This post and photos may contain Amazon or other affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. If you purchase something through any link, I may receive a small commission at no extra charge to you. All opinions are my own.
Crock Pot BBQ baby back ribs are made healthier and without added sugar! They’re the ultimate football food! Perfect for the Super Bowl or any party you’re having!
I can’t think of anything more fun to eat then finger licking good ribs!
I mean who can resist right? When you’re eating low carb or sugar-free most sauces that ribs are made in are full of added sugars. Bottled barbecue sauce is full of sugar as well. Sure it’s easy to throw in a bottle of BBQ sauce with ribs and call it a done deal in your crock pot, but making sugar free ribs at home is much easier than you think.
I have a confession to make, we are not much of a football loving watching family. We will watch the Super Bowl if our local Patriots team is in the play offs but that is about it.
My man is an outsdoors man. You know the type, camper, fisher, hunter type man. Sports were never really his thing.
Even as a child the only sport we watched was soccer because my Italian dad was a soccer player a long time ago. He never really got into watching sports when he came to the States so as a child neither did I.
To be honest I’m kinda glad I didn’t marry a man who needed to watch football or any sport for that matter whenever it was the weekend.
The only tradition we do stick with is awesome finger foods when the Super Bowl is on and this recipe is the ultimate!
Perfectly tender after a good 10 hours. The sauce is cooked in the crock while the ribs are going so it’s the easiest thing to coat them once they are cooked and then you’ve got this amazing looking pot of succulent ribs with meat hanging off the bone waiting for you to pick it off.
I made this for New Year’s Day when we were having company and it was phenomenal. Everyone loved it. I added this pretty Spiralized Waldorf salad on my plate and felt completely satisfied.
And don’t forget; it is perfectly acceptable to lick your fingers when indulging in good ole’ ribs!
Looking for more rib recipes? Check out these luscious looking Slow Cooker Braised Short Ribs! Maybe Korean flavors are more of interest; Check out these Slow Cooker Korean Short Ribs! If spicy is what you love these Slow Cooker Green Chile Ribs will be perfect!
Brenda’s Notes:
- The smoked paprika really is a must in this recipe. Regular paprika just won’t do. Trust me, you need to get some because it makes quite the difference.
- If you don’t have balsamic you can use another vinegar, like apple cider.
- You can find no sugar added ketchup at Whole Foods or make my homemade ones.
- Nutritional Information was calculated using my Homemade Sugar Free Ketchup from my Cookbook.
- You can also use this recipe for homemade ketchup and eliminate the the 1/4 cup honey for Swerve.
- The salad on the plate with the ribs is my newest recipe, Mason Jar Spiralized Waldorf Salad.
Remember to subscribe to the Sugar Free Mom Newsletter for free and receive fresh recipe notifications delivered into your inbox!
If you try a recipe, please use the hashtag #sugarfreemom on instagram for a chance to be featured! Follow Sugar Free Mom on Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter for all of the latest content, recipes and updates.
Crock Pot Low Carb BBQ Baby Back Ribs
Ingredients
- 4-1/2 pounds pork loin ribs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 cup organic no sugar added ketchup
- 1 tablespoon organic Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon maple extract
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon pure stevia extract
Instructions
-
Lay the baby back ribs on baking sheets. Set aside.
-
Stir together the salt, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin and pepper in a small bowl.
-
Spread this dry rub onto both sides of the ribs. Set aside.
-
Add the water, vinegar, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and maple extract into the crock pot and stir until combined.
-
In a small bowl stir together the salt, cocoa powder and stevia.
-
Whisk this into the crock pot then add the ribs on top of the sauce.
-
Cover and cook on low 10-12 hours or until meat is falling off the bones. During the last 2 hours of cooking coat the ribs with some of the sauce.
-
Coat the ribs with the rest of the barbecue sauce before serving.
These look so amazingly tender and fall-off-the-bone delicious!
These ribs look so tender. I wish I could taste them.
You know I love my slow cooker! These look amazing, Brenda!
My husband would loooove these! I love that you make them in the slow cooker. Can’t wait to try it!
Now that is some serious football food! And it’s even better that they’re made in the slow cooker.
Oh my gosh! Sounds just like us! We are not football watchers either and would prefer to camp and grill outside any day! These are perfect for us! And anything low carb is up my alley 😉
Great football watching recipe. Or for having friends over, or for family dinner…or any time! Sounds really delicious.
