Easy Slow Cooker Short Ribs
The short rib is one of the only cuts of meat that you can say “melts in your mouth.” And it’s also one of the best matches made in heaven for the slow cooker.
I was late to get on the slow cooker bandwagon, but now I’m completely obsessed with crockpot cooking. My spontaneous $20 purchase last April turned into one of my biggest bang-for-your-buck kitchen items, as I seriously use my slow cooker nearly every day. I imagine as we head into winter, it will be even more!
To make these short ribs, the first thing you want to do is outside of the crockpot, but it’s worth it and only takes a few minutes.
Heat up a big skillet (preferably cast-iron) and sear the short ribs on all sides, until brown and caramelized:
While the short ribs cook (or afterward), work on prepping the base of your crockpot, which includes carrot, celery, onion, and some herbs:
Add the browned short ribs directly on top of the vegetables:
Add wine, beef stock, and honey, and let the short ribs cook away for 10-12 hours until they’re super tender.
Enjoy!
Easy Slow Cooker Short Ribs
Ingredients:
- grapeseed oil
- 2 lbs bone-in short ribs
- 1 softball sized yellow onion, sliced
- 1 carrot, sliced
- 1 celery rib, sliced
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup red wine
- 1 cup beef stock
- 2 tbsp honey
- salt and pepper
Directions:
- Pat the short ribs dry with a paper towel to absorb any excess moisture and season the short ribs all over with salt and pepper.
- Heat up a large skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium high heat, and enough grapeseed oil to barely coat the bottom of the pan. Sear the short ribs on all sides for about 4 minutes until brown and caramelized. Remove from the heat.
- Place the sliced onion, sliced carrot, and sliced celery into your slow cooker pot, and add the thyme, bay leaf, and a big pinch of salt. Toss it all together with your fingers, then place the browned short ribs directly on top of the vegetables. Pour in the wine, beef stock, and honey, and cook on low for 8-12 hours, until the short ribs are tender and falling off the bone. You will be able to narrow this time down when you figure out what works for your exact slow cooker, but once it’s tender it’s ready. Enjoy!
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YUM! I love short ribs. I love that you made them in the slow cooker. Such a time saver.
I love short ribs and especially when they have been made in a crockpot. What a great dish.
Sometimes, I find that if the meat isn’t completely covered by liquid, it dries out — maybe I just have a really crummy crock pot! I assume, with only 2 cups of liquid, that it hasn’t been a problem for you?
Hi Mandy, this is a good point. I think it can definitely dry out if it goes too long, but I have found that even when submerged in liquid, meat can dry out then as well (but probably less susceptible to it). I think the magic is catching it in the right time when the meat is tender but not majorly overcooked. Hope that helps some, I’m not sure I answered your question.
Now this looks like a great meal for busy days and I bet those ribs do melt in your mouth!
Short ribs are the end all be all of slowcookers – I mean you can’t get much more melt in your mouth than that! You’re so spot on!!
Love, love, love slow cooker short ribs! These are the ultimate fall comfort food 🙂
I just did crockpot short ribs and could not believe how good they turned out! So easy and delicious! Love these! 🙂
Joanne, I made these for my wife and her friends in town for a girls weekend and got rave reviews. I did add some mushrooms and served along with some bacon beer Brussels sprouts. Thanks for another great recipe!!!
Wow, look at you!!! The pairing with the bacon beer brussel sprouts is totally brilliant, as is the addition of mushrooms. So glad everyone loved it!
question, if you don’t have grapeseed oil, can you use canala oil?
Hi Nancy, yes canola oil is fine. You might be able to get away with olive oil too, just have to be careful with the smoke point. Enjoy!
Hi Beth,
Made this short rib recipe tonight. Reviews from our house say “very good”. Certainly not perfect but certainly the best I’VE ever prepared. Cooked mine about 7.5 hrs. and they were quite tender. I removed the ribs and vegies to a covered casserole and kept them warm while I defatted the liquid then reduced it and added a bit of corn starch to make a sauce.
Mine are far from done, they’ve only been cooking for a half hour.
I used olive oil, but, what do I know? Consequently, I have the oven fan on…lol
But this was super easy and I can’t imagine it not coming out great. We can’t wait to dig in. If it doesn’t come out, it won’t be the recipe’s fault..
Hope the short ribs turned out well!
I salt & pepper, brown short ribs, put in the slow cooker and pour a whole bottle of BBQ sauce over it. Put on the cover and forget about it. So good.
Anybody find that while cooking them, the smell was disgusting? I recall this smell before while making ribs but its unbearable, I actually moved the slow cooker outside haha
oh and I just love the smell while it’s cooking, something about a good
red wine and beef.Mmmmmmmmmm
This recipe was very good and simple. While the short ribs themselves are not cheap it was well worth it. Thank you.
Wonderful to hear that, Fran!
I made these a few days ago (minus the veggies – did not have them on hand) and they were sooooooo tender and yummy!!!! I’m lucky enough to have a Ninja crockpot and so I can sear the meat right in the crockpot and then turn the dial for it to slow-cook. Oh, and for those who are on a low sodium diet, I never use salt on anything and it still turns out wonderful!!! A hint is that a bay leaf (or several) will add that “salty flavor” that you need for your food. Thank you for such a great recipe! Gonna try your pulled pork today with the pineapple juice!!!
Wonderful! And wow, that Ninja feature sounds really awesome and convenient. Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I have only 1.5 lbs short ribs for my husband and I. I would like to use this receipe and am wondering if cooking it on high would be a problem in terms of tenderness and flavor?
Hi Betty, it would probably be okay. I’ve done that a few times when in a rush, and it may come out a little drier but it still works, and the meat should come out fairly tender.
about how many people would this recipe feed?
Hi Valerie, I think it depends on who you’re feeding, but for this recipe I assume that if you have 4 short ribs equalling 2 pounds, that would feed 4, assuming you’re serving this with sides. However, you can add more short ribs to the slow cooker if you want to feed more. The liquid doesn’t need to cover the meat, so no need to double everything else. Hope that helps!
I made this over the weekend and it came out great. Thanks!
I tried this today and it was delicious. There was no direction as to what to do with the sauce, so I blended the veggies with the gravy and added some cornstarch to thicken and heated. This worked very well. I would absolutely make this again!
If I double the recipe to 4 lbs do I have to increase the cooking time?
If you have a larger slow cooker and the meat can rest in a single layer, then no need to increase cooking time.