Leftover Lemon Peels? Here Are 10 Ways to Use Them

Heather Dessinger

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9 Uses For Lemon Peels

Ready to bring a little sunshine into your life? Well then, take the lemon peels left over from your newfound gummy star addiction and whip up a mouthwatering seasoning, flavoring extract, luster-boosting furniture polish or all-purpose cleaner!

It’s a great way to flex your expense-busting DIY muscles without investing a lot of hands-on time, so let’s get started, shall we?

Here are nine ways to use leftover lemon peels . . .

How To Make Lemon Extract

1. Homemade Lemon Extract

Lemon peels and vodka are all that are needed to create a lemon flavored extract for poppyseed muffins, lemon bread with vanilla glaze, and chewy lemon and coconut macaroons.

Get the recipe for lemon extract here.

lemon pepper seasoning recipe

2. Easy Peasy Lemon Pepper Seasoning

The bright flavor of lemon in this seasoning melds perfectly with the deep, spicy notes of peppercorns, and it’s super easy to make.

I don’t even bother with drying my lemon zest in the oven – I just let them dry on a towel overnight and then grind them up in a coffee grinder the next day. So good with chicken, seafood, and roasted veggies!

Here’s how to make my easy lemon pepper seasoning.

cleaning vinegar

3. Citrus-Infused Cleaning Vinegar

Turn your leftover peels into an inexpensive, all-purpose cleaning vinegar that’s perfect for kitchens and bathrooms, removing buildup and grime, and more.

lemon oil recipe

4. Homemade Furniture Polish

Lemon-infused oil is a wonderful way to restore luster wood furniture? Just dab a little on a cloth, rub it in, and buff with a clean cloth! (Note: This polish may not be suitable for every type of wood finish. I haven’t had a problem with the furniture in my house but I recommend doing a test spot in an obscure area before applying.)

To make lemon-infused furniture polish, you’ll need:

Instructions:

Wash and dry lemons. Next, using a vegetable peeler, cut thin slivers of the yellow skin in long ribbons. (Or if you have a zester, use that!) Make sure not to peel off the bitter white pith, just the outside. Pack the peels snugly in a jar, then pour in just enough olive oil to cover. Seal the jar tightly and place in a dark cabinet for 1-2 months, shaking every few days. Strain peels and pour oil into a jar. Store in a dark cabinet or the fridge.

Bottles of homemade limoncello on counter with lemons

5. Limoncello

The lemony tartness of this limoncello recipe is balanced with just the right amount of sweetness for a smooth, refreshing after dinner digestif. It was likely first concocted in Italian monasteries and convents, and has long been used therapeutically to support digestion after a heavy meal.

5 More Uses For Lemon Peels

  • Put them in the dishwasher – “They naturally and very effectively leave the dishwasher smelling fresh in between wash loads and the dishes smell divine too.” (This tip comes from Dreamcatcher in the comments of this post)
  • Make a scented simmering pot – Throw them in a pot and simmer during the winter months to replace lost moisture from the air. Add a little rosemary for extra fragrant goodness.
    If your home suffers from dry heat in the winter, you can put lemon peels in a pot of water and simmer on the lowest stove-top setting to humidify and scent the air.”
  • Grate the zest and freeze it for future cooking/baking projects
  • Make candied lemon peel – Find a recipe for naturally sweetened candied lemon peel here. 
  • Make tea – Let the lemon peels dry and brew them into a tea with mint leaves or dried hibiscus.

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About HEATHER

Heather is a holistic health educator, herbalist, DIYer, Lyme and mold warrior. Since founding Mommypotamus.com in 2009, Heather has been taking complicated health research and making it easy to understand. She shares tested natural recipes and herbal remedies with millions of naturally minded mamas around the world. 

Leave a Comment

45 thoughts on “Leftover Lemon Peels? Here Are 10 Ways to Use Them”

  1. Great ideas for lemon peels! I also make a furniture polish with lemon and orange peels, and I infuse vinegar with the peels to make an all-purpose cleaner.

    Reply
  2. Oh, I love this! Thank you!!! I was just thinking today that I should polish my furniture with coconut oil, b/c I accidentally spilled a bunch on our wooden steps in the garage and now the steps look fantastic! 😉 I also think I am going to make the lemon salt mixture in pretty jars for Christmas presents. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!! 🙂 Oh, and my husband will thank you for saving money on our budget! 🙂

    Reply
    • The lemon salt mixture is fantastic – I gave some to my sis last year and she came looking for the recipe not too soon after! The lemon scent isn’t very strong, though, so you’ll probably want to add some essential oil for fragrance.

