Walnut Free Paleo BBQ Baby Back Ribs
Fall-off-the-bone baby back ribs with a smoky, caramelized crust — this is the kind of recipe that makes people think you spent all day hovering over a grill. The secret is a long, slow oven braise sealed in foil, which breaks down the collagen and leaves the meat impossibly tender before a high-heat finish locks in that sticky, charred BBQ glaze. The dry rub layers coconut sugar, smoked paprika, cumin, and a kick of cayenne for serious depth, while the homemade sauce — built from tomato paste, honey, apple cider vinegar, and coconut aminos — delivers that tangy-sweet BBQ flavor without any of the mystery ingredients hiding in store-bought bottles. Many commercial BBQ sauces and spice blends can contain unexpected additives, so making everything from scratch here means you know exactly what's going on the rack. Every ingredient in both the rub and the sauce is naturally free of tree nuts, so there's zero guesswork or label anxiety involved. This is genuinely crowd-pleasing food that happens to be clean and straightforward — serve it with extra sauce on the side and watch the platter disappear.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the ribs
- 2 racks baby back ribs (about 4–5 lb total)
For the dry rub
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
For the BBQ sauce
- 1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
- ¼ cup honey
- 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp coconut aminos
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
- 1
Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Line a large rimmed baking sheet with two layers of aluminum foil, leaving enough overhang on all sides to wrap the ribs completely.
- 2
Flip each rack of ribs bone-side up. Slide a butter knife under the thin membrane at one end of the rack, grip it with a paper towel, and pull it off in one piece. Removing the membrane allows the rub to penetrate and the ribs to become tender.
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