Sweet and smoky Chipotle Cherry Spare Ribs are slow cooked with a dry rub, then finished in the most delicious farm fresh cherry sauce.

Spare ribs are meatier than baby back ribs and really hold up to the rich chipotle cherry BBQ sauce. If you’re looking at the list of ingredients, don’t get discouraged! Making your own BBQ sauce is really simple and can be saved in your refrigerator for at least a week.
I use fresh picked, dark red cherries from my farm to create a rich, smoky BBQ sauce that’s perfect for slathering over meaty spare ribs. If you don’t have access to farm fresh cherries, just grab a package from the produce section of your grocery or even use frozen cherries that have been thawed. Once you have all the ingredients gathered, this sauce takes only 15 minutes to make and gets its smooth texture from an immersion blender or upright blender.
Ingredients in Chipotle Cherry Spare Ribs
- Spare Ribs – A little meatier than baby back ribs, make sure to remove the membrane on the back.
- Dijon Mustard –My ‘secret ingredient’ for making ribs stay nice and juicy.
- Cherries – Dark red cherries, pitted and stems removed.
- Chipotle in Adobo Sauce – A little can found in the Mexican aisle of your grocery.
- Crushed Tomatoes – Cento or any brand using San Marzano tomatoes.
- Yellow Onion – Sweet yellow onion, like Walla Walla.
- Spices – Smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper & dry yellow mustard.
- Pantry Items – Brown sugar, molasses, minced garlic, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, butter, salt and pepper.
Make your meal complete with all the perfect sides. Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad is packed full of flavor with fresh corn and cherry tomatoes in a zesty mayonnaise dressing. Spicy Dill Pickle Potato Salad with Bacon is a favorite among all the dill pickle lovers out there. Serrano & Potato Gratin is a leading Pinterest recipe and pairs perfect with ribs.
Related Recipes

Chipotle Cherry Spare Ribs
Ingredients
- 1 large rack spare ribs
- 6 oz. Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp. smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp. garlic powder
- 1 tbsp. onion powder
- 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. pepper
Chipotle Cherry BBQ Sauce
- 1 tsp. butter
- 1/2 cup yellow onion chopped
- 1 tsp. garlic minced
- 2 cups dark red cherries pitted
- 1 cup crushed tomatoes such as Cento
- 1 tbsp. molasses
- 1 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp. dry yellow mustard
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1 tbsp. chipotle in adobo sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Remove membrane from back side of spare ribs.
- Rub both sides of spare ribs with Dijon mustard.
- In a small bowl, combine smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, brown sugar, salt and pepper.
- Rub mixture over both sides of spare ribs.
- Place spare ribs, meat side up, in a sheet pan. Cover with foil. Place in preheated oven. Reduce heat to 225 degrees. Cook for about 3 hours, more or less depending on the thickness of your spare ribs. Remove from oven, slather Chipotle Cherry BBQ Sauce over spare ribs and broil until bubbly, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven, let rest, then enjoy!
Chipotle Cherry BBQ Sauce
- Sauté onion and garlic in butter over medium heat.
- Add remaining ingredients, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth.
Leave a Reply