® is my go-to. Check the label: it should list only water and smoke. Skip it if it has extra ingredients.
👨🍳Quick Overview: How to Bake Ribs in the Oven
1. Prepare the ribs
Trim off any loose fat or bone fragments. Remove the membrane from the back of the ribs.
2. Rub and wrap
Mix your rub or use store-bought. Pat the ribs dry, optionally brush with liquid smoke, then coat all sides with the rub. Wrap tightly in foil—heavy-duty foil is best to prevent leaks.
✅ Pro Tip: After wrapping, you can cook right away, refrigerate overnight, or freeze for up to 3 months. No need to thaw before baking—just add 30 minutes to the cooking time.
3. Bake low and slow
Place on a rack and bake at 250°F for 2½ to 3 hours, until the internal temp is at least 190°F—200° to 205°F is ideal.
4. Drain and brown
Open the foil and drain the liquid.
Brush with BBQ sauce and brown under a broiler or on a hot grill. Rest 5–10 minutes, then slice and serve.
👇For complete step-by-step instructions, scroll down to the printable recipe card or keep reading for tips, flavor options, and serving ideas.
⏰ How Long to Cook Ribs in the Oven
At 250°F, a 3-pound rack of baby back ribs takes about 2½ to 3 hours. A 4-pound rack may take 30 minutes longer. If the ribs are frozen (but already wrapped), just add about 30 minutes—no need to thaw first.
Here are approximate times based on oven temperature:
- 250°F (conventional): 2¾ to 3 hours
- 275°F (conventional) or 250°F (convection): about 2½ hours (recommended)
- 300°F (conventional) or 275°F (convection): 2 to 2¼ hours
- 325°F (conventional) or 300°F (convection): 1½ to 2 hours (not recommended)
✅ Pro Tip: Ovens vary. Don’t rely on time alone—check for doneness by internal temperature (200°–205°F preferred) and exposed bone ends.
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🌡️ When Are Ribs Done?
Ribs are technically done at 190°F, but for that tender, fall-off-the-bone texture, aim for 200° to 205°F.
You'll also see the rib ends start to show—about ¼ inch of bone exposed is a classic sign they’re ready.
✅ Pro Tip: These checks are especially important if you’re cooking from frozen—go by temp and bone exposure, not just time.
🌶️ Flavor Options & Variations
Rib types: Baby back ribs work best, but St. Louis or spare ribs are great, too. Just avoid beef ribs—they need a different method.
Dry rub: Use any BBQ rub you love, or try one of mine:
Liquid smoke: Optional, but I recommend it. Look for a brand with just water and smoke—Wright’s® is reliable and clean.
BBQ sauce: Use your favorite, or try my Memphis BBQ Sauce if you want to make it from scratch.
❓FAQs
You don’t have to—but I recommend it. The membrane doesn’t break down during cooking and can make the ribs chewy. It’s easy to remove and worth the effort.
Yes. Just allow about 30 minutes longer—they’re thicker than baby backs.
You can, but I don’t recommend it. Without foil, ribs tend to dry out during low and slow baking. Wrapping helps lock in moisture and tenderness.
They’re the upper ribs from where the spine meets the loin—smaller, curved, and more tender than spare ribs. St. Louis ribs are trimmed-down spare ribs with the excess bone and cartilage removed.
📅 Make Ahead & Freezer Options
You can pause this recipe at two points:
1. After wrapping (before baking)
Refrigerate overnight to let the rub penetrate and tenderize the meat.
Or freeze up to 3–4 months. Cook straight from frozen—just add about 30 minutes to the baking time.
2. After baking (before browning)
- Drain the liquid and re-wrap tightly.
- Refrigerate for up to 4 days or freeze for 3–4 months.
- To serve: thaw (if frozen), brush with sauce, bake at 350°F for about 15 minutes to reheat. Then, broil briefly if you want to add color or caramelize the sauce.
✅ Pro Tip: This is exactly what restaurants do—they don’t bake ribs fresh to order.
🍽️ Serving BBQ Ribs
Serve ribs hot with extra BBQ sauce on the side and a bowl for the bones—your guests will thank you. I like Gate’s BBQ Sauce from Kansas City or my homemade Memphis Barbecue Sauce. Use whatever sauce makes you happy.
Great side dishes include:
- Creamy mac and cheese
- French fries or potato chips
- Baked beans or Corn on the cob
- Old Fashioned Cornbread or Cornbread Biscuits.
❄️ Storing & Reheating Leftovers
- Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days
- Freeze for up to 4 months
To reheat:
Thaw overnight in the fridge if frozen. Then use the oven, air fryer, or microwave to warm through. If you're brushing with sauce, finish under the broiler to crisp it up a bit.