      Reply
  3. Hi Heather! I love the idea of lemons for the skin. I cannot eat lemons because it gives me eczema, so do you think it would same the same effect on the outside of my skin? thanks 🙂

    LOVE the spiral lemon picture!! so good

    Reply
    • Hi Caroline! I am no expert, but based on what Dr. Campbell-McBride recommend to test for food sensitivities (by putting them on the skin and watching for a reaction) I personally would avoid them until some more healing has taken place. Can you handle oranges? They have very similar benefits!

      Reply
  4. These are great! Lemons are one thing I buy year-round even though they’re not local, but with these infusions I can cut back and still get my lemon fix. I love putting lemon zest in grain salads (farro salad with basil, cherry tomatoes, feta and cukes) and with honey in whipped cream.

    Reply
  5. I have been using the lemon rind for giving a tangy flavor to my cakes for as long as I can remember. Had no idea we could do so much out of them!
    I also use the left over lemon (after squeezing) to lighten the dark underarm patches. All you got to do is rub the darkened area with the squeezed lemon twice a week.
    Great write up!
    🙂

    Reply
  6. I make the vinegar infused lemon peel cleaner…
    I love it, and since we juice lots of lemons, I always have cleaner on hand. 🙂
    I just came across your blog, and I love it!

    Reply
  7. Hi, just made a batch of lemon AP cleaner (so happy to be able to recycle lemon peel waste!!!), my husband posed a question, he wants to double check that this cleaner is ok to use on plastic surfaces ie shower cubicle walls and plastic toilet seats etc and it doesn’t discolour the plastic (he thinks it might turn the surface a bit yellow???). I also read somewhere else the same recipe but it said once you’ve strained it you then dilute with 50% water?

    Reply
  8. Awesome, thanks for the reply. Am I suppose to dilute the mixture with 50% water after straining? – thanks.

    Reply
  9. Do you think I could use this method, using another oil, to add to homemade body products (lip balm, lotion, solid perfume)? I don’t have lemon essential oil and wondered if this would be a good alternative.

    Reply
  10. For some silly reason I thought my coconut oil would stay liquid after making the oil via stovetop. All the coconut oil I’ve found locally is solid at room temperature…anyone have any suggestions?

    Reply
  11. Love this post!! I love lemons and all the uses are fantastic… I currently have a beautiful glass jar full of vinegar and lemons sitting in my kitchen window right now because of this post! Thanks for sharing! 🙂

    Reply
  12. I’m almost done with my previous body scrub, I was just thinking about making another one and this scrub seems to be perfect for my acne-prone skin:) Looks so good, I’m gonna hunt down some lemons today:)

    Reply
  13. Helloo..
    I’m interested with your idea to make lemon/orange peel infused oil.
    All people here want to have brighter skin, is it really can brighten skin?

    I know that lemon juice will, but I still doubt that lemon infused oil will brighten skin. Vitamin c as the natural brightening agent is not fat-soluble.
    Is it really this infused oil will lighten skin?

    Reply
  14. Wonderful, I have been throughin away lemon peel but not any more thanks to you I love lemons. Thank you so much.

    Reply
  15. Lemons make a great addition to fire cider vinegar. Just cut up a lemon and add twice the amount of raw apple cider vinegar in a jar, put the lid on and put in a dark cool place for at least a month (I’ve left them much longer). It will mold if you don’t have enough liquid. When you are ready to make your fire cider strain and add it to your other ingredients. Hot pepper, horseradish, thyme, rosemary, onion, garlic and ginger. Basically immune boosting foods you have available. Oh and raw honey to smooth it out. There are lots of ideas out there. Bastyr university has a recipe. remember you are feeding a scoby and it will form a lemon yellow mother on top, this is a good thing and tells you the microbiome is healthy. Use when you need a pick up or are wanting to avoid getting sick. Add a little oil for salad dressing. I tend to add it to hot water.

    Reply
  16. I love you! Thank you so much for making the recipes you share here easy to follow. Making lemon extract today using your recipe then lemon cello and so on … possibilities are endless. Thank you again and again.

    Reply