If you’ve ever juiced a bunch of lemons and felt a twinge of guilt tossing out those beautiful yellow peels, this one’s for you. These lemon zest sprinkles are a vibrant, aromatic way to get even more out of your citrus and add a burst of flavour to your meals. As a home gardener and low-waste kitchen enthusiast, I’m always looking for ways to use every part of what I grow or harvest. Lemon zest is one of my favourite zero-waste flavour boosters, and these dehydrated lemon sprinkles are a must-have in my pantry.
Not only does this recipe help reduce food waste, but it’s also a great way to preserve the bright taste of citrus for use all year round, especially when your lemon tree is loaded and you’re making juice in batches.
Sustainable, Simple, and Full of Flavour
✔️ Uses up leftover lemon skins after juicing
✔️ Easy to make with just one ingredient
✔️ Stores well and lasts for months
✔️ Adds fresh, zesty flavour to sweet and savoury dishes
✔️ A perfect DIY pantry staple for low-waste living
How to Use Lemon Zest Sprinkles
This citrusy powder is so versatile! Here are a few of my favourite ways to use it:
It also makes a beautiful homemade gift when packaged in a recycled spice jar with a handwritten label!
What You’ll Need
3–4 lemon skins (or more if you’re batch prepping)
A dehydrator or oven
A spice grinder, food processor, or Nutribullet
Clean, dry jar for storage
Tip: Use organic lemons or those from your own garden to avoid wax and pesticides.
How to Make Lemon Zest Sprinkles
Step 1: Wash and Peel After juicing your lemons, give the skins a quick rinse. Carefully peel or slice off the outer yellow part of the skin. Try to avoid too much of the bitter white pith.
Step 2: Dehydrate Lay the peels on a tray in your dehydrator or on a baking tray in the oven. Dry at around 45°C (113°F) for 2–4 hours, or until the peels are crisp and snap easily.
Step 3: Blend Once completely dry, add the peels to your spice grinder or blender. Blitz until they turn into a fine powder.
Step 4: Store Transfer to a clean jar—this is a great use for old spice jars or small glass jars with tight lids. Store in a cool, dark place.
Lemon Zest Sprinkles
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours2 seconds
Total Time: 3 hours5 minutes2 seconds
If you have used lemons for juicing then this is a great way to get the most out of your lemons.
Ingredients
3-4 Lemon skins
Instructions
Wash and peel or carefully slice off thin pieces of the lemon skins. Use organic lemons or fresh from the tree.
Layout the skins on a tray and dehydrate using a dehydrator or oven at 45degrees for 2-4 hours until completely dry.
Add the dry peels to a spice blender, food processor, or Nutribullet and blitz to a fine powder.
Place in a jar. I save my spice jars to recycle for future homemade spices such as this.
Notes
Add to sugar for a lemon sugar or add to your dishes for a fresh zesty flavour. Great in salad dressings, stirfry or even on top of ice-cream or yoghurt.
Low-Waste Kitchen Tip
After using the zest, the remaining lemon peel (especially the pith and leftover pulp) doesn’t have to go to waste. Here are two great options:
Compost it: Citrus adds acidity to your compost and breaks down well when chopped.
Make citrus cleaner: Soak the leftover peels in a jar of vinegar for 2–3 weeks to make a natural, homemade all-purpose cleaner. Strain and store in a spray bottle.
This lemon zest sprinkle recipe is a beautiful example of how simple, low-waste habits can add flavour and sustainability to your kitchen. It’s one of those small swaps that turns scraps into something useful, aromatic, and delicious. Next time you juice a few lemons, don’t toss those peels, dry them, blend them, and sprinkle some sunshine on your next dish.
Broccolini or Broccoli is in abundance during the winter months and it is important to have some quick and easy meals or sides dishes to mix things up and let the vegetable shine. Roasted lemon has a mild, caramelized flavour and makes a delicious dressing to any salad or roast vegetables. This dish makes the perfect side of winter greens with a fresh, zingy flavour.
