Slow Cooker Asian Short Ribs

16 Reviews / 4.9 Average
For the first time I decided to experiment with 5-spice powder in this Asian short ribs recipe. And what better way to incorporate it than in the crock pot? Serve this on top of brown rice noodles, with some bok choy, then pour the homemade soy sauce glaze for a delicious, tasty dinner.
↓ Jump to Recipe
Slow Cooker Asian Short Ribs from 100 Days of Real Food #slowcooker #shortribs

In case you haven’t heard me say it before—I LOVE making everything from soups to stocks to beans to dinners in my crock pot.

Preparing a delicious and nutritious meal in advance that is ready and waiting for you at dinner time, keeps your house smelling amazing all day long, and usually requires minimal cleanup after eating? I am sold. Especially on those nights when the kids have early evening extracurricular activities. Slow cooker dinners are the way to go in my opinion!

Another great thing about this recipe is that, for those who have an allergy or sensitivity, it does not contain any gluten or dairy (as long as a gluten-free soy sauce is used). You could also just omit (or replace) the soy sauce topping if someone in your family can’t eat soy. Oh, and while we are on the topic, there are no nuts in this recipe either. So there you go…this is officially an allergy-friendly dish that everyone can enjoy together!

Posts may contain affiliate links. If you purchase a product through an affiliate link, your cost will be the same but 100 Days of Real Food will automatically receive a small commission. Your support is greatly appreciated and helps us spread our message!

132 thoughts on “Slow Cooker Asian Short Ribs”

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published.

Recipe Rating




  1. 5 stars
    My husband’s absolute favorite meal! If you can’t find the 5-spice mix, it’s really good without. I’ve made it both ways. Just do extra paprika.

  2. 5 stars
    These are incredible. I’ve made them a few times – they’re my husbands favorite so I usually cook them as a special meal or date night for us! The flavor is so good especially with the sauce drizzled on top!

  3. 5 stars
    This dish is definitely a winner! I’m not a very experienced cook, but this is the most impressive thing to come out of my kitchen – and it was so easy! I followed instructions exactly, except cut the ingredients in half since I was just feeding two people. The glaze at the end is the icing on the – ribs! I served with white rice, sauteed bok choy (with ginger, garlic, soy sauce), and a cold asian cucumber salad (just googled one). My boyfriend was very impressed, and this will definitely be on rotation for dinner parties! Keep the slow cooker recipes coming… I also really like the pulled pork from this website.

  4. 5 stars
    Wow Wow Wow! We had these Asian Ribs last night and my husband won’t stop talking about them. They were wonderful! We bought the grass fed beef ribs from Whole Foods. They cost a fortune but it was worth it! I used the recipe for Udon Noodles with Bok Choy that Amy Taylor (comment moderator) put the link on 10/7/14 in the comments. It went perfectly with the Asian ribs. I also quartered 2 onions instead of one to make sure the ribs were elevated off the bottom of the crock pot. This recipe is a keeper. Can’t wait to have my kids over to try this. Thanks!

  5. We made the Asian short ribs for dinner tonight with steamed broccoli. This is dinner party worthy, AND, my 4 and 6 yo devoured it!

  6. Cooking this for a Chinese New Year party. 2 questions. Is this cooked as one layer in the crockpot or can I put a few layers on top of each other. I have 20 ribs to do. Can I freeze these?

  7. 5 stars
    My short ribs are in the crock pot right now. I’m going to have them with soba noodles and whatever organic green looks good at the market today. For those above with absolutely no imagination, http://www.pinterest.com literally has thousands of recipes for everything. I’m even providing the website link for all you lazy peeps.

  8. I am new to this and will be doing the ‘ten day clean eating pledge’. I will be using this site a lot for recipes as well as a few others. This is the first meal on my very first ever meal planing journey. Did you list the side dishes? I see in some comments people were asking questions about the book choy and Asian noodles. Do I just have to go to recipes to find side dishes. Thanks so much and I am glad I am here and looking forward to journey.

