Sticky and sweet with classic Chinese takeout flavor, these boneless pork ribs cook low and slow in the crock pot until tender and glazed in a simple red sauce. Country-style ribs—or slices of pork chops—deliver plenty of meat and soak up the sauce perfectly.
Finish with toasted sesame seeds and green onion, and spoon some of that red sauce over rice—you’ve got easy takeout at home with almost no prep.
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Featured Comment by Teresa:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"I made this exactly to the recipe & we loved it."
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy takeout at home: Sticky, sweet Chinese-style ribs without special sauces or hard-to-find ingredients.
- Hands-off cooking: Just trim, mix, and let the crock pot handle the work.
- Great with country-style ribs: Plenty of meat, cooks tender, and soaks up the red sauce.
- Beginner-friendly: Simple steps, everyday pantry ingredients, and no searing required.
🤔 What’s in a Name?
Chinese-style boneless ribs show up under lots of names—Chinese spare ribs, Boneless Pork Ribs, Sticky Ribs, BBQ Chinese Ribs, and more. Restaurants aren’t consistent in naming.
This recipe uses boneless country-style ribs or slices of pork chops, so you get plenty of meat and a reliable slow-cooker result.
🐖 Ingredients
- Boneless country-style pork ribs
Or use thick slices of pork chops if country-style ribs aren’t available. Both give you plenty of meat and cook tender in the slow cooker. - Red sauce ingredients
Brown sugar, soy sauce, ketchup, honey, apple cider vinegar, diced onion, fresh garlic, ground ginger, and crushed red pepper (optional for heat). - Garnish
Toasted sesame seeds and sliced green onion.
👨🍳 Quick Overview: Chinese Boneless Ribs in a Crock Pot
1. Prep: Chop an onion and trim country-style boneless ribs—or pork chops—into individual rib-sized pieces.
2. Mix: Combine all red sauce ingredients in the crock pot. Add the pork pieces and stir to coat well.
3. Cook: Cover and cook on LOW for about 4 hours, until the pork reaches 145°F or higher and is tender.
4. Serve: Top with toasted sesame seeds and sliced green onion. Spoon some of the red sauce over rice for serving.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
🐖 What Pork to Use?
Country-style boneless ribs are the best choice—they’re meaty, cook tender, and soak up the red sauce well. They're a cut of pork loin, and if you don’t have them, use thick slices of pork chops (also from the pork loin).
Some restaurant versions use thin strips of pork shoulder, but that cut needs a much longer cooking time—more like pulled pork. Stick with country-style ribs or pork chops for this quicker version.
Bone-in spare ribs also show up in some Chinese dishes, but they’re mostly bone and require different cooking times. Not recommended for this recipe.
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🥣 Making the Red Sauce
This simple red sauce is built from pantry staples—brown sugar, soy sauce, ketchup, honey, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and onion. It cooks down into a sticky, sweet-savory glaze that coats the ribs and gives you extra sauce for rice.
A few notes to tailor the flavor:
- Ginger: The base amount is mild. Add more if you love a stronger ginger taste.
- Sweetness: Brown sugar and honey create the classic sticky finish. Reduce either one slightly if you prefer it less sweet.
- Vinegar: Apple cider vinegar balances the sauce. Add a splash more at the end if you like a sharper flavor.
- Salt: There’s plenty from the soy sauce, so avoid adding extra during cooking. Taste and adjust at the table if needed.
- Heat: Crushed red pepper is optional—add a pinch or two for a little kick.
No special ingredients like hoisin, oyster sauce, star anise, or five-spice powder are required. This version keeps things simple and still delivers classic takeout flavor.
📖 Chinese Take-Out at Home Recipes
Don't miss these other easy take-out style recipes:
Crock Pot Beef and Broccoli, General Tso Chicken, Chicken Stir Fry, or Crock Pot Honey Garlic Chicken.
🍽️ Serving
Garnish the ribs with toasted sesame seeds and sliced green onion. Serve with Baked Rice or Egg Fried Rice. If using white rice, use the leftover sauce to add flavor.
Baked Rice
This easy oven-baked rice recipe guarantees perfect, tender, fluffy rice every time. Combine white long-grain rice, butter, and salt with boiling water, seal tightly, and oven-bake. In 30 minutes, you can make delicious rice for two or a crowd!
