This vintage recipe deserves a spot in everyone's recipe box!
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❤️ Why you'll love it
- Perfect lemon lovers' dessert
- Simple meringue technique with lots of tips to make it flawlessly
- Airy, sweet meringue is the perfect balance against tart, creamy lemon filling
Old-fashioned lemon meringue pie is an American classic. Whether it reminds you of summertime as a kid or brings back memories of a beloved grandparent, one thing is for sure: this recipe is one you'll remember!
🧾 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- In an enamel or stainless steel pan combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Mix in water and whisk over medium heat until thick.
- Whisk in egg yolks and cook 2 minutes.
- Add butter, lemon juice, and lemon peel.
- Pour into baked pie shell and cover with meringue. Bake.
🥫 How to Store Lemon Meringue Pie
Classic lemon meringue pie is best served on the same day as baking. Delicate meringue tends to get a little weepy after refrigeration... just like I do after the pie's all gone!
If you have a slice or two left over and absolutely cannot finish it, know in advance it won't be as delicious as on day one.
Stick a few toothpicks in the meringue and carefully drape plastic wrap over top, adhering it to the sides of your pie dish. Try to finish it off the next day—I recommend breakfast!
Lemon meringue pie doesn't freeze well at all.
📖 Variations
- Instead of using a homemade pie crust recipe, you can make a graham cracker crust. Consider mixing in some crumbs of lemon cookies, vanilla wafers, or gingersnaps for a unique twist on the classic dessert!
- Fresh lemon juice makes your lemon pie filling taste extra flavorful, but you can use bottled juice if you absolutely need to.
- Swap the lemon zest (grated lemon rind) for lime to give your lemon custard a subtly different tang.
- After you've beaten the meringue to stiff peaks, you can mix in a ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract for a nice light taste and aroma.
- If you have a feeling ahead of time that you won't finish the lemon meringue pie, make mini versions in a cupcake tin or mini tart tins. You can refrigerate the un-meringue-d pies for 2 to 3 days. Top them with mini meringues or whipped cream as you serve them.
💭 Things to know
Expert Tip: The most important thing to remember when making meringue is that you cannot contaminate the egg whites with any oil or fat—not a drop. So that means:
- Don't touch the egg whites with your fingers, since your skin contains oil—even if they're freshly washed. (Bonus points if you use an egg separator to prevent excessive handling of the whites—just make sure it's not plastic.)
- Do not let even a molecule of egg yolk get in the mixture. To prevent contamination, separate cold eggs one by one into a small bowl. After each successful separation, pour the egg white into the beater bowl. This way, if an egg yolk breaks, you only ruin one egg white, rather than the whole batch. (Remember, save your egg yolks as you'll use them in the lemon curd!)
- Wipe down the bowl and the beaters of your electric mixer with lemon juice or vinegar prior to use to remove any oily residue. And, whatever you do, don't use plastic cooking tools—stainless steel or glass, only!
Now that we've got that out of the way, here are some more pro tips to nail the fluffiest component of this lemon meringue pie recipe:
- Use eggs that aren't just-out-of-the-chicken fresh. This is especially important if you buy eggs from a neighbor or have your own chickens. I find that eggs about five days old are perfect.
- Don't use egg whites from a container. The pasteurization process prevents proper setting!
- Choose a dry day to make meringue. Humidity and rain can cause the meringues to be flat and gooey, rather than cloud-like and heavenly.
- To achieve soft peaks, allow the egg whites to come to room temperature before mixing them up. It's tempting to get the mixing done quickly by blasting them on high speed the whole time, but that can make your meringue unstable. Stick to medium speed for more sturdy air bubbles.
- If you don't want to pull out your blender, you can use a food processor to refine the sugar.
- When the egg whites reach soft peaks begin adding sugar slowly, and beat it on high until stiff peaks form. At this point, you can rub the meringue between your fingers. It shouldn't feel grainy anymore. If it does, keep beating.
Here are a few tips to achieve a luscious, creamy, lemon filling:
- Use a stainless steel or enamel pan when working with heavy citruses. Sometimes the acid can react poorly with aluminum pans and give your curd a yucky taste.
- Keep a vigilant eye on the simmering lemon filling, and don't stop whisking! If you do, you can end up with curdled, thick lumps in your smooth filling.
- On that note, if you've whisked continuously and still have small lumps—don't worry. We'll run the mixture through a strainer just to catch any imperfections!
- Temper the egg yolks by adding a bit of the hot sugar mixture to the egg yolks in a separate small bowl first, whisking vigorously. Then, add this egg yolk mixture to the rest of the hot sugar in the pan. Tempering prevents your eggs from scrambling in the hot pan.
