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These Slow Cooker Short Ribs make the perfect, easy weeknight dinner. Beef short ribs are slow cooked in a sweet, spicy, and salty marinade until fall-apart tender and juicy. Serve as an entree over rice, in tacos, on a sandwich, you name it!
Slow Cooker Beef Short Ribs Recipe
Sometimes I hit the jackpot with a meal that everyone just really loves. These Slow Cooker Short Ribs are one of those meals!
This recipe is hands-down a family favorite. And it’s definitely one of my favorites because of just how easy it is to make. You just toss everything into the crockpot and come home to the perfect dinner ready to go. These ribs are incredibly tender, juicy, flavorful, and can be served in a number of different ways!
Ingredients Needed
These crockpot short ribs are made with a flavorful marinade that takes the meat to a whole new level of flavor!
- Aromatics: I recommend freshly minced garlic and freshly grated ginger for the best flavor.
- Apple Cider Vinegar, Oil, Coconut Sugar, Coconut Amino, and Coconut Aminos Teriyaki Sauce: these ingredients create a sweet, tangy, and salty base for our marinade!
- Green Chilies: gives the marinade a little extra smoky, spicy flavor.
- Broth: chicken or beef broth both work great.
- Short Ribs: you can use either boneless or bone-in for this recipe. I recommend grass-fed ribs!
How to Make Slow Cooker Short Ribs
This beef short rib recipe is made in the slow cooker which makes for incredibly quick prep! Just a few minutes of hands-on time.
- Make the marinade: In a bowl, mix together all of the marinade ingredients.
- Broil the meat: Set the oven to broil, season the meat with salt and pepper, then place under the broiler. Cook until the top is browned.
- Slow-cook: Place the ribs into the crockpot, then pour the marinade on top. Add in the broth, then cook.
- Serve and enjoy: When the cook time is up, shred the meat, then serve as desired.
Are Beef Short Ribs Tough?
By nature, short ribs are a tougher cut of beef than others. However, when properly prepared, short ribs can be incredibly tender, juicy, and flavorful!
The crockpot is the perfect way to achieve that. Making this beef short ribs recipe in the slow cooker creates incredible flavor and texture thanks to the lower and slower cook time. Definitely no tough meat here!
Should I Soak Short Ribs Before Cooking?
When it comes to slow cooker short ribs, there’s really no need. The ribs soak in the marinade the entire 10 hours that they’re cooking, so they become incredibly tender and flavorful without pre-soaking them.
Do You Need to Broil the Ribs Before Slow Cooking?
While broiling isn’t totally necessary, I really do recommend it! Broiling the beef short ribs before cooking them in the slow cooker caramelizes the outside slightly which adds another layer of flavor and crisps the exterior for better texture.
If you have the time, I definitely recommend broiling first!
Do You Need Liquid in a Slow Cooker for Ribs?
Yes! The long, slow cook time in the crockpot definitely requires liquid. Without it, the ribs will become much too dry as they cook. The marinade and broth used add so much flavor and moisture.
Tips
- Broil! Broiling the meat before slow cooking caraemlizes the outside slightly for better texture and flavor.
- Use boneless or bone-in. While you do get more flavor with bone-in meat, you can use either bone-in or boneless short ribs for this recipe.
- Get grass-fed beef. It’s better quality and more sustainable.
Let’s Make it a Meal!
These crockpot short ribs are good enough that you can just eat them straight out of the slow cooker. However, if you want to serve them as more of a meal, here are some ideas:
- As a main. Serve the beef as an entree with a side of rice or cauliflower rice and roasted veggies or mashed potatoes.
- On a sandwich. Layer it on your favorite toasted bread and top it off with melty cheese.
- In tacos. Serve in your favorite hardshell or softshell tacos with all your favorite toppings.
How to Store Short Ribs
Leftover beef short ribs will last in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for 1-2 months. To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge if frozen, then warm in the oven at 300ºFwith a splash of broth to prevent it from drying out.
More Rib Recipes You’ll Love
Watch The Video:
Slow-Cooker Short Ribs
Ingredients
Marinade:
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil
- 1 tablespoon coconut sugar
- 2 tablespoons Coconut Amino
- 2 tablespoons Coconut Aminos Teriyaki sauce
- 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
- 2 tablespoons Green Chilies
Everything Else:
- 1/2 cup chicken or beef broth
- 2 lbs. grass-fed short rib boneless or bone-in*
Spicy Mayo (for serving):
- 1/4 cup homemade mayo or store-bought avocado oil mayo
- 2-4 teaspoons sriracha depending on desired level of spice
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix together marinade ingredients.
- Place oven on broil setting (high). Season meat generously with sea salt and pepper. Place on a sheet pan under the broiler for 4 minutes on each side, until tops are browned.
- Place meat into your slow cooker.
- Pour marinade over, pour in beef or chicken broth, and set on low for 8-10 hours.
- Once done, shred meat off bones for tacos, or serve over Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes!
Notes
- Often you get more flavor with bone-in meat, but either will work perfectly for this dish!
I made this recipe tonight. It was amazing and received rave reviews from family and friends. I made 8 ribs and made the marinade 1.5 X the recipe. They were quite done on low at 8 hours in our crockpot. I also used Serrano peppers with seeds removed because our store was out of Chili’s. This was such a big hit, I cannot wait to do it again.
This dish was so easy to prepare and tasted amazing! I served on corn tortillas one night and for lunch I paired it over rice!
Looks delicious and can’t wait to make it! Can this be made in the Instant Pot? If so, what would be the cooking time please? No longer have a crock pot. 🙂
As others have asked, what are the garnishes you used? I see the cilantro, red cabbage, and avocado, but I cannot identify that shredded light colored garnish. Is it shredded cooked chicken?
Your recuipers look delightful, but I see no macros. And those do count for losing weight
We’re working on adding nutrition data. In the mean time, you can use any free online calculator 🙂
What do you use to garnish?
Can you detail what ingredients are for the marinade? It says pour marinade over short ribs but I didn’t see a list of ingredients and instructions for the marinade.
Thanks
Recipe is updated! Check now. Enjoy!
What flour can be used instead of tapioca flour? Would a bean flour work?
Do you think flax eggs would suffice in place of the reg eggs?
Thanks!
I made a half batch of the tortillas to use for dinner last night, and another half batch to use for breakfast this morning. Instead of melting shortening or grass-fed butter to use, I actually used unsweetened applesauce instead. They still came out delicious!! Just thought I would share the alternative in case someone couldn’t use butter or didn’t have shortening available. 🙂
Wow!!!! I just made these grain free tortillas and they are fantastic! Definitely worth the effort. A must try!!!
You had me at short ribs…..Seriously. Lexi, you keep pumping out this awesomesauce.
What type of non-dairy milk did you use?
The ingredients sound great, but you didn’t finish off the recipe directions. How do you put your tacos together, I can assume this but should be explained with toppings I see in photo.
These tacos are mouth watering! Short ribs make great taco meat!
You can’t go wrong with short ribs… yum!
These tacos look amazing!
Love how pliable those tortillas look, alot of times the grain-free ones break right away. Can’t wait to try this recipe Lexi, I love short ribs and these just look gorgeous!
First off…dying to have short ribs this season. And second, grain free tortillas?! Perfect. We are having a Mexican night on Friday with some friends and these are going to happen!