  9. 4 stars
    Someone earlier in the comments mentioned throwing the bok choy in the crockpot on top of the ribs, so I did that an hour before it was done cooking. Turned out fine. I thought the dish was a tad salty (and one kid wasn’t a huge fan of the bok choy, but ate most of it) overall my family liked it. My husband has been on board with clean eating for a while now and Lisa’s recipes are making him a big fan. Thanks!

  10. 5 stars
    Another winner! Thank you! I needed this done in about 6 hours, so I started it on high for an hour then switched to low for the remaining time and they were perfect. I took a bite before adding the soy sauce and honey mixture and thought they were equally as tasty without it. This will definitely become a regular in my menu rotation. I love the idea of trying this with chicken, cannot wait!

    Thanks again!

    Holly
    Portland, OR

  11. 5 stars
    I invited my parents over and we had this along with the Asian coleslaw and they were both delicious. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

  12. Nicole Hartnell

    I can’t find the five spice blend… Can you tell me what spices are in it? Thanks!

    1. Assistant to 100 Days (Amy)

      Here ya go:
      ground cinnamon
      ground cloves
      fennel seed
      ground star anise
      Szechuan peppercorns

  13. 5 stars
    I made this on Monday, oh my, I was glad I was at work while it was cooking because it smelled so good. It was very tasty and the meat just fell off the bones. We had Jasmine rice and sautéed bok choy with it.

    I have now made 2 of your recipes and I will be trying more. Thank you.

  14. Our store was sold out of short ribs so I bought beef slices with no bones. Do you think this will turn out similar or should I not cook it for so long?

  15. I was going to make this and I thought I have short ribs at home, only to find out it was ribeye and I already defrosted it. Can I use that ? Or do u have any rib eye recipe?

    Thanks

  16. Hi,
    My family loves ribs, I am always looking for a new recipe. However my daughter is highly allergic to honey. Will this taste really different without the honey or is there a substitute I could use? Thank you!

    1. Assistant to 100 Days (Amy)

      Hi Colleen. We often substitute honey with maple syrup though we’ve not tried it in this recipe. ~Amy

  17. This did not turn out good for me. Short ribs had no taste, and I didn’t know 5-spice powder is the same spice used in Vietnamese pho dish, it wasn’t good to eat pho beef over rice. Most likely will not try this recipe again.

  18. Fantastic! We at Little Green Pouch are taking the 10 day real food pledge, and I made this for breakfast on day one. It was a hit, and my husband asked me to add it to our regular rotation :-)

  19. Hi. Do you have recommendations for doubling the recipe? I actually don’t know what 3-1/2 pounds of short ribs looks like, but know that i’d like to make enough for 6-8 people, so hoping i can fit more in crockpot. Do you think it’s ok to proportionally increase the recipe for additional servings? or is it not recommended? Thanks.

    1. Assistant to 100 Days (Amy)

      Hello. I think the recipe will work fine when doubled. The issue might be your crock pot size. ~Amy

  20. 5 stars
    Outstanding (and ridiculously easy) recipe. We found this googling a crock-pot recipe for some beef spare ribs that didn’t involve BBQ sauce. This was just the ticket. Can’t wait to check out the rest of your site.

  21. I served with broccoli that I steamed over the rice noodles as they boiled, and garnished with a bit of sesame oil, sesame seeds and red pepper flakes. So amazing and comforting, especially in the colder months. The meat had a great char on the outside yet stayed tender inside; it fell right off the bone. I am attempting a stock in the slow cooker with the bones and leftover braising liquid- I’m sure it will be delicious as well!

    1. Assistant to 100 Days (Amy)

      Hi Erin. We’ve not tried this with pork. If you do, you might want to choose a cut with more fat (maybe a shoulder with bone in) or it may come out dry. ~Amy

  22. I made this the other day. Followed the recipe exactlly. My family really liked it. I don’t even think I would do anything differently were I to make it again. If only short ribs were cheaper, this one would go into regular rotation.