How to Make Homemade Vitamin C Powder, Tablets, and Drink

Did you know you can make your own Vitamin C supplement at home – without GMOs, additives, and fillers – while saving a lot of money in the process?

Homemade vitamin C powder, tablets, or drinks are better than any store-bought supplement, they are cheaper to make and you can even make candy that your kids will love.

(In fact, it’s so easy a 5-year-old can make it… )

make your own vitamin c supplement

This post may contain affiliate links, at no extra cost to you.

As you know, proper doses of Vitamin C are essential for your immune system, your bones, your muscle cartilage, and your dental health, and to prevent viral and bacterial infections.

(Our body does not make Vitamin C which makes it an important nutrient to have on hand.)

Is Homemade Vitamin C Better?

Currently, most vitamin C supplements you buy are made from genetically modified corn (yuck) and some filler chemicals that serve as binding and coating ingredients.

The shockingly simple homemade version is made from lemon peels and contains all the enzymes that allow the Vitamin C to be 100% assimilated in your body.

It also contains its natural source of rutin, hesperidin, and bioflavonoids.

DIY Natural Vitamin C Powder

how to make vitamin C powder
Enough for 2 weeks’ supply for 1 person

All you’ll need is a few organic lemons (or any other citrus fruits).

You’ll be using the peels because they are loaded with Vitamin C – much more than the fruit itself.

For example, 100 grams of orange peel provides about 136 mg of Vitamin C, while the fruit provides about 71 mg (in 100 grams of fruit). That’s almost double!

By ingesting the peels – pith and all – you take in much more bioavailable Vitamin C than you would by eating the fruit or taking a synthetic supplement.

Note: it is important that the fruit is organic as you don’t want to be eating peels sprayed with nasty chemicals.

Follow These Steps:

  1. Wash the fruit (I use about 5 lemons for a 2-week supply) and peel off the skin.
  2. Cut the peels into small squares, or leave them as strips.
  3. Dry them out. You can choose either of the below.
  • Air Drying – place them on a cloth and put them by the window in the sunlight. Allow them to dry and shrivel for a few days.

Once they’re dry, use a coffee grinder or a similar device, and turn your peels into a powder.

Store your Vitamin C powder in an airtight container.

Using this method you can use the powder for about a week (stored in the refrigerator).

  • Dehydrator – place the lemon peel strips in a dehydrator at 100ºF for 6-9 hours. Then grind it into a powder and put it in an airtight container.

Using this method, the powder can be used for about 3 months, stored in a cool and dry place, or 6 months in the freezer.

homemade vitamin C powder from lemon peels
Here’s what it looks like

Voila, you’ve just made your own natural, organic Vitamin C supplement at home!

Can You Make Vitamin C Out of Orange Peels?

Yes, you can use the same recipe and instructions to make Vitamin C powder from orange peels as well. This study has shown that 100 grams of dry orange peels contain 110.4–127.70 mg of Vitamin C!

DIY Vitamin C Candy for Kids

To make a Vitamin C candy, all you need is to use the above recipe and sprinkle a little Stevia on the lemon peel strips before you place them in the dehydrator.

When it’s ready, your kids will love munching on these sweet lemon peels, loaded with immune-boosting goodies.

If you want to take this a step further, here’s an awesome recipe for homemade chewable Vitamins that your kids will love – from Wellness Mama.

Ways to Use Your Homemade Vitamin C (+ Dosage)

Just one rounded teaspoon of your homemade vitamin c, mixed in your smoothie, juice, or on top of your salad – Is more than your required vitamin C dose for the day, regardless of your size. Do not add it to hot drinks or foods, the heat will destroy the enzymes.

This homemade powder can be used to help treat the flu at home, the common cold, and just about anything else that involves your immune system.

In these cases, you can safely double your daily dose.

DIY Vitamin C Drink Recipe

homemade vitamin c drink

Here’s another way to boost yourself with a lot of Vitamin C: The heavenly delicious fruit smoothie.

This drink contains 4 of the fruits with the highest levels of Vitamin C. You can freeze it in ice-cube trays for up to 4 weeks.

To make a smoothie, combine 2 cubes with 1/2 cup yogurt or almond/rice milk.

Ingredients:

  • 12 ounces fresh strawberries (preferably organic)
  • 1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 1 ripe banana
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice – freshly squeezed.

Combine the ingredients in a blender for about 1 minute.

Stir well before pouring and serve cold. You can keep it in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, but if you don’t freeze it – It’s better to drink it right away.

DIY Vitamin C Tablets 

If you prefer pre-made Vitamin C tablets, here’s an easy way to make about 35 tablets:

Ingredients:

Mix together the powdered ingredients and pour just a little bit of warm honey into the mix, until it holds together.

