I love making my own homemade seasoning mixes and today’s homemade spice blend is a Homemade Lemon Pepper Seasoning recipe, perfect for seafood, pasta, chicken and pork!

$A homemade lemon pepper seasoning is the perfect way to elevate roasted vegetables, seafood or pork! Skip the preservatives and make it yourself for a fraction of the cost of store-bought seasonings$

Homemade Lemon Pepper Seasoning Recipe

I love the zesty heat and bright flavor that comes with adding lemon pepper seasoning to dishes. It’s perfect on so many dishes, brightening them up without making things complicated.

I’ve been on a real kick to replace all of my store-bought seasoning mixes with homemade seasonings. Not only do they taste way better, we avoid the nasty preservatives (like maltodextrin which has some serious health risks) or “flavor enhancers” like monosodium glutamine (MSG).

While I am definitely not the mom who avoids a treat, I want to feel good about the healthy dishes that I serve my family – and part of that involves avoiding unnecessary additives in innocent seeming pantry staples, like our spice mixes.

Making our own homemade lemon pepper seasoning is also cheaper than buying the pre-made mixes and they can make great homemade gifts for the foodies in your life.

While I like the somewhat “rough” texture of this seasoning mix, you can use a spice grinder to blitz this lemon pepper mixture into a uniform texture. This ensures that every teaspoon is perfectly balanced.

The best cost savings with this recipe is to purchase your spices from a bulk store, or if that’s not an option, buy the large containers of the individual spices and herbs. Buying the little containers to make this seasoning would be crazy expensive (but ironically, still cheaper than using the seasoning packets).

This homemade lemon pepper seasoning is shelf-stable for up to a year, as long as you use fresh (dried) herbs and spices when you make it and store in a cool, dry spot in your kitchen.

This seasoning is gluten-free, paleo, low-carb and vegan and makes a great homemade gift.

What is lemon pepper seasoning made of? Our lemon pepper seasoning is made with dried lemon peel, black pepper and salt. Simple and to the point!

Can I use fresh lemon zest in lemon pepper? If you are using it right away, absolutely. Otherwise, you will need to dry your lemon zest to make dried lemon peel. If you try to make this recipe with fresh lemon zest and store it in your kitchen, the moisture from the zest will lose freshness quickly and mold. (Here is a tutorial from Homestead and Chill on how to dry lemon peels in the oven or using a dehydrator.)

Need some inspiration for how to use your lemon pepper seasoning? Check out these recipes that you can use this homemade lemon pepper seasoning in:

Crockpot Lemon Pepper Chicken from Persnickety Plates
Lemon Pepper Smoked Salmon from Or Whatever You Do
Lemon Pepper Almonds from Persnickety Plates
Salmon Piccata from Mindees Cooking Obsession
Air Fryer Lemon Pepper Chicken from That Girl Cooks Healthy
Veggie Lentil Soup from Veggie Fun Kitchen

You can also use it on popcorn, homemade french fries or potatoes, chicken wings, seafood, or on roasted veggies. The options are endless! And any savory recipe that uses fresh lemon zest, salt and pepper can have lemon pepper seasoning swapped in.

Homemade Lemon Pepper Seasoning Ingredients

Lemon Peel <– this is also great for using in baking recipes that call for fresh lemon zest
Salt <– don’t use finishing or kosher salt, opt for a quality sea salt
Black pepper

Scroll down to the printable recipe card for full measurements.

Tip: you can shake up this recipe by adding cayenne pepper for a spicier ranch, or parmesan for a cheesier ranch.

Kitchen Tools You May Find Helpful

Spice Grinder
Measuring spoons
Mason jars, for storing – I do not recommend plastic jars as they can hold moisture and you want to keep this seasoning mix dry to preserve freshness

How to Make Lemon Pepper Seasoning

Measuring out your ingredients and mix together.

Store in a glass mason jar in a cool, dry place in your kitchen.

If you’d like a smoother, more uniform texture, measure the ingredients into a spice grinder and blitz for 20 seconds until large pieces are broken but the mix isn’t too powdery.

Pin this Homemade Lemon Pepper Seasoning Mix:

Grab your free printable for our easy lemon pepper seasoning mix:

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Yield: 9 Tablespoons

Homemade Lemon Pepper Seasoning

Name: Homemade Lemon Pepper Seasoning
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Yield: 9
Cuisine: Pantry Staple
Ingredients: 3 Tablespoons Lemon Peel; 1 1/2 Tablespoon Salt; 4 1/2 Tablespoons Black pepper

The perfect homemade seasoning to brighten up and add subtle heat to a variety of dishes - from seafood, pork or chicken to salad dressings, roasted veggies and more!

Prep Time 5 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

3 Tablespoons Lemon Peel
1 1/2 Tablespoon Salt
4 1/2 Tablespoons Black pepper

Instructions

Measuring out your ingredients and mix together.
Store in a glass mason jar in a cool, dry place in your kitchen.
If you'd like a smoother, more uniform texture, measure the ingredients into a spice grinder and blitz for 20 seconds until large pieces are broken but the mix isn't too powdery.

Notes

Some people also like to add onion powder and garlic powder to their lemon pepper seasoning.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 3Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 353mgCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 0g

Sugar, Spice and Glitter uses an auto-generate nutrition calculator. Nutrition information isn’t always accurate unless analyzed in a scientific lab, so these should be considered more of a guideline than medical information.

This easy homemade lemon pepper seasoning mix is an essential kitchen staple and makes a thoughtful homemade gift!

For more homemade seasoning recipes, check out our Homemade Greek Seasoning or our Homemade Taco Seasoning:

Homemade Lemon Pepper Seasoning

Homemade Lemon Pepper Seasoning Recipe