👩🍳 FAQs
To gauge the stage of your beaten egg whites, remove the beater/mixer whisk and flip it upside down. With soft peaks, the "tip" of the meringue will immediately start to droop down. A stiff peak, when pointed towards the ceiling, will stay in place and hold a pointy shape. The meringue will also look shiny.
Bummer! Here's the good news: that shouldn't happen in this recipe. Make sure to spread the meringue all the way to the edge of the pastry, covering the crust. Also, spread it on while the lemon filling is still hot! Both of these tips will help to prevent shrinkage.
You can, but homemade tastes so much better and is simpler than you'd think! I encourage you to give it a try!
No - the filling won't hold up.
📚 Related recipes
- No-Bake Lemon Icebox Pie tastes sweet and citrusy, just like summertime as a child—plus, you don't even have to turn on your oven!
- With graham cracker crust, gooey ganache, and marshmallowy meringue, this S'Mores Pie is an elevated twist on a campfire tradition.
- Now that you're a meringue master, try another light, sweet, summery treat with these mini Strawberry Pavlovas.
🍽️ Serve with...
📞 The last word
Although August 15 is national lemon meringue pie day there's no sense in waiting, right?
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Lemon Meringue Pie
Print Pin Recipe SaveEquipment Needed
Ingredients
- 1 9-inch baked pie crust
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- ½ cup cornstarch
- Pinch of salt
- 2 ½ cups hot water
- 5 eggs, separated
- 1 egg white
- ¼ cup butter
- ½ cup lemon juice
- grated rind of one lemon
- ¾ cup sugar, divided use, run through the blender until superfine
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Instructions
- Bring the egg whites to room temperature.
- Rinse the beaters and bowl with vinegar. Pour out.
- Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks.
- Add the ¾ cups of sugar gradually, beating the whole time.
- Beat until the sugar dissolves and the meringue holds stiff peaks.
- Set aside.
- In an enamel or stainless steel pan combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt.
- Stir in water until smooth.
- Cook, stirring constantly until thickened and smooth - be careful not to scorch the bottom.
- Allow to cook about 2 more minutes over low heat, stirring constantly.
- Whisk egg yolks until very smooth.
- Add about ½ cup of the hot sugar mixture to the egg yolks, whisking constantly.
- Add the egg yolk mixture carefully back into the rest of the hot sugar mixture, whisking constantly.
- Stir for one minute over low heat.
- Remove from heat and whisk in the butter, then the lemon juice and lemon peel.
- Pour through a wire strainer into the prepared crust.
- Top the hot filling with meringue and bake at 350F for 30 minutes.
- Let come to room temperature.
- Let cool completely in the refrigerator - about 3 hours.
Notes
- Don't touch the egg whites with your fingers, since your skin contains oil.
- Do not let even a molecule of egg yolk get in the mixture.
- Wipe down the bowl and the beaters of your electric mixer with lemon juice or vinegar prior to use to remove any oily residue.
- Don't use egg whites from a container. The pasteurization process prevents proper setting.
- Choose a dry day to make meringue. Humidity and rain can cause the meringues to be flat and gooey, rather than cloud-like and heavenly.
- To achieve soft peaks, allow the egg whites to come to room temperature before mixing them up.
- When the egg whites reach soft peaks begin adding sugar slowly, and beat it on high until stiff peaks form. At this point, you can rub the meringue between your fingers. It shouldn't feel grainy anymore. If it does, keep beating.
Nutrition Facts
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You'll need the following items to make this recipe successfully:
- 9.5" pie plate
- Medium saucepan—enamel or stainless steel is preferable
First published June 5, 2012. Last updated October 24, 2022 for better images.
Susan Stillwell
Good morning ~ How could I make this pie filling in the form of pudding? Thank you!
Marye
Susan - Im not sure I understand?
Phillip Jones
My Grandmother ran a boarding house. Her best pie was Lemon Meringue Pie. It looks similar to yours. except it was not as bright yellow.as yours. It was almost clear with a slight yellow tint or cast. In watching her I think she used Juice from two lemons, Sugar and Knox boxed gelatin. Has anyone seen a recipe done this way of actually saw done that way
Marye
I found this one with gelatin - you might give it a try - https://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/mile-high-lemon-pie-64108
Tammie
Best recipe my Grandmother used this exact recipe but instead of cornstarch she used flour. Well worth the time making it.
Terri
Did you ever try grout in the lemon pie?
Marye
I think you and I have different definitions of grout?
Mars
Lemon Meringue pie is one of my favourite desserts - that pic just makes me want to drive the 100's of miles to my parents house and get my mum to make me the Lemon Meringue Pie of my childhood.
Mars visiting from the A to Z challenge
Curling Stones for Lego People
Gloria jean Flanigan
Lemon pie is the best oh so wonderful my mother use to make this pie as well as a matter of this was her favorite pies other then a sweet patoe pie....my Mother love to bake and make her family happy which she did so well.....
Marye
one of my favorites!