Every time I see ribs, I think of House of Cards. It’s premiering soon and I will definitely be making these for that day! Ribs totally worthy of President Frank Underwood!
I never know who’s playing. I’m in it for the food. Man, these ribs are fall of the bone tender and I need some in my life.
We love smoked paprika – I can totally see how it makes this dish!
I think I found my weekend food!! This looks divine!!
I’ve got my napkins ready ; )
Where did you find the smoked paprika and the maple extract?!! Thanks!!
I found the smoked paprika in my local super market with the other spices. I ordered the maple extract from iherb.com. My discount code is YAJ035 if you order.
We’re soccer people, but if the Bears are in the Superbowl, we’re there!! Which is never gonna happen… 😛
Smoked paprika and I are like *this*! The ribs look so darn good!
I use my slow cooker to make ribs too! They always turn out so delicious and tender. Love that you put smoked paprika into this dish. It’s my favorite!
Love that these are falling off the bone!
The ribs look absolutely delicious. So does the cucumber salad. Do you have a recipe for the salad also?
I will be posting that recipe tomorrow actually, stay tuned!
These look fantastic! I can’t wait to try them. We are stationed in Germany right now. Would it be possible to substitute sf maple syrup for the maple extract?
Yes that will work.
At the end of the recipe, it says to coat with the BBQ sauce. What sauce are you referring to?
The remaining sauce that is in your crock pot after removing the ribs.
I found maple extract at Target! Smoked Paprika at my local super market. These ribs fall off the bone. Everyone loves them!
Thank you for sharing!
Where do you use the additional 1/4 tsp cumin?
Depending on what brand balsamic vinegar is used, the range is from 2g sugar per tablespoon, to as high as 24 g/Tbsp. Read the labels!
It’s nice to see some low-carb recipes like this. I read years ago that ketchup has a higher percentage of sugar than [the big-name cola drink] does. Not that anyone drinks a whole bottle of ketchup (not even those people who consider french fries to be merely the means of to getting the ketchup to their mouth–I hope), but I never thought until now to look for sugar-free ketchup, or to see how to make some.
I also learned about smoked paprika, and the difference between maple flavor and maple extract.
Go Patriots!
Has anyone made these with cider vinegar? Just thinking of the substitution for health reasons. Cant wait to try this week!!
No but I think that sounds wonderful!
Hi! I want to make these tomorrow night but I am a bit confused as you list Cumin and salt twice, each with different amounts? not sure why or what to use of each. Can you please clarify?
The first few ingredients are for the dry rub on the ribs in step 2 of the directions. The remaining ingredients with salt again is when you are mixing the sauce that go overs the ribs.
Nice, but I’m still looking for a no sugar sauce. Ketchup still has high fructose corn syrup & standard level corn syrup in it. Onward with my search.
You can also make the ketchup yourself.https://www.sugarfreemom.com/recipes/healthier-homemade-tomato-ketchup/
I see how old this post is so hoping that I’ll get an answer. I do not use stevia. I use monk fruit in the raw. 1 tsp monk fruit equal 1 tsp sugar. Can I substitute? It’s powder, not liquid so should I add more water? An answer would be great. I want to make these tomorrow and would need to start first thing in the morning.
Thanks!
I think that would work fine, I don’t think you need to add more water.
Hi, there…..
I wanted to slow-cook these ribs tonight to eat during the Eagles game tomorrow. I was wondering how much difference it would make if I don’t have the maple extract in the recipe. I can’t find it anywhere in my local supermarkets. Or if you can think of a substitute of it? Thanks so much!
I’ve only found it online on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2xscJSo I don’t know of another sugar free option to replace maple syrup sorry.
I tried this with 1 1/2 lb country style ribs. Because of timing, my husband put everything together at midnight; we ate at 11:30 AM. Not sure what happened; the ribs were yummy but very dark and my crock pot looked like I had baked a roast in it, no sauce to speak of. Many substitutions for what we had in the house so sugar levels may have been higher than expected. Used my lovely huge crockpot with a Hold Warm feature; maybe it needs to be in a little crock pot to prevent boiling off? I need to tweak this recipe, because even with all the above we loved the ribs. Just sayin’, if you’ve got less ribs and more crock pot adjustment will be necessary.
How much is in a serving when looking at the nutritional chart. Like how many ribs would that cover?
Can i use spare ribs instead?
Sure
Can you cook this in a regular over? – I don’t have a crockpot