Jun 28, 2021 Apr 21, 2024 by [Archana Potdar] · This post may contain affiliate links · 38 Comments

Handy Coffee Spice Rub Recipe

Make my multipurpose Coffee Spice Mix and then you are set to make a Vegan starter, side or a filling for a wrap!

Coffee Spice mix that is extremely delicious. Try it! — Multipurpose Coffee Spice Rub Recipe

Coffee Rub is one of the easiest, and most delicious spice mixes that I have made. As a vegetarian cook, I can recommend this spice rub to any of your veg ingredients, to give them a new zing. A note for meat-lovers: I gave some to my neighbour and she used it on chicken. Apparently, it tastes amazing is exactly like Trader Joe's!

Hello, and welcome to The Mad Scientist’s Kitchen, Reinventing the Foodie in you! Looking for delicious and simple and easy recipes. Today not only am I making the Coffee Rub Spice mix but also showing you how to use it. I urge you to subscribe to our newsletter so that you get all our posts. We will not spam you, promise and the subscribe link is below or on the sidebar too!

What are Spice Rubs?

Spice rubs are actually a mix of ingredients and flavours. They’re traditionally used to marinate the meat before grilling. The flavours seep into the food and kick up the flavour of even the blandest ingredients. They’re a quick and easy way of adding a little twist to your everyday preps.

I will highly recommend spice rubs for anyone who is on a strict diet. It can be an easy way to inject flavour into your food. Just make sure to get professional advice before using any ingredient.

Coffee: The spice of magic!

This coffee rub does not taste like coffee at all! The versatile mix is an ultimate rub when you want that delicious spicy kick to your vegetables, tofu or meats. The coffee deliciously brings together the entire spice powder without even taking over the taste. It’s amazing!

From now on keep a bottle of this multipurpose spice mix in your spice rack. I should think it’ll last for 15 days in our tropical climate. In case you live in a cold place you can keep it for about a month. Store it only in air-tight glass jars, please.

This spice rub uses 9 spices to give you an easy-to-use dry coffee rub. Now, this delicious spice mix is very easy to make. All you need is a bowl or plate to mix it all up. Sniff the mix! Heady isn't it? Now get your veggies out we will also make something with it!

Sides that I can serve to vegans for thanksgiving meal — Vegan Side with Coffee Spice Rub Recipe

Ingredients for Multipurpose Coffee Spice Rub:

These are the ingredients you need to make the dry coffee rub spice mix. For the individual measures please check the recipe card.

Salt
Instant coffee
Garlic powder
Smoked paprika
Pepper
Coriander seed powder
Onion powder
Chilli powder
Cayenne powder (optional)

Substitutes and alternatives:

Use ground coffee beans in place of instant coffee. The only reason I did not use it was will it stick to my veggies? Since the amount we use will be small I was not worried about the fact that it may not be edible.
You can use cayenne powder, but I have not used it since we tend to eat milder food.
This spice rub is made for vegetarian recipes. If you plan on adding it to meats or need it to be spicer you will need to amp up the spices.

How to use Coffee Rub:

Using the dry coffee rub is very easy you just marinate your ingredients with the dry rub. I have used it twice now on different days and we enjoyed our food. The prep takes some time but the results are worth it. The basic steps are what I have highlighted below for exact measures please check the recipe card.

Making the Easy Coffee Rub:

The making is very simple just toss all the ingredients in a bowl or a plate and mix them up. That's right there is now roasting, heating etc involved here.

Prepping Veggies to use the Coffee Rub:

Choose your vegetables and protein I used potatoes, mushrooms, capsicum, onions, tomatoes, drained and cubed tofu.
Decide how you want to make your veggies. I grilled some and pan-fried others on the stovetop. You can also oven-roast them or barbeque them. The possibilities are endless!
So cut your veggies into bite-sized pieces and put the coffee rub. I used about 3 tablespoons.
Sprinkle some salt and toss the vegetable pieces. Set aside to marinate say for about 1 hour.
When ready to grill: thread the veggies and tofu as you like on pre-soaked bamboo skewers. Grill them in a pre-heated oven for about 10 minutes. I used both the grill.
To cook on the stovetop: Add some oil to a non-stick pan and add the veggies and tofu individually. Stir fry till done and the tofu has brown flecks on all sides. Set aside on a plate.
Finally, toss all the veggies together until the aroma spreads. Serve.

How to Prep Tofu:

The tofu needs a different treatment.
Remove the firm tofu from the pack and place it on a colander.
Place a plate on top and something heavy on it. This drains the tofu of all liquid. (You can also use a paneer press if you have one.)
After about 30 minutes cut the tofu into bite-sized pieces.
Apply about 1 tablespoon of the coffee rub to 200 grams of tofu.
Cover and let the mixture marinate for about 1 hour.

How to use Coffee Rub with Eggplants:

Cut up the eggplant in roundels about 0.5 centimetres in thickness.
Rub in salt, and the coffee rub, You can also add chilli powder to the mix and marinate for about 20-30 minutes.
Dredge in a mixture of rava and rice flour. Drizzle oil cover and cook on low flame on a non-stick skillet.
Once it gets some golden flecks on the rava. Then flip and cook on the other side. You can add more oil if needed but generally, I sprinkle a tablespoon of water on the slices and cover immediately.
Cook till done. Serve hot!

Some Pro-tips:

Separate the veggies. This helps to skewer them. If you are pan-frying, some veggies need more time to cook. So this helps too.
Soak the bamboo skewers in water for 1 hour. This causes the bamboo to absorb water and prevent them from burning.
Keep the chopped eggplant in a bowl of water after chopping to prevent browning. Dry them before applying the spice rub.

How to Serve:

Serve these yum veggies by themselves with yum dips with any summer coolers like iced teas or cocktails.
Serve them in wraps with homemade greek yoghurt chilli sauce.
As a filling for bao buns.
As a side especially for Thanksgiving and Holiday meals as a vegan option.
The Eggplant Roundels taste great as a side with an Indian meal of Rice, dal and vegetable.

Storage Tips:

Leftovers? Pack the veggies in air-tight containers and store in the fridge.
In my place we used them the next day as filling for wraps.

Dips and Sauces to serve with:

Serve your grilled or pan-fried veggies with...

Recipe Card: