Instant Pot BBQ Ribs Sloppy Joes combine my Carolina Baby Back Ribs and the fan favorite Instant Pot Sloppy Joes for a Memphis barbecue treat.

Instant Pot BBQ Ribs Sloppy Joes

Ribs are America’s past time and who doesn’t love a delicious and messy sloppy joe?

In my series of sloppy joes recipes made in an Instant Pot, Mealthy MultiPot or Pressure Cooker, last week, I brought you Instant Pot Taco Sloppy Joes. This week, adding to the arsenal of the IP Sloppy Joes Recipe Collection is my delicious Instant Pot BBQ Ribs Sloppy Joes.

This Instant Pot BBQ Ribs Sloppy Joes recipe marries the fan favorite Instant Pot Sloppy Joes with my Carolina Style Baby Back Ribs recipe.

The result is a sweet, Memphis ribs in a sloppy joe, using ground pork or beef.

Cast of Ingredients for Instant Pot BBQ Ribs Sloppy Joes

Instant Pot BBQ Rib Sloppy Joes is so simple to make.

There is little prep work and the Instant Pot, Mealthy MultiPot or Pressure Cooker does all the work.

The flavors infuse so much better and no need to stand over a hot stove!

Can I Use Ground Beef Instead of Ground Pork for Instant Pot BBQ Ribs Sloppy Joes?

Yes. This is actually why this recipe is called Instant Pot “BBQ Ribs” Sloppy Joes, rather than Instant Pot “Pork Ribs” Sloppy Joes. This recipe was tested with both pork and with ground beef and they are equally as good.
My Jewish/Kosher friends and those who don’t eat pork can enjoy this recipe too.
In fact, barbecue beef ribs are one of my favorite things to eat.
Ground turkey and ground chicken can be used too. Ground pork and ground chicken cook faster than turkey and beef, so the adjust for using another protein is only a minute cook time.

Finely Dice Onions and Peppers

Can I Sub Tomato Paste for Ketchup in Instant Pot BBQ Ribs Sloppy Joes.

Yes, tomato paste can be used in place of tomato ketchup.
In my quest to use less ingredients and quick recipes, I opted to use ketchup, instead of the ingredients for ketchup.
A little more brown sugar, red wine vinegar and extra Worcestershire sauce will give you the same taste as using ketchup, so feel fee to make the substitute.

When cooking ribs on the barbecue, the fat from the ribs will caramelize and add delicious flavor. For this reason, butter or margarine are both used for sauteing the veggies, to give a richer flavor.

Another delicious and easy recipe is my Pressure Cooker Easy BBQ Ribs, which quickly cook in the Instant Pot, Mealthy MultiPot or Pressure Cooker and then finish off under the broiler, in the air fryer or on a grill. They can be made in advance and then finished off at a later time.

Saute Onions and Peppers

Can I Freeze Instant Pot BBQ Ribs Sloppy Joes?

Yes. Instant Pot BBQ Ribs Sloppy Joes freeze well after cooking. Consider making up a double batch and use for a freezer meal.
For raw freezing, the green peppers and onions would need to be diced super fine and then all ingredients could be added to a freezer bag. Everything can cook at once in the Instant Pot, Mealthy MultiPot or Pressure Cooker.
A FoodSaver Vacuum Sealing System is recommended for easy and best freezer storage method.

Mash Pork with Potato Masher

When using an Instant Pot, Mealthy MultiPot or Pressure Cooker with the pressure cook option, steam is needed in order to build pressure, so for a recipe with a thick sauce, such as sloppy joes, there needs to be a bit of thin liquid in order to achieve pressure and get a burn notice from the pressure cooker.

This actually works to the advantage for ground pork, as pork is very lean and doesn’t release as much water and fat as ground beef. Therefore, after cooking a heavy duty potato masher will break up the meat and help the liquid to absorb into the pork.

This makes for a very juicy Instant Pot BBQ Pork Ribs Sloppy Joes sandwich.

In my Instant Pot BBQ Pork recipe (which is part of my pulled chicken recipe collection), an electric mixer is used to shred the chicken, which helps the sauce absorb into the chicken.

Mash Up Pork with Sauce

What makes pulled pork and ground meat recipes juicy and flavorful is the absorption of the liquid with the meat.

Even better than using a potato masherr is the use of a food processor. In my testing of this recipe, I found that using a food processor to pulse the pork with the sauce worked even better than a potato masher. The ground pork quickly absorbed the sauce.

In the above photos, you can see that I used my Mini Food Chopper and the meat looks absolutely perfect and the rest of the pot was processed in the same manner.

Alternatively, breaking up the meat in the pot and simmering down the liquid is another option.

Instant Pot BBQ Ribs Sloppy Joes

More Instant Pot Sloppy Joes Recipes to Make.

If you have an idea for a crazy, but delicious sloppy joes recipe, let me know by leaving a comment in the comment section below and I will consider making a recipe just for you!

Kitchen Equipment and Essentials

Caring is sharing! If you would like to support This Old Gal, please share this recipe on Social Media, so that I can continue to bring you more wonderful recipes!

If you share a picture of something you make from our blog, tag it with #thisoldgalcooks so we can see it. We might feature it on Instagram! It makes my day when I see you’ve made one of our recipes!

Here is the handy printable recipe: