These Sweet and Savory Dry Rubs Will Seriously Step Up Your Grilling Game

A blend of over 10 warm, earthy spices, including cayenne pepper, fenugreek, and cardamom, berbere plays a major role in traditional Ethiopian recipes. We also think it plays a major role in amplifying the flavor of barbecue fare. This spice rub from The Spice House can be used as a seasoning mix or made into a simple paste with the addition of water.

Work berbere into your next batch of roasted root vegetables to create a savory side dish for your next cookout, and be sure to try its fiery cousin, mitmita, for even more heat.

More: 10 Mouthwatering Barbecue Sauces for Epic Grilling

In case you're already a fan of Zucker's famous New York bagels and smoked fish (which you are, obviously), you'll be delighted to know that they now offer a delicious line of Toasted Everything Spice Mixes.

All three flavors are ridiculously tasty and surprisingly versatile, but we're particularly obsessed with the smoky chipotle blend as a dry rub for chicken and steak. Ground chipotle peppers, dried chives, and garlic stand out the most in this savory, smoky spice blend's ingredient list.

Reviewers swear by this sweet and slightly spicy dry rub for meats that are baked, grilled, or even smoked. With a classic mix of spices, including sugar, salt, paprika, garlic, chili pepper, and mustard seed, users consider this classic Memphis-style dry rub their go-to for pork shoulder, ribs, and slow-cooked pork butt.

If you're not adding a zesty spice rub to your veggies before tossing them on the grill, you're doing something wrong! This veggie rub from Traeger is loaded with fresh herbs, garlic, paprika, and just a touch of chili pepper for a little heat.

Add a shake of this rub to your Brussels sprouts, bell peppers, or onions before grilling.

Spicy, zesty, and smoky, this Cowboy Steak Rub from Asheville, North Carolina-based brand Spicewalla will make that filet mignon sing. The main ingredients in this chunky, flavor-loaded spice rub are black pepper, coarse kosher salt, garlic, crushed red pepper, whole cumin seeds, and whole dill seeds.

Try it on chicken breasts, grilled salmon, or roasted shishito peppers, too.

This best-selling Smokehouse Maple dry rub from McCormick packs a serious amount of sweet and smoky flavor thanks to powerhouse ingredients — including brown sugar, molasses, maple syrup, and orange peel. Reviewers love sprinkling a tablespoon or two on chicken, pork, or salmon before grilling, broiling, or roasting in the oven.  

This award-winning seasoning and dry rub from Plowboys BBQ is another best seller on Amazon, with hundreds of glowing reviews praising its versatility and depth of flavor. 

With an ingredient list that includes classic barbecue flavors like chili pepper, paprika, dehydrated garlic and onion, and, of course, a good amount of sugar and salt, this spice rub tastes great on pork, chicken, and burgers.

This all-natural Greek Freak spice blend from Spiceology draws its inspiration from Mediterranean cuisine with fragrant and flavorful ingredients like dried rosemary, basil, sun-dried tomato bits, orange peel powder, and sea salt.

We love the slightly coarse and crunchy texture of this dry rub, and we think it tastes delicious as a crust on fresh grilled salmon or baked-fish dishes. 

Take virtually any dish up a notch with this super simple Cajun seasoning. Made with just four ingredients — salt, black pepper, red pepper, and garlic — this basic but ultra versatile mix will be your go-to this grilling season, for everything from ribs to wings to corn on the cob.

Texas barbecue is all about the smoke, and John Henry's East Texas Pecan Rub proves it! Perfect for brisket and ribs, this unique spice mix packs a mouth-watering combination of brown sugar and smoky pecan wood.

A tasty trifecta of sweetness, spiciness, and saltiness, this award-winning dry rub comes from two Mississippi-based brothers who take grilling very seriously. 

So seriously, in fact, that they formed a championship barbecue team called The Killer Hogs that has been competing for more than 13 years. Your guests will be squealing with delight!