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

spare ribs coated in a sticky glaze on a foil-lined baking sheet with a silicone brush

5 from 5 votes

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

These Chinese-Style Spare Ribs feature juicy ribs coated in a savory spice rub and then glazed in a sticky sauce. They can easily be made in a slow cooker or Instant Pot and they're Paleo and gluten-free!

Prep Time10

Cook Time9 15

Total Time9 25

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Chinese

Servings: servings

Calories: 588kcal

Author: Don Baiocchi

Ingredients

For the ribs:

2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons ginger powder
1½ teaspoons fine sea salt (or 1 tablespoon kosher salt)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
¾ teaspoon Chinese 5-spice powder
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 rack (about 2½-3 pounds) St. Louis-style ribs (spare ribs)

For the sauce:

½ cup coconut aminos
¼ cup unsweetened, unseasoned rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon molasses
½ teaspoon fine sea salt (or 1 teaspoon kosher salt), plus more if necessary

Instructions

For the ribs:

Mix together the garlic powder, ginger powder, salt, pepper, Chinese 5-spice powder, cinnamon and cloves in a small bowl.
Pat the ribs dry. Evenly coat them on both sides with the spice mix. If some falls off, that's okay.
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 10 minutes. Release any remaining pressure.

For the sauce:

When the ribs are almost ready, combine the coconut aminos, rice vinegar, honey, molasses and salt in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to medium heat and let it simmer for 5-10 minutes, until the sauce has reduced and thickened.
When the ribs are ready, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the ribs on the foil bone-side up (discard leftover water in the insert). Brush on some of the sauce and broil for 2-3 minutes, until the ribs look caramelized. Flip the ribs, brush on more sauce and broil for 3-4 minutes, until this side looks caramelized as well (broiling times might vary by oven setup so keep an eye on the ribs to make sure they don't burn).
Brush with one more layer of sauce on the meaty side of the ribs. Serve with any remaining sauce on the side to dip in or pour over.

Notes

Substitutions and variations

Chinese 5-spice powder is usually a combination of cinnamon, fennel seed, star anise, Sichuan pepper and cloves. If you don't have it or if you don't like the fennel/anise flavor, you can omit it and increase the black pepper for 1 1/4 teaspoon, the cinnamon to 1 teaspoon and the ground cloves to 1/2 teaspoon.
Conversely, if you love the fennel/anise flavor and want more of it, add 1 whole star anise pod to the sauce as it simmers.
If you don't have coconut aminos, you can use gluten-free soy sauce (often called tamari). This is often saltier than coconut aminos so leave the salt out of the sauce. Once it's done simmering, taste it and only add salt if necessary.
No honey? Use the same amount of coconut sugar instead.

Make ahead/leftovers

You can make the spice mix up to 2 weeks in advance and store at room temperature.

You can whisk together the sauce ingredients and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Once cooked, the ribs will last in the fridge for up to 5 days. Store any remaining sauce separately in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

The cooked ribs can also be frozen. Wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and freeze in an air-tight container or baggie for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.

To reheat leftovers, broil each side for 3-5 minutes or reheat in a low oven for 15-20 minutes (then broil each side for a few minutes if desired).

Nutrition