So I know the thought of having leftover ribs is a bit of a joke, but once in a while we throw a big party and over do it a bit in the ribs department. Sometimes even stretchy pants aren’t enough to make it happen! When that situation arises, I turn to soup! No big deal, I thought as I google searched baby back rib soup. Well, I found diddly on the vast world wide web on what to do with my rib leftovers so I went to the kitchen to see what kinds of random goodies I had for this experimental soup.
This is the delicious baby back ribs recipe that I used to make these ribs. We don’t slather our ribs with bbq sauce until we grill them so this recipe would be great for leftover ribs that have been dry rubbed and baked but not brushed with sauce. Also, this soup is insanely good with leftover cut kernels from the grilled dirty corn recipe. Then it’s truly a barbecue soup! The quantity of the ingredients is up to you. I liked loads of squash and corn but alter the proportions based on your tastes and amount of meat.
- a few racks baby back ribs - meat pulled off the bone and shredded with fingers
- ½- whole butternut squash or 2-3 sweet potatoes - made into ribbons with a peeler
- grilled "dirty" corn kernels, cut from cob
- 1 large onion chopped
- 1 quart chicken stock or enough to cover all the ingredients
- paprika - generous but to taste (I never know how much I use because I just keep adding more!)
- cumin - to taste
- 2-3 pinches cayenne pepper
- 1 TB+ smashed garlic
- dried thyme
- rosemary infused olive oil
- In a stock pot or dutch oven heat oil and add garlic, onion, and squash ribbons. Saute until they soften a bit then add thyme and bay leaf.
- Add some cumin, paprika, and cayenne pepper to the pan, add rib meat and corn and stir in the chicken broth.
- Bring to a boil then reduce heat and let simmer until squash is cooked (less than 20 minutes if ribbons).
- Add more paprika and cumin to taste. Salt and pepper. Serve.
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I made this tonight with some leftover ribs. It was so yummy! I topped it off with shredded cheddar, a dollop of sour cream and a drizzle of BBQ sauce. My kids loved it too. Thanks for sharing!
Yum!! SO glad you enjoyed it:)
We just got some “just ok” Kansas City baby back ribs and now we have an amazing amount of leftovers. The first thing I thought of was soup and, so, thank you for this recipe! I’ll let you know how it turns out. I’m giving it 5 stars for just existing right now :).
Hahahahaaaa right?! I couldn’t agree more. There was literally nothing out there when I posted this! Hope you love it;)
I tried your recipe. I used idaho potatoes because it is what I had. It is great!
Oh yum!! So happy to hear it! Thanks for letting me know:)
Well, so far so good. I’m makong it as i write this. Of course i couldn’t resist adding more leftovers to it. lol. So I put in leftover potatoes green beans and corn oh yeah and one hamburger. The potatoes, at least some of them are leftover scalloped potatoes. Which I rinsed thoroughly and put them in towards the end, so hopefully they won’t disintegrate. I got a little carried away with the cayenne pepper.. and I didn’t have any thyme. And the corn is just leftover canned corn that’s been frozen. But it tastes really good so far.
What would really be a great addition to this recipe is a picture of the soup when it’s done. If I had that, it would be easier to explain it to my unwilling guinea pigs.lol. my other-half and his dad. lol.
Thank you so much for your recipe! It’s a great idea! Sincerely, edith e
Haha I hear you on adding all the leftovers to the pot! It’s not the most beautiful soup you’ll ever make, but man is it delicious! I hope you and your guinea pigs enjoyed every bit! Ha! Have a beautiful day:)