Texas Roadhouse ribs are pork, not beef. They are pork loin back ribs, dry-rubbed, slow-cooked in-house and finished with barbecue sauce. Sold as a half slab or full slab, typically around $17-$22 and $25-$31, with two sides.
Beef or pork? The straight answer
The ribs at Texas Roadhouse are pork. Specifically, they are loin back ribs (the cut most menus call baby back ribs), taken from the upper rib section near the loin rather than the belly. No Texas Roadhouse location serves beef ribs as a standard menu item.
The confusion is fair. Texas Roadhouse built its name on hand-cut steaks, and the Texas branding pushes people toward central-Texas barbecue, where beef ribs are the icon. The kitchen sells beef by the steak and pork by the slab. Those are two different departments of the menu that happen to share the same smoker-adjacent language: dry rub, slow-cooked, fall-off-the-bone.
Loin back ribs matter here for one practical reason. They are leaner and meatier per inch than spare ribs, so a half slab actually eats like a portion instead of a snack, and the bones are shorter and curved, which is why the plate looks smaller than the meat count suggests.
Item spec table
Here is the item broken down field by field, so you can see what you are paying for before the server describes it. Everything below reflects standard company menus; individual franchise-market locations can differ slightly on portion presentation and sauce options.
| What it is | Pork loin back ribs (baby back style), not beef |
|---|---|
| Preparation | Seasoned with a proprietary dry rub, slow-cooked in-house daily, finished with barbecue sauce |
| Size / portion | Half slab (roughly 6-7 bones) or full slab (roughly 12-13 bones) |
| Typical price | Half slab about $17-$22; full slab about $25-$31, varies by market |
| Calories | Not published on every menu; expect a substantial entree in the high hundreds to well over a thousand for a full slab with sauce |
| What is included | Two sides of your choice, plus complimentary fresh-baked rolls with cinnamon butter |
| Menu category | Ribs / Fall-Off-The-Bone Ribs (also appears inside steak-and-rib combos) |
| Sauce | Standard barbecue glaze; can usually be ordered sauce on the side or dry-rub only |
Ribs price: half slab vs full slab
Expect roughly $17-$22 for a half slab and $25-$31 for a full slab, both including two sides. Texas Roadhouse does not publish one national price list, and menus in high-cost metro areas commonly run 10-15% above small-market pricing.
| Portion | Approximate bones | Typical price range | Includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Half slab | 6-7 | $17-$22 | Two sides + rolls |
| Full slab | 12-13 | $25-$31 | Two sides + rolls |
| Rib + sirloin combo | Half slab + 6 oz sirloin | $24-$30 | Two sides + rolls |
| Rib + grilled shrimp or chicken combo | Half slab + protein | $22-$28 | Two sides + rolls |
Two things move the number on your check. First, market pricing, which is set regionally. Second, whether you are ordering off the dinner menu or an Early Dine window, where a smaller rib portion sometimes appears at a lower price. To confirm before you drive, pull your specific store on the Texas Roadhouse site or app and load the location menu; the prices shown there are the ones your restaurant charges.
Calories and nutrition
Texas Roadhouse does not print full calorie counts on every regional menu, and rib nutrition shifts with sauce quantity, so treat any single number you see online with suspicion. A half slab is a substantial entree; a full slab with sauce and two sides is a very large meal.
What you can reason about without guessing: loin back ribs are a fatty cut by nature, the dry rub adds sodium, and the barbecue glaze adds sugar. The sides are where you have real control. A loaded baked potato or fries roughly doubles the impact of the plate, while green beans, steamed vegetables, or a house salad with dressing on the side keep it closer to the entree alone.
If you need exact figures, ask the host for the printed nutrition guide or check the nutrition page on the official Texas Roadhouse site, which is the only source updated alongside recipe changes. Chains in most US states are also required to provide calorie information on request.
How to order the ribs well
Order sauce on the side if you want the dry rub to come through, and pick one starchy side and one green one. Ribs do not take a doneness order the way steaks do; they are cooked to falling-apart tenderness in advance, so ask for them well-glazed if you want them wetter.
- Sauce control. “Sauce on the side” is a normal request and gets you a crustier bark. “Extra sauce” is equally standard if you like them sticky.
- Sides that work. Seasoned rice and green beans keep the plate from going heavy. Mashed potatoes with brown gravy fight the barbecue glaze; steak fries or a baked potato do not.
