This is the fastest way to make ribs, ready in minutes. No boiling needed. It’s charred on the outside, perfectly cooked and tender on the inside.
My preferred method for making baby back ribs has always been oven-baking and smoking ribs, because it’s simple and produces the most tender, flavorful ribs, but once I started cooking ribs in the air fryer, I’m now of two minds when it comes to ribs.
Why You’ll Love It
- I will always adore oven-baked ribs and use that method whenever I have time for slow cooking. But these Air Fryer Ribs turn out so amazing after just 20 minutes in the air fryer. It’s so simple.
- For the amount of time you’ll spend cooking these baby back ribs in the air fryer, you will be absolutely amazed at how well they turn out. For those of you who never thought to air fry ribs, this is your chance to see how to cook ribs in the air fryer.
Why Use an Air Fryer
An air fryer is an incredibly easy way to cook just about anything. You place the food in a fryer-style basket and hot air rapidly circulates all around the food, making the food crisp – much like deep-frying, but without the oil. You can cook anything you’d make in the oven.
Tips
- Start by cooking the ribs meat down and then flip them over to bone down halfway through cooking. This helps get a great browned sear on the top.
- Cut the ribs in half if they will fit in your air fryer basket that way. If not, you can cut them into quarters. I just try to avoid cutting them any smaller than that because they get too crispy when they’re individual ribs.
- Slather with BBQ sauce at the end of cooking and give them at least 3-5 more minutes on a high heat in order to get a nice crispy char on the top.
- Use your favorite BBQ sauce. I love this homemade BBQ Sauce.
Ingredients
- 3 pound rack of pork baby back ribs
- 3 teaspoons paprika
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup BBQ sauce, plus more as desired
Instructions
- Peel the silverskin from the back of the ribs then cut the rack into 2-3 sections that fit into your air fryer basket.
- Preheat the air fryer to 380 degrees F for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine paprika, garlic powder, salt, brown sugar, chili powder, and pepper. Season both sides of the ribs with the spice mixture bbq spice rub, covering both sides well.
- Place the rib sections in the air fryer basket, meat side down, and air fry for 15 minutes. Flip the ribs with a pair of tongs and air fry them for an additional 10-12 minutes.
- When the timer is up, open the basket and brush the ribs with BBQ sauce – as much or little as you want. Close the air fryer and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Remove the ribs and allow them to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving with additional BBQ sauce if desired
