Lemon Pepper Seasoning Recipe

Elevate your meals with our homemade Lemon Pepper Seasoning recipe, a perfect mix of zesty lemon zest, cracked black pepper, sea salt, and aromatic garlic powder. This easy-to-make, versatile blend adds a burst of citrusy, spicy flavor to chicken, fish, vegetables, or salads, transforming simple dishes into gourmet experiences.

Why This Recipe Works

Better than Store Bought: Making your own homemade spice blends is always a good idea! One of my favorites ones to make at home is lemon pepper seasoning. It can be used on so many different things and is much more flavorful than the store-bought versions! Plus, you can control exactly what goes into it, including the amount of salt.

Adds Flavor to Everything: This lemon pepper seasoning recipe can be used on almost everything! It is versatile enough to go with a lot of different kinds of proteins and vegetables, but flavorful enough that it will enhance anything it goes on. The citrusy flavors of lemon zest and citric acid with the coarse salt, savory garlic powder and spicy pepper all come together beautifully in a flavorful spice blend!

Supplies Needed

• Baking Sheet & Parchment Paper
• Spice Shaker

Ingredients

• Lemon Zest: It is best to dry your own fresh lemon zest for the best flavor! The easiest way to zest this much lemon is using a microplane.
• Black Pepper: Black pepper adds a slightly spicy bite to this seasoning recipe.
• Kosher Salt: Coarse, kosher salt it best. If you don’t have kosher salt you can use a coarse sea salt instead!
• Garlic Powder: For an added savory flavor that balances out the lemon zest and citric acid.
• Citric Acid: Citric acid combines with salt to create a wonderful, tangy salty flavor! Technically you don’t have to use citric acid if you don’t want to, but it does add to the citrus flavor and helps to preserve your lemon pepper seasoning for longer.

How To Make Lemon Pepper Seasoning

Preheat Oven: Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Zest: Zest the lemons onto the parchment paper and spread it out across the pan in an even layer.

Bake: Bake the zest to dry it out for about 15-20 minutes, tossing halfway through. Remove from the oven and let it cook 5 minutes.

Combine Spices: To a spice shaker, combine the black pepper, kosher salt, garlic powder, and citric acid. Toss in the cooled and tried lemon zest and mix to combine.

Use: You can use as desired on your favorite proteins and side dishes! Keep stored in an air tight container.

Variations

You can make this lemon pepper seasoning recipe entirely your own! Try some of these variations:

• Salt: To create a low sodium lemon pepper seasoning recipe, you can omit the salt, or add less salt than calls for in the recipe.
• Dill: Dill would be a lovely addition to this seasoning recipe if you are planning to use it on fish and shrimp!
• Ground Chiles: You can make your seasoning a little bit spicier by adding a pinch of cayenne pepper or ancho chili powder!

What To Use Lemon Pepper Seasoning On

You can use lemon pepper seasoning on a plethora of different things! One of my favorite ways to use it is to make a homemade honey lemon pepper sauce and make some grilled lemon pepper chicken wings!

This lemon pepper seasoning recipe is also great to use on fish, shrimp, or even steak. It also goes well with vegetables or even adds a little bit of zesty flavor to salads!

It also makes a wonderful compound butter! You can mix it up with softened butter and spread it on crusty bread to serve with soup.

Storing

To store your homemade lemon pepper seasoning, make sure that it is in an airtight container. You can store it at room temperature for up to 2 months for best results!

More Recipes To Try

• Homemade Tajin Seasoning
• Pastrami Rub
• Smoked Chicken Wings
• Cajun BBQ Dry Rub
• All-Purpose BBQ Dry Rub