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This homemade chicken rub recipe adds the best flavor to air fried, baked, grilled, and smoked chicken recipes. It takes a few minutes and common ingredients to make. Use this dry rub reasoning to make up to 8 pounds of flavorful chicken like my dry rub wings, dry rub chicken legs, dry rub chicken breasts, and air fryer chicken thighs. Store it in an airtight container or spice jar for up to 6 months.
Why Make This
- Control salt, flavor & ingredients: one of the reasons I love to make homemade spice blends for everything from Cajun seasoning to blackening seasoning and even ranch seasoning is because you get to control all the ingredients. This recipe is MSG free and has a great blend of spices to season chicken
- Versatile: use it on all types of protein beside chicken. Plus, it tastes great whether you are air frying, baking or grilling your chicken.
- Easy Recipe: this homemade rub takes less than five minutes to make and works with your favorite cut of chicken.
Ingredients Needed
You probably have most of these dry rub ingredients in your pantry. If not, they are easy to get from the spice aisle at your local market.
- Smoked Paprika: this adds a smoky flavor. I don’t substitute regular paprika for smoked.
- Cayenne Pepper: this adds the spicy kick. If you want to make this dry rub spicier, feel free to add more. You can also add less for a less spicy dry rub recipe.
- Natural Ancient Sea Salt: I’m using fine, kosher sea salt.
- Chili Powder
- Black Pepper
- Garlic Powder
- Onion Powder
- Italian Seasoning
- Dried Thyme
You can get the full list of ingredient amounts and instructions from the full recipe card at the end of the post.
How to Make Chicken Spice Rub
- Add the spices to a small bowl or an airtight container like a mason jar or spice jar
- Mix the spices to incorporate them
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How Much Chicken Dry Rub Should I Use?
The amount depends on the cut. Smaller pieces like wings and tenders usually need more seasoning per pound, while larger cuts and whole chickens need less.
- Wings: 2 tablespoons per pound
- Chicken tenders: 2 tablespoons per pound
- Chicken breasts: 1½–2 tablespoons per pound
- Boneless chicken thighs: 1½–2 tablespoons per pound
- Bone-in chicken thighs: 1½–2 tablespoons per pound
- Drumsticks: 1½–2 tablespoons per pound
- Leg quarters: 1–1½ tablespoons per pound
- Whole chicken: 1 tablespoon per pound
Coat the chicken lightly with oil first so the seasoning sticks well and be sure to rub it all over the chicken. Since this dry rub already contains salt, you generally do not need to add extra salt.
Tips for Using Chicken Dry Rub
- Store extra seasoning well: Keep leftover dry rub in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.
- Add a little oil first: A light coating of oil helps the seasoning stick to the chicken and spread more evenly.
- Season all sides: Toss or rub the seasoning over the chicken so each piece is well coated.
- Let it sit if you have time: You can cook the chicken right away, but letting the seasoning rest on the chicken for 15–30 minutes gives the flavors more time to settle in.
- Skip extra salt: This dry rub already contains salt, so you generally do not need to add more.
- Add sauce near the end: If you want barbecue sauce or another glaze, use the dry rub first and add the sauce toward the end of cooking.
FAQs
For maximum flavor, I let my dry rubs sit on the chicken overnight (or at least 4 hours).
However, you can absolutely use this dry rub and cook immediately.
Think of a dry rub as a dry marinade (dry brine). Similar to wet marinades, it changes the flavor of the meat and can turn bland chicken into some of the best chicken. The salt in the dry rub also helps the chicken retain moisture while it’s cooking.
It’s always a good idea to apply dry rub to your raw chicken before cooking as it helps with flavor and moisture retention. For added flavor, you can add a few sprinkles of dry rub to the finished meat in the same way you might add a finishing salt.
Recipes using Dry Rub Seasoning
- Dry Rub Chicken Drumsticks
- Dry Rub Chicken Thighs
- Spicy Dry Rub Chicken Wings
- Dry Rub Chicken Breasts
If you try this recipe, please stop back and leave it a star rating and/or a review in the comments. Stay connected & share photos of your creations with me & others on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest!
Best Chicken Rub Recipe
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Recommended Equipment
Ingredients
- ¼ cup Smoked Paprika
- 2 tbsp Cayenne Pepper
- 4 tsp Chili Powder
- 2 tbsp Black Pepper
- 3 tbsp Garlic Powder
- 4 tsp Onion Powder
- 3 tbsp Natural Ancient Sea Salt, fine
- 1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
- 1 tbsp dried thyme
Instructions
- Add all of the spices to a spice jar
- Mix to incorporate
- Store in a cool, dry place for up to 6 months
SAVE THIS RECIPE
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Recipe Notes
- How much to use: For most chicken pieces, use 1½–2 tablespoons of dry rub per pound. Use about 2 tablespoons per pound for smaller pieces like wings and tenders, and 1 tablespoon per pound for a whole chicken. You can see the blog post for a list by chicken cut.
- Salt: This seasoning already contains salt, so you generally do not need to add additional salt to the chicken.
- Oil: Lightly coat the chicken with oil before adding the dry rub to help the seasoning stick.
The nutrition facts come from entering the recipe ingredients into a database of food ingredients. They may vary for any recipe based on the exact product used.