❄️ Storage of leftovers
To store leftover Chinese boneless ribs, seal them airtight, and they are good refrigerated for 4 days and frozen for 4 months.
Reheating: Reheat leftovers gently in the microwave or in a small skillet over low heat. Add a spoonful of the extra red sauce to keep the pork moist while it warms.
❓ FAQs
The bright red color usually comes from food coloring. You can add it at home, but I skip it—one of the perks of home cooking is avoiding unnecessary additives.
Yes. Add more crushed red pepper flakes to taste, or stir in a little hot sauce at the end.
Yes. Mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 2 tablespoons cold water, stir it into the crock pot during the last 30 minutes, and cook until thickened.
Not recommended. Bone-in spare ribs need a much longer cooking time and won’t get tender in the 4-hour window this recipe uses.
LOW gives the best tenderness, but you can cook on HIGH for 2 to 2½ hours if needed. Check for doneness (145°F or higher) and tenderness.
📖The Recipe Card
Crock Pot Chinese Boneless Pork Ribs (Sticky & Tender)
Video Slideshow
Ingredients
- 1 slab boneless country style pork ribs - about 1½ pounds> may use pork chops slices
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup soy sauce - low sodium
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon vinegar - apple cider or white
- 1 clove garlic - minced
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper - optional
- ½ onion - small diced
- toasted sesame seeds
- green onions-sliced
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Prep the pork: Trim one slab of boneless country-style ribs. Remove excess fat and cut into individual rib-sized pieces. Pork chops (1½ pounds) can also be used.
- Mix the sauce: In a smaller crock pot (2-quart minimum), combine the brown sugar, soy sauce, ketchup, honey, vinegar, garlic, ginger, crushed red pepper (optional), and diced onion.
- Add the pork and cook: Stir in the pork pieces and coat well. Cover and cook on LOW for about 4 hours, until tender. Pork should reach a minimum internal temperature of 145°F.
- Serve: Spoon the pork over rice and top with toasted sesame seeds and sliced green onion. Use the crock pot liquid as “red sauce” over the meat and rice.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- This is a small crock pot recipe. A 2-quart is the minimum size.
Double recipes need a 3½-quart crock pot; triple recipes need 5 quarts or larger. - Cooking a small batch in a large slow cooker may shorten the cooking time—watch your endpoint.
- Double the sauce if you want extra for rice.
- Boneless pork ribs and pork chop strips are both pork loin—use whichever you prefer.
- Adjust ginger and vinegar to suit your taste.
- Serve over rice or noodles.
- Crushed red pepper adds mild heat—use more or less to taste.
- Because soy sauce adds plenty of salt, avoid adding more until the end.
- Toasted sesame seeds and sliced green onion add classic takeout flavor.
- Leftovers keep 4 days refrigerated or 4 months frozen. Reheat gently with a spoonful of sauce to keep the pork moist.
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)
Based on a Food.com recipe but simplified and cut down to a more reasonable amount. The original was for 5 pounds, but I'm cooking for two.
Editor's Note: Originally Published February 16, 2014. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Teresa says
I made this exactly to the recipe & we loved it. It is a little too sweet for our taste, so I will adjust next time. We have added this to our rotation. Thanks!
Debra Ulrich says
Hi there!
I thought when I adjusted the serving size that the ingredients would update but on my Pro Max 12 the meat required did not update🥴
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Debra,
Welcome to the blog.
The serving adjustment only changes the amounts in the ingredient list, not in the text of the instructions. There is a warning in the recipe card about this.
Dan
Debra Ulrich says
Dr Dan-
I know what happened the ingredients did double like I wanted but your note of “about 1 ½ pounds” is greyed out and did not correctly update to the slab amount.
I get it about the instructions 😉
Stacy says
Very good! Made several times
Jody says
Thank you for putting a link on the top of the page so you can go directly to the recipe! So much better than having to navigate things that are not of interest. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Jody,
Welcome to the blog.
Glad you found it useful. It is very easy to do but it seems less than half of the food bloggers do it. I immediately leave sites without it. They are more interested in ad views than helping the visitors.
I hope you found the recipe useful. Please look around and fell free to ask any questions.
Thanks for the note and have a good day.
Dan
Sandra Bailey says
I like ribs on the bone. Would this recipe work for them? Ribs will bones are more tender and flavorful
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Sandra,
Welcome to the blog.
