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    Home » Side Dishes

    Lemon Pepper Sauce

    Published: Sep 29, 2023 · Modified: Oct 10, 2024 by Kathy · This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    This quick and easy Lemon Pepper Sauce is our go-to dipping sauce for steamed Dungeness Crab. Tangy and fresh, it requires only 3 ingredients and is ready in 5 minutes. Enjoy ^_^

    Lemon pepper sauce.

    The whole family loves steamed Dungeness crab. It's a dish we make often, especially when there is a good deal on fresh crab.

    It's easy and fun and everyone eats plenty.

    As kids, our default sauce to accompany steamed crab was melted butter, or melted butter with garlic. Definitely delicious. But in the last few years, we've gradually switched to a lighter and brighter sauce. A sauce that will let the crab flavor shine through more clearly.

    It was my dad who first came up with this idea. He wanted something simple and light. It had to be easy to make. And most importantly, delicious!

    We started with lemon. Just fresh squeezed for dipping. It was nice but still missing more oomph. So we added salt to balance the tart. Then some pepper for spice. And there you go! It's ready for dipping ^_^

    Jump to:
    • Ingredients
    • Instructions
    • A Garlic Butter Version
    • How To Serve
    • Storage
    • Top Tip
    • FAQ
    • Lemon Pepper Sauce Recipe
    • Lemon Pepper Sauce
    • Related

    Ingredients

    Here's what you'll need to make Lemon Pepper Sauce:

    Ingredients for Lemon pepper sauce on a plate (lemon, salt, and pepper).
    • Lemon - Just a single fresh lemon. Even better if you have a Meyer lemon, but any regular lemon will do.
    • Salt - Kosher or sea salt is ideal.
    • Pepper - I love to use freshly ground pepper when we can, but since the whole point of this sauce is quick and easy, we usually use ground pepper that we get from Costco Hawaii.

    See recipe card for quantities.

    Instructions

    Let's make the sauce! It's super easy:

    Squeeze all the juice from the lemon into a small bowl. Use a small spoon to remove any seeds.

    Add the salt and black pepper. Stir to mix evenly.

    Divide the sauce between 2 dipping dishes. Dip and enjoy!

    A Garlic Butter Version

    If you crave the brightness of lemon but still want the flavors of a classic garlic butter dipping sauce, you can still have the best of both worlds!

    Melt a few tablespoons of salted butter in a small pan. Then turn off the heat and stir in the juice from a lemon, a few cloves of thinly sliced garlic, and then the salt and pepper. Stir well to mix and enjoy.

    I suggest making the recipe "as is" for your first go so that you know what the original sauce is meant to taste like. Then feel free to try this garlic butter version and adjust as you see fit. You can create your own signature lemon pepper sauce!

    How To Serve

    There are many different ways to enjoy this dipping sauce.

    Steamed Crab
    Using this as a dip for fresh Steamed Dungeness crab is what we originally made the recipe for. We make individual dipping dishes for each person at the table. Then crack your own crab and dip into the sauce. The lemon pepper sauce really enhances the flavor of the crab. I feel like it "lifts" and supports the crab instead of weighing it down.

    Other Seafood
    Since this sauce goes so well with crab, it also makes sense that it would go well with other seafood dishes especially scallops and salmon. You'll want to prepare the seafood simply, either roasted or pan fried and then drizzle or dip away.

    Roasted Vegetables
    This sauce goes well with pretty much any type of roasted vegetables. We love it with roasted broccoli, asparagus, and especially with roasted potatoes.

    Grilled Vegetables
    It's especially great with grilled corn and zucchini. And even grilled avocado, yes!

    Storage

    The sauce will keep for 1 day in the refrigerator, though it's best enjoyed fresh. We try to make only as much as we'll need for that day.

    Top Tip

    Make only as much as you need. Since this sauce is super easy to make and tastes best fresh, there's no need to make a large portion. Just keep some lemons at home, and you can have a new batch of sauce ready in minutes.

    FAQ

    Plain lemon or Meyer lemon.

    If Meyer lemon us available, use the Meyer lemon! We're lucky that Meyer lemons grow pretty well in Hawaii so friends and family are always sending fresh Meyer lemons our way. But this recipe is also great with a just a plain regular lemon.

    Ground pepper versus fresh ground pepper.

    Since this recipe calls for a good amount of pepper, we usually default to using already ground pepper (and also because this is meant to be a quick and easy sauce).

    But if you have the time, try use fresh ground/cracked black pepper. It makes a huge difference in flavor...you'll be like wowowow ^_^

    Can you use bottled lemon juice?

    Please don't. This is such a simple sauce with only 3 ingredients, so the flavor of every ingredient is important. Lemon is the main ingredient which means you want it to be from a fresh lemon!

    Lemon Pepper Sauce Recipe

    Lemon pepper sauce.

    Lemon Pepper Sauce

    This quick and easy Lemon Pepper Sauce is our go-to dipping sauce for many dishes like steamed Dungeness Crab. It requires only three ingredients and is very delicious. Enjoy ^_^
    5 from 3 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Prep Time: 3 minutes minutes
    Servings: 2
    Calories: 3kcal

    Ingredients

    • 1 whole lemon
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1 teaspoon black pepper ground

    Instructions

    • Squeeze all the juice from the lemon into a small bowl. Remove any seeds.
    • Add the salt and black pepper. Stir to mix evenly.
    • Divide between 2 dipping dishes. Dip and enjoy!

    Nutrition

    Calories: 3kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 0.1g | Fat: 0.04g | Saturated Fat: 0.01g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 1163mg | Potassium: 14mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 0.02g | Vitamin A: 6IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 0.1mg

    Related

    Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

    • Tuna Mayo Onigiri.
      Tuna Mayo Onigiri / Musubi
    • Outside Mana Musubi.
      Mana Musubi / Mana Bu's (Oahu)
    • Sweetened Condensed Milk Toast.
      Sweetened Condensed Milk Toast
    • Pepper Pork.
      Black Pepper Pork

    More Side Dishes

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      Crispy Cheese Tacos
    • Garlic chive sauce served over soft tofu.
      Garlic Chive Sauce
    • Homemade hummus.
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    • Chips topped with crème fraîche, ikura (salmon roe), and chives.
      Salmon Roe (Ikura) with Crème Fraîche and Chips!

    Reader Interactions

    5 from 3 votes (3 ratings without comment)

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    Aloha, I'm Kathy!

    I'm a born and raised Hawaii local who loves everything about Hawaii (especially the food). I’m excited to share recipes from our island home, favorite restaurants, and Hawaii travel tips ^_^

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