This spectacular Lemon Meringue Pie Recipe with lemon custard and a candy, billowy meringue topping is nestled in a buttery pastry crust.
If you happen to’re a fan of Lemon Desserts, this recipe is your dream come true! Similar to a do-it-yourself pie from an old school diner!

Why You Ought to Make this Lemon Pie
- If you happen to’re a lemon lover, that is THE dessert to make!
- Lemons by no means exit of season, so this pie might be made all yr lengthy.
- This pie has been round, and beloved, for over 150 years!!
Reader Endorsements:
- I made this as a request for my husband for his birthday pie! It was superb, the recipe is straightforward to observe, and my pie turned out incredible. He couldn’t imagine how good the filling was and the way excessive the meringue was. Thanks for a terrific, dependable recipe!
- That is the most effective and best Lemon Meringue recipe. We actually loved it and hold asking for extra. Thanks. I’ve obtained lemon timber and can by no means be bored with making lemon recipes. Once more, yours is the most effective, no extra tempering of yolks.
If I have been to guess what sort of dessert the hubby would rank second to chocolate, I’d must say lemon. He swoons over lemon bars and tarts. Desserts like my luscious Lemon Bars are proper up his alley!
Once I realized I hadn’t baked my favourite lemon meringue pie in years, I shortly put it on our weekend menu. With two very choosy palates in our family, this was a uncommon dessert that each one 5 of us loved. Let me let you know, that doesn’t occur fairly often!!

The BEST Lemon Meringue Pie Recipe
I’ve been utilizing this Southern Dwelling recipe for eons. The entire pie is baked for practically a half-hour, so the meringue is completely cooked. As an alternative of simply broiling it, as some recipes want, this technique prevents you from consuming under-cooked egg whites.
Though you should utilize simply 4 egg whites, you’ve the choice of constructing a “Mile Excessive” lemon pie by growing your whites to 6. Comply with my ideas and your whites will whip to perfection and type a beautiful cloud atop the sweet-tart lemon filling.
Recipe Suggestions
So when you’re on the lookout for the proper lemon meringue pie recipe, I’ve obtained you coated! That is the proper dessert any time of yr. Go forward and deal with the lemon lovers in your life to at least one marvelous pie! If you happen to’re going to make a lemon pie, go BIG with this Mile Excessive Lemon Meringue Pie!
- All the time use recent lemon juice and zest. You can be upset when you use bottled juice and/or dried lemon zest from a jar.
- PRO-Tip: Separate your eggs whereas they’re chilly to attenuate yolk breakage. All the time separate the whites into an empty bowl as a result of every has an opportunity of being contaminated with some yolk if the yolk breaks. If that egg white is with none yolk bits, then pour it into one other bowl used to gather all of the whites.
- PRO-Tip: Egg whites whip greatest at room temperature. So after you separate your eggs, cowl every bowl with plastic wrap and allow them to come to room temperature (primarily for the whites for the most effective meringue quantity). If you happen to’re in a rush, you possibly can set the bowl of whites into a bigger bowl of heat (not boiling, as that may prepare dinner the eggs) water.
- PRO-Tip: Ensure your beaters and bowl are scrupulously clear. Any grease on both or egg yolk in your whites will stop the whites from whipping right into a fluffy meringue.
- Add the sugar slowly (use superfine sugar for simpler incorporation).
- Cream of tartar stabilizes the egg whites, so don’t omit this ingredient.
- For the filling, if you wish to style it, use a spoon. I haven’t discovered documentation, however once I made this pie once I was in highschool, I used to be instructed that saliva can stop the filling from thickening.
- PRO-Tip on The right way to Minimize a Lemon Meringue Pie: To chop cleanly by way of a meringue topping for excellent slices, my mother taught me to make use of a knife dipped in highly regarded water. Shake off the surplus water and slice. You’ll be amazed at how slick this trick works! Give it a strive.
The right way to Make:

- Blind bake pie crust utilizing pie weights to maintain the underside of the crust flat.
- Begin making pie filling by mixing collectively the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a big saucepan.

- Mix yolks, water, and juice, and add to the saucepan.
- Prepare dinner over medium warmth till the combination thickens, stirring recurrently. As soon as it boils, let it boil for one full minute.

- Stir in Butter and Lemon Zest.
- Scrape into Baked Pie Crust.

- Make the meringue (I used 6 egg whites for an enormous meringue topping), and high the pie.
- Toast the meringue within the oven till browned.
Incessantly Requested Questions
Mrs. Elizabeth Goodfellow of Philadelphia, a Nineteenth-century pastry chef who ran America’s first culinary cooking college, invented this dessert. She took the leftover egg whites from making a lemon pudding and topped it with meringue.
The recipe first appeared in an 1847 cookbook, and by the 1860s, it was in quite a few cookbooks.
It’s greatest on the day it’s made, however you possibly can bake the crust forward of time. The meringue bakes greatest when it’s positioned on the nice and cozy filling from edge to edge, so it’s really useful to fill and bake the meringue on the day you intend to serve it.
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Elements
- 1 baked and cooled 9-inch pastry shell
For the lemon filling:
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- ½ cup cornstarch
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 4 egg yolks (save the whites for the meringue!)
- 1 ¾ cups water
- ½ cup recent lemon juice (from 3-4 lemons)
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon recent lemon zest
For the meringue:
- 4-6 egg whites, at room temperature
- ½-¾ teaspoon cream of tartar (relying on the variety of egg whites used)
- ½ cup sugar, use superfine sugar when you have it
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 325º.
- Mix the primary three elements in a saucepan; put aside.
- Mix yolks, water, and juice, and stir into the sugar combination. Prepare dinner over medium warmth, stirring always until the combination boils and thickens. Boil for one minute, stirring always.
- Take away from warmth. Stir in butter and zest. Pour into the baked pastry shell.
- Beat whites and cream of tartar on excessive pace with an electrical mixer till foamy. Progressively add sugar, one tablespoon at a time, till stiff peaks type and sugar is dissolved, about 2-4 minutes. Add