This Keto Texas Rib Rub Recipe (Keto) is an easy, beautifully balanced BBQ spice mix with common pantry ingredients. With its smokey flavors and sweet-salty balance, It is perfect for all your BBQ needs.
Check out our various recipes in our Air Fryer recipes using this all-purpose sugar-free BBQ rub.
I have used this rub for everything, from corn-on-the-cob, loaded fries, ribs, steaks, roast chicken, air fryer fish, and even fried eggs! My kids even sprinkle it on their potato chips!

What is a dry rub?
A dry rub is a mixture of salt and spices created to marinate meats before cooking. The salt permeates the meat, seasoning it well, and the spices form a beautiful crust when you sink your teeth into the tender meat.
This versatile mix can be used over pork ribs on a charcoal grill as well as on pork shoulder to make pulled pork in the slow cooker.
Why We Love This TEXAS RIB RUB RECIPE (KETO)
- Can be made keto-friendly
- Versatile: Use it with everything from vegetables to meats!
- Flavor bomb to elevate your next BBQ
- Quick and easy recipe, with regular pantry staples.
- Beautifully balanced sweet and spicy, smokey flavor
- It pairs well with corn on the cob, fish, prawns, chicken, lamb, pork, and beef. It’s so versatile, you will want to sprinkle this on everything!
- Cheap and has no unnecessary additives or preservatives

To use, pat meat dry, coat with a teaspoon of oil, and rub in this spice mix well. Marinate for at least 2 hours. For best results marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
Ingredient List for TEXAS RIB RUB RECIPE (KETO)

Sugar / Erythritol
:Sugar is one of the key ingredients of this rib rub. It gives your BBQ a sweet caramelized flavor. For a low-carb option, replace sugar with Erythritol. This keeps your meal low carb while lending the perfect sweet-salty balance to meats and vegetables. Xylitol can also be used, but please note that it can be toxic to pets.
Salt
I use cooking salt. You may not need too much of this if your meat is already brined.
Pepper
I have used black whole pepper ground fresh. It has a deep warm flavor that can add a bit of heat to a dish without making it too spicy. As your meat and vegetables cook, it blends with other spices and mellows a bit.
Smoked Paprika
With its beautiful, yet subtle smoky flavor, this Spanish ingredient deserves a permanent place in any pantry. It is made from smoke-dried chili peppers over oak fires and then ground into a powder.
Cayenne Pepper (Optional)
A staple in Southern American, Mexican, and Creole cuisines among others, cayenne pepper packs a bit of punch on the heat scale. It is an excellent source of vitamin A and C and has been touted to have many health benefits. However, it can be too hot for some palates. To make this rib rub milder it can be swapped with a milder chili powder like sweet paprika or completely omitted.
Garlic Powder
Garlic powder is made by dehydrating fresh garlic and then finely grounding it. Due to its low water content, it can store in your pantry for a couple of years. However, since it is dehydrated, it can attract moisture from the surrounding air and harden up quickly. To prevent this, store it in an air-tight container and place it in the freezer to make it last longer. Write the expiry date on the container.
Onion Powder
Onion powder is dried whole onion that has been ground into a powder. Due to this, its flavors are concentrated and make the onion powder more potent than fresh onions. Onion powder adds a deeper, savory flavor to your meals which does not overwhelm like raw onions. In this dry rib rub, it balances out the sweet and salty flavors with deep umami.
Oregano (dried leaves)
Oregano is a flavorsome herb to be used as a garnish, and it is closely related to other herbs like mint, basil, and thyme. Fresh leaves are dried and bottled, which makes them longer lasting. While fresh oregano can be quite sharp and pungent, dried oregano has a sweet, herbaceous flavor so popularly associated with Mediterranean cuisine.
Cumin Powder
Cumin is a spice used in many parts of the world, including the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, Latin America, as well as Africa. It is used whole as well as in its powdered form. Cumin has warm. earthy flavors, and is one of the most common ingredients in curries.
Coriander Powder
Corriander powder is made from the seeds of the coriander plant, and not from coriander leaves(cilantro). In fact, coriander seeds are sowed and grown into cilantro leaves The seeds have a floral, lemony flavor and are more fragrant than cumin seeds. Coriander seeds taste different than Cilantro leaves. So if you are averse to Cilantro leaves, you may still love coriander seeds.

How to make Keto Texas Dry Rib Rub?
- Take a sterilized jar with an airtight lid.
- Measure all ingredients as per the recipe card below.
- Shake to mix well.
- Shut the lid tight, and store it in a cool dark place.
Some Useful Tip
Marinate: Drizzle or brush vegetables with oil, and then sprinkle BBQ Rub generously. If possible, let it sit for at least 30 minutes. Once coated well, proceed to pan-fry, bake, air fry, or BBQ your meats or vegetables. Fresh
Lumps: Store your dry rib rub in an airtight container.
Recipes To Try With Texas Dry Rib Rub
More Keto And Low Carb Recipes:
- How to cook frozen chicken wings in an air fryer
- Keto cauliflower fried rice with egg
- Ratatouille
- Chickpea Cucumber Feta Salad

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Texas Dry Rib Rub (Keto)
Ingredients
- 8 Tbsp Erythritol
- 4 Tbsp Salt
- 4 Tbsp Smoked Paprika
- 2 Tbsp Dried Oregano Leaves
- 2 Tbsp Onion Powder
- 2 Tbsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Black Pepper Powder
- 1 tsp Cumin Powder
- 1 tsp Coriander Powder
- 1 tsp Cayenne Powder
Instructions
- In a large bowl, measure out all ingredients.
- Mix well with a spoon. Break any lumps if visible.
- Store spice Texas Rib Rub in a sterilized air-tight container.
- Your spice mix is now ready to use.
My husband is from Texas and said this was a great rub! We enjoyed it on Ribs!
This turned out great. You’re not going to believe it but I actually made French fried potato wedges and rubbed thos on the raw potato before frying. Most excellent. Now I have a new recipe to make!!
Love this rub recipe! Perfect combination of spices, and my hubby loved it right away! Thank you!
So delicious and spicy, I use this on tofu before air frying and it is yummy!
This was fabulous! So much big flavor, and I loved that it is keto! I will use this rub on everything!