• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Bake It With Love

  • Grilling
  • Recipe Index
  • About
  • Cookbooks
  • Subscribe
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Grilling
  • Recipe Index
  • About
  • Cookbooks
  • Subscribe
×
Home » Recipes » Spice Blends & Seasoning Mixes

Last Updated: Jun 22, 2024 by Angela Latimer · 5 Comments

BBQ Chicken Rub

Jump to Recipe
Best BBQ chicken rub seasoning blend pin with text header.

My better-than-store-bought BBQ chicken rub is just what you need for seasoning all your favorite cuts of chicken. This versatile chicken seasoning is a little sweet, a little smokey, and tastes absolutely delicious on grilled, smoked, or baked chicken.

Square overhead of the measured brown sugar and spices in clumps.
Jump to:
  • 🥘 Ingredients
  • 🔪 How To Make BBQ Chicken Rub
  • 🥡 Storing
  • 🌶️ More Great Seasoning Mixes
  • 📖 Recipe Card
  • 💬 Comments & Reviews

When many people think BBQ, they think sticky, drippy sauce covering every inch of meat. Well I'm here to tell you, that is not the only way to enjoy BBQ.

A quality dry rub can take place of both the marinade and the BBQ sauce (not to say you couldn't keep some on the side for dipping), and this BBQ chicken rub has been perfected so that it can do just that.

Whether your chicken of choice is a juicy chicken thigh, tender breast meat, or even wings- this rub will work wonders!

🥘 Ingredients

All of the ingredients are spice-rack or pantry staples. Measuring is key, so no eye-balling the ingredients or you could end up with a dry rub that is too sweet or too smokey!

  • 2 tablespoons Light Brown Sugar (packed)
  • ¼ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
  • ½ teaspoon Chili Powder
  • ½ teaspoon Salt
  • 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
  • 1 tablespoon Smoked Paprika
  • ½ teaspoon Oregano (optional)

Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!

🔪 How To Make BBQ Chicken Rub

There are 2 easy steps to making this dry rub.

  1. Measure. To start, measure out all the ingredients and add them to a small bowl and mix until evenly distributed. (2 tablespoons light brown sugar, 1 tablespoon smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon chili powder, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, ½ teaspoon oregano.)
  2. Season. Generously season chicken with the dry rub right away or store for later use.

I typically use about half of the dry rub per pound of chicken, but you can always use more or less to your liking.

🥡 Storing

Store dry rub in an airtight container or jar that and place it in a dark, cool place such as a cabinet or pantry. It will last for up to 3 months.

If using the rub after it has been stored, give it a good shake to re-distribute all the ingredients.

Best BBQ chicken rub blend ready to mix and use.

🌶️ More Great Seasoning Mixes

  • Pot Roast Seasoning
  • Chicken Taco Seasoning
  • Herbes de Provence
  • Cajun Seasoning
  • Meatloaf Seasoning

Do you love a recipe you tried? Please leave a 5-star 🌟rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page.
Stay in touch with me through social media @ Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter! Subscribe to the newsletter today (no spam, I promise)! Don't forget to tag me when you try one of my recipes!

📖 Recipe Card

Square overhead of the measured brown sugar and spices in clumps.
Print Recipe Leave A Comment
Love This Recipe?Click On A Star To Rate It!
5 from 84 reviews

BBQ Chicken Rub

My better-than-store-bought BBQ chicken rub is just what you need for seasoning all your favorite cuts of chicken. This versatile chicken seasoning is a little sweet, a little smokey, and tastes absolutely delicious on grilled, smoked, or baked chicken.
Author | Angela Latimer
Servings: 2 servings
Calories: 66kcal
Prep 2 minutes minutes
Cooking 0 minutes minutes
Total Time 2 minutes minutes
Pin Recipe Share on Facebook

Ingredients
 

  • 2 tablespoon light brown sugar (packed)
  • 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon chili powder
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon oregano (optional)

(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)

Help Us Out!If you love a recipe, be sure to come back and share your ratings. This helps future users, and allows me to continue sharing free recipes! Angela

Instructions
 

  • Measure out all of the spices and combine in a small bowl until evenly distributed.
  • Season chicken generously with rub, or store in an airtight storage container or spice jar for later.

Notes

  • I typically use ½ of the combined bbq chicken rub per each pound of chicken I am cooking. More always works too!
  • If using the bbq rub after it has been stored, make sure to shake or mix thoroughly before using to combine all of the ingredients.

