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Thai Slow Cooker Ribs with Pineapple Slaw

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This slow cooker thai pork recipe is so flavorful and fresh! Fall-off the bone turmeric (affiliate link) pork ribs are paired with a fresh and flavorful Pineapple slaw. This recipe is so easy yet will have everyone who eats it begging for more!

A white plate with Thai turmeric ribs and a bowl of pineapple slaw in the background

Thank you to the Iowa Pork Association  for sponsoring this post. And thank YOU for supporting the brands that support me and allow me to continue to grow my blog. All opinions, recipe and photographs are my own.

Sometimes when I imagine dinner I have these grand plans of carefully crafted healthy, gorgeous, Pinterest-worthy meals, but then when it comes down to actually making dinner – moving beyond the “tried and true” meal is hard to do. Dinner time ruts are hard to get past – and for good reason. 

When you get home at dinner time and you have a gaggle of hungry mouths to feed, its hard to move outside of your comfort zone to try something new. What if it takes too long to make? What if no one likes it?

A plate on a wooden table with Thai turmeric ribs and rice

This slow cooker pork rib recipe is one of my new favorites –

  • 5 minutes to dump everything in the crock pot + 15 minutes before you eat =  a 20 minute meal!
  • It is full of fresh and flavorful ingredients, but its totally kid friendly at the same time!
  • It makes amazingly flavorful and fall-off-the-bone tender ribs
A plate of Thai turmeric ribs and pineapple slaw on a wooden table

How to make this meal:

This is an easy weeknight meal to make! For the full set of directions, make sure you scroll down to the recipe card below.

Make the ribs

  1. In a medium bowl, mix together the crushed pineapple, tamarind paste, minced garlic, minced ginger, minced shallot, brown sugar, 5 spice powder, chili powder and turmeric (affiliate link). Pour half of this into the bottom of the slow cooker.
  2. Place the ribs into the slow cooker (you might need to cut them into 2-4 pieces to fit in – just slide a knife between two bones and allow it to follow the curve. As long as it fits in your slow cooker, its fine!
  3. Pour the remaining sauce on the top of the ribs and throw in the star anise and lemongrass stalk.
  4. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low for 7 hours.
  5. Preheat the broiler to high with the rack about 10″ from the heat source and allow to heat up while you mix the pineapple slaw.

Make the pineapple broccoli slaw

  1. In a small bowl, mix together the honey, apple cider vinegar, lime juice and pineapple juice. Set aside.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, add the mint, cilantro, broccoli slaw, cucumber, green onion and pineapple.
  3. Drizze the dressing over the slaw, season with salt and pepper to taste and mix thoroughly.
  4. Set aside while you finish the ribs.

Finish and assemble the meal

  1. Line a rimmed cookie sheet with tin foil (seriously, don’t skip this step!)
  2. Carefully place the ribs onto the cookie sheet bone side up (the ribs will look really saucy and be very tender, so be careful!)
  3. Broil for 4 minutes.
  4. Carefully turn the ribs over so the rib side is down and the meaty part is up, and broil for an additional 9 minutes.
  5. Remove from oven and serve with rice and pineapple slaw.

Tips for making this meal easy:

Using a pre-packaged rainbow broccoli slaw mix totally cuts down on the prep-time here, plus its a great way to add lots of veggies into a meal. Go ahead and serve a big spoonful of this beside your ribs. Plus the flavors here are amazing – bright and complex – but it isn’t anything overly spicy or weird for kiddos.

A white plate with Thai turmeric ribs, rice, and pineapple slaw

Adding these easy to make Turmeric (affiliate link) Pork Ribs is a great way to add a delicious and weeknight friendly dinner to your meal rotation to help get you out of that “chicken for dinner every night” dinner rut!

These pork ribs would also be amazing with a small bowl of this Spiced Coconut Potato Soup or Instant Pot Coconut Rice on the side!

Thanks again to Iowa Pork for sponsoring this post! Head on over to their facebook page for tons of awesome recipe inspiration and great information!

Food tastes better when its shared! If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment and rate below!

