Crock Pot BBQ baby back ribs are made healthier and without added sugar! They're the ultimate football food! Perfect for the Super Bowl or any party you're having!
I can't think of anything more fun to eat then finger licking good ribs!
I mean who can resist right? When you're eating low carb or sugar-free most sauces that ribs are made in are full of added sugars. Bottled barbecue sauce is full of sugar as well. Sure it's easy to throw in a bottle of BBQ sauce with ribs and call it a done deal in your crock pot, but making sugar free ribs at home is much easier than you think.
I have a confession to make, we are not much of a football loving watching family. We will watch the Super Bowl if our local Patriots team is in the play offs but that is about it.
My man is an outsdoors man. You know the type, camper, fisher, hunter type man. Sports were never really his thing.
Even as a child the only sport we watched was soccer because my Italian dad was a soccer player a long time ago. He never really got into watching sports when he came to the States so as a child neither did I.
To be honest I'm kinda glad I didn't marry a man who needed to watch football or any sport for that matter whenever it was the weekend.
The only tradition we do stick with is awesome finger foods when the Super Bowl is on and this recipe is the ultimate!
Perfectly tender after a good 10 hours. The sauce is cooked in the crock while the ribs are going so it's the easiest thing to coat them once they are cooked and then you've got this amazing looking pot of succulent ribs with meat hanging off the bone waiting for you to pick it off.
I made this for New Year's Day when we were having company and it was phenomenal. Everyone loved it. I added this pretty Spiralized Waldorf salad on my plate and felt completely satisfied.
And don't forget; it is perfectly acceptable to lick your fingers when indulging in good ole' ribs!
Looking for more rib recipes? Check out these luscious looking Slow Cooker Braised Short Ribs! Maybe Korean flavors are more of interest; Check out these Slow Cooker Korean Short Ribs! If spicy is what you love these Slow Cooker Green Chile Ribs will be perfect!
Brenda's Notes:
- The smoked paprika really is a must in this recipe. Regular paprika just won't do. Trust me, you need to get some because it makes quite the difference.
- If you don't have balsamic you can use another vinegar, like apple cider.
- You can find no sugar added ketchup at Whole Foods or make my homemade ones.
- Nutritional Information was calculated using my Homemade Sugar Free Ketchup from my Cookbook.
- You can also use this recipe for homemade ketchup and eliminate the the ¼ cup honey for Swerve.
- The salad on the plate with the ribs is my newest recipe, Mason Jar Spiralized Waldorf Salad.
Crock Pot Low Carb BBQ Baby Back Ribs
Ingredients
- 4-½ pounds pork loin ribs
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 cup organic no sugar added ketchup
- 1 tablespoon organic Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon maple extract
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon pure stevia extract
Instructions
- Lay the baby back ribs on baking sheets. Set aside.
- Stir together the salt, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin and pepper in a small bowl.
- Spread this dry rub onto both sides of the ribs. Set aside.
- Add the water, vinegar, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and maple extract into the crock pot and stir until combined.
- In a small bowl stir together the salt, cocoa powder and stevia.
- Whisk this into the crock pot then add the ribs on top of the sauce.
- Cover and cook on low 10-12 hours or until meat is falling off the bones. During the last 2 hours of cooking coat the ribs with some of the sauce.
- Coat the ribs with the rest of the barbecue sauce before serving.
Nutrition
About Brenda
Brenda Bennett is a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, certified Sugar Detox Coach, certified Keto Coach and certified Life Coach. She has been Sugar Free & Refined carb free for 17 years and has written 2 cookbooks, Sugar-Free Mom, and Naturally Keto and her 3rd book The 30-Day Sugar Elimination Diet, is a four part program to help you detox from sugar, eliminate cravings, balance blood sugar and lose weight all while eating a delicious, nutrient dense whole foods. Meal plan offers two tracks to follow, low carb or keto. She is the founder of the Sugar Free Fresh Start course and Sugar Free Tribe weight loss membership. Learn more.
Margaret Parrett
I love your recipe's. I have a fish allergy, so I need to be careful with the Worcestershire sauce as most have fish in it,
Celena
This didn’t work at all. The ribs on the bottom by the liquid were cooked, but above that they were completely raw. Slow cook on the instant pot doesn’t produce enough heat to ‘bake’ it seems. So sad I wasted 5lb of pork ribs from pigs we raised ourselves. Such a waste.
Brenda
The recipes work perfectly in a standard slow cooker. An instant pot doesn't have the same length and width at the base as a slow cooker, most are narrow and taller, so it makes sense your ribs on top of the bottom ones weren't cooked.
Michelle Detweiler
Can you use plane stevia? What can you replace the maple extract with
Brenda
You can use plain. You could replace the maple extract with some sugar free maple syrup.
Jill
Can you cook this in a regular over? - I don't have a crockpot
Jennifer Mahern
Can i use spare ribs instead?
Brenda
Sure
Jamie
How much is in a serving when looking at the nutritional chart. Like how many ribs would that cover?
Cynthia H
I tried this with 1 1/2 lb country style ribs. Because of timing, my husband put everything together at midnight; we ate at 11:30 AM. Not sure what happened; the ribs were yummy but very dark and my crock pot looked like I had baked a roast in it, no sauce to speak of. Many substitutions for what we had in the house so sugar levels may have been higher than expected. Used my lovely huge crockpot with a Hold Warm feature; maybe it needs to be in a little crock pot to prevent boiling off? I need to tweak this recipe, because even with all the above we loved the ribs. Just sayin', if you've got less ribs and more crock pot adjustment will be necessary.
Michelle Stetser
Hi, there.....
I wanted to slow-cook these ribs tonight to eat during the Eagles game tomorrow. I was wondering how much difference it would make if I don't have the maple extract in the recipe. I can't find it anywhere in my local supermarkets. Or if you can think of a substitute of it? Thanks so much!
Brenda
I've only found it online on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2xscJSo I don't know of another sugar free option to replace maple syrup sorry.
Annie
I see how old this post is so hoping that I'll get an answer. I do not use stevia. I use monk fruit in the raw. 1 tsp monk fruit equal 1 tsp sugar. Can I substitute? It's powder, not liquid so should I add more water? An answer would be great. I want to make these tomorrow and would need to start first thing in the morning.
Thanks!
Brenda
I think that would work fine, I don't think you need to add more water.
Michael
Nice, but I'm still looking for a no sugar sauce. Ketchup still has high fructose corn syrup & standard level corn syrup in it. Onward with my search.
Brenda
You can also make the ketchup yourself.https://www.sugarfreemom.com/recipes/healthier-homemade-tomato-ketchup/