Crock Pot Short Ribs Recipe (Fall-Off-The-Bone & Rich)

Some dinners ask a lot of you; this one does not. These crock pot short ribs ask for about twenty minutes of your morning — a quick sear, a few vegetables, a splash of red wine — and then quietly turn into the richest, most impressive meal on your table.

By dinner time the meat slides right off the bone, and the sauce is deep and glossy with slow-cooked onion, carrot and garlic — just enough red wine to taste like you spent all day on it. You did not. The slow cooker did.

Short ribs are built for slow cooking. Rich with marbling and connective tissue, they turn silky given enough gentle heat. A quick sear first adds the browned, savory crust simmering alone cannot create.

It is a true set-it-and-forget-it recipe: low before your day starts, ready when you get home; high after lunch, ready for dinner. Either way, you walk into a house that smells like a steakhouse.

Serve them over buttery mashed potatoes with plenty of sauce for a Sunday dinner that feels special without any fuss.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

The texture is everything. After eight slow hours the meat pulls apart with a fork, and the sauce turns rich and spoonable — the kind you will want to mop up with bread.

It is also one of the easiest impressive dinners you will ever make — no oven to watch, no basting, no last-minute rush. And if beef dinners are your comfort zone, our tender steak recipe is another favorite for nights when you want that same rich, beefy flavor, faster.

Ingredients

The short ribs do most of the work here:

• 3 to 3½ lbs bone-in beef short ribs
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into thick rounds
• 2 celery stalks, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 cup dry red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot
• 1½ cups beef broth
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water (optional, to thicken)
• Chopped fresh parsley or chives, to serve

How to Make It

1. Season the ribs: Pat the ribs dry — dry meat browns far better than wet — and season all over with salt and pepper.
2. Sear in batches: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and sear the ribs 3 to 4 minutes per side until deeply browned, working in batches so the pan stays hot. Transfer to the slow cooker.
3. Soften the vegetables: In the same skillet, cook the onion, carrots and celery 4 to 5 minutes, stirring, until the onion softens and picks up the browned bits.
4. Add the garlic and tomato paste: Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook 1 minute until fragrant and the paste darkens slightly.
5. Deglaze with the wine: Pour in the red wine, scrape up the browned bits from the pan — that is pure flavor — and let it bubble for 2 minutes.
6. Load the slow cooker: Pour the wine and vegetables over the ribs, then add the broth, Worcestershire sauce, thyme and bay leaves. The liquid should come about two-thirds of the way up the ribs, not cover them.
7. Cook low and slow: Cover and cook on low 8 hours, or on high 4 to 5 hours, until the meat is fall-off-the-bone tender. Resist lifting the lid — every peek lets out heat and adds time.
8. Finish the sauce: Lift the ribs out gently and keep them warm. Strain the sauce into a saucepan, skim off the fat, and simmer 5 to 10 minutes to reduce slightly. For a thicker sauce, whisk in the cornstarch slurry and simmer 1 to 2 minutes until glossy.
9. Serve: Spoon sauce over the ribs, serve over mashed potatoes, and scatter with parsley or chives.

Cooking Tips / Variations

Do not skip the sear — the one step that separates good short ribs from great ones. It only takes ten minutes, and a well-browned crust adds a deep, savory flavor the slow cooker alone cannot build.

If you would rather skip the wine, use an equal amount of extra beef broth plus a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar — a little less complex, but still rich and delicious. And if slow-cooked beef is your thing generally, our best corned beef recipe uses the same low-and-slow patience for a completely different, equally tender result.

For a deeper sauce, add an extra tablespoon of tomato paste, or a teaspoon of soy sauce at the end. Boneless short ribs work too — same weight, checked an hour earlier.

Serving or Storage Tips

Mashed potatoes are the classic partner — they catch every drop of sauce. Creamy polenta, egg noodles, or crusty bread work too, and a green salad or roasted green beans keeps the plate from feeling too heavy.

Leftovers keep in the fridge for up to 4 days, stored in their sauce so the meat stays moist. Reheat gently over low heat, or in the microwave at half power. Short ribs also freeze well for up to 3 months — thaw overnight in the fridge first.

Conclusion

A slow cooker, a good sear, and a few honest ingredients turn beef short ribs into a dinner people remember.

Set it in the morning, come home to a house that smells wonderful, and serve it with plenty of sauce. That is the whole recipe, and it never lets you down.

Crock Pot Short Ribs (Fall-Off-The-Bone & Rich)

Bone-in beef short ribs seared until browned, then slow-cooked in a rich red-wine sauce with onion, carrot, celery, garlic, thyme and bay until fall-off-the-bone tender. Served over mashed potatoes with the glossy braising sauce spooned over the top.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 8 hours hrs

Total Time 8 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

Servings: 4

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 3 to 3½ lbs bone-in beef short ribs
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt plus more to taste
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion diced
• 2 carrots peeled and cut into thick rounds
• 2 celery stalks sliced
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 cup dry red wine such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot
• 1½ cups beef broth
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water optional, to thicken
• Chopped fresh parsley or chives to serve

Method

 

1. Pat the short ribs dry and season all over with salt and pepper.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sear the ribs in batches for 3 to 4 minutes per side until deeply browned, then transfer to the slow cooker.
3. In the same skillet, cook the onion, carrots and celery for 4 to 5 minutes until the onion softens.
4. Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook 1 minute until fragrant.
5. Pour in the red wine, scrape up the browned bits from the pan, and let it bubble for 2 minutes.
6. Pour the wine and vegetables over the ribs. Add the beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, thyme and bay leaves.
7. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for 4 to 5 hours, until the meat is fall-off-the-bone tender.
8. Remove the ribs and keep warm. Strain the sauce into a saucepan, skim the fat, and simmer 5 to 10 minutes to reduce slightly. Whisk in the cornstarch slurry if a thicker sauce is wanted, and simmer 1 to 2 minutes until glossy.
9. Serve the ribs over mashed potatoes with the sauce spooned over the top, scattered with parsley or chives.

Notes

• Do not skip the sear — the browned crust is where most of the flavor comes from.
• No wine? Use extra beef broth plus 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar instead.
• Boneless short ribs work too; check them about an hour earlier.
• Leftovers keep 4 days in the fridge in their sauce, or freeze up to 3 months.