My Chicken Smoker Rub is well spiced, salty and delicious. Super simple to make and you can control just how spicy this gets.
Smoker Chicken rub in a brown bowl with a big spoon stirring it to mix it together.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Low carb – This seasoning has less than 1g net carbs per serve.

Gluten free – this is a gluten free smoked chicken rub. This makes it perfect for coeliac too.

Everyday ingredients – Made with simple ingredients. You will love this chicken seasoning on everything including our amazing Keto Boneless Pork Ribs! They are so good.

Quick and easy – just mix it and use as needed.

What is Chicken Smoker Rub?

Love chicken cooked on the smoker or some spicy Nashville Chicken? This rub is the best seasoning for chicken. No nasties, fillers or gluten. It should be noted this is not a “smoky” flavoured rub. It is a seasoning that you associate with chicken cooked on the smoker.

Control the amount of spice to suit YOUR tastebuds! If you do not like spicy then reduce the chili powder or use a style and brand you love.

This perfect blend of spices makes your chicken amazing (it works with all kinds of meat too) whether you are using the smoker, making a fried chicken recipe, air frying, or even roasting a whole chicken!

Use as a substitute for store-bought Cajun spice, Texas chicken rub, dry chicken wings rub or even a brisket rub! It is a great all-purpose seasoning that you can use in many ways.

The Ingredients

Scroll to the bottom of this post for the full list of substitution for the best chicken rub seasoning ingredients and the amount of each required.

Chicken Smoker Rub ingredients on spoons on a cracked concrete background.

Chili powder or cayenne pepper – I do love a mix of chili powders in my seasonings and rubs. If you can get powders (or make them) of dried ancho or chipotle chili these add that sweet and smoky flavour to the meat. Add some spicier chili powders or cayenne powder for a bit of kick if you like spicy chicken.

Brown Sweetener – I use Sukrin Gold sweetener. It is a nice caramel-flavoured brown sugar substitute. Other brands that work well are Natvia and Lakanto. The addition to sweetener in a dry rub is to help with the crust formation (or bark) and caramelisation of the skin or outer crust of the meat. It is essential to this seasoning (I reckon anyway).

smoked paprika – you can use sweet paprika if you prefer to make a sweeter flavoured smoked chicken seasoning.

salt flakes – I always use sea salt flakes. Do NOT use any salt flakes that have added iodine. Iodised salt is very bitter. Salt helps the seasoning penetrate the meat. I like to brine with a salt rub before adding any seasoning if I have the time. Many of our meats are moisture infused MI or pumped with a saline solution, but I still like brine when I can.

garlic powder – a little goes a long way. Garlic powder is a great addition to any seasoning. (I have added a link for bulk onion powder. I don’t mess around buying little sachets from the supermarket).

onion powder – onion powder or onion salt can be used.

Mustard Powder – I love mustard powder in my smoker or barbecue rubs. It adds a bit of richness and tang to the best seasonings for barbecue, grilling, smoking and even frying.

How to Make It

Step 1. Measure out all the ingredients into a bowl.

Spices in small piles inside a brown bowl.

Step 2. Mix until combined! Pat the chicken dry and cook how you prefer. Use for smoking chicken, frying, grilling or barbecue. My favourite is on applewood smoked chicken. Place a few pieces of apple wood into the smoker and smoked chicken thighs are on the menu for dinner.

Step 3. You can toast the spices once combined or leave that until you are going to use them.

To make your own smoker rub for chicken in the Thermomix or Magimix, just add all the ingredients at once and mix 5 sec/speed 3. (Make sure the hole in the lid is closed off with the cap!). Pour the chicken seasoning into a clean dry jar and seal with a lid.

Megan’s Tips

How long will it store for?

Store the dry rubs for months in an airtight container in the pantry. I always just take notice of the best before dates of the spices I use before I make any rub recipes.

Is the seasoning hot?

Not in my opinion. If you do not like spicy food, you can reduce the amount of cayenne pepper used if preferred.

How to Use It

Use for a rub for turkey, or chicken wings. Even a whole roasted chicken, grilled chicken, or fried chicken breasts or thighs.

For those of you who have a smoker you can use this spice rub for the best smoked chicken recipe. Whether

This rub is also fantastic on pork ribs, our boneless pork ribs, and perfect on brisket or any smoked meat.

It can be used on fish as well. The next time you grill a piece of salmon add a pinch or two of rub before you grill.

Mixed smoker rub seasoning in a brown bowl on a darkened cracked concrete background.

Great Recipes To Try

If you love our all-round Smoker Rub recipe, then I am sure you will love some of our other homemade keto seasoning recipes. Here are just a few of my favourites.

Easy Keto Taco Seasoning (Gluten Free)

Homemade Italian Seasoning Substitute

Cajun Seasoning Substitute

Keto Rib Rub

Malaysian Meat Curry Powder

RAVING NEW FAN? Subscribe to our newsletter. Join our keto community on  Facebook,  Instagram or see all the new stuff and easy keto recipes on Pinterest.

