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You’re going to be so addicted to these tender oven-baked honey butter ribs! They have the most incredible flavor and everyone will be asking you to bring them to every party!

These tender honey butter ribs are oven baked to perfection and they fall off the bone! They are literally bathed in honey, butter, and brown sugar. There is no way you will be able to put this down! #honey #butter #ribs #babybackribs #ovenbaked #pork #porkrecipe
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My friend shoved a piece of these honey butter ribs in my face when I walked into her house to pick up Winston.

“Taste this.”

Her house already smelled incredible so I knew these ribs would be phenomenal.

I think my eyes bulged out of their sockets when I finally had a taste.

These were the most tender and flavorful ribs I had ever tasted.

I mean, honey, butter, and brown sugar. It can’t taste that bad with that combination.

These tender honey butter ribs are oven baked to perfection and they fall off the bone! They are literally bathed in honey, butter, and brown sugar. There is no way you will be able to put this down! #honey #butter #ribs #babybackribs #ovenbaked #pork #porkrecipe

How do you cook ribs to make them tender and fall off the bone?

Low and slow. That’s the only way!

Cooking it on a low oven temperature ensures all the meaty fibers break down and you’re left with an extremely tender and fall off the bone meat.

You have to have patience when cooking ribs. It can’t be something you whip together in an hour.

So definitely make sure you have time to make this before you start.

Baby back ribs or St. Louis ribs? What’s the difference?

To be honest, I don’t know the difference. I think baby back ribs are leaner and more tender.

They both taste good to me though, haha

I believe I made these with baby back ribs. Whole Foods had a crazy sale for Prime members a while back and I had to take advantage.

These tender honey butter ribs are oven baked to perfection and they fall off the bone! They are literally bathed in honey, butter, and brown sugar. There is no way you will be able to put this down! #honey #butter #ribs #babybackribs #ovenbaked #pork #porkrecipe

Tips for success with making honey butter ribs

Don’t peek!

Be patient!

Let it do its thing.

Seriously.

That’s like when you’re cooking a roast in a dutch oven or slow cooker.

The less you open it up, the more tender it will be.

When you open up something that has been cooking for a while, you let out all the heat and it has to heat up again and it dries it out.

It also just lets out all the liquid to evaporate.

Just let it be and let it cook. It’s super tempting, but you know it’ll all be worth it in the end.

These tender honey butter ribs are oven baked to perfection and they fall off the bone! They are literally bathed in honey, butter, and brown sugar. There is no way you will be able to put this down! #honey #butter #ribs #babybackribs #ovenbaked #pork #porkrecipe

What ingredients you’ll need for these oven-baked honey butter ribs

  • A rack of baby back ribs
  • Honey
  • Butter
  • Brown sugar
  • Your favorite spice rub

Can I make these in the slow cooker?

Theoretically, they would work because it’s kind of the same thing but I haven’t actually done it myself so I don’t know timing.

I’d assume maybe 6-8 hours on low?

Don’t take my word for it.

I would certainly try it if you want to, though.

These tender honey butter ribs are oven baked to perfection and they fall off the bone! They are literally bathed in honey, butter, and brown sugar. There is no way you will be able to put this down! #honey #butter #ribs #babybackribs #ovenbaked #pork #porkrecipe

What do these taste like?

Well, they’re sweet and salty.

But they’re also nutty from the butter that kind of browns with cooking.

The sugars caramelize and it’s also a bit spicy but not like super spicy.

It’s just a back of the throat heat and warms you up but not like blowing fire out of your mouth spicy.

These tender honey butter ribs are oven baked to perfection and they fall off the bone! They are literally bathed in honey, butter, and brown sugar. There is no way you will be able to put this down! #honey #butter #ribs #babybackribs #ovenbaked #pork #porkrecipe

If you like recipes for ribs, you may like these too:

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These tender honey butter ribs are oven baked to perfection and they fall off the bone! They are literally bathed in honey, butter, and brown sugar. There is no way you will be able to put this down! #honey #butter #ribs #babybackribs #ovenbaked #pork #porkrecipe
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4.20 from 15 votes

Tender Oven-Baked Honey Butter Ribs

These oven-baked honey butter ribs are fall off the bone tender and the incredible flavors that just absolutely meld together will have you drooling!
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 4 hours
Total Time: 4 hours 25 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients 

  • 2 racks (2 rack) baby back ribs, about 5 pounds

For the honey butter sauce

  • 4 tablespoons (56 g) unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

For the spice rub

  • 1 ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • ½ teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon ground mustard

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 250 °F (121 °C) and line a large, rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, preferably double-lined. Additionally, have two-four large pieces of aluminum foil, the length of the racks of ribs, set aside.
  • In a bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the honey butter sauce. Set aside.
  • Prepare the ribs by removing the silver skin from the back of the ribs.
  • If your rack of ribs are large, you can cut them in half. Place the ribs, skin-side up (meaty side down on the foil), on the prepared pieces of foil.
  • Evenly distribute and pour 3/4 of the honey butter sauce between the racks of ribs and rubbing it in with your hands on both sides. It’s okay if it drips down the side onto the aluminum foil. You’re going to fold them up and make them into pouches anyway.
  • Once the ribs are rubbed, fold up all sides of the aluminum foil to basically make a package with your ribs then place on the prepared baking sheet.
  • Place into the oven for 4 hours. During this time, DO NOT open the pouches to peek. Just let them cook.
  • In the meantime, whisk together ingredients for spice rub and set aside.
  • Once time is up, remove the baking sheet from the oven then turn the oven to 400 °F (204 °C).
  • Carefully open the rib pouches and brush the ribs with the remainder of the honey butter sauce and drippings and sprinkle the spice rub on top.
  • Place back into the oven to bake for an additional 7-10 minutes; just until the outside crusts and browns a little.
  • Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before cutting and serving!

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 771kcal, Carbohydrates: 9g, Protein: 55g, Fat: 58g, Saturated Fat: 24g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g, Monounsaturated Fat: 22g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 226mg, Sodium: 251mg, Potassium: 752mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 7g

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition information can vary for a variety of reasons. For the most precise nutritional data use your preferred nutrition calculator based on the actual ingredients you used in the recipe.

The default measuring system for this website is US Customary. Unit conversions are provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. While we strive to provide accurate unit conversions, please be aware that there may be some discrepancies.

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46 Comments

  1. Ribs turned out great, wanted something different than typical ribs with BBQ sauce. But the s
    auce…I don’t know if mine turned out the way it was supposed to, but melted butter with brown sugar and honey? Sounds delicious but mine did not turn into one cohesive sauce. All of the brown sugar was at the bottom, and just plain melted butter floating on top. Did I do something wrong? I tried heating it in the pan for longer and the sugar caramelized and turned into like BBQ candy 😂. Some guidance please!

    1. hi Marina, it’s not supposed to be a cohesive sauce. what you explained is what is expected. and yes, heating up the sugar like that will definitely just turn it into hardened sugar! ha

  2. Hi I’m going to use boneless pork ribs. How long would I cook them in the slow cooker and would I still need to foil them in the slow cooker? Thanks

    1. probably 3-4 hours on high would work if they’re boneless. no you shouldn’t need to foil them but if it will help with clean up, i would suggest it.