Lemon Meringue Pie recipe is cool, creamy and tangy with a perfect cloud of toasted meringue on top! It’s an easy dessert recipe for any occasion: Christmas, Easter or any potluck dessert table alongside desserts like Peanut Butter Lasagna!
Wherever it shows up, this Lemon Meringue Pie is sure to disappear in record time!
A Classic Pie Recipe
Lemon is always a hit around our place. We love it in any form — pie, bars, breads, lemon poppy seed muffins, in sweet dishes or savory!
Often when we think lemon we think Spring and Summer because of the sunshiney color, but lemons are actually great all through the winter (which is when they’re in season!), so there’s really no excuse to enjoy this Lemon Meringue Pie every week of the year ;)
If you’re a lemon lover like myself, you might want to check out these this Blueberry Lemon Bread, or this No Bake Lemon Cheesecake.
Tips for Making Lemon Meringue Pie:
Lemon Meringue Pie is one of those recipes that is so good to eat, but can be a little more difficult to make well. Here are some general tips for making the best Lemon Meringue Pie:
- Follow the steps and directions carefully (I know this should go without saying, but sometimes it needs to be said!)
- Make sure that you have not even a touch of egg yolk or grease in your egg whites or they will not whip properly.
- Be sure that all of the sugar in your meringue has been incorporated before you spread it onto your filling — give it a rub between two fingers to be sure
- Your meringue absolutely needs to touch the pastry on the edges all the way around — this prevents them from separating and forming a watery layer in between.
- Go slow and steady — there are a number of steps in this recipe that require your patience (whipping the egg whites, preparing the filling) and attention, so just enjoy the process!
Can I Refrigerate Lemon Meringue Pie:
Lemon Meringue Pie is best enjoyed shortly after preparing, but it does need to be refrigerated to set. I like to make this pie the day before, then chill overnight uncovered. It slices easily but is still fresh.
Leftovers can be stored on the counter for a couple of hours, but will ultimately need to be refrigerated. Your pastry may not be quite as flaky the next day, but it will still be delicious!
Can I Use Store Bought Lemon Filling?
If you’re in a pinch, you can use a store bought lemon filling or even a store bought refrigerated pie crust to save yourself some time. The important thing is that your filling is hot when your meringue goes on, which prevents weeping.
I recommend doing as much as you can from scratch for the best results, but store bought options are lifesavers on busy days!
More Recipes You’ll Love
- Easy Pecan Pie Recipe – so rich
- Pumpkin Pie Recipe – easy and festive
- Apple Pie Recipe – an American classic
- Strawberry Rhubarb Pie – simple and delicious
- Blueberry Pie – family favorite
Lemon Meringue Pie
Ingredients
Pie crust:
- 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup cold butter cut into cubes
- 3-4 tablespoons cold water
Filling:
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- ½ cup corn starch
- 1 ½ cups water
- 4 egg yolks
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- zest from 2 lemons
- 2 tablespoons butter
Meringue:
- ½ cup water
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 4 egg whites
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- pinch salt
- ½ cup sugar
Instructions
Pie crust:
- In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, and salt. Use a pastry cutter or fork to cut in chilled butter until it reaches pea-sized chunks.
- Gradually add in cold water, stirring each time until the dough can be pressed together. Form it into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or freeze for 30 minutes until chilled.
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Roll out pie crust dough to fit a 9" pie plate.
- Press into the pie plate and over the sides. Trim the edges and crimp or leave as desired. Poke the bottom and the sides with a fork all over to help prevent puffing (or line pie crust with parchment and use pie weights if you have them).
- Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the pie crust is baked through and light golden brown. Set aside while you make the filling.
Filling:
- In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, water, corn starch, egg yolks, lemon juice and lemon zest.
- Cook over medium to medium-high high, whisking constantly until thickened. It will be slightly thicker than pudding. This can take 10-15 minutes, but don't rush it. Once thickened, remove from heat and stir in butter.
- Pour hot filling into the pie crust, set aside and make the meringue.
Meringue:
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- In a small saucepan, whisk together the water and corn starch. Cook over medium heat until thickened and clear. Set aside but keep warm.
- In a clean bowl with clean beaters, beat egg whites, vanilla and salt until soft peaks form.
- Gradually add in the sugar, beating until stiff glossy peaks form.
- Gradually add in the warm corn starch mixture, beating constantly, until completely incorporated and meringue is light and fluffy and holds stiff peaks.
- Spread meringue onto hot pie filling (it's important that the filling is still hot!) and spread right to the edge of the pie crust. The meringue must touch the edges all the way around.
- Bake at 375°F for 5-8 minutes or just until the tops of the meringue are light golden brown -- don't overbake.
- Let rest on the counter on a wire rack for 1-2 hours, then refrigerate for 5-6 hours until chilled, or overnight.
- Slice and serve.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dessert, Pie
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I’ve never heard off didn’t cornstarch to the meringue. Does that act the same as meringue powder?
Thanks!
Hi Christine, it does work similarly acting as a stabilizer for the meringue. We have not tried this recipe with a meringue powder though so let us know how that goes it you try it!
First lemon pie I’ve made in awhile and it was a hit with my family!
So happy to hear that Debbie!
You have butter as an ingredient under filling but in the instructions you don’t say what to do with the butter?
Apologies for the confusion. The butter is added to the mixture once it’s thickened.
I use Jello lemon pudding mix, and prefer a grahmcracker crust. But that’s just me. Plus the meringue topping.
I think that sounds pretty tasty Cynthia!
my pie crust fell , how come? can i use a premade crust
Pie crust can be tricky sometimes. I think a premade crust would be fine to use Tania.
The meringue and the filling had too much corn starch. There was not enough contrast between the sweet meringue and the lemon filling. The meringue was too dense. This pie was not as refreshing as I would like. I will not make this recipe again
I’m sorry this didn’t work out for you Nancy.
I know you said a 9″ pie plate but is it a regular one or a deep dish?
This is a regular pie plate.