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Home » Recipes » Dry Rubs & Seasonings

Mexican Dry Rub for Chicken

Modified: Sep 28, 2025 · Published: May 5, 2022 by Nicole B. · 4 Comments
5 from 2 votes
Total Time: 5 minutes minutes
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This Mexican dry rub for chicken is a little bit spicy and full of the bold and delicious flavors typical of Mexican cuisine. It's excellent on boneless, skinless chicken breast for tacos and fajitas.

Mexican dry rub in a bowl.

5-Star Reader Review: "This was absolutely perfect! I made a street corn chicken and rice bowl. It called for grilled chicken but didn't suggest any seasonings other than salt and pepper. I found this recipe and couldn't have been happier with the results."

The spices you need to make the rub:

Chili powder and oregano provide the backbone of the flavor profile in this dry rub. Salt, garlic and onion powder add savory substance and chipotle powder adds a bit of heat and a hint of smokiness.

Chili powder, oregano, chipotle powder, salt, onion powder and garlic powder.

How to use it:

To use this dry rub on chicken breast, rub the meat with mild olive oil, then sprinkle with the dry rub. Grill, broil or bake the chicken. The rub will create a nice crust that has great flavor and also a great texture.

Spice-rubbed, cooked chicken breast on a cutting surface.

Full Recipe

Mexican dry rub in a bowl.
Author: Nicole B.

Mexican Dry Rub for Chicken

5 from 2 votes
This easy Mexican dry rub is great on boneless, skinless chicken breast or mixed into ground chicken.
Makes about 1 tablespoon. I recommend to use ¾ to 1 teaspoon per 4 ounces of chicken.
Print Version (does not include images) Pin Recipe
Prep Time: 5 minutes mins
Total Time: 5 minutes mins
Servings: 3
Course: Dry Rubs and Seasonings
Cuisine: Mexican
Calories: 6.5
Ingredients Equipment Method Nutrition Notes

Equipment:

  • measuring spoons
  • mixing bowl
Prevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients:
  

  • 1 teaspoon chili powder*
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
  • ¼ teaspoon chipotle powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Method:
 

  1. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl until well combined.
  2. Store in an airtight container in the kitchen pantry. It will keep for at least 4 months.

Recipe notes:

*Chili powder is a spice blend usually made from ground chili peppers, cumin, oregano, dried garlic and salt. It's widely available in spice shops and you can often choose between different levels of spiciness.
Did you make this recipe?Please consider leaving a review- THANK YOU!

Nutrition (estimate only):

Calories: 6.5kcalCarbohydrates: 1.25gProtein: 0.3gFat: 0.1gSodium: 205mgPotassium: 29mgFiber: 0.5gSugar: 0.4gCalcium: 8mg

More great Mexican flavors:

  • This creamy red enchilada sauce is delicious with creamy chicken enchilada fillings.
  • For a fresh and well-balanced dinner that takes only 20 minutes to make, try this steak fajita taco salad recipe.
  • This chorizo fajita recipe combines crispy browned chorizo with juicy and tender chicken chunks.

Comments

  1. Melinda says

    June 30, 2025 at 6:25 pm

    This was absolutely perfect! I made a street corn chicken and rice bowl. It called for grilled chicken but didn’t suggest any seasonings other than salt and pepper. I found this recipe and couldn’t have been happier with the results.

    Reply
    • Nicole B. says

      June 30, 2025 at 7:21 pm

      I'm thrilled to hear that, Melinda! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try and for leaving such a great review, it's much appreciated!

      Reply
  2. Ali says

    January 12, 2025 at 6:51 pm

    Really enjoyed this rub—made the best chicken! I mixed the rub with some olive oil and “marinated” it for an hour and a half and then pan fried it. Very flavorful, used it in a Mexican bowl with rice, corn, red onion, avocado, and black beans and a local restaurant’s “dang” sauce. I did add a little black pepper because I wanted to and upped the salt and chipotle powder (I made 9 servings for 2 lbs of chicken, 1/2 tsp black pepper and 1 tsp each of salt and chipotle powder).

    Reply
    • Nicole B. says

      January 13, 2025 at 9:13 am

      That sounds fantastic, Ali! Thanks so much for making this recipe and for leaving a comment, I'm very happy to hear you enjoyed it!

      Reply
5 from 2 votes

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Photo of the website owner.

Hi there!

I'm Nicole, the cook and photographer behind this website (which I started all the way back in 2013). You'll find lots of delicious recipes here, all centered around spices.

More about me

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