These juicy baked beef back ribs are slathered with a flavorful rib seasoning and sticky BBQ sauce before cooking up to perfection. They are quite simply the easiest way to satisfy your summertime barbecue cravings at any time of the year.
I love serving beef back ribs for dinner with some creamy Southern mac and cheese, juicy corn-on-the-cob, or bright and savory braised collard greens.
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Summertime calls for classic, delicious barbecue. My baked beef back ribs are quick to fix but still have that succulent, fresh-off-the-grill taste. This simple, yet amazing main dish will become a new favorite in your kitchen.
Ribs are the perfect family meal. Seasoned with a flavorful rub and coated with sticky BBQ sauce, your family is sure to be asking for seconds.
They’ll think you’ve spent hours at the grill, but you’ll have these decadent baked beef back ribs on the table in under 90 minutes!
❤️ Why I Love This Recipe
- Fast. With just three ingredients, this recipe comes together effortlessly—no matter your cooking experience level.
- Incredible Flavor. The sticky sauce and savory spice rub blend perfectly to create a mouth-watering main course.
- Family Friendly. Your kids can have fun in the kitchen brushing on their favorite BBQ sauce.
🥘 Ingredients
Could ribs get any easier? A simple, short list of ingredients makes this 4-serving recipe come together with ease, so you spend less time in the kitchen.
- Beef Back Ribs – Thawed, so they’re ready to bake. Beef back ribs are less commonly used than pork, but just as tasty—ask your butcher for help if needed!
- Steak or Rib Seasoning – The blend of spices infuses flavor into the meat to make each bite delicious. Use my go-to seasoning recipe or use your favorite store-bought.
- BBQ Sauce – Pick your favorite store-bought sauce or make your own to coat each rib with deliciousness. Try my honey BBQ or Hawaiian BBQ sauce.
Want to try my incredible steak seasoning? It requires a few more spices and seasonings but comes together in no time and is incredibly versatile!
Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!
🔪 How To Bake Beef Back Ribs In The Oven
Your oven will transform these ribs into a succulent and juicy meal, but don’t forget to preheat! It is essential to ensure your ribs get cooked on time.
- Preheat and Prep. Before you begin, turn your oven on to 350°F (176°C) to make sure it’s the perfect temperature to cook the ribs. Line a large baking tray with foil or parchment paper and set aside.
- Rinse the beef ribs. Rinse the 3 pounds of beef ribs under cold water and pat them very dry with paper towels. Then, place them onto a large plate or plastic cutting board for preparation.
- Prepare. If you wish, pull off the membrane from the underside of each rib. First, use a butter knife to loosen the membrane. Then, use your hand or a paper towel to peel the membrane away from you. Next, cut each rib apart from each other, cutting between each bone down the rib rack.
- Season. Coat each rib with the dry seasoning, being sure to cover each piece completely. No need for extra oil: beef ribs naturally have more fat, which will render and keep the meat moist and juicy.
- Bake. Place the ribs onto your prepared baking tray and bake for 1 hour. Use this time to get your sides and, if you’re making it, home-made sauce ready.
- Sauce ‘em up. After one hour, pull the ribs out of the oven. Increase the temperature to 450° F (232° C). Drench your ribs with one cup of your favorite or home-made BBQ sauce, coating every inch.
- Caramelize the ribs. Return the ribs to the oven at 450°F (232°C) for 10-15 minutes, or until the sauce begins to bubble and look delicious. Keep your eye on the ribs so they don’t burn.
- Serve and enjoy. Take the ribs out of the oven and let them cool slightly before serving.
💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
- Be generous with your seasoning and sauce. These will enhance the flavor of the ribs to make them irresistible.
- Coat the ribs completely with the seasoning blend before putting them in the oven. When it’s time to apply the sauce, be generous—the more sauce, the better.
- Want to try smoking these Beef Back Ribs? This recipe can work for any smoker type.
- Smoking the ribs can add an extra layer of flavor. Be sure to follow the manufacturer’s directions and allow yourself adequate time to smoke the ribs. Check out my Smoked Beef Ribs for more tips!
- Don’t forget to increase the temperature at the end.
- Increasing the oven temperature creates a reverse sear, caramelizing the BBQ sauce and giving the ribs that classic, finger-licking taste.
