Lemon Meringue Pie

With a homemade pie crust, tart lemon filling and light and fluffy toasted meringue, this lemon meringue pie recipe is a family favorite.

Not all desserts have to involve chocolate. There are plenty of fruit options out there - from blueberry crisp to a peach mango pie to orange creamsicles to strawberry blueberry pie.

However, one of the first fruit that comes to mind for me are lemons. Whether it is just to complement another fruit or is the star of the show which is the case with this lemon meringue pie recipe.

And great thing about lemons is you don't HAVE to wait until the spring to make this pie. If you're feeling it in the dead of winter, by all means go for it.

This lemon meringue pie recipe works because the toasty meringue topping works great with the sweet/tart lemon filling and then it is put over the top by a flaky, melt-in-your-mouth pie crust.

And if you're scared or wondering why you should make your own pie crust - don't be! I was in the same boat back in the day but have discovered how easy it is to make and just how much better it tastes.

If you've never made a curd or meringue, there are plenty of tips and tricks below to create the best lemon meringue pie you've ever eaten. Oh and if you love old-fashioned pies like this one, you can't go wrong with a butterscotch cinnamon pie.

Jump to:

• What Ingredients are in this Lemon Meringue Pie Recipe?
• How to Make Pie Crust
• Step-by-Step Instructions
• Why this Recipe Works
• How to Temper Eggs
• Avoid a Weeping Meringue
• Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
• Other Dessert Recipes
• Lemon Meringue Pie

What Ingredients are in this Lemon Meringue Pie Recipe?

• Homemade pie crust - you can also buy a crust at the store, but I highly suggest making your own.
• Eggs - the yolks are for the curd and the whites are for the meringue.
• Granulated sugar - sweetens both the meringue and curd.
• Lemons - use fresh lemons for your lemon juice and zest.
• Cornstarch - helps thicken the lemon filling.
• Salt - enhances the flavor.
• Unsalted butter - helps make the filling creamy.
• Vanilla extract - adds flavor to the lemon meringue pie recipe.
• Cream of tartar - helps stabilizes the egg whites for the meringue.

How to Make Pie Crust

1. Using a food processor, pulse together the flour, sugar and salt until combined. Add butter and pulse until mixture becomes coarse meal, about 15 pulses.
2. In a small bowl, combine egg yolk, water and vanilla extract.
3. Add the egg mixture to food processor and pulse until it starts to clump together. DO NOT pulse until ball is formed. It should be crumbly with large clumps of dough.
4. Turn dough only a lightly floured surface.
5. Form into a disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and put in fridge for at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.
6. Remove dough from the fridge about 10 minutes before you begin rolling. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough so that it is about 3 inches longer than you pie dish and is between ⅛ inch and ¼ inch in thickness.
7. Press the dough into the bottom and along the sides of the pie plate, being careful not to puncture the dough. Crimp edges of pie. Place pie crust back in fridge for 30 minutes.
8. Crunch up some parchment paper and line pie crust with it. Fill with pie weights, dried beans or rice, making sure they are evenly distributed.
9. Place pie on preheated baking sheet and bake at 400°F until the edges of the crust are beginning to brown, about 15 minutes.
10. Remove the pie from the oven and take out the parchment paper with the weights. Poke holes around the bottom of the crust with a fork and place back in the oven, baking for another 7-8 minutes, or just until the bottom is begging to brown. Remove from oven and reduce temperature to 350°F.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. While pie crust in baking heat a large saucepan over medium heat and add the water, sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch, lemon zest and salt and cook until slightly thickened and bubbly, about 6-7 minutes. Reduce heat to low once thickened.
2. Take the egg yolks and whisk in a medium bowl.
3. Slowly pour a few spoonfuls of the hot lemon mixture into the eggs, whisking constantly. Then very slowly pour the egg mixture into the lemon mixture and turn the heat back up to medium. Cook until thickened and starting to bubble, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla extract.
4. Evenly spread the lemon filling over the warm partially baked pie crust. Cover with plastic wrap while you make the meringue.
5. Place the egg whites, cream of tartar, and vanilla extract in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on high for 3-4 minutes, or until soft peaks form.
6. Slowly add the sugar and beat on high for another 2 minutes, or until stiff peaks form.
7. Spread the meringue on the top of the lemon mixture in peaks, making sure that the meringue touches the crust and none of the lemon filling shows through.
8. Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes or until the meringue is browned, Cool at room temperature for one hour, then chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours before slicing.

Why this Recipe Works

When it comes to lemon meringue pie, there are 3 problems that arise - soggy pie crust, watery lemon filling and weeping meringue. Below are ways to tackle these issues:

• Soggy pie crust - no one wants a "soggy bottom". Sorry I'm channeling my inner The Great British Baking Show. But in all seriousness, the curd and meringue are both soft so you want a nice crust. You do this by blind baking the pie, which I went through in detail above.
• Watery lemon filling - you don't want to take a slice of pie and have all of the filling fall out. You prevent this by tempering the egg yolks and using just the right amount of cornstarch. Also you let the pie cool long enough before eating.
• Weeping meringue - there are a few keys here including whipping just the egg whites with the cream of tartar and vanilla extract until soft peaks form. You then add the sugar and salt to whip to stiff peaks. To prevent the weeping, you need to make sure you add the meringue while the lemon filling is still hot and have the meringue touch the crust so it seals the filling underneath

How to Temper Eggs

If you've never tempered eggs, it can be a little intimidating but it actually is quite easy.

Tempering just means you are getting the eggs ready to put in a hot custard. If you just pour the eggs in the hot filling, they'll scramble, so you want to do it very slowly.

You do this by pouring a few spoonfuls of the hot mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. By doing this, you bring it to temperature of the lemon mixture. You then slowly pour the egg yolks back in the the mixture and whisk constantly.

You cook for another couple of minutes and then add some butter at the end. If you want to 100% make sure you have no scramble eggs, pour it through a fine mesh strainer.

Avoid a Weeping Meringue

I mentioned it above, but there are few things you need to do to not get a weeping meringue:

• Whip the egg whites and cream of tartar first before adding the sugar.
• Add the meringue on top of the filling while it is still hot.
• Seal the edges of the meringue so there are no gaps.
• Don't over bake the meringue.
• Don't make a meringue pie on a humid day.

Pro Tips/Recipe Notes

• Make the pie crust up to 5 days ahead of time. Just keep it in the fridge or in the freezer for 3 months.
• After the pie crust is in the pie dish, place back in the fridge for at least 30 minutes which helps eliminate "shrinkage" of the crust.
• Prep all of the ingredients ahead of time as the filling and meringue is time sensitive.
• Bake pie on preheated baking sheet. By throwing the baking sheet in the oven when you preheat it, you help brown and cook the bottom crust quicker.

Other Dessert Recipes

• Apple Pie with Crumb Topping
• Chocolate Caramel Tart
• Strawberry Lemon Bars
• Banana Nutella Crepes
• Homemade Cherry Pie

If you’ve tried this lemon meringue pie recipe or any other recipe on Chisel & Fork, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube to see more tasty meals and anything else I'm up to.