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Add flavor to your air fried, baked, and grilled chicken using the Best Chicken Dry Rub Recipe. It takes a few minutes and common spices to make. Use it over and over to season up to 8 pounds of chicken meat like my dry rub wings, dry rub chicken drumsticks, air fryer 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 my own spice mixes 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 a great balance of spices to season your 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
Ingredients Needed
Most of the spices needed to make this are probably in your pantry.
If not, they are easy to get from the spice aisle at your local market.
- Smoked Paprika: this adds a smokey 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
- Natural Ancient Sea Salt: I’m using fine, kosher sea salt
- Chili Powder
- Black Pepper
- Garlic Powder
- Onion Powder
- Italian Seasoning
- Dried Thyme
How to Make This
- Add the spices to an airtight container or spice jar
- Mix the spices to incorporate them
Top Cooking Tips & FAQs
- Use 2 tbsp per pound of chicken part. For whole chickens, I use 1 tbsp per pound
- Let it sit on the chicken for maximum flavor, but no worries if you’re short on time. I’ve used this with and without letting the dry rub sit on the meat
- Store in an airtight container for up to 6 months
- Use fresh spices: Make sure that your spices haven’t expired. It makes a difference in the overall taste
How long should dry rub sit on chicken?
For maximum flavor, I let my dry rubs sit on the chicken overnight (or at least 6 hours).
However, you can absolutely use this dry rub and cook immediately.
What does dry rub do to chicken?
It adds flavor to the meat in the same way that wet marinades add flavor.
The salt in the dry rub also helps the chicken retain moisture while it’s cooking.
Do you apply dry rub before or after cooking?
You should always 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 This
- Dry Rub Chicken Wings
- Dry Rub Chicken Drumsticks
- Air Fryer Dry Rub Whole Chicken
- Dry Rub Chicken Thighs
- Air Fryer 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 Dry Rub Recipe
Use DRDAVINAHS at checkout to save on some equipment & ingredients!
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
The nutrition facts come from entering the recipe ingredients into Spoonacular API, a database of food ingredients. They may vary for any recipe based on the exact product used. The keto sweeteners I use have 0g net carbs & are not included because sugar alcohols do not impact most people. This is provided as a courtesy, but you can do your own calculations if you wish!
Annette K. says
Hi Davinah.
My mother was a true southern cook. Now due to injuries I received as a child I had to loose weight and fast, Keto was my answer. I joined your site, just loved your recipes, and this rub is my all time favorite, now I love your recipes of all the chicken parts not just one….Thank you and keep those Keto Southern Recipes up…..their wonderful!!
Annette
Davinah says
Annette,
Thanks so much for taking the time to review and rate this recipe. Your thoughtful feedback is truly helpful for others considering whether to make this. I’m also so glad to be able to join you on your journey via these recipes.
Have an awesome day,
Davinah