Dehydrating Lemons: Easy Dried Lemons in the Oven or Dehydrator

We have a Meyer lemon tree in our yard that gives us more lemons than we can possibly use fresh. Most years that means hundreds of pounds of lemons coming off the tree over the course of a few months. I’ve learned to preserve them every way I can – freezing, fermenting, and dehydrating – so we have lemon in some form available all year.

Dehydrating is my favorite method because of how many different things you can make: dried lemon slices for tea and water, zest for baking, lemon powder for seasoning, and lemon salt and lemon sugar that are genuinely useful pantry staples. This post covers all of them, plus oven and air fryer instructions for anyone who doesn’t have a dehydrator.

One note before you start: if you’re using the peel for any of these recipes, buy organic. Conventional lemons are treated with wax and pesticides that stay in the peel. For crafts-only use, conventional is fine.

What Makes Dehydrating Lemons So Worth It

• One lemon tree – or one good sale at the store – turns into a year’s worth of lemon zest, lemon powder, lemon salt, and lemon sugar with just a few hours of hands-on time.
• Unlike freezing, dehydrated lemons don’t take up freezer space and don’t need thawing – they’re shelf stable for up to a year in a sealed jar.
• Dehydrated lemons retain pretty much all their vitamins and minerals and are just as good for you as fresh lemons.
• You end up with more useful forms of lemon than you can buy at any grocery store: powder, flavored salt, flavored sugar, and dried slices are all things that would cost a lot more to buy than to make.
• The whole process is more forgiving than most preserving projects – lemons don’t require blanching, pressure canning, or precise timing. If in doubt, just dry them longer.

I like to keep a list of all the food I preserve using these worksheets. You can get a copy emailed to you by filling out the form below.

How to make dried lemon slices

• Depending on where you get your lemons they may have already been washed or they may have dirt and bird droppings on them. So be sure to check them and wash the lemons if necessary.
• You want fairly thin, fairly uniform slices. I’d say mine are about 1/4″ thick. I used a deli knife with a guard on it,  you could use a mandolin if you have one or just your regular knife, it doesn’t have to be super exact.
• Remove any seeds before dehydrating, especially if you’re planning to make lemon powder. Seeds don’t dehydrate well and add bitterness. For slices used as garnishes or in water and tea, seeds are less critical but still worth removing.
• Lay the lemon slices on the dehydrator rack. It’s okay if they touch, so put them close together.
• Dehydrate the slices on low or at 125°F degrees for about 16-18 hours.
• Check the lemons every once in a while and rotate the racks if needed so that they dry evenly.
• The slices should easily snap in half when they’re fully dry.

A note on temperature: you’ll see different recommendations across dehydrating resources – anywhere from 100°F to 140°F. I use 125°F because lower heat preserves more of the lemon’s color and flavor compounds. Higher temperatures (135-140°F) will work and dry the slices faster (8-12 hours vs. 16-18 hours at lower heat), but the slices will darken over time more noticeably. Either approach is fine – it depends on what you’re using them for. If you’re making decorative slices or cocktail garnishes where color matters, go low and slow. If you’re making powder or lemon salt where appearance isn’t the point, higher heat is more efficient.

You can also peel the lemon before slicing it or peel some of the lemon slices before dehydrating. This will give you some lemon slices without the peel and pith which will be useful if you want to make lemon powder.

Can you dehydrate a whole lemon?

Yes…but, you’ll need to cut wedges out of the sides. You can use a knife to cut small wedges out of the sides, leaving the stem and flower ends intact. It will look kind of like an Chinese lantern.

These look nice on a dried citrus garland or as decoration for fall and winter.

Just know that they’ll take a longer to dehydrate, about 18-24 hours.

How to make dried lemon zest

More than dried lemon slices I like to make dried lemon zest because I think there are more uses for it. Before we juice any lemons we zest them. It really doesn’t take much time and ensures that we’ll have plenty of dried lemon peels to use.

• To zest citrus you’ll want a zesting tool which is a little different than a grater. You can use a grater but a grater cuts deep into the peel and you’ll get the white pith in your zest…and the pith is bitter. If you’re going to use a grater, use the smallest holes and very little pressure.
• Line the dehydrator tray with parchment paper or with a fruit leather liner.
• Dehydrate at 95°F for about 4-6 hours. It should be crumbly when it’s fully dry. 

