This homemade Buffalo Chicken Dry Rub is my go to seasoning for grilled chicken breast, air-fried chicken wings, and more. The spicy blend has just enough kick and adds a pop of flavor you’ll love.
I love the flavor of buffalo chicken, but I am not a fan of hot sauce, a key ingredient in buffalo sauce recipes. I never order buffalo wings at a restaurant because I can’t stand the bright orange sauce they’re swimming in. They just look gross and artificial to me.
So what’s a home cook to do when he wants to enjoy some buffalo flavor without the radioactive looking sauce? He goes on a spiritual quest to develop a delicious buffalo chicken dry rub of his own.
It took me quite a few tries to get this recipe just right. I experimented with various spices and seasonings, adjusting the measurements and ratios each time while carefully keeping notes so I knew exactly what was in each batch.
After countless attempts I finally found what I consider the best buffalo chicken dry rub recipe around.
Why You’ll Love This Rub
Easy to Make – Seriously, it has only 8 ingredients that you likely have in your pantry already and it takes just a few minutes to measure and mix them together.
Bangin’ Flavor – A little of this rub goes a long way and adds a serious kick of flavor to your chicken. And you can always add a little more or tweak the ingredients for a more spicy blend.
Less Mess – Dry rubs are less messy to apply and eat than sauces and you won’t get any orange drip stains on your clothes.
Versatility – Obviously this buffalo dry rub is perfect for chicken, but you can also use it on pizza, pasta, French fries, or anything else you want to spice up.
Crispiness – Texture is an important component in cooking. Who wants soggy wings when you can wings with a crisp bite to them?
What You Need
Nothing wacky, just eight simple ingredients available in any grocery store.
- Kosher salt
- Granulated garlic – you can swap out for garlic powder instead, just use half the amount
- Granulated onion – ditto above
- Baking powder – my secret ingredient for that extra crispiness
- Chili powder
- Paprika
- Cayenne
- Ground Mustard – a little goes a long way
Step By Step Instructions
Let’s not over complicate things, this is a pretty simple process that even a toddler could manage.
Simply gather all of your ingredients and use some handy dandy measuring spoons like these to measure out the correct amounts and add them to a small bowl. Then just mix everything together until fully incorporated.
Sometimes the baking powder will clump together, if that happens just use your fingers to break it up.
Once mixed you can use the rub immediately or store it in an airtight container for future use. Since I use it often I tend to make this rub in batches and keep it in a spice jar like these. They’re prefect for keeping homemade spice mixtures fresh.
That’s my homemade buffalo chicken dry rub in the picture below!
Buffalo Chicken Dry Rub
This homemade Buffalo Chicken Dry Rub is my go to seasoning for grilled chicken breast, air-fried chicken wings, and more. The spicy blend has just enough kick and adds a pop of flavor you'll love.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon granulated garlic
- 1 ½ teaspoon granulated onion
- 1 ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground mustard
Instructions
- Measure each ingredient and mix in a bowl until mixed well
- Store in an airtight container to maximixe freshness
