These Chinese-style boneless pork ribs cook low and slow in a crock pot until tender, with an easy sticky red sauce for classic takeout flavor. Country-style pork ribs—or thick slices of pork chops—give you plenty of meat and soak up the sauce perfectly.
Finish with toasted sesame seeds and green onion, then spoon some of that red sauce over rice for an easy Asian-style takeout dinner with almost no prep.
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Featured Comment by Teresa:
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"I made this exactly to the recipe & we loved it."
📝 TL;DR — Recipe Summary
- What: Chinese-style boneless pork ribs with a sweet, sticky red sauce made at home.
- Why: Easy Asian takeout flavor using simple pantry ingredients and almost no prep.
- How: Cook country-style pork ribs or slices of pork chops in homemade red sauce in a crock pot. Serve with rice.
🤔 What’s in a Name?
Chinese-style boneless pork ribs go by many names, including Chinese boneless ribs, Chinese spare ribs, sticky ribs, and Asian-style ribs. Restaurant names and ingredients aren’t consistent.
This recipe uses boneless country-style pork ribs or thick slices of pork chops for plenty of meat and tender results in a crock pot.
🐖 Ingredients
- Boneless country-style pork ribs: The preferred cut—meaty and tender after slow cooking. Thick slices of pork chops also work well.
- Chinese-style red sauce: Brown sugar, soy sauce, ketchup, honey, apple cider vinegar, onion, garlic, ginger, and optional crushed red pepper.
- Garnish: Toasted sesame seeds and sliced green onion.
👨🍳 Quick Overview: Boneless Pork Ribs in a Crock Pot
1. Prep: Chop the onion and trim boneless country-style pork ribs—or thick pork chops—into rib-sized pieces.
2. Mix: Combine the red sauce ingredients in the crock pot. Add the pork and stir to coat.
3. Cook: Cover and cook on LOW for about 4 hours, until the pork is tender and reaches 145°F or higher.
4. Serve: Top with toasted sesame seeds and sliced green onion. Serve with rice and spoon the extra red sauce over the top.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
🐖 Meat Options for Boneless Pork Ribs
Use boneless country-style pork ribs, thick slices of pork chops, or pork loin for the best results.
Avoid pork shoulder or bone-in spare ribs for this recipe. They need different cooking times and won’t reliably become tender during the 4-hour cook.
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🥣 Chinese-Style Sticky Red Sauce
The homemade red sauce uses brown sugar, soy sauce, ketchup, honey, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and onion. It cooks into a sweet, sticky sauce for the pork with extra for serving over rice.
- Adjust the flavor: Add more ginger for extra spice, reduce the sugar or honey for less sweetness, or add a little vinegar for more tang.
- Add heat: Use crushed red pepper or a little hot sauce.
- Salt: Soy sauce provides plenty, so taste before adding more.
No hoisin, oyster sauce, five-spice powder, or other special ingredients are needed.
🍽️ Serving
Top with toasted sesame seeds and sliced green onion. Serve with Baked Rice or Fried Rice, and spoon the extra sticky red sauce over the rice.
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!
📖 More Asian-Style Recipes
❄️ Storage and Reheating
- Refrigerate: Store airtight for up to 4 days.
- Freeze: Store airtight for up to 4 months.
- Reheat: Warm gently in the microwave or a small skillet over low heat. Add some leftover red sauce to keep the pork moist.
❓ FAQs
The bright red color usually comes from food coloring. It isn’t needed for flavor, so this homemade version skips it.
Mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 2 tablespoons cold water. Stir it into the crock pot during the last 30 minutes and cook until thickened.
No. Bone-in spare ribs need different cooking times and are not a good substitute in this recipe.
Yes. Cook on HIGH for about 2 to 2½ hours. Check that the pork is tender and has reached at least 145°F.
📖The Recipe Card
Boneless Pork Ribs in a Crock Pot (Chinese-Style)
Video Slideshow
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds boneless country-style pork ribs, pork chops, or pork loin - 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 excess fat from the pork and cut into individual rib-sized pieces.
- Mix the sauce: In a 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. Spoon the extra red sauce over the pork and rice.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
Crock pot size: A 2-quart is the minimum. A double recipe needs about 3½ quarts; a triple recipe needs 5 quarts or larger. Cooking a small batch in a large crock pot may shorten the cooking time. Cook to tenderness, not just time. Double the sauce if you want plenty of extra sauce for rice. Adjust the ginger, vinegar, and crushed red pepper to taste. Serve over rice or noodles. Storage: Refrigerate for 4 days or freeze for 4 months. Reheat gently with some sauce.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