- Remove the rib’s membrane (silverskin) to ensure maximum tenderness.
- This step is optional but recommended if you have time! The membrane on the underside of the ribs can become tough.
- Removing it can make the ribs more tender and allow the seasoning to soak into the meat more deeply. But your ribs will still be delicious either way.
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🥡 Storing & Reheating
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container or wrapped in foil and kept in the fridge for no more than 3-4 days. But they’re so delicious, you’ll have eaten them all before then!
To freeze, place the completely cooled ribs into an airtight container, double wrapped with plastic wrap or heavy-duty foil. They can then be frozen and stored for 2-3 months.
I recommend the above method to ensure no freezer burn and no mess when your ribs defrost!
Reheating
To reheat, wrap the leftover ribs in foil and reheat in the oven at 225°F (107°C) until hot and sizzling, applying more sauce if desired.
I do not recommend using the microwave to reheat your leftover beef ribs, which can result in a dry or rubbery texture. You want to keep these ribs juicy.
❓ Recipe FAQs
Back ribs are what you get when the Prime Rib cut is removed from its bones. Short ribs are smaller and are cut from a lower portion of the rib cage. They are delicious, but not meant to be used in this recipe, as they need to be cooked for longer periods of time. If you’re having trouble finding the beef back ribs, ask your butcher!
You want to be sure to have these amazing ribs reach an internal temperature of 205°F (96°C). Beef ribs are safe to eat at 145°F (63°C) but cooking them to this higher temperature will ensure they are pull-apart tender.
Absolutely! If you desire, you can light up your grill (according to the manufacturer’s instructions). After the ribs have cooked for an hour in the oven, sear and let them caramelize on the grill for another layer of smoky goodness.
You should be able to find beef back ribs at any grocery store, next to the pork ribs and other meats. But if you’re having trouble, contact a local butcher shop. It’s worth it to use them - beef back ribs have such amazing flavor!
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📖 Recipe Card
Baked Beef Back Ribs
Ingredients
- 3 lbs beef back ribs (1 full rack of ribs)
- 1 steak or rib seasoning (Use mine or store bought)
- 1 cup BBQ sauce (Your favorite)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C).
- Rinse and pat dry ribs with a paper towel.
- (Optional) Remove membrane off the underside of the ribs if desired.
- Cut each rib apart from each other.
- Apply a good amount of my steak seasoning (or your favorite beef seasoning) to the ribs.
- Line a baking tray with foil or parchment paper. Put the ribs on the tray, and bake at 350°F (176°C). for 1 hour.
- After 1 hour, remove your ribs from the oven. Increase temperature to 450°F (232°C).
- Brush your favorite BBQ sauce over the ribs, and return to the oven at 450°F (232°C) for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly, serve and enjoy!
Barbara White says
My family loved this!
Ginny says
I want to try your recipe but I am a bit skeptical. Every other recipe say no bake beef back ribs for at least 4 hours. But yours is way less time. Does your recipe produce tender and juicy ribs?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Mine is not the only version with a shortened cooking time. If you read the tips, I do recommend removing the silverskin membrane to allow your ribs to cook quickly and evenly. This membrane is part of what you are trying to break down with a longer cook time. With or without the membrane removed, the ribs are cooked at a higher temp to get them on the table fast. I have never had my baked ribs turn out dry or tough.
Brian M says
Excellent Beef Back Rib recipe Angela! My wife is from Texas and she loved them. That means something because most native Texans of her generation have high standards when it come to all things beef, like ribs, BBQ, burnt ends, chili, etc. I only tried to cook beef back ribs once before using a different recipe and I did not like them, but your recipe has changed everything. One thing I did a little differently before I coated the ribs with BBQ sauce was I removed the ribs from the pan and poured off the rendered fat (I froze it for future use) then I scraped all the brown bits loose in the pan. Then I poured the BBQ sauce into the pan and mixed it with the brown bits and residual fat, then I coated the ribs with the sauce and returned them to the oven on high heat as per your recipe for the final finish. Man they were good!
James says
Best ribs ever!
Marc says
I season and refrigerator for a couple hours. Put on sheet pan, bone up, for 30 minutes in 350 oven, slather with bbq sauce, turn over and cook another 30 minutes. Perfected this 30 years ago and works best of all other recipes. Close to your recipe.
