BBQ Apple Butter Baked Ribs

BBQ Apple Butter Baked Ribs baked with a kickin’ dry rub and then slathered with BBQ sauce and apple butter. These ribs are finger-lickin’ good and a perfect dinner for the whole family – napkins required!

The kiddos think it’s so fun when we have a dinner that they can eat with their hands. They are few and far in between in this house.

Burgers and fries are one thing. But chubby little boy fingers caked in BBQ sauce has me ready to freak out! I’m definitely not a super neat freak, but the gross factor gets to me very quickly. I think God must have blessed me with three, super gross, boys to teach me to LIGHTEN UP.

All three boys are really messy, but Wesley and Reuben right now are tied as the worst. Reuben, of course, because baby slobber. Thankfully, the two bottom teeth finally poked through two weeks ago, but I somehow thought that might slow down the slobber. That would be a big fat NOPE. I need to order another set of bandana bibs because of how often he soaks through them during the day!

And Wesley. Oh my sweet child, Wesley. He’s very independent for a 4 year old, but cleanliness is for sure not his strong point. When I realize how messy his face or hands are, I order him to the kitchen drawer where I keep all the rags so he can wipe his face and hands himself. He usually cleans up about 25% of whats on himself using about 5 rags at a time. It’s a good thing he’s cute!

So yeah, these ribs were a special dinner for us – but one I’ll definitely make a “mess factor” exception to any day of the week – they were AWESOME! No need to fire up the grill if it’s still in storage from the winter, these babies cook in the oven and are just as tasty, if not better!

BBQ Apple Butter Baked Ribs

BBQ Apple Butter Baked Ribs baked with a kickin' dry rub and then slathered with BBQ sauce and apple butter. These ribs are finger-lickin' good and a perfect dinner for the whole family - napkins required!

5 from 3 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 3 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 3 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 967kcal

Author: Kelly Miller

Ingredients

• ▢ 4 lbs pork spareribs
• ▢ 1/4 cup dijon mustard
• ▢ 2 tbsp paprika
• ▢ 2 tbsp garlic powder
• ▢ 1 tbsp onion powder
• ▢ 1 tbsp kosher salt
• ▢ 1 tbsp ground black pepper
• ▢ 1 tbsp cumin
• ▢ 1 tbsp dry mustard
• ▢ 1/2 cup brown sugar
• ▢ 16 oz apple butter
• ▢ 18 oz BBQ sauce

Instructions

• Place ribs over an oven safe cooling rack that is placed on top of a cookie sheet. Spread or brush dijon mustard over ribs.
• Mix paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, cumin, dry mustard, and brown sugar in a bowl and rub generously over all sides of ribs. Place ribs in the oven at broil for 5 minutes.
• Bake at 300 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. Cover with foil and return to the oven for 1 hour.
• In a separate bowl, stir together BBQ sauce and apple butter. Brush over top and sides of ribs. Continue baking an additional 30 minutes until cooked through (total baking time of 3 hours).
• Allow ribs to rest uncovered for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 967kcal | Carbohydrates: 90g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 51g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 169mg | Sodium: 2348mg | Potassium: 949mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 73g | Vitamin A: 1335IU | Vitamin C: 1.4mg | Calcium: 118mg | Iron: 4.5mg

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While you do need to allow yourself 3 hours of cooking time, these ribs are well worth it! I think they’d be great for having guests over as well!