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This Low-Carb & Keto Korean BBQ Beef Ribs recipe is the perfect easy dinner. After marinating the meat in a simple Asian-style marinade, the meat is cooked to fall-off-the-bone tender in the Crock-Pot® Express. And, because every BBQ rib dish should have a char on the edges, I finish the ribs using Crock-Pot Express’ removable crisping lid. In this post, I show you how to make Keto Korean BBQ without sugar; and how to make this dish fast or slow using either the slow cooker or pressure cooker settings.

What is Korean BBQ?

Korean BBQ refers to a method of marinating meat, especially beef, in a sweet & savory mixture that (at minimum) includes soy sauce, sugar, garlic, ginger, and sesame oil.

For people who love spicy food, like me, this marinade can also include things like sriracha sauce and Korean Pepper flakes.

As you might imagine, Korean BBQ is typically not keto-friendly because the marinade and resulting rib sauce is filled with sugar.

As you’ll see below, I’m making easy substitutes in this dish to cut the sugar and carbs.

How do you make Korean BBQ & stay Low-Carb & Keto-friendly

In this recipe, I’m using substitutes for sugar to have a low-carb version of this dish. Specifically, to make Korean BBQ and stick to a low-carb lifestyle, I am:

Swapping the brown sugar for keto-friendly brown sugar replacement
Swapping one of the popular side dishes, rice, with cauliflower fried rice

What is Crock-Pot® Express cooker?

I’m using the 8-quart Crock-Pot® Express Crisp Pressure Cooker in this recipe.

Unlike traditional Crock-Pot slow cookers, the Express is an all-in-one cooker with the ability to pressure cook, slow cook, and air fry.

Considering that I’m a fan of pressure cooker and air fryer recipes, the new Crock-Pot Express is a welcome addition to my kitchen.

Some highlights (and reasons to love) the Crock-Pot Express are:

Ability to pressure cook, slow cook, and air fry
Large capacity meant to feed up to 10 people
Made by a trusted, leader in one-pot cooking

Pick up the Crock-Pot Express Cooker at Kohls

Ingredients in Keto Korean BBQ Ribs

One of the things that I love about this dish is that it has just a few ingredients. I bet most of these are already in your pantry. The ingredients in Low-carb Korean BBQ are:

Beef Short Ribs
Keto Brown Sugar
Soy Sauce 0r Coconut Aminos
Beef Broth
Unseasoned Rice Wine Vinegar
Ground Ginger
Gochugaru (Korean Pepper Flakes) or Red Pepper Flakes
Garlic Cloves
Sesame Oil

How to make Low Carb Korean BBQ Ribs

One of the benefits of Crock-Pot Express, when compared to the traditional Crock-Pot slow cookers, is that it allows the convenience of cooking foods fast or slow.

In this recipe, you can opt to use the slow-cooker or pressure cooker function based on the time that you have available.

Slow Cooker Directions

I had a bit of time when making this recipe, so I opted to use the “Slow Cooker” function. To make this dish using that setting, I cooked the meat on “Low” for 8 hours. You could also cook the meat on “High” for 4 hours.

Pressure Cooker Directions

If you were in a hurry, then you could also cook the meat using the Pressure Cooker function. You’d need to cook the meat for 40 minutes. Once the pressure cooker stops, you can allow the pressure to naturally release, which takes about 15 additional minutes.

Finishing the Ribs with the Air Crisper

Regardless of how you tenderize the ribs (slow cook or pressure cook), I recommend finishing the meat with the air frying function.

To do this, you’d need to swap the lids. By using the removable crisping lid, you can get a crispy finish on these ribs. I opted to use the air fry function for 8 minutes.

How to make Sugar-free, Low-Carb, Keto Korean BBQ Sauce

In this recipe, I am using the marinade as the cooking liquid and the low-carb Korean BBQ sauce. To make the sauce, you simply:

Remove the cooked ribs from the cooking pan and set aside
Set the Crock-Pot Express to “Saute”
Reduce the sauce by about half (~10 minutes)
You can return the ribs to the sauce

How much is a serving?

This recipe has about 8 servings. The serving size will depend a bit, though, on how big your butcher cuts the ribs. I’m counting a serving as 1 rib per person.

Substitutions for Beef Ribs

If you want to make this dish, but do not have beef ribs, then you can easily substitute your favorite protein. I love this dish with:

Pork Ribs (baby-back or St. Louis)
Chicken Wings
Beef Chuck Chunks or Stew Meat

Side Dishes for Korean BBQ Ribs

Keto Cauliflower Fried Rice
Kimichi Fried Cauliflower Rice
Asian Cabbage Salad

Other Recipes in the Crock-Pot® Express

I also used the Crock-Pot Express to make this Pressure Cooker Turkey Breast and this Easy Pressure Cooker Whole Chicken.

But, since this appliance allows you to make a wide range of dishes, you can use it to make any of my air fryer, pressure cooker, and slow-cooker recipes. For the ultimate Crock-Pot recipe inspiration, check out these 60 easy keto crock-pot recipes.