Add pungent citrus flavor to any number of dishes with dried orange zest – just follow these easy instructions to make your own.
Dried orange peel makes a delicious, piquant addition to a wide variety of both savory and sweet dishes. It’s very easy to make your own at home and it has much more flavor than the storebought variety.
Make Your Own Dried Orange Peel In 4 Easy Steps
If at all possible, use organic navel oranges. Their thick peels make them the easiest to work with and you don’t need to worry about any pesticide residue.
- Using a good, sharp vegetable peeler, get just under the surface of the peel and cut away strips from top to bottom. Be sure not to dig into the peel too deeply, you want to leave all of the spongey, white pith on the orange because it won’t dry properly and it has a bitter flavor.
- Stack a few strips together at a time and slice them crosswise into thin (about 1/8-inch) pieces.
- Spread the orange peel in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake in a 200°F oven until they curl and harden slightly – 25 to 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let them cool completely. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.
Note: You can use the same method for lemons, tangerines and limes.
Mary Cameron says
I have been looking for how to make the tiny bits of orange peel that you use in baking cookies and sprinkleing it on top. It is extremely hard to find it anymore. However, I did find it in a grocery store but it was almost expired and it didn’t have any orange taste to it. Does anyone know how to make it??
Lynne Webb says
Hi Mary,
I think you can follow our instructions, and once the orange peel is completely dried, chop it into small bits by pulsing it in a food processor.
Janel says
Why do you have to refrigerate if they are dried?
Lynne Webb says
Hi Janel,
I suppose you don’t have to, but since there are no preservatives, we do it for safety’s sake.
Debbie says
I freeze my orange and apple peels and add cinnamon and cloves at holidays. Just boil on the stovetop. Will try this.
Natalia says
Hello! I want to bake a Christmas cake and have no orange peel… I wonder if it’s will be possible to make dry orange peel and use it instead of cristalized peel?
Lynne Webb says
Hi Natalia,
Crystallized (or candied) orange peel is sugar-coated, so our dried orange peel really wouldn’t be an appropriate substitute. Here’s a link to Alton Brown’s instructions on how to make it:
https://altonbrown.com/candied-orange-peel-recipe/
Chef Frankie c, says
the problem with using the oven to dry the peel!, is it just takes to along! but the good news is that its flavor is more intense, when you dry it out in the oven ! your friend till the end ! VIVA! ITALA!!!
CHEF FRANKIE C,
Lynne Webb says
It does take a while to dry, but you’re right, the flavor is great. I always keep some on hand!
James Moritz says
Would tangerine or mandarin orange peel work just as well as navel oranges?
Amelia says
I made pumpkin sugar cookies that I’m glazing tonight. I wonder if dried orange peel would be tasty sprinkled into the glaze? I already have some dried orange peel in my fridge leftover from spiced pecans I made last week. I don’t know if I have ever had orange and pumpkin flavors together. The pumpkin flavor in the cookies is fairly subtle.
Lynne Webb says
Hi Amelia,
I think the dried orange peel in the glaze would be delicious – orange and pumpkin go great together. We actually have a pumpkin-orange cookie recipe and a pumpkin spice cake with orange cream cheese frosting here on the site. Regarding adding the dried peel to the glaze, I would just be sure it’s in very small pieces.
SuzyJC in North Central Colorado says
Thank you so very much.. I have been looking for a way to dehydrate the zest on all my citrus. I dehydrated my lime zest and it was so very good when sprinkled in my rice cooker when I made Lime rice for the very first time… and now I know that I can also save the rinds from my oranges as well (only need to look for recipes now 😀 ). I also read just the other day that I can save my apple skins and cores to make my own pectin.. It may have taken me 53 years to learn not to be wasteful and to use as much of our food source the way our ancestors did, but I am very proud of myself for learning. Thank you for the much needed advice, if you have more to share, I sure will be reading.
Lynne Webb says
Hi Suzy – Thanks for your nice comment. I use the dried orange peel in a few recipes here on the website and I just added them to this entry. I had no idea you could make pectin from the apple seeds and cores! Thanks so much for sharing that information – it sounds like an interesting project.
Ruth Bernstein says
I do almost all the above. I allow thin strips to dry over night, or 2 days, then place in my herb grinder and make powder and place in a shaker jar and add to cereal, coffee, fish, whatever.
Sharon says
Thank you for that helpfull suggestion. I really didnt no how to keep it. I did try to freeze it. it didn’t work!
track mccreary says
I zest all my citrus…before I juice the fruit…then dehydrate the zest in my dehydrator for 4-6 hours at low power…herb setting. Dries completely and can then be ‘crushed’ into a near powder form and kept in a re-purposed spice bottle…always on hand…
Colleen Kearns says
Thanks for all of this useful advice. I’ve been searching the web for days to learn how to dry citrus peels in my Excaibur dehydrator…..now I have an idea….4 to 6 hours on low heat, possibly that of herb drying.
Lynne Webb says
Hi Colleen,
So glad you found the post useful. Let us know how you make out with the dehydrator.
Ayrek says
I’m a culinary student practicing cutting orange supremes. It seemed like a shame to slice up a dozen oranges and not use the zest. This is exactly what I was looking for 🙂
Fruit Carving says
Great idea, I love using all the parts of the fruit! Will try this on my next citrus peels!
Anne @ Quick and Easy Cheap and Healthy says
I just leave my peels on a plate to dry; it usually takes less than 24 hours.
Cliff Sasaki says
I was looking at the recipe for the Hawaiian Oxtail Soup and found one of the ingrediants to be “dried orange peel (zest, not the pith)”. I didn’t know what they were talking about but now know after reading your excellent explanation. I never thought that some spicies had to be made and not just bought.
Thank you very much.
Cliff