Roasted Broccolini with Lemon and Garlic Yoghurt Dressing
Fresh, vibrant, and delicious, this wintery Broccolini dish is a must-try. Lemons and Broccoli are ready and in-season at the same time and they also make a great pair on the plate.
Ingredients
2 Tbsp Coconut Yoghurt (or greek yoghurt)
1 Clove Garlic
1/2 tsp Lemon Zest
1 or 2 lemons
1 Bunch Broccolini
1 Fennel (optional)
1 sprig of Fennel Frond
1 Tbsp Flaked Almonds
Pinch of Sea Salt Flakes
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
Instructions
Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celcius. Wash and chop Fennel into quarters and place in a roasting dish. Cut the lemon in half and place face down. Drizzle with oil and ensure it is under the lemon and fennel so they do not stick. Place in the oven for 10minutes.
Prepare the dressing by adding the yoghurt to a small mixing bowl and finely grating in the garlic. Add a pinch of salt and 1/2 tsp of finely grated lemon zest. Mix to combine.
Remove the lemons and fennel from the oven and add in your Broccolini. Mix to coat with oil or juices from the pan. Return to the oven for a further 10minutes or until the Broccolini is bright green and slightly browning. You want it to still have some crunch to it and not be too well done.
Remove and add to a serving dish. Squeeze a little of the roasted lemon over the broccolini and leave the rest in the bowl to serve. Spoon over the yoghurt dressing. Top with almonds, red chilli, fennel fronds and a pinch of seas salt flakes.
Garnish with edible flowers (i used purple rosemary flowers)
What to do with lemons?! Lemon and citrus season is in full swing and if you are lucky enough, you may be struggling to use up all your produce before it goes to waste. A great problem to have! Below are a few of my favourite ways to use up lemons. I love how the lemon season coincides with the flu season and lemons are a fantastic natural remedy, packed full of vitamin C for colds and flu! Nature really is amazing. If you have a ton of lemons, below are some great ways to preserve your lemons so you can use them throughout the year.
Fresh off the Tree
One of the best ways to extend your harvest is to leave them on the tree for as long as you can. As soon as you pick them they will start to ripen and deteriorate much quicker than if they remain on the tree. I love fresh lemons especially walking out to my garden and picking a lemon and cutting it up for a fresh cup of hot lemon water or in summer, iced lemon water! This is also the best way to get the most vitamin C as once you cook or dehydrate lemons, the Vitamin C levels reduce significantly. But there is only so much fresh lemon I can eat…
Gifting or Swapping
Gifting or trading your excess lemons is a great way to make friends with your neighbours! Your friends, family and work colleagues may also love some fresh lemons if they don’t have a tree at home. This can open up some great conversations and people may even start bringing and gifting their own excess produce.
Dehydrated Lemons
It’s winter and I love a hot water lemon drink in the morning to warm up! The only thing is that often I put the remaining half a lemon in the fridge and it will end up at the back of the fridge until it gets thrown out 🙁 So if I want lemon for my tea I pick a small one and put it somewhere front and centre so I can see it! This is why I love using dehydrated lemons because you can use a couple of slices as needed. Dehydrated lemons can also be used in baking, cake decorating, or finely chopped to add some lemony flavour to your cooking. They rehydrate once they get wet so they work quite similarly to fresh lemon but have a more caramelised flavour.
Lemon Zest Sprinkles
Zest the skins and dehydrate. Place in a jar and use in cooking and baking to as some lemony flavour!
Lemon Juice
You can then juice the lemons and freeze into ice cubes. Once the cubes are frozen, place into a container or freezer bag and label. These can be used in cold drinks, cocktails, cooking, baking and added to boiling water for a delicious hot lemon tea at just the right temperature! (can you tell I like lemon tea).
Citrus Cleaner
Ok, so you have now used the zest and the juice of the lemons, what do you do with the remaining flesh?! Place all the lemon scraps in a jar and fill with White Vinegar. Place in a dark spot in your pantry and leave for two weeks. You can then strain the liquid off and add the same amount of distilled water and you have a natural all-purpose cleaner. This is a great way to get the most out of your lemons with as little waste as possible.