Ronni says
I had no idea how to cook these. I got a special sale price at my grocery store and thought I guess I’ll just slow cook them in the Insta pot or something …I saw your recipe and these beauties were done within an hour and absolutely scrumptious my favorite part of a steak with the bone. It is always the bone so it was like having a whole plate full of bones with just the perfect amount of meat on them. Great seasonings thank you.
Carl says
Wonderful beef back ribs, super tasty!
Sandy says
Do you Cover the ribs while baking?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
No, I don't cover these while baking. Thanks for asking! 🙂
Tim says
Would really help if you said meat up or down in the oven... rating not yet established
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Meat side up or they won't caramelize with the sauce later (since I didn't note if I flipped them either - which I don't by the way). This oven-baked version really is that easy!
Tiffany says
Hi Angela, what would you suggest for cooking time on a 2 lb rack of beef back ribs?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Hi there Tiffany! The cooking time should be close to the instructions given here, unless they're really bony and lacking much meat. In that case start with 45 minutes cooking time at 350F, check your ribs at that point and then crank up the oven temperature to reverse sear before serving. Enjoy!
Jamie says
Well that's interesting........i posted a review saying that for some reason this recipe did not work out for me, and it has been removed ! Do you only keep the positive reviews on the page ??
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
I sent this via email too, but sometimes negative comments aren't left with valid email addresses:
No, that is most certainly not the case. However, comments that are not constructive (ie, telling us more about what went wrong, quantities used, tweaks that may have been made, etc) don't help the next person that's reading the comment. I do try to troubleshoot issues that went wrong when someone asks for help as best I can. That's not always easy when I'm not there, but I am happy to help.
Likewise, comments that are simply, "yummy!" or "awesome" aren't posted because they don't tell readers much either.
I would love to help you with anything you're running into on the ribs, just let me know anything important to be able to help.
Thanks for reaching out!
Angela
Very Happy in North Carolina says
This was my first time having "beef back ribs" I got them from walmart on sale and wow just plain ole fantastic. I am so excited to try some of your other recipes!
Mandy Bennet says
These oven baked ribs were really good, we made your white cheddar mac to go with! Super recipe thank you Angela.
VMapp says
My first time making ribs and they were finger licking good!
Lboogie says
Flavorful but for some reason , the meat was a little bit tougher than I wanted it to be. Don't know if I left it in the oven too long or what. It was my very first time having ribs and I enjoyed it!
Liz says
Typically the longer a piece of meat is in the oven the more tender it gets, it's possible that your ribs were thicker than the ones used in this recipe originally so they needed to cook longer
I R Carnivore. Mike. says
Great instructions, I don't use BBQ sauce , I mean I would but It's just silly to have bbq sauce with no sugar and I don't use sugar. I do a rub, pretty much what I use for steaks. cover the whole thing in onion rings. Your times are on the money though.
I don't know from your directions if you cut those before you cooked them. I am just going to do the entire thing together, cut them before they go on the table also I do put BBQ sauce on the table cause some folks love it. I just do not like carbs.
these are ten pound racks.
I R Carnivore
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
We love our ribs sauced or not! They're amazing with a great rub too 🙂 These are cut prior to cooking, but I've had great success either way. Enjoy!
Marjie M. says
This was easy and delicious! I didn't use bbq sauce, just Emeril's Essence. Didn't have to turn the heat up, just cooked an additional 10 minutes at 350. Thank you so much!
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
So glad you enjoyed the ribs! Thank you so much for stopping back in to share your success!
John says
Amazingly simple and very flavorful. I followed the recipe exactly and they turned out wonderful.
Mathias says
I busted out a set of these back ribs with your recipe - first time ever “oven grilling”, and they came out fantastic! Another meal I can add to my small list of items I can confidently cook for my family! Oh, one thing I wanted to mention - I used the ‘Convection Roast’ setting on my trusty LG oven… I believe that may have sped up the total cooking time.
Thanks Angela!
Teena McElroy says
I had a pack of frozen beef ribs and decided I needed to use them. I came upon this recipe and super glad I did. So easy, tender and tasty.
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Thanks so much for letting me know how they turned out!