This smoky, savory salt-free BBQ dry rub comes together in just a few minutes with spices from your pantry.

I make BBQ dry rub without salt because I like to control the amount of salt in my recipes separately. For example, if a recipe has soy sauce, I might not add any additional salt. If the dry rub contains salt, it can make the recipe too salty. On the other hand, if a recipe doesn't include anything else salty, I would add salt. The amount of salt I add and when I add it depends on the recipe. When I'm making something that cooks low and slow, I add salt at the beginning. When I'm making something that cooks faster, I might just wait and salt to taste when serving.

Recipe Recommendations

Here are some recipes that use BBQ dry rub:

Smoked BBQ Short Ribs (recipe by The Short Order Cook). You will want to add some salt for this recipe unless deliberately avoiding salt. Recommend 1 teaspoon of kosher salt or a half teaspoon of table salt.
Smoked Pulled Pork Shoulder (recipe by The Short Order Cook). You will want to add some salt for this recipe unless deliberately avoiding salt. Recommend 1 teaspoon of kosher salt or a half teaspoon of table salt.
Roasted BBQ Beef Tips. Salt to taste when serving.

Looking for other sauces and seasonings? Check out my South Carolina Mustard BBQ Sauce and my Sauces and Seasonings collection.

Ingredient Notes

If you are needing to make dry rub low sodium for dietary reasons, check labels of the spices you are using to confirm there is no added salt. The spices used in this recipe usually do not have added salt, though. For example, McCormick garlic powder and paprika have 0g sodium per serving. Some spices do contain natural sodium, so there could be some in some spices depending on the brand. Some of the anti-caking agents in spices also contain small amounts of sodium, too.

Make sure you are buying garlic powder, onion powder, and celery seed as opposed to garlic salt, onion salt, and celery salt. The latter do have added salt and can be quite salty.

Note that this recipe calls for two types of paprika - smoked paprika and "regular" plain-ole paprika. The smoked paprika is a very important ingredient in this recipe and is what gives it the smoky BBQ flavor, which is why the recipe calls for more of that. Do not substitute the regular paprika in place of the smoked paprika. If you absolutely cannot use smoked paprika, especially if the recipe that calls for dry rub is not grilled or smoked, use something like Liquid Smoke to get the smoky flavor. (Liquid Smoke may contain sodium.) "Regular" paprika is just labeled "paprika." Paprika labeled "sweet" or "Hungarian" are also fine to use in place of the regular/plain paprika.

Storing BBQ Dry Rub

This salt-free dry rub usually lasts for several months in an air-tight jar in the pantry. I usually use a traditional Mason-type jar with a lid. I prefer to store in glass jars because I think sometimes plastic containers affects the flavor of the rub (and the plastic can also absorb the flavors).

Make note of the dates on the spices you use to make this as well. My rule of thumb is to use this by the earlier of 6 months from the date I make it or the soonest "best by" date on the spices I use to make it. The temperature you keep your house as well as the humidity level can also affect the shelf life.