The Best Honey Glazed Ribs You’ll Ever Make

Get ready for a mouthwatering treat with these honey-glazed roasted ribs! Tender ribs, coated in a rich honey marinade and roasted to perfection. The perfect dish for holiday meals, family gatherings, or a weekend treat!

Why you’ll love this recipe

• Zero-Fuss, Maximum Flavor: No need to add water or oil. The marinade, enhanced by oven roasting, creates its own incredible glaze and juicy interior. It’s a simple process with a stunning, restaurant-quality result.
• Crowd-Pleasing & Versatile: The sweet-salty, savory honey glaze is universally loved. It’s the ideal show-stopping main for a festive dinner but simple enough for a casual weekend family meal or game day gathering.
• Beginner-Friendly Success: With clear steps and no special techniques required, this recipe is designed to work perfectly the first time, building your kitchen confidence.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Pork Ribs – For the best results, choose meaty cuts like pork ribs (baby back ribs) which are tender and flavorful. Cutting them into smaller segments is key—it creates more surface area for the glaze to cling to and ensures they cook evenly and become wonderfully tender.
• Spring Onion & Ginger – This classic aromatic duo is essential for building a flavorful base and cutting through any richness. They work together to remove any gaminess and add a subtle, fresh fragrance to the meat. If you don’t have spring onion segments, finely chopped spring onions will work.
• Cooking Wine – A small amount is used to deglaze and remove any unwanted meaty odors while adding another layer of savory depth. If you don’t have standard Chinese cooking wine, a dry sherry, Shaoxing wine, or even a splash of rice wine makes a good substitute.
• Light Soy Sauce – This is our primary source of saltiness and savory umami flavor. It’s important for creating the balanced sweet-salty profile. You can adjust the amount slightly to suit your taste.
• Oyster Sauce – Don’t skip this! It’s the secret weapon that adds a deep, complex savoriness and helps thicken the beautiful, glossy glaze that coats the ribs.
• Honey – We use honey in two stages for the best results. The first dose marinates into the meat for flavor, while the second is brushed on during roasting to create that iconic, caramelized, sticky-sweet exterior and gorgeous color. In a pinch, sugar can be used, but the distinct floral sweetness and glaze quality from honey is superior.
• Toasted Sesame Seeds & Chopped Spring Onions – These are the finishing touches that add visual appeal, a nutty crunch, and a final pop of fresh flavor. They are optional but highly recommended for presentation.

How to Make Honey Glazed Roasted Ribs

1. Prep and Marinate the Ribs
Place the cut and thoroughly dried rib segments into a large mixing bowl. Add the spring onion segments, ginger slices, cooking wine, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, salt, and 1 tablespoon of the honey.

Using your hands (I recommend wearing disposable gloves for this), massage the marinade vigorously into the ribs for a minute or two, ensuring every piece is evenly coated.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it marinate at room temperature for 1 hour. For even deeper flavor, you can marinate it in the refrigerator for 2 to 4 hours.

2. Preheat and Arrange
About 10 minutes before the marinating time is up, preheat your oven to 190°C (375°F). Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper for easy cleanup.

Arrange the marinated ribs in a single layer on the prepared sheet, making sure they are not touching or overlapping. This ensures hot air can circulate and they will caramelize evenly. Reserve any leftover marinade in the bowl.

3. Roast, Flip, and Glaze
Place the baking sheet on the middle rack of the preheated oven. Roast for 15 minutes.

Carefully remove the sheet from the oven. Using tongs, flip each rib piece over.

Brush the tops of the ribs generously with the remaining 1 tablespoon of honey (you can mix it with a teaspoon of the reserved marinade for extra flavor). Return the baking sheet to the oven.

4. Finish Roasting
Continue roasting for another 12-15 minutes, or until the ribs are deeply caramelized, the glaze is bubbly, and the meat is tender. The total roasting time is about 27-30 minutes.

5. Garnish and Serve
Transfer the hot, glazed ribs to a serving platter. Immediately sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and chopped spring onions for a fresh, colorful finish. Serve hot and get ready for the compliments!

Tips & Tricks

• Dry Your Ribs: Pat the rib segments completely dry with paper towels before marinating. Any excess water will dilute the marinade and prevent the beautiful glaze from sticking and caramelizing properly.
• The Two-Stage Honey: Using honey both in the marinade and as a brush-on glaze is the key to achieving layers of flavor and that perfect sticky, glossy finish. The honey in the marinade soaks in, while the honey brushed on at the end creates the signature honey syrup coating.
• Don’t Crowd the Pan: Arranging the ribs in a single, uncrowded layer is non-negotiable. If they’re piled on top of each other, they’ll steam instead of roast, and you won’t get those delicious caramelized edges.
• Adjust for Size & Ovens: All ovens vary. If your rib pieces are particularly large or meaty, you may need to add 5-10 minutes to the roasting time. If they are browning too quickly on top before being fully cooked, you can loosely tent the pan with foil for the remainder of the cooking time.
• Make it Saucier: For ribs with extra sauce, you can add an extra tablespoon each of light soy sauce and oyster sauce to the marinade. After removing the ribs from the baking sheet, pour the pan drippings and any reserved marinade into a small saucepan. Simmer for a few minutes until slightly thickened, then drizzle this over the plated ribs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use a different cut of pork?
You can use country-style ribs or similar cuts, but traditional pork ribs (like baby back or spare ribs cut into pieces) are ideal for their balance of meat and fat, which keeps them juicy during roasting. Adjust cooking time for thicker cuts.

My ribs aren’t caramelizing. What happened?
The most likely culprit is an under-heated oven or overcrowding on the pan. Ensure your oven is fully preheated and that the ribs have space between them. Also, make sure you patted them very dry before marinating.

Can I make these ahead of time?
Absolutely! You can marinate the ribs overnight in the refrigerator for incredible flavor penetration. Let them sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before roasting. You can also fully cook them, let them cool, and reheat in a 175°C (350°F) oven until hot throughout, about 10-15 minutes.

Is the salt necessary if I’m using soy sauce?
Yes, but use it sparingly. The small amount of salt (1-2g) helps balance and enhance all the other flavors—the sweetness of the honey, the umami of the soy and oyster sauce—without making the ribs taste overtly salty. It’s a crucial element for a well-rounded flavor profile.

What should I serve with these ribs?
They are fantastic with simple steamed rice to soak up the glaze, or with lighter sides like steamed greens, a crunchy cucumber salad, or roasted vegetables to balance the richness.