- Rolls. They arrive free and hot, and they will kill your appetite before the slab shows up. Ask the server to bring one basket, not two, if you ordered a full slab.
- Sharing. A full slab plus two sides splits reasonably between two light eaters, and most locations will bring an extra plate without charging a split fee, though a plate charge does exist in some markets.
- Takeout. Ribs travel better than steak. Ask for the sauce packaged separately so the crust does not steam soft on the drive.
Does Texas Roadhouse ever sell beef ribs?
No. Beef ribs are not on the standard Texas Roadhouse menu in any market, and they are not a documented secret-menu item either. If you want beef on the bone here, the closest options are the bone-in ribeye and the bone-in New York strip from the hand-cut steak section.
Occasionally a regional promotion or a limited-time feature will appear on a local menu board, so it is not impossible that a specific store runs something unusual for a few weeks. That is a store-level exception, not a chain item. Call ahead if you have seen one advertised locally.
Are the ribs worth it vs a steak or combo?
The ribs are the better value if you want volume; the sirloin is better if you want a cleaner protein. A half slab and a 6 oz sirloin land in a similar price band, but the ribs deliver more food on the plate and the steak delivers more control over how it is cooked.
Compared with the pulled pork plate, the ribs cost noticeably more for a similar flavor profile, so if barbecue seasoning is what you are after and not the bones, pulled pork is the cheaper route to it. Compared with the rib-and-sirloin combo, the full slab is usually the smarter buy for a solo diner who genuinely wants ribs, because the combo trades half the slab for a small steak at a similar price.
The honest weakness of this item: ribs are cooked ahead in batches, so the quality gap between a busy Friday and a slow Tuesday afternoon is wider than it is on a made-to-order steak. If you are going midweek and mid-afternoon, the steak is the safer order.
What we cannot verify for your location
This is an independent guide, not the official Texas Roadhouse site. Prices above are ranges compiled from location menus and will not match every store, because Texas Roadhouse sets pricing by market and many locations are franchise-operated. Slab bone counts vary slightly with the pork supply, and calorie figures are not printed consistently across regions.
Confirm three things directly with your restaurant before you rely on them: the current price at your address, whether Early Dine or any local special includes a rib portion, and any allergen or sauce ingredient question. The store phone number and the location-specific menu on the official site are the fastest checks.
FAQ
Are Texas Roadhouse ribs beef or pork?
They are pork. Texas Roadhouse serves pork loin back ribs, sometimes called baby back ribs, dry-rubbed and slow-cooked in-house. There is no beef rib on the standard menu.
Is Texas Roadhouse ribs beef or pork?
Pork. Every slab on the Texas Roadhouse menu is a pork loin back rib. Beef at the restaurant comes from the hand-cut steak section, including bone-in options like the ribeye and New York strip.
What cut of pork are Texas Roadhouse ribs?
Loin back ribs, cut from the upper rib section next to the loin. They are meatier and leaner than spare ribs, with shorter curved bones, which is why a half slab eats larger than it looks.
How much are Texas Roadhouse ribs?
Roughly $17-$22 for a half slab and $25-$31 for a full slab, both with two sides and free rolls. Pricing is set by market, so check your specific location’s menu on the official site to confirm.
How many bones are in a half slab and a full slab?
A half slab typically runs 6-7 bones and a full slab roughly 12-13. Counts shift slightly with the pork supply, so treat these as expectations rather than a guarantee.
Do the ribs come with sides?
Yes. Both the half slab and the full slab include two sides of your choice, plus the complimentary fresh-baked rolls with cinnamon butter that come to every table.
Can you order Texas Roadhouse ribs without sauce?
Yes. Ask for sauce on the side or dry-rub only. The ribs are seasoned with the rub before cooking, so they still carry flavor without the barbecue glaze, and the exterior stays crustier.
Are the ribs smoked?
They are slow-cooked in-house rather than pit-smoked in the central-Texas sense. The flavor comes primarily from the dry rub and the long cook, not from a wood smoker, so do not expect a heavy smoke ring.
Related guides
For the full lineup of entrees, sides and current pricing, see our complete Texas Roadhouse menu guide. If you are trying to keep the check down on a rib order, the Early Dine pricing window and the weekly specials by day are the two places worth checking first. Ordering ribs to go? Our takeout prices and photos page covers what travels well.