📖 More BBQ Recipes to Try
Want to switch up your rib method? Try these:
Other great BBQ-style recipes:
📖The Recipe Card
Oven-Baked Baby Back Ribs (Tender, Juicy & Easy)
Video Slideshow
Ingredients
- 1 slab baby back ribs - OR pork spare ribs or St. Louis Ribs
- ½ cup BBQ dry rub
- 2 tablespoons BBQ sauce
- good quality liquid smoke - optional
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 4½ teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt - see salt note below
- 1½ teaspoons chili powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Step-by-Step Instructions
Prepare the Ribs
- Clean the ribs by stripping the membrane off the inside. Trim any fatty areas as much as possible, and look for bone chips from the processing.
Rub and wrap
- You may use the rub of your choice or make the suggested rub. ¼ cup brown sugar, 4½ teaspoons diamond crystal kosher salt, 1½ teaspoons chili powder, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder, and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Stir together in a small bowl.
- Pat dry with a paper towel and optionally apply a light coat of good-quality liquid smoke. Sprinkle heavily with the rub and rub it in on all sides.
Bake low and slow
- Seal tight in aluminum foil (heavy-duty is better). If you have time, refrigerate at this point for 2 hours or even overnight. Even 30 minutes will get some extra flavor. Also, you can freeze at this point if you want. If you freeze, add 30 minutes to the cooking time, and you can go to the oven from the freezer.
- Cook at 275° for approximately 2 ½ hours (200° to 205° preferred.) Place the ½ sheet pan on the next level down to catch any dripping if the foil leaks. Or leave it on the pan.
Drain and brown
- Remove from the oven, open one end of the foil packet, and drain the fluid and fat. If you are precooking for later, re-wrap and refrigerate or freeze. To eat now, place on the sheet pan and open.
- Lightly brush a sauce of your choice on top (bottom is optional).
- Finish under a broiler or on a grill for about 4–5 minutes (per side, if you're grilling both sides) until crusted and well-colored. Let sit for 5–10 minutes, then cut into individual ribs for serving.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips:
- You may cook as many at a time as will fit your oven, but do not stack.
- You can use the sauce and rub of your choice.
- You can cook St. Louis or spare ribs the same way, but they will take about 30 minutes longer to cook because they are bigger.
- After the rub, you can freeze it tightly wrapped in foil. You can freeze it for 4 months and cook it still frozen by adding about 30 minutes to the cooking time.
- To strip the membrane, it is easiest to start at the thin end and loosen it with a butter knife. Then, pull steadily at about a 45-degree angle to the ribs.
- Estimated cooking times for other oven temperatures are listed in the post.
- Ribs are done at 190°+, but 200°–205°F is preferred, and rib ends are showing.
- Brown up with a little sauce on a grill or under a broiler.
- All salt is not equal due to the shape of the crystals. If making your rub, 1 teaspoon table salt = 1 ¼ teaspoon Morton kosher salt = 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You can adjust the number of servings above; however, only the amount in the ingredient list is adjusted, not the instructions.
Nutrition Estimate (may vary)
Editor's Note: This recipe was originally published on January 10, 2010, which was the second week of the blog. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Norine. Einck says
Have a convention oven with a dial for slii or w cook
One cooking short rib grease
Need instructions with recipes this is for two people
Three can I cook short rib with fresh vegetables and what kind
Four don’t want to use a crock pot
So can it be done on low setting for slow cooking am I wrong a video would help I am 85 years and need advise can you help
Norine einck
Live in dayton Nevada
Thank you.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Norine,
Welcome to the blog.
First, the oven. If it works, it should be usable. But I can not guess accurately what that dial setting means. My aunt had a similar oven in the '60s. There was very slow, slow, moderately slow, and a few others. I would guess very slow would be in the 250° range (mainly since you would never cook lower than that) and slow probably about 300°, but I don't know that for sure. Many old ovens are inaccurate anyway, so a $10 investment in an oven thermometer would be a good idea for any recipe, especially for any baking you do.
Next, about short ribs. I assume you mean beef short ribs—the most common use of the term. This recipe is for pork baby-back ribs, although St. Louis and pork spare (short) ribs may be used. The terms pork short rib and pork spare ribs are used interchangeably. I'm going to proceed, assuming you want to do pork ribs of some type. This is not a beef recipe.
About making it for two. The serving size for ribs is highly variable. I would eat a full rack of ribs and want more when I was young. But now want 3-4 ribs and some sides. For this recipe, portion the ribs into meal size for your household. Apply the rib. Seal in foil. Cook what you want to eat today and freeze the rest. Meal-size pacs can come out of the freezer directly into the oven for future meals.