Keto Meal Plans & Support
Smoker Chicken rub in a brown bowl with a big spoon stirring it to mix it together.

Chicken Smoker Rub

My Chicken Smoker Rub is well spiced, salty and delicious. Super simple to make and you can control just how spicy this gets.
5 from 103 votes!
Prep Time: 2 minutes
Total Time: 2 minutes
Course: Seasoning/Marinade
Cuisine: American Barbecue
Diet: Diabetic, Gluten Free
Recipe Category: Low Carb
Calories: 19kcal
Author: Megan Ellam
Servings: 16 tablespoons
Tap or hover over number to scale ingredients
Print Pin Save Rate

Ingredients 

Instructions

CONVENTIONAL METHOD

  • Place all ingredients into a small jar. Cover with the lid and shake to combine. If using chilli flakes or dried chillies; place into a blender and pulse until a fine powder is reached.

THERMAL METHOD

  • Place all the ingredients into the mixer; mix 5 sec/speed 3. If using chilli flakes or dried chillies; mix 10 sec/speed 10. Repeat until a fine powder is reached.

Notes

INGREDIENT SUBSTITUTIONS
Chilli powder can be replaced with cayenne powder, chilli flakes or dried chillies. If using the chilli flakes you can choose to blend into a powder as per the method in the instructions. Reduce the chilli powder if you prefer a milder spice blend. More paprika can be used in its place.
Brown Sweetener – You can use any sweetener you prefer or choose to omit completely.
Smoked paprika can be replaced with sweet paprika or chipotle powder if preferred.
Mustard powder can be reduced and added with a 50/50 mix of ground ginger.
Salt flakes – If using Himalayan salt flakes reduce to 1.5 tablespoons. It is much saltier. Do not use any salts with added ingredients such as iodine.
Garlic and onion powders can also be replaced with dried flakes or granules if preferred. I would recommend blending into a powder before coating meat.
If you are looking for the best chicken rub for the smoker, you must try this recipe. It is so good for the smoker, bbq chicken or just about any protein you prefer.
There is no sugar in the chicken dry rub recipe, so it is perfect for a low carb and keto diet
Each tablespoon will make roughly enough serves for 4- 6 people depending on how you use it.
Making your own gluten free seasonings is easy. Try some of our other favorites like Za’atar Seasoning, Chermoula Seasoning, Homemade Italian Seasoning and Ranch Seasoning.

Your Own Notes

Nutrition

Serving: 1tablespoon | Calories: 19kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 923mg | Potassium: 99mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1322IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 1mg | Magnesium: 11mg | Net Carbs: 1g
Tried this recipe?Mention @meganellam or tag #madcreations!

Share This Recipe

22 responses to “Easy Chicken Smoker Rub”

  1. Natalie

    5 stars
    Used it on my chicken legs for lunch yesterday. The kids loved it, thanks!

    1. Megan Mad Creations Hub

      Yay!

  2. Marcellina

    5 stars
    This rub is amazing! I can see that I’m going to have to keep it made up in a jar. It’s so versatile to add flavour to so many meals.

    1. Megan Mad Creations Hub

      It sure is versatile. So happy to hear you are enjoying it.

  3. Keri

    5 stars
    I love making spice combos at home (so satisfying!) I made a big jar of this. It smells heavenly, and can’t wait to use it.

    1. Megan Mad Creations Hub

      Enjoy!

  4. Kayla DiMaggio

    5 stars
    This chicken smoker rub was so delicious! It had the perfect balance of spice and smoke!

    1. Megan Mad Creations Hub

      Yay!

  5. Gloria

    5 stars
    Just in time for grilling season. We love making homemade spice blends and rubs. They make a great food gift too.

    1. Megan Mad Creations Hub

      They sure do!

  6. Lynda

    5 stars
    Such a tasty rub with ingredients I already had in my pantry. It’s so good to make your own and know exactly what goes into it. It certainly made our chicken taste awesome

    1. Megan Mad Creations Hub

      Thanks for testing it out Lynda

  7. Linda

    5 stars
    This is a great idea to make ahead and I like the final result of my chicken!

    1. Megan Mad Creations Hub

      Yay!

  8. Addie

    5 stars
    Such an easy, healthy and delicious way to elevate chicken. So much flavor, yum!

    1. Megan Mad Creations Hub

      Enjoy it!

  9. Nora

    5 stars
    Yum! One of the best rubs ever! Perfect combination of spices and thanks to your recipe I can make it myself at home! Awesome!

    1. Megan Mad Creations Hub

      Yay! So good to hear you are loving the seasonings Nora.

  10. Jean

    5 stars
    This was such a good gift idea for my friends who likes to cook with practical mixture for their recipes.

    1. Megan Mad Creations Hub

      what a great idea Jean

  11. peter

    5 stars
    I just bought a smoker, and this was the first recipe I used with a whole chicken. I used brown sugar as the sweetener which turned out perfectly!

    1. Megan Mad Creations Hub

      Yay! So good to hear

Leave a Reply

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

Recipe Rating