Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Country Style Ribs

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These Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Country Style Ribs are easy to make and are sweet and tender. They are made with tomato soup and a few other secret ingredients that make the BEST sweet and sauce. Sweet and sour ribs are a perfect dish if you have company coming.

Country-style ribs are AMAZING made in the crockpot! We also make Country Style Ribs with Onions and Peppers and Molasses Country Style Ribs.

I found this recipe inside of a vintage Pillsbury cookbook that I bought at an estate sale. It was initially a grilling recipe, then an oven recipe, and I had to try it in the slow cooker. It worked so well! It’s a great way to serve pork that isn’t a barbecue sauce recipe; it has a sweet and tangy sauce. We did this with mashed potatoes and loved it! We also make sweet and sour chicken often in our crockpot.

newspaper clipping of oven baked sweet and sour ribs.

Recipe Ingredients

Country Style Ribs – The texture of these ribs always remind me of tender pork shoulder but with a bone! You will be surprised how well country style ribs cook up in the slow cooker.
Tomato Soup – This is the Campbell’s Condesned Tomato Soup, do not add water!
Apple Cider Vinegar – Lots of apple cider vinegar in this to help balance the sweetness.
Brown Sugar – Can’t have sweet and sour sauce without a touch of sugar.
Worcestershire sauce – Always my favorite secret ingredient in recipes! Adds tang and depth of flavor.

Step-by-Step Directions

uncooked country style ribs with homemade sweet and sour sauce.

Step One – Add the soup, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, and apple cider vinegar to the slow cooker. Stir until combined.

Step Two – Add the country ribs to the slow cooker flip them in the sauce to coat.

Step Three – Cover and cook on LOW for 7-8 hours. The best way to cook ribs is low and slow. If you are in a pinch, you can cook the ribs on HIGH for 4 hours, but low is best.

Step Four – When the cooking time is done, degrease the sauce. I do this by laying paper towels over the sauce and lift up. The grease will stick to the paper towels.

What to serve with Sweet and Sour Ribs

Serve with a starch such as Mashed Potatoes, or Rice.
Add a green vegetable like a garden salad or steamed broccoli.

pork ribs in sauce in slow cooker with tongs in it.

Recipe FAQs

Can I use jarred sweet and sour sauce instead?

Yes! Use a jar of sweet and sour sauce or even the canned variety such as Contadina sweet and sour.

Can I use baby back ribs?

Yes! Any pork rib will work for this recipe, even spare ribs. Be sure to remove the sinew (membrane) off the back of the ribs. I like to cut racks of ribs into fourths.

Can I add pineapple to sweet and sour ribs?

Yes! Add one 20 ounce can of drained pineapple tidbits or pineapple chunks to this recipe at the beginning of cooking.

Can I make this into a freezer meal?

Yes. Sweet and Sour ribs can be made into a beautiful freezer meal! Add the entire recipe into a large freezer ziplock bag before cooking—Thaw the day before needing (in the fridge) and cook as directed in the recipe card.

sweet and sour ribs with mashed potatoes and green salad.

These ribs are worth making! I will be making these again soon; they are good enough to serve to company. Have a great week.

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