Slow Cooker/Instant Pot Chinese-Style Spare Ribs (Paleo, gluten-free)

These Chinese-Style Spare Ribs are an easy dinner that can be made in your slow cooker or Instant Pot!

Juicy ribs are coated in a simple spice mixture, cooked to tender perfection and then glazed in a sticky sauce.

And by making these in a slow cooker or electric pressure cooker, you don’t need to bake them in the oven for hours. Just set it and forget it!

Plus they happen to be Paleo, gluten-free and dairy-free.

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Slow Cooker/Instant Pot Chinese-Style Spare Ribs

Spare ribs are often seen in Chinese restaurants coated in a sticky red sauce that’s positively irresistible.

Unfortunately, the sauce often includes ingredients that are problematic for some of us, like soy sauce (which has gluten), refined sugars and even fake food coloring.

So these Chinese-style spare ribs are packed with many of the same flavors – garlic, ginger, 5-spice powder – but in a healthier way, yet they’re still good enough that anyone will enjoy them.

Soy sauce gets replaced with coconut aminos, which is coconut sap reduced to a thick syrup that’s similar to soy sauce. Brown sugar is replaced with honey and molasses so you still get that sticky sweetness but from refined sugar-free ingredients.

And we’ll skip the food coloring altogether. These might not have the telltale red color of traditional Chinese spare ribs but you won’t miss it!

You won’t believe how easy it is to cook ribs in a slow cooker or Instant Pot, too.

 

What you need for Slow Cooker/Instant Pot Chinese-Style Spare Ribs

Ingredients for the ribs:

• 1 rack of St. Louis-style ribs, or spare ribs
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons ginger powder
• 1.5 teaspoons fine sea salt or 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon Chinese 5-spice powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Ingredients for the sauce:

• 1/2 cup coconut aminos (I tested this recipe using Coconut Secrets; if you use a different brand, it might have a different amount of sodium in it)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened, unseasoned rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon molasses

Equipment:

• a large (5-6 quart) slow-cooker or large (6-8 quart) Instant Pot
• a cutting board
• a chef’s knife
• a small mixing bowl
• measuring spoons (these are my favorite because they actually fit into spice jars!)
• a measuring glass
• baking sheet
• a small saucepan
• a silicone or food-safe brush
• aluminum foil
• a whisk

How to make Slow Cooker/Instant Pot Chinese-Style Spare Ribs

For the ribs:

Step 1: Mix together the garlic powder, ginger powder, salt, pepper, Chinese 5-spice powder, cinnamon and cloves in a small bowl.

Step 2: Pat the ribs dry, then coat all over with the spices. If any spices fall off, try to swipe them up and pat back on the ribs but if they don’t all stay on that’s fine.

Step 3: For the slow cooker: Add 1 cup of water to the insert. Add the ribs so they’re standing up on their side, leaning against the insert if necessary. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours or on high for 5-6 hours.

For the Instant Pot: Add 1 cup of water to the insert. Add the ribs so they’re standing up on their side, leaning against the insert if necessary (you’ll have to curl them around into a circle or spiral). Lock on the lid, make sure it’s sealed, and set the manual time for 20 minutes. When the time is done, hit the Cancel/Keep Warm button and let the pressure release naturally for 20 minutes. Release any remaining pressure.

For the sauce

Step 1: When the ribs are almost done, combine the coconut aminos, rice vinegar, honey, molasses and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat so it simmers for about 5-10 minutes, until reduced and thicker.

Step 2: When the ribs are done, cover a baking sheet with foil. Place the ribs bone-side up (discard any water left in the slow cooker/Instant Pot insert) and brush with some of the sauce. Broil for 2-3 minutes, until the sauce has caramelized and browned. Flip the ribs, brush with more sauce and broil for 3-4 minutes, until they look browned and sticky. (Broiling times may vary depending on the oven so keep an eye on the ribs to make sure they don’t burn.)

Step 3: Brush the meaty side with one more layer of sauce. Serve with any remaining sauce.

What to serve with these Chinese-Style Spare Ribs

These would be great served with rice, cauliflower rice, sweet potato rice or parsnip rice to soak up the sauce.

They would also be great with this Braised Red Cabbage, especially if you replace the apple cider vinegar in the recipe with rice vinegar.

Or you could serve them with these Roasted Green Beans and Brussels Sprouts. Just replace the balsamic vinegar with coconut aminos.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Other recipes you might like:

1. Chinese-Inspired Roasted Carrots and Asparagus
2. Beef Satay Stew with Sweet Potato Rice
3. Slow Cooker Korean Short Ribs
4. Instant Pot Creamy White Chicken Chili
5. Slow Cooker Espresso Pulled Pork

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