I have never done bone-in ribs this way. But as long as you are cooking to a final internal temperature, you should be good. Most bone-in ribs need to cook to 185° minimum but better in the 195°- 205° range.
Hope that helps.
Dan
Kris says
My husband just loves this! He kept saying how very good it was. I will definitely make this again. I cooked on Low for 4 hours and it was done, but I set it for another hour to get the meat more tender which worked. Thanks so much for an easy, delicious recipe.
PJ Bennett says
Absolutely delicious! I followed the ingredients exactly as listed, and my husband and I loved it! I neither increased or decreased amounts, nor did I add anything extra.
Since I planned on using my casserole crockpot, I mixed all ingredients in a bowl, and then added to the ceramic dish. It seemed a surer way of getting everything blended appropriately and smeared around.
After cooking for 6 hours, we sat down and were wonderfully impressed with the mix of flavors. I will definitely do this dish again.
Patti says
I didn't have the boneless ribs on hand,but did have a small pork tenderloin, trimmed the fat, cut it into medallions, and there it sits in the crockpot...should work. Right??😬
DrDan says
The pork tenderloin will cook faster, maybe only 3 hours on low plus or minus (I don't know). It is much more tender and this recipe does "over cook" the boneless ribs some to make them more tender with the sauce making up for the moisture loss caused by that. So watch it closely for overcooking.
Dan
Christina says
How much is a "slab"of boneless pork ribs? I have a pack that is about 2 lbs. Is that enough?
DrDan says
Hi Christina, Please see the pictures of the meat above. There is a lot of confusion about "country style pork ribs" several different cuts are call country style ribs. These are really the tail end of a pork loin cut in half and scored. They are very lean generally and are sold in a "slab" which is usually about 1.5 pounds. There is what has been called "bone in country style ribs" which are a slice from the pork shoulder and is very fatty. But now some places are removing the bone from this shoulder cut and they are now labeling them "boneless country style ribs" How is that for confusion...
So look at the picture and if not similar, you have the wrong meat for this recipe. So they will be about 3 inches wide, 6 inches long and less than one inch thick. It will all be connected but scored. If you happen to just have a big slab... then go for it.
DrDan
Christine Rettenberger says
Could I use. Baby Back ribs?
DrDan says
Totally different meat. It may work or it may not... check other recipes for crockpot baby backs...
DrDan
Lyssa says
I was to lazy to cut the fat off and my ribs were on the bone. I cooked them as directed, delicious. Since the fat ruined the sauce, I'm making a second batch of it to cook down a little on the stove. This recipe is a keeper. Thanks!
DrDan says
The bone-in country style ribs are a totally different cut and will always have too much fat for this recipe. The bone-in are a shoulder cut. The boneless are the tail end of a pork loin and very lean. In some areas of the country the boneless are hard to find.
Hope that helps
DrDan
Deb Mae says
I added the last 20 minutes sliced 1 red pepper and 1/2 green pepper also the last 5 minutes cooked broccoli tops. This was so easy and good. I am going to add small can of diced pineapple and see how that turns out.
madie says
i have a ton of fresh mushrooms I need to use up, would mushrooms be good in this?
DrDan says
I really don't know. We don't do mushrooms due to family food allergies. I don't know how they do in a crock pot. If you try it, please past a comment on how it went.
Thanks for the comment and the rating.
DrDan
Lara says
These were really tasty. I got confused by the ingredient list....didn't have white vinegar so I substituted Apple Cider vinegar, which is what you have pictured.
These had a little kick that I didn't expect (probably from the red pepper). Delicious!
Thanks for the recipe!
DrDan says
I did actually make it with apple cider but one of the recipes I was modelling used white and I did the write up a few days later and didn't change it. Either should be fine.
Thanks for the note.
DrDan
Dahn says
This looks great. I'm a big ginger fan myself but usually keep it scaled down since my husband is not... haven't been able to sway him yet :)
DrDan says
It's easy at my house. Neither of us are ginger fans, especially fresh. Just not fans.
Thanks for commenting
DrDan
Sherrie says
This sounds great. Could it be made stove top or in the oven? My crock pot is too big for five small boneless ribs. Thanks, Sher
DrDan says
Stove top I don't think so. I would think covered in an over about 325-350 for a couple of hours would work... Have not tired it. If you do please post results.
DrDan