Coca Cola Slow Cooker Ribs

Coca Cola Ribs are cooked in the slow cooker in a delicious barbecue and Coca Cola sauce to create perfectly tender ribs that fall off the bone! 

Serve this meal with a side of Twice Baked Potatoes, Buttered Vegetables and Homemade Rolls!

Why This Recipe Works

• Easy Coca Cola slow cooker ribs. When it comes to cooking meat, I prefer a hands-off approach. It’s so much easier to stick the ribs in the slow cooker and not have to worry about watching them in the oven, grill or  on the stove. 
• Plenty of sauce. It’s all about the sauce, right?! This recipe makes enough sauce so that the meat can cook in the sauce in the slow cooker, then enough to baste and charr in the oven, and enough still to serve with them! 
• Fall-of-the-bone, melt-in-your-mouth good. The slow cooker ribs are so tender and juicy because they’ve cooked low and slow. 

Ingredient Notes

• Barbecue Sauce: Feel free to use whatever brand of barbecue sauce you’d like. 
• Coca Cola: You can use regular Coca Cola, Diet Coke or Coke Zero. If you prefer slow cooker Dr Pepper ribs, you can use Dr. Pepper instead. 
• Brown Sugar: The brown sugar adds a nice sweetness to the Coca Cola ribs and helps provide caramelization of the sauce. 
• Cayenne Pepper: You can add more 1-3 tsp depending on your heat preference. I didn’t add that much because I wanted my kids to enjoy the meat. 
• Baby Back Pork Ribs: The sauce will be enough for 4 pounds of baby back pork ribs. If you are making more or less, adjust the amount of the sauce accordingly. 

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Make the sauce. Mix the barbecue sauce, Coca Cola, brown sugar, garlic, Worcestershire sauce and cayenne pepper together in a bowl. 

2. Prepare the ribs. Remove the membrane (the inner skin) from the ribs and discard it. Spray the inside of the slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Place the ribs in the slow cooker. If the ribs are too big, cut in half so that the ribs can fit. Season the ribs with some salt and pepper. 
3. Add the sauce to the slow cooker. Pour half of the sauce over the ribs, cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. (See Recipe Tips for details on cook time.) Cover the remaining sauce and place in the refrigerator. We will use it again before broiling the Coca Cola ribs. 

• 

• 

4. Preheat the oven. Once the ribs are falling apart and are very tender, preheat the oven to broil (or around 450°F) Carefully transfer the ribs to a foil lined baking sheet. 
5. Baste and broil. Use a basting brush to add more sauce to the ribs. Bake the ribs for 5 minutes or until the ribs are crisp on the edges and the sauce is caramelizing. Watch the ribs closely, you never want to leave anything under the broiler unattended. 
6. Serve. Remove from the oven and serve immediately with the remaining sauce.

Recipe Tips

You’ll want the ribs to be thawed when putting them in the crockpot. If your ribs are frozen, I recommend thawing them in the fridge for 1-2 days (depending on the size). 

The cayenne doesn’t add much heat. I only did 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper because I didn’t want my kids to shy away from eating them. You can be generous with the cayenne to add some kick if you’d like. 

Feel free to adjust the recipe by using Diet Coke or Coke Zero if you’d prefer. You can also use Dr Pepper or Root Beer if you’d prefer. 

I was purposeful in the amount of soda to add in the sauce because I wanted to get the Coca Cola flavor but I didn’t want the sauce to be too liquidy. The amount listed in the recipe is perfect in my opinion!

Cook Time: 

Low for 7 hours – ribs that are soft but stay on the bone

Low for 9 hours – tender, fall apart, melt in your mouth

High for 3 hours – ribs that are soft but stay on the bone

High for 5 hours – tender, fall apart, melt in your mouth

Make Ahead, Storing, and Freezing

Store leftover ribs in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. 

To reheat, wrap the ribs in aluminum foil with additional sauce (to keep them moist). Warm in the oven (set at 250 degrees) for 10-20 minutes. The time will depend on how many ribs you are reheating. Cook unwrapped for a few minutes if you want to crispen up the tops, too. The low temperature helps slowly heat the ribs without cooking them (which would dry them out). 

I wouldn’t recommend freezing the cooked ribs. Ribs are best enjoyed when they are fresh and tender! Reheating or freezing then reheating can increase the risk of the ribs drying out.  

FAQs

More Delicious Meat Recipes

• Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef
• Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches
• Mississippi Pot Roast Recipe
• Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Recipe