Learn how to make homemade lemon pepper seasoning with just a few ingredients. It’s great on chicken, fish and roasted vegetables and makes for a perfect edible gift. Please note the total cooking time depends on whether you use fresh lemons or store-bought dried lemon peel.
Ingredients
- 6 lemons large or 4 tablespoons dried lemon peel (granulated lemon peep, not the powder)
- 2 tablespoon black peppercorns or 1.5 tablespoons ground coarse black pepper
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons salt coarse sea salt or kosher salt
- 1 teaspoons garlic powder
Instructions
Using fresh lemons
- Preheat oven to its lowest setting (around 50-75 C / 122 - 165 F).
- Using a paring knife or peeler, remove the outer yellow from the lemon. You want it as thin as possible, not much white pith.
- Line a flat sheet pan with parchment/baking paper and lay out the strips of lemon as spread out as possible. Place in the oven and leave to bake/dehydrate for 3-4 hours, maybe longer depending on humidity. It should feel completely dried out. **PS.** You can also use an air fryer on the lowest setting for about an hour or use the oven at a higher temp for a shorter period, although this is risky as you can easily burn the lemon peel.
- Remove the dried lemon peel and let it cool down completely out of the oven. Transfer to into a spice grinder or a high-powered blender, processing until you get a fine coarse texture.
- Remove to a bowl. Repeat the grinding with black peppercorns, if using whole, until coarse powder as well.
- Measure out the lemon and pepper and mix in the salt, onion powder and garlic powder.
- Store in an air-tight jar in a cool, dry place. Store any leftover lemon separately for other uses like tea and baking.
Using store-bought dried lemon peel
- If you find pre-made dried lemon peel, you can skip the dehydrating part. If you get an unprocessed dried peel, then repeat the grinding step from above. If it’s already granulated, skip to grinding the peppercorns. If using pre-ground black pepper, then simply mix all seasoning ingredients in a bowl and store them in an air-tight jar in a cool, dry place.
Notes
- This seasoning can be adjusted to suit your tastes. Once mixed, do a taste test and adjust to your preferences. Some like more lemon zest, some like more pepper, some like to swap the garlic and onion amounts, etc. It’s all up to you, but this is a great starting point.
- You must buy high-quality ingredients for the best flavour profile. If you buy cheap ingredients, it will reflect in the finished taste.
- Use this seasoning like you would any store-bought lemon pepper. Whatever a recipe calls for, that’s how much you would use. If a recipe doesn’t have an amount, add based on taste.
- See more notes on ingredients above in the What You’ll Need section.
Nutrition
Calories: 30kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 0.3g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.03g | Sodium: 519mg | Potassium: 141mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 28IU | Vitamin C: 38mg | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 1mg
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