Nutrition

Calories: 66kcal (3%) | Carbohydrates: 16g (5%) | Protein: 1g (2%) | Fat: 1g (2%) | Saturated Fat: 1g (6%) | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 597mg (26%) | Potassium: 137mg (4%) | Fiber: 2g (8%) | Sugar: 12g (13%) | Vitamin A: 1874IU (37%) | Vitamin C: 1mg (1%) | Calcium: 26mg (3%) | Iron: 1mg (6%)
Did you try this recipe? Rate it below!I can’t wait to see your results! Mention @bake_it_with_love or tag #bake_it_with_love!
Course Condiments, Seasoning Mixes, Spice Blends
Cuisine American
« Crockpot Soup Recipes
Beef Stew Seasoning »

Share This Recipe!

  • Share
  • X
  • Flipboard
  • Threads
  • WhatsApp
  • Email

Reader Interactions

Comments

    5 from 84 votes (80 ratings without comment)

    Thanks for coming! Ask anything - or let me know what you think: Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. Donald Mølholt says

    October 19, 2023 at 3:28 am

    5 stars
    Gode opskrifter
    "Good recipes"

    Reply
  2. Anonymous says

    May 31, 2023 at 3:21 pm

    Fantastic! I omit the smoked paprika and use regular and I add a touch of cinnamon for a bit more sweetness!

    Reply
  3. Christine says

    April 15, 2023 at 5:24 pm

    5 stars
    Made this tonight. It was delicious, hubby said I'm making it this way from now on.

    Reply
  4. Edward denton says

    September 20, 2022 at 12:34 pm

    5 stars
    Wow I made your chicken rub and to tell you the truth I loved it it was very tasty

    Reply
  5. Dawn says

    April 02, 2022 at 7:13 pm

    5 stars
    Delicious rub! We use it on rabbit as well as chicken and it turns out delicious every time! Thank you

    Reply

Primary Sidebar

Author bio photo with cake.

Hi there, I'm Angela

I am an avid vintage cookbook collector, cook, baker, and total foodie. I love sharing new, fun, creative recipes and great classic recipes, just like my Grandma used to make! Every recipe on BIWL is tested to ensure that cooks of any experience level can succeed.

Welcome to Bake It With Love. Enjoy!

More About Me ->

Grilling Recipes

  • Tasty, easy cookout food ideas to make and feed a crowd this summer.
    Easy Cookout Food Ideas: Best Dishes To Bring To A Cookout

  • Square image of sliced Arrachera steak on a cutting board.
    Arrachera (Mexican Steak for Tacos)

  • Square image of sliced Denver steak on a cutting board.
    Denver Steak

  • Square image of grilled ostrich steaks.
    Grilled Ostrich Steaks

  • Square image of grilled pineapple.
    Grilled Pineapple

  • Square image of sliced grilled skirt steak.
    Grilled Skirt Steak

See more Grilled →

Tasty Dinner Ideas

  • A square collage of four images showing easy summer crockpot meals including tender London broil pot roast, green beans and potatoes, grape jelly meatballs, and pork carnitas tacos.
    Summer Crockpot Meal Ideas

  • Panda Express honey sesame chicken copycat recipe plated with rice and garnished with more white sesame seeds.
    Panda Express Honey Sesame Chicken

  • A square image showing a bowl of tender wok fried marinated chicken with celery, onions, and black pepper sauce.
    Panda Express Black Pepper Chicken

  • Best leftover lobster recipes page image featuring four favorite dishes in a square collage.
    Leftover Lobster Recipes

  • Square collage image featuring 4 tasty recipes using leftover hard boiled eggs.
    Leftover Hard Boiled Eggs Recipes

  • Spider taco ring on baking sheet with taco toppings in the body and sliced olives for eyes.
    Spider Taco Crescent Ring

See more Main Dish →

Footer

As Seen On

As seen on these popular sites: Mashed, Tasting Table, Parade, MSN, Yahoo, Delish, The Pioneer Woman, Today, Taste of Home, and more.

↑ back to top

About

  • Meet The Team
  • Photo Sharing
  • Privacy Policy
  • Work With Me
  • Accessibility Statement

Recipes

  • Dinners
  • Desserts
  • Breakfasts
  • Cookies & Bars
  • Videos
  • Articles

AI-Free

Everything on Bake It With Love is created by me, where I share my experiences, with help from my team members and family.

I promise that BIWL is 100% free of AI content.

Get Social

Visit us on your favorite social media platforms!

Copyright © 2016-2025 Bake It With Love

Rate This Recipe

Your vote:




Let us know what you thought of this recipe:

This worked exactly as written, thanks!
My family loved this!
Thank you for sharing this recipe

Or write in your own words:

A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required

Recipe Ratings without Comment

Something went wrong. Please try again.