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Spice up your meals with this easy and delicious Homemade Lemon Pepper Seasoning! With just a few simple ingredients, you can create a flavorful blend in just 5 minutes. Perfect for adding a zesty kick to grilled lemon pepper chicken, seafood, and vegetables.
Store-bought seasonings can be boring and full of preservatives, while making your own seasoning recipes allows you to control the flavor and level of salt. Our lemon pepper spice blend has only six ingredients (no junk!) and is perfect for lemon pepper chicken wings, vegetables, or lemon pepper salmon. It also is a great seasoning to sprinkle over fresh salads, grilled chicken kabobs, or roasted potatoes. This will last for six months, but in reality, it’ll be used well before then!
For this recipe, we took the ingredients from the most popular store-bought versions and deconstructed them to make our very own blend.
Table of Contents
Ingredients + Substitutions for Lemon Pepper Seasoning
This lemon pepper seasoning yields 1/2 cup. Full portions are in the recipe card.
- Salt – Use a good kosher salt for this lemon pepper seasoning. Avoid iodized table salt, but if that is all you have, use half the recommended salt portions in the recipe card.
- Dried Lemon Peel/Zest – You can find dried lemon peel, also called dried lemon zest, in finer grocery stores, or you can purchase it online. In this recipe, we will dry our lemon zest. It’s super easy to do yourself!
- Pepper – We prefer coarse black pepper which you can get at most grocery stores, big box stores, or restaurant supply stores pre-ground. If grinding your own be sure it’s coarse versus fine for the best flavor. If you like making your seasonings it’s worth investing in a good spice grinder.
- Granulated Garlic – Ideally use granulated versus garlic powder for the larger coarser texture. And we do not recommend garlic salt as it will make this seasoning too salty.
- Onion Powder – Adds a nice balance with the garlic.
- Dried Thyme – The herbal flavor balances the savory notes from the onion, salt, and garlic. You can also substitute with any dried herb like oregano, rosemary, or marjoram.
Chef’s Tip
You want to make sure you use dried lemon zest versus fresh lemon zest. Fresh will have too much moisture and will burn when you bake, grill, or use the lemon pepper seasoning. It will also create mold as it sits in your pantry because of the moisture in it. So be sure it’s dried so you can use it properly and also store it without worry!
Step One: Dry Lemon Zest
Start with four large fresh lemons. Using a zesting tool, like a Microplane, zest the outside of each lemon. Be sure not to zest too deep because you want to avoid the white pith of the lemon as it becomes a little bitter.
Then, preheat your oven to as low as it will go. Oven temperatures will vary from 150-200 for the lowest setting. For us, that is 170 degrees. Place parchment paper on a baking sheet and distribute the lemon zest so it’s evenly laid out. Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until it is dry. You can touch it to feel whether they feel dried or not.
If your oven only goes to 200 degrees, plan the zest to be dried in as little as 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and then let cool about 15-20 minutes.
Once the lemons have come down to room temperature you can make the lemon pepper seasoning.
How To Make Lemon Pepper Seasoning
In a small bowl, combine all the dried ingredients. Mix to combine. If the lemon zest needs to be finer, just crush it using your fingers or a mortar and pestle after it’s been dried.
Use in your favorite lemon pepper recipe.
How To Store Lemon Pepper Seasoning
Store the lemon pepper seasoning in an airtight mason jar or similar airtight container. Keep out of light and store it in a cupboard to prevent it from sticking together.
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Recipe Ideas
You can really use this lemon pepper seasoning on anything like sprinkling over popcorn. It’s great on grilled shrimp or grilled prawns. You can also sprinkle over pasta with a simple butter wine sauce to brighten the flavors.
Frequently Asked Questions
Fresh lemon zest will always have a brighter flavor, and some of the residual oils from the lemon peel giving it that fresher fruit flavor. Pre-dried is a nice alternative, but it won’t have as much of the fruity flavor as fresh.
Dried lemon peel can last up to a year if kept in an airtight container and a dark cupboard. If it is exposed to air, it can oxidize, losing its lemon flavor profile.
For a large lemon, it should produce 1 tablespoon of dried zest. So if you need 1/4 cup plan on zesting four lemons.
More Seasoning Ideas
Rubs and Seasoning Recipes
How to Dry Brine – The Easiest Way to Season Meat
Rubs and Seasoning Recipes
Dry Rub Recipe for Wings
Rubs and Seasoning Recipes
The Perfect Smoked Brisket Rub Recipe (No Sugar)
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Lemon Pepper Seasoning
Ingredients
- 4 large lemons, zested (about 4 tablespoons of dried zest), (or use pre-dried lemon zest)
- 2 tablespoons coarse black pepper
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic, (If all you have is garlic powder, start with ½ teaspoon and add more if you want more garlic flavor)
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
Instructions
To Make the Dry Lemon Zest
- Dry Zest: Preheat your oven to the lowest setting. We set ours for 170 degrees Fahrenheit. Zest 4 lemons and spread out the lemon peel/zest on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper. Bake in the center rack of the oven for 25-30 minutes or until the zest is dried and crispy. Allow to cool, and then make the lemon pepper seasoning.
Make Lemon Pepper Seasoning
- Combine: In a small bowl, combine all ingredients and mix. If the pieces of the lemon zest are a little large crush them with your fingers or a mortar and pestle. Store in an airtight container like a small mason jar.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
