Instant Pot Sweet and Sour Country Ribs–country style pork ribs are cooked in your electric pressure cooker until fork tender and then served with a sweet and sour sauce. If you want, you can make baked potatoes at the same time and in the same pot to serve with your ribs.
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Instant Pot Sweet and Sour Country Ribs
I’ve been making this recipe for years in the slow cooker and I figured it would be amazing in the Instant Pot as well, and it was! What are country-style pork ribs? Well country style pork ribs are actually not ribs at all. They’re from the blade end or the shoulder and they might have some bones in them but most likely will be boneless. Basically thick cuts of meat that have similar texture and flavor as the meat around ribs. This cut of meat is perfect for the Instant Pot or the slow cooker. They get really tender and have lots of flavor. Plus the bonus is that they are super budget friendly.
As you can see, I bought my pork country style ribs at Winco for $1.78 per pound. This package was 3 pounds and cost me only $5.32. This amount was enough to feed 6 people.
I started this recipe by making a sauce out of ketchup, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar and a few seasonings. I stirred it all together in the bottom of the Instant Pot. Then I nestled all the ribs into the pot.
I nestled all the ribs into the homemade sweet and sour sauce.
At this point you can wrap up some russet potatoes in foil and throw them in as well. They’ll cook at the same rate as the ribs and you can have meat and potatoes for dinner. Or you can leave the potatoes out, it’s up to you. I cooked mine for 20 minutes on high pressure with a natural pressure release. The meat was super tender. I thickened up the sauce with a cornstarch slurry and spooned it over the meat on a serving platter. I hope you enjoy these instant pot sweet and sour country ribs as much as we did!
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What Pressure Cooker Did You Use?
To make Instant Pot sweet and sour country ribs I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. I love this Instant Pot because it has the yogurt making function which I use almost weekly. It has two pressure settings (high and low), and there are also little slots in the handles so that you can rest the lid there instead of putting it down on your counter-top.
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Instant Pot Sweet and Sour Country Ribs
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes plus NPR
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Country style pork ribs are cooked in your electric pressure cooker until fork tender and then served with a sweet and sour sauce. If you want, you can make baked potatoes at the same time and in the same pot to serve with your ribs.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/2 c packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon mustard powder
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 2–4 lbs country style pork ribs (bone-in or boneless)
- Russet potatoes, optional
- Cornstarch + water
Instructions
- Whisk the ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, mustard powder, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper together in the Instant Pot.
- Nestle the ribs into the sauce.
- If you want baked potatoes then wrap your scrubbed russet potatoes in foil and place on the top of the ribs.
- Cover the pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual button or pressure cook button 20 minutes (high pressure).
- Let the pressure release naturally for up to 20 minutes, then move the valve to venting and release any remaining pressure (there might not be any).
- Remove the lid and remove the potatoes. Scoop the ribs on to a platter. Turn the Instant Pot to the saute function. Mix 2 Tbsp of cornstarch with 3 Tbsp of water in a small bowl. Stir the cornstarch slurry into the pot. The sauce will thicken up in a minute or two. Stir while it is thickening.
- Spoon the sauce over the meat and enjoy!
Notes
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*.
Click here for the SLOW COOKER version of this recipe.
This recipe is gluten free.
- Category: Pork
- Method: Instant Pot
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I’ve made these a few times: good flavor, easy and inexpensive. Last night, I did some minor changes. First, I trimmed the meat removing bones and fat. Then I cut the meat into small/ medium chunks and cooked per recipe including baked potatoes. When done, I mashed the baked potato and spooned the meat and sauce over the potato. Yum!
★★★★★
Sounds awesome! Thanks so much for the 5 stars!
Fantastic recipe! Although I’m prone to experiment, the first time through is always by the book. This was a tasty and easy meal. It’s definitely a keeper. Served it just as shown in the photo with lightly sauteed spinach and garlic. Yummy! Many thanks for your well-tested recipes.
★★★★★
You’re so welcome JC! Glad you liked it!
I would rate this recipe higher if I could. It was sooooo good. Served with rice and green beans.
★★★★★
Thanks so much Linda!
This recipe was awesome. Simple but flavorful. Husband loved it too. I had 3.13 lbs of ribs and the ribs fell apart beautifully. The 20 minutes may have been a rough too long so I will adjust for next time. This is a keeper!!
★★★★★
*touch too long
Glad you and your husband enjoyed it Dawn!
Completly switched out the sauce but followed the ratios. Used a couple apples blended with vinegar, ketchup,sweet hot mustard, maple syrup, lemon zest and horseradish and some cinnamon and cayenne. Meat was awesome tender and the sauce is delicous. Thanks for the frame work!
★★★★★
Sounds like a wonderful version!!!
My son loved this so much, he drank the sauce! The ribs were perfect and the sauce was not too sweet or too spicy!
Haha! That’s great!
Just came across this recipe and would love to try it tonight but my ribs are in the freezer and I’m at work……same cooking time for frozen ribs??!! 🙂
I would increase the cooking time by 5 minutes
I made it for dinner yesterday and we all loved it! I’ll certainly make it again! Thanks for sharing!
★★★★
Thanks for sharing Lucy!
Well I was so excited, followed your recipe to the T but soooo sad .
I’m going to have to order in.
They are soo tough , the sauce so bland that well … I’m hoping if I try your recipes again the next one will be better 👎🏼😩
I make these same
ribs in the oven it does take 2 hours but are always the most tender
★
Karen,
This recipe sounds great. However, being a little older now, my doctor and my stomach say I need to watch my fat intake, anymore. How would it work to grill the pork ribs to rare before putting them in the pot?
Could there be a chicken version of this? Any other ideas?
Thanks,
Sean
Hi Sean, yes I think you could definitely do that with the grill. Also you could throw boneless, skinless breasts in the pot with the sauce and cook for 12 minutes. It’ll be leaner and you can still enjoy the sauce.
I made this for dinner tonight. It was amazing. I flipped the rack that came with my Instant Pot upside down and put the potatoes on top of it (to keep them off the ribs). The meat was so tender and tasty and the potatoes were fluffy. Another delicious recipe Karen. Thank you so much.
★★★★★
Oh good idea on the rack! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I forgot to rate this recipe. I would give it 10 stars if I could.
★★★★★
Thanks Barb!!!
I made these for dinner last night and both my husband and daughter thought they were the best! I did try it with putting the potato in with everything else and that wasn’t so good but the meat and sauce was delicious. Definitely a keeper recipe!! It is super easy to do also!
Awesome, I’m so glad you liked them Barb!!
Do you poke your potatoes before wrapping in foil?
I didn’t, but that might be a good idea…
Looks delicious, I’m enjoying your recipes, just made Mississippi pot roast, my family really liked, I had some left and made submarines with fried peppers and onions.
THANK YOU
★★★★★
Paulina, I really like the sound of that! YUM!