Cooking vegetables with the ribs in the same oven is almost certainly not a good idea. A baking potato may work, but not other vegetables, which will probably be way overcooked.
About a video. My videos are only a video slideshow. You can get a similar effect in the recipe card by turning on the photos in the recipe card. The switch is right under the word Instrutions.
Hope that helps.
Dan
Terry Getchell says
I have cooked ribs in the oven before, almost the same way as your recipe. The other time the ribs were tough. I cooked yours tonight and WOW! So moist and tender! I don't know what was different but I think it was adding the smoke flavoring before the rub. Plus I refrigerated the rack, wrapped, for 6 hrs..
Next time I'll add more smoke flavor. The Wrights is milder (and better flavored) than the old one.
Thank you for a great recipe.
Gerry S says
Thank you for posting the recipe and steps for smoking the ribs. Worked out for the most part, had to cut it half and do both parts oven and grill.. The winner was the grill. Thanks again.
Deborah L says
5 stars for flavor and tenderness! A lower 5 for 'easy'. Even using the paper towels to hold on, My arthritic fingers don't have the grip strength they used to. Next time I'll ask the butcher to remove the membrane before I leave the counter. Half the rub recipe was perfect for one slab and I let it sit one hour. Baked 4 pounds for about 3 hours. Perfect. Also, I would not drain the juices into the sink drain like your picture. Use a glass measuring cup; something like that. You'll be happy to not need to call the plumber to clear a fat clog out of your plumbing. Definitely will try again.
Brian says
When I’m not feeling lazy, I mix those juices with my bbq sauce at about a 1:1 ratio (just enough to cover the slab and have some extra for dipping) then let it reduce in a pan on medium-low to medium heat until it’s down to a thicker consistency. It may not be the healthiest choice, but wow the flavor is worth it!
Brad says
Dan, if cooking spare ribs, does the cooking time or oven temperature change?
Thanks
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Brad,
Baby back, St. Louis, and spare ribs all cook about the same. Spare ribs do tend to be thicker with more bone and those can down slow cooking some, so potentially it could take a bit longer. But I doubt it will be an issue with this recipe. Be sure to check for the end points discussed in the post when you open the foil.
Dan
Emma @ Savor the Flavour says
These ribs look amazing, Dr. Dan! I wish I could reach in for a taste. 😋
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Thanks Emma. I love a good rib but I'm lazy.
Note to readers: Emma blogs with her mother at https://savortheflavour.com/ They put a lot of hard work in their site. Check it out. Highly recommended.
jenny melindy says
I had no idea ribs could be this good! I used a packaged non sugar rub, wrapped in double foil and fridged for 4 hours. Cooked on 300 for 2 1/2h, then followed your directions for "dryer" ribs. The resulting crackling like texture was amazing! Can't wait to make again, thanks.My new rib recipe :)
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Jenny,
Welcome to the blog and sorry for the delayed reply.
This is a very old recipe to me the I have used for many years. Usually use it when I have ribs and I just don't want to work. The crock pot recipe works well also but this seems to be my "indoor" default recipe.
Thanks for the note and rating. And again, sorry for the delayed response.
Dan
Jaime says
The rub was great and they cooked perfectly. Best ribs I’ve ever cooked myself. Thank you!
Julie says
I followed your recipe completely. Our ribs turned out so very salty from your rub we weren't able to eat them. I'm wondering was I to remove the rub before eating them? If so, how? Also, I left the ribs with the rub in the refrigerator for 2 hours, then cooked them for 2 hours as told. Our ribs were still chewy not, "fall off the bone". What could I do to fix it? Thank you for your help.
DrDan says
Hi Julie,
Welcome to the blog.
Sorry, you had a problem. A couple of comments and options.
-The amount in my suggested rub is for two slabs not one.
-The salt is kosher salt. Generally, Morton which is half the amount of salt per volume as table salt. Diamond Crystal is halfway between the two. Other salts could be almost anything. So that could be a contributing factor.
-I use the same rub on many cuts of meat with good results although as I get older and now have BP issues, I cut down the salt sometimes.
Suggestions
-no, don’t rinse off the rub
-use a different rub but most will have about the same amount of salt. This is a very standard ratio.
-use less rub
-make up the rub with less salt.
Not "fall off the bone." Mine are good at 2 hours but there can be some variability of ovens. So at the end of cooking, when you open them up, check to make sure they are what you want. If not, reseal and cook another 20-30 minutes.
Hope that helps.
Dan
Tara says
I used this technique for a rainy 4th of July and it was wonderful. I have to say the rub included with this recipe is fantastic. We used it on ribs and chicken leg quarters and the results were fantastic. Our family loves your recipes.
Pattie Williams says
All looks so good. Yummy