Transition metal doped carbon materials are recognized as promising sensing platforms for glucose detection. Herein, a simple strategy involving crystallinity, nanostructure engineering, and pyrolysis was developed for constructing well-defined Ni nanoparticle embedded on nanoporous carbon nanorods (Ni/NCNs). A three-dimensional nickel-based metal-organic framework (Ni-MOF) was used as both a self-sacrificing template and precursor. Due to the synergistic effects between the uniformly dispersed Ni nanoparticles and the nanoporous carbon matrix, the as-prepared Ni/NCNs exhibited remarkable electro-chemical activity. The fabricated Ni/NCNs glucose sensor showed excellent electrocatalytic performance with ultra-low limit of detection, wide linear detection ranges, fast response times (within 1.6 s), superior stability, and anti-interference characteristics. Moreover, the Ni/NCNs sensing platform was successfully applied to analyze glucose concentrations in human blood samples. These results showed that Ni/NCNs hold potential applications in developing enzyme-free glucose sensors. (C) 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.