Easy Keto BBQ Oven-Baked Ribs with Homemade Sugar-free BBQ sauce

These Easy Keto BBQ Oven-Baked Ribs doused in a homemade sugar-free BBQ sauce are the perfect blend of sweet, salty, savoury and tender. Making ribs in the oven is not only an easier option than grilling but also takes very little time or effort. Amazingly tender, these foolproof ribs are perfect regardless of the rainy weather!

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These are the BEST Baked BBQ Ribs we have ever eaten.  Super easy to make, these Keto Ribs are an absolutely sinfully delicious easy keto dinner.  With simple ingredients and only a couple of minutes of prep time, the hardest thing about these ribs is waiting for them to be baked!

I created a simple keto homemade sugar-free BBQ sauce recipe to be slathered onto these keto oven-baked ribs to create a nice and crispy caramelized outer crust.

Now before all you BBQ "snobs" turn your nose up to the word "baked", I urge you to try these and then judge me! 

Having made enough ribs in my lifetime, including some of my favourites like these Keto Chinese Spare Ribs, Whole30 30-Minute Ribs - Made in a pressure cooker, as well as these Whole30 BBQ Ribs, I can assure you that baking ribs and then placing them under the broiler until they begin to caramelize, is not only easy but also produces the best fall-off-the-bone tender ribs.

Plus, making keto ribs at home is not only an easy keto dinner idea but is so much cheaper than buying ribs at a restaurant!

Creating Maximum Tenderness

Since ribs have quite a bit of connective tissue, low and slow is the key to creating keto BBQ oven-baked ribs that literally fall off the bone.

Due to the limited thickness of a rack of ribs, you need to be careful that the ribs do not dry out. The key, therefore to cooking great baked ribs, is to balance low temperature with lots of time. Also, tightly wrapping the ribs in aluminum foil helps to retain their moisture. Baking them bone-side down to create a nice and even airflow around the rack. Lastly, baste them with some sugar-free BBQ sauce and broil for a few minutes to caramelize and crisp the crust.

Keto BBQ Oven-Baked Ribs Ingredients

Ribs - You will need about 2-3 lbs of ribs.

Dry Rub - A combination of brown sugar substitute, salt, garlic, black pepper, paprika, mustard powder and cayenne make up this delicious sugar-free dry rub.

Keto BBQ Sauce Recipe Ingredients

In today's world, finding store-bought sugar-free BBQ sauce is fairly easy so feel free to skip making your one keto BBQ sauce.

However, since I try to avoid sucralose, finding sugar-free BBQ that does not contain sucralose as its sweetener can be difficult. And, since making this homemade Keto BBQ sauce recipe is super easy and makes more than enough to be used with several recipes (like my Keto Meatloaf with Stuffed Jalapenos - Gluten-Free or my Moist Dill Pickle-Brined Chicken), I like to make a batch to have in my fridge anyway.

Ketchup - I always have a bottle of Primal Kitchen's Ketchup in my fridge so this is what I use. If you use a different brand, you may need to add additional sweetens to your sugar-free BBQ sauce. Taste it when it is done and add a tablespoon of additional brown sugar substitute until it reaches the level of sweetness you desire. If you want to make your own ketchup, you can find recipes here, here and here!

Sweetener - I used Lakanto Golden which is a brown sugar substitute along with some Yacon syrup. Yacon syrup is extracted from the roots of the yacon plant. It's a sweet-tasting syrup with a look and consistency similar to molasses. Yacon syrup has about 7 grams of sugar per tablespoon whereas molasses contains about 15 grams of carbs. Since you are only adding a single tablespoon, using molasses will not really make a significant difference in carbs since this recipe makes about 2 cups of sauce.

Seasoning - To round out the flavours of this keto BBQ sauce recipe, I used a combination of apple cider vinegar, Worcestershire, garlic powder, onion flakes (or powder), and dry mustard powder, salt and paprika.

Types of Ribs

There are two common types of ribs when making BBQ ribs.

1. Baby Back Ribs: The most popular of all pork ribs, Baby Backs are the leanest and most tender. These types of ribs are located at the top part of the rib bone that is connected to the spine (backbone), just below the loin muscle.
2. St. Louis Style Ribs: These are another option and are the meatier ribs cut from the belly of the hog after the belly is removed. They are usually trimmed down by cutting away the hard breastbone and chewy cartilage, otherwise known as connective tissue.

I used St. Louis Style Ribs as they were on sale but any rib should work. Just keep in mind that if the ribs are thinner or smaller, you may want to bake them a little less.

Preparing the ribs and removing the skin

Before baking these keto ribs, there are a couple of key steps to prepare the ribs.

First, since the ribs are vacuumed-sealed, it is important to remove the ribs and rinse them under cold water to remove any liquid that they have been stored in. Then pat dry the ribs to remove any excess water.

Next, on the concave side of ribs (the side with the least amount of meat), you will most likely find a "silverskin" that needs to be removed. This is the shiny, white piece of membrane that sits on top of the bones on the "cup" side of the ribs. If you do not remove the skin, the ribs will become chewy and tough. Plus, the dry rub will not adhere to the membrane so it is always best to remove it.

To remove the membrane, use a pairing knife and create a slit through the membrane. Then, take the knife and slide it under the membrane. The membrane can be hard to pull off so I find using a little paper towel to grip and pull the membrane makes this step much easier.

Easy Keto Dinner Instructions

Season your ribs, on both sides and place the ribs on a large sheet of aluminum foil.

Next, tightly wrap the aluminum foil around the ribs. Place the ribs in the fridge for 30 minutes or overnight.

When you are ready to bake the ribs, remove the ribs and place them on a rimmed baking sheet. Allow them to come to room temperature for about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Place the wrapped ribs in the oven and bake for 2 -2½ hours. 

Once cooked, open the foil and slather the ribs with the keto BBQ sauce and place them under the broiler for a couple of minutes. 

Stay close to the oven and once the edges start to crisp, carefully remove the ribs from the oven and let them cool slightly.

That's it!  Fall off the bones ready in no time

How many ribs per person

A general rule of thumb is that you should have at least 4-5 ribs per person, which usually amounts to 2-3 servings per rack of ribs.

Storing Ribs

Leftover ribs can be refrigerated for up to 4 days and frozen, tightly wrapped in foil for up to 3 months.

Pro Tip

Once my keto ribs have baked, I like to remove them from the foil and place them on a separate rimmed baking sheet that has been covered in foil. Use an oven-proof rack and place it on top of the foil and then baste your ribs with the sugar-free BBQ sauce. By doing it this way, you will decrease the amount of smoke produced when broiling the ribs as most of the grease has been removed. Also, when broiling, do NOT step away from the oven as your ribs can burn quickly!

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