Making your own seasonings lets you be in total control of the ingredients! Make this Lemon Pepper Seasoning to sprinkle on seafood and chicken!
This past month I’ve been bit by the DIY bug. I’m far from being crafty, but finding things to make from scratch at home is like a fun challenge to me. If it clears out my pantry of items I need to use up, even better! I’ve had a bag of dried lemon peels in the pantry for well over six months now and I could never find great use for it. I’ve sprinkled it into hot tea, but that’s about it. And then the idea for a lemon pepper seasoning came to me and it was a joyful day!
We also had a couple bags of whole peppercorns that would take us years to go through, so I grabbed some and started tweaking the ratio of lemon peel to peppercorns. If you don’t have dried lemon peel, you can easily make it by stripping fresh lemons off the pith and drying it out in the oven for an hour or so. Want to order some online? Check out lemon peel over at My Spice Sage.
The whole peppercorns we had were Kampot Peppercorns. We love this variety of black peppercorn because it’s slightly floral and has hints of sweetness along with some heat, pairing gorgeously with seafood.
Now, I know you’re wondering where did we find such cute, tiny jars to store our homemade seasoning in? Well, our friends over at Freund Containers were generous enough to send us some fun jars to play with and these were in the box! Perfectly sized for homemade seasonings to give as little gifts, these would make the best foodie party souvenir! Imagine filling these with homemade extracts, salts, and more!
You’ll notice this recipe does not include salt, typically found in seasonings. As a professional cook, I like having control of the amount of salt in my dishes, so I prefer seasoning with kosher salt separately. Layering seasonings and salt create for better flavors and more control in recipes!

Ingredients
- ½ cup dried lemon peels
- ¼ cup whole black peppercorns
Instructions
- Grind both peels and peppercorns in spice grinder, separately.
- Place in small bowl and whisk together until fully incorporated.
- Store in an airtight jar, in a cool, dry place.
Nella, I love lemon pepper and was not aware I could make it this easy at home. I will be drying my own lemon peel, let see how it goes. Gracias por la receta!
Marnely, I love this idea!! Nothing better than a homemade food gift!
Do you zest the peel and dry? Or do you buy it already done? Thank you!!
I bought the dried peel, but you can zest and dry it in the oven yourself as well!