This Pork Rub Seasoning is a perfect blend of sweet and savory with plenty of room to customize to your taste.
I’m a big fan of making my own spice blends. I like that it gives me the control over the ingredients that go into the blend and how much of each ingredient goes in. Check out my series on Seasoning Blends over on TheCookful for more great seasoning recipes.

What Ingredient Go In A Pork Rub?
This spice blend for pork is so simple to put together. You can mix up the base blend for amazing results or customize it for a rub that is a little richer and deeper. Add some zing with the suggested spicy seasonings. Or go all-in for a richer, deeper, spicy blend with the suggested optional spices.
The base starts with brown sugar, paprika, salt, garlic powder, and black pepper. As I said, it’s a very safe blend that will give you great results whether you’re roasting or grilling your pork.
Customize Your Pork Seasoning Blend
By adding the chili powder and cumin, your blend becomes just a little more complex. I use this variation when I am roasting a pork shoulder. If you like a little bit of kick to your seasoning blends, consider adding cayenne, red pepper flakes, or chipotle powder. This one is great on roasted pork tenderloin or pork chops.
The recipe makes about 1 cup of seasoning so you could even divide the base recipe into four 1/4 cup portions and experiment with the spices that I suggested or some of your favorites. Just remember to divide the suggested spice quantity by 4.
If you want to experiment, a good rule of thumb is to use is a 1:1 ratio – 1 part sugar to 1 part other spices. Essentially, you want the amount of all the spices to be equal in quantity to the amount of sugar in the recipe. So for this recipe, all of your other spices should equal 1/2 cup. (One-half cup is equal to 8 tablespoons or 24 teaspoons.) This is a good starting point and by no means a hard and fast rule. Let your taste buds determine your favorite blend.
Let me know what blends you create. – Christine
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Homemade Pork Rub and Seasoning Blend
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 3/4 – 1 cup 1x
- Category: Spice Blend
- Method: Mix
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
This Pork Rub Seasoning is a perfect blend of sweet and savory with plenty of room to customize to your taste.
Ingredients
Base blend
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp. smoked paprika
- 2 Tbsp. kosher salt
- 1 and ½ tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
For a deeper, richer flavor add
- 1 Tbsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
For a little more spice add
- ½ tsp. cayenne pepper OR
- ½ tsp. red pepper flakes OR
- ½ tsp. chipotle powder
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, paprika, salt, black pepper, and garlic powder stirring to combine completely.
- If you like a blend that is a little has a richer, deeper flavor, add the chili powder and cumin.
- For something with a little more kick, add cayenne OR red pepper flakes OR chipotle power.
- For a richer, deeper, spicier blend, add the chili powder, garlic powder, cayenne OR red pepper flakes OR chipotle powder.
- Transfer to an air tight container like a mason jar and store in a cool place.

Spencer says
OK, come clean – where did you get that jelly jar??
★★★★★