Yield: 4 Servings

Slow Cooker Thai Pork Ribs with Pineapple Slaw

A white plate with Thai turmeric ribs, rice, and pineapple slaw

These Slow Cooker Turmeric Pork Ribs are amazingly easy to prepare, and yet they are fall-off-the-bone tender and packed with flavor. Top it off with a fresh and vibrant Pineapple Slaw and rice and you have an easy, healthy, and delicious family meal.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 7 hours
Total Time 7 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients

Ribs

  • 14 oz crushed pineapple
  • 1/4 cup tamarind paste
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 shallot minced
  • 4 Tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons Chinese 5 spice powder
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 1 Tablespoon ground Turmeric
  • 1 " piece Ginger, minced
  • 1 Lemongrass stalk
  • 3 whole star anise
  • 3 lb bone in pork ribs

Pineapple Slaw

  • 2 Tablespoons fresh Mint, chopped
  • 2 Tablespoons chopped Cilantro
  • 2 cups Broccoli slaw mix
  • 1/2 Cucumber, sliced into matchsticks
  • 2 Green onions, sliced
  • 2 cups fresh pineapple, chopped into small pieces
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 Tablespoon honey
  • 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 Tablespoon lime juice
  • 1 Tablespoon pineapple juice

Instructions

  1. In a medium bowl, mix together the crushed pineapple, tamarind paste, minced garlic, minced ginger, minced shallot, brown sugar, 5 spice powder, chili powder and turmeric. Pour half of this into the bottom of the crock pot.
  2. Place the ribs into your crock pot (you might need to cut them into 2-4 pieces to fit in – just slide a knife between two bones and allow it to follow the curve. As long as it fits in your crock pot, its fine!
  3. Pour the remaining sauce on the top of the ribs and throw in the star anise and lemongrass stalk.
  4. Place the lid on the crock pot and cook on low for 7 hours.
  5. Preheat your broiler to high with the rack about 10″ from the heat source and allow to heat up while you mix the pineapple slaw.
  6. In a small bowl, mix together the honey, apple cider vinegar, lime juice and pineapple juice. Set aside.
  7. In a large bowl, add the mint, cilantro, broccoli slaw, cucumber, green onion and pineapple.
  8. Drizze the dressing over the slaw, season with salt and pepper to taste and mix thoroughly.
  9. Set aside while you finish the ribs.
  10. Line a rimmed cookie sheet with tin foil (seriously, don’t skip this step!)
  11. Carefully place the ribs onto the cookie sheet bone side up (the ribs will look really saucy and be very tender, so be careful!)
  12. Broil for 4 minutes.
  13. Carefully turn the ribs over so the rib side is down and broil for an additional 9 minutes.
  14. Remove from oven and serve with rice and pineapple slaw.
  15. Enjoy!

Notes

Leftover ribs and slaw should be stored separately, each in an airtight container in the fridge, for up to 3 days.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1482Total Fat: 106gSaturated Fat: 32gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 47gCholesterol: 357mgSodium: 458mgCarbohydrates: 64gFiber: 6gSugar: 44gProtein: 75g

Nutrition information is an estimate and is provided for informational purposes only. For the most accurate information, please calculate using your specific brands and exact measurements.

Did you make this recipe?

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Cooky Mom

Monday 27th of August 2018

That pineapple slaw looks so good I'd almost think you could just eat it by itself!

Heather

Monday 16th of July 2018

I love Thai food and these ribs have me drooling! Beautifully seasoned and that pineapple slaw is so refreshing and perfect to pair with these ribs... gorgeous!

Jessica Knott (swanky recipes)

Monday 16th of July 2018

I've been visiting family and friends back home for the past month and next week I return home. I can't wait to make this recipe with the hubs as I know he'll be all over these Thai ribs!

Sharon

Monday 16th of July 2018

I love pork and fruit combinations and these pork ribs with pineapple slaw are something I would definitely love. Can't wait to try this.

lauren

Monday 16th of July 2018

Tumeric with the pineapple slaw is such a good combo. I bet that slaw is good on so many things and so flavorful and fresh!

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