Make sure it’s not too sticky or moist.

Pour the mixture into pea-size molds.

Bonus Tip: DIY Multi-Vitamin Recipe

If you love DIY health care as I do, you’ll love learning this simple way to make your own 100% natural multivitamin supplement at home.

Here’s my combination of some of the most nutritionally dense foods on the planet:

–  1 part lemon peel powder – Vitamin C anyone?

–  1 part Alfalfa Grass Powder – alfalfa is known as nature’s multivitamin, and for good reasons.

It is mildly cleansing and the greatest source of nutrition and minerals of any of the grasses.

It is a rich source of vitamins, minerals, and chlorophyll.

–  1 Part Spinach Leaf Powder – spinach is one of the best sources of Iron, which is most absorbed in the presence of Vitamin C (already in the recipe…).

Spinach is also a good source of calcium, magnesium, and vitamin K and is famous for its “blood-building” ability.

– Stevia – optional for taste.

Mix the ingredients and add 1 teaspoon to your juice, smoothie, or salad – it tastes great!

Conclusion

Getting your daily dose of Vitamin C is amazingly simple – no need for expensive, store-bought additive-filled supplements.

All you need is a few citrus fruits. You can dry them up and make them into a powder, you can make juice out of them – whatever you want.

And you’ll get the best bioavailable Vitamin C – for you and your family – for a fraction of the cost.

To your health and happiness,

Meital

Studies:

Hassan FA, Elkassas N, Salim I, El-Medany S, Aboelenin SM, Shukry M, Taha AE, Peris S, Soliman M, Mahrose K. Impacts of Dietary Supplementations of Orange Peel and Tomato Pomace Extracts as Natural Sources for Ascorbic Acid on Growth Performance, Carcass Characteristics, Plasma Biochemicals and Antioxidant Status of Growing Rabbits. Animals (Basel). 2021 Jun 5;11(6):1688.

19 thoughts on “How to Make Homemade Vitamin C Powder, Tablets, and Drink”

  1. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I should remove my recommendation to use a dehydrator then, and suggest to dry the peels naturally – without exposing It to heat. Thanks again!

  2. Thank you for the recipe, but just one question. You say do not put the powder into hot drinks as that will destroy the enzymes. But drying the peel in a dehydrator is actually exposing it to constant heat at 100 Fahrenheit for a good many hours. I am concerned about not just the destruction of the enzymes but also the destruction of the vitamin C. I know this happens for sure as a friend once spent three years doing his doctoral research on the thermal degradation of vitamin C.

  3. I digress… Do you know if the citrus peel powder can substitute for ascorbic acid used to dechlorinate tap water? And, not be harmful to houseplants?

  4. Can we freeze the peels to make a bulk batch when ready by dehydrating? Our whole family would be consuming so we need ALOT!

  5. I think that peels from 2 lemons a day sounds reasonable. But we can also listen to your bodies. Your body will tell you when it’s too much, don’t worry.

  6. I have discovered eating the peel of a lemon or lime is not bad at all. I sometimes dry them in strips and grind them up to powder for cold drinks and other times I chew up and eat the strips fresh. Thought about dipping the fresh strips in a dark chocolate dip for a yummy snack. Curious as to how many strips of fresh lemon or lime peel might be too much or would the body just take care of that? Hope I’m not too weird!! Lol. Thank you

  7. Teresa,

    You can take more than a teaspoon, you can take 2 if you’d like. As for the alfalfa and spinach powder, you can make them by trying them in a food dehydrator and grinding them.

    I hope this helps:)

  8. I’ve tried the orange peel but I might not be taking enough. Is a teaspoon ok for just the orange or lemon? Can you buy the alfalfa and spinach powder or can you make that too. Thanks for caring. Teresa

  9. It is so valulable to learn how to make our own Vitamin C supplement from natural, organic lemons instead of buying many of the questionable, processed Vitamin C supplements.Thank you so much for sharing “How to Make Your Own Vitamin C Supplement” at the Healthy Happy Green and Natural Party Blog Hop. I am so delighted that you are partying with us! I’m pinning and sharing.

  10. Great info! I believe if we can make something from scratch it is always better. Heavens knows that so much of our food or supplements is filled with GMO and many toxic additives. I love your method. Visiting from Healthy Happy Green & Natural blog hop. Pinned & tweeted.

  11. Thanks for the tip! I’ll be adding this to my freezer soon. Thanks for sharing on the Homestead Blog Hop! Don’t forget to come join us again on Wednesday!

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.