How to make lemon powder

• Before slicing, zest the lemon and remove all the white pith. The pith is bitter and will make your powder bitter. Peel it off like an orange peel after zesting, or use a knife to cut it away.
• Remove all seeds before dehydrating – seeds will make the powder gritty and bitter.
• Dehydrate lemon slices fully at 125–135°F until they snap cleanly and the interior is completely dry with no soft spots.
• Once fully dry, break slices into a coffee grinder or high-speed blender and pulse until powdered. Spread the powder onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and place in a warm (but off) oven or back in the dehydrator at 95°F for 15–30 minutes to drive off any remaining moisture from the grinding process.
• Cool completely, then store in a small airtight jar with a moisture absorber or silica packet. Grind only as much as you’ll use in a few weeks – powder absorbs humidity quickly and clumps once exposed to air.

How to make lemon salt and lemon sugar

In addition to making plain dried lemon zest you can also make lemon salt and lemon sugar. After you’ve zested the lemons but before you dehydrate the zest, mix the zest with either sugar or salt.

• For lemon salt, use the zest of 2 lemons to 1/2 cup of salt.
• For lemon sugar, use the zest of 1 lemon to about 1-1.5 cups of sugar.
• Spread the lemon salt or lemon sugar out on parchment paper and put in dehydrator on a low temp (125°F degrees) for about 10 minutes or until the mixture feels dry and crumbly.
• Store in an airtight container, in a cool, dark place.

Another option is to spread the lemon salt or lemon sugar on a baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 200°F. Put the baking sheet in the oven and turn the oven off. Let it sit in the warm oven overnight.

Lastly, lemon salt and lemons sugar can be air dried for 12-24 hours depending on how humid your home is.

Make dried lemons in an oven

While using a dehydrator is certainly the easiest way to dehydrate lemons, it’s not the only way. You can also use an oven to make dried lemons.

• Use the lowest bake setting on your oven, most will be about 170°F and leave the door ajar. You may need to prop the door open with a wooden spoon, that’s what I have to do to keep mine ajar.
• Put the lemon slices on a cooling rack with a baking sheet underneath it. This will help the lemons get airflow all around them.
• Let dry for 6-8 hours or until the lemons are fully dry, checking often and rotating them so that they dry evenly.
• Remove from oven and let cool.
• Store in an airtight container, in a cool, dark place.

How to store dried lemons

As long as the lemon slices and lemon zest are fully dry they’re shelf stable. I like to store them in mason jars that have been sealed with a food saver in the pantry. As long as they are in an airtight container, dehydrated lemons will last for about 12 months. After that, the quality will start to deteriorate.

I once stored the dried zest in a jar in the freezer and we had a power outage. When I pulled out the jar of zest all the lemon oil had leached out of the zest and it was as soggy mess. So, I don’t store dried citrus in the freezer any more.

If you are making dried lemon powder, keep the majority of the lemon slices whole and only grind them as you need them. Once ground the lemon powder tends to stick together when exposed to air and humidity.

How to use dried lemons

Before preserving any food, I like to think through how I’ll actually use it – that way I preserve it in the form that’s most useful. Here’s how we use every form of dehydrated lemon:

Dried lemon slices: Drop into water or sparkling water for a light lemon flavor, use as a garnish for cocktails or mocktails, add to hot tea, or use for crafts – potpourri, citrus garlands, and dried wreath decorations. Keep in mind that dried slices are darker than fresh, so they won’t give you that bright yellow look.

Dried lemon zest: Substitute 1:3 for fresh zest in baking (dried zest is more concentrated). Use in herbal tea blends, stir into salad dressings, or mix into butter for a quick compound butter to serve over fish or chicken. I use most of our dried zest in herbal tea blends and for baking cranberry lemon biscuits.

Lemon powder: Use in baking wherever a recipe calls for zest, mix into marinades for fish or shrimp, stir into soups and sauces for brightness, blend into a lemon pepper spice mix, or use to make instant lemonade. Note that it doesn’t dissolve like a drink mix – stir well and expect a little texture.

Lemon salt: Finish grilled fish or chicken, use on roasted vegetables, or use as a rim salt for cocktails. It’s also a lovely handmade gift packed in a small jar.

Lemon sugar: Stir into tea, use to rim a cocktail glass, bake into shortbread or scones, or sprinkle over fresh fruit. It brings a more complex lemon flavor than plain sugar.

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Frequently Asked Questions

So, what would you do with dehydrated lemons?

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