You can also simply throw a few slices into your jug/kettle and add a few dashes of white vinegar and water. Simply boil the jug and then let it sit for 30mins. Rinse and clean. This will help remove the limescale and calcium build-ups on your jug.
Baking
Lemon slice, lemon meringue pie, lemon cheesecake. I’m not one for baking recipes but I have been doing some trial and error lately!
Roasted Lemons
In winter I like to make a roast vegetable salad because it’s a little bit more of a winter warmer but not too heavy. I chop up my root vegetables (carrots, sweet potato, beetroot, potato etc) along with some wedges of lemon and oven roast with oil and herbs. This is a great way to use up those half lemons in the fridge or some lemons that are getting too ripe. Once the vegetables are roasted I serve in a bowl of chopped up greens and top with feta cheese, pumpkin seeds, and aioli dressing. The roasted lemon wedges can then be squeezed on top and they add beautiful mellow caramelised lemon flavour.
Lemon Butter
Lemon butter or curd is heaven in a jar! This is a super luxurious and delicious way to use lemons and can also make great gifts! Enjoy on toast, pancakes, meringues or add to the centre of lemon muffins for a delicious surprise.
Other ideas
There are still so many different ways to use lemons that I haven’t tried yet. Here are a few below:
Marmalade
Lemonade!!
Preserved Lemons
Lemon cake
Limoncello
Let me know what you use lemons for in the comments below!
MY GARDENING ESSENTIALS // Fertiliser spray gun: https://bit.ly/366nL1t Retractable Hose: https://bit.ly/2TSC0Bo More gardening tools: https://bit.ly/32IQmbD
DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting my page so I can continue to provide you with free content!
It’s Lemon Season and nature times it perfectly with the start of the flu season. My lemon tree is about 5 years old and has really started producing decent crops this year. Part of my journey has been to learn different ways to preserve and use excess crops (as well as gifting extra to friends). I love dehydrated lemons as they not only look pretty on the shelf but they are also so easy to make and use.
How to make Dehydrated Lemons
Rinse lemons
Slice evenly – I use a mandoline to do this. It’s definitely worth it! I love mine.
Lay out the lemon slices on your dehydrator tray and turn the setting to around 60 degrees Celsius.
Dehydrate for 6-8 hours until the flesh is no longer sticky to touch.
Allow to cool and place into jars.
You can do this in the oven if you don’t have a dehydrator. It all depends on how thick your slices are and your oven type but I did mine at 60degrees celsius for 8-9 hours and cracked the door for the first few hours to let the moisture escape.
How to use dehydrated Lemons
This is a question I got asked a lot on Instagram. So here are some of the ways I like to use my dehydrated lemons.
Tea – Place a couple in hot water or green tea. I also add fresh mint or honey too.
Mulled Wine – I love a wintery mulled wine and adding these at the end makes it look and taste amazing!
Baking – I made a delicious lemon slice and cut the dehydrated lemons into quarters and placed on top for an extra lemony taste. You can also place in cakes and muffins and it will have a chewy texture so make sure they are small pieces.
Broken up into a Laksa soup – once the lemons rehydrate they are similar to a fresh slice so treat them as you would a fresh lemon.
The decoration on any cakes, baking, platters or fish meals.
Cocktails! or Mocktails. They make a beautiful addition and will elevate any drink.
What dehydrator do I use?
If you are looking to invest in a dehydrator I highly recommend keeping an eye out for a second hand one or borrow from a friend. They are the type of thing that people buy and don’t find enough things to make so it collects dust in the cupboard. Also, not all dehydrators are made the same…Some are super noisy and slow so make sure you look into the reviews before you purchase.
I have the Bio Chef Arizona 6 tray one and I love it.
Let me know in the comments below if you have made dehydrated lemons before and how you use them.
MY GARDENING ESSENTIALS //
Fertiliser spray gun: https://bit.ly/366nL1t
Retractable Hose: https://bit.ly/2TSC0Bo
More gardening tools: https://bit.ly/32IQmbD
DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting my page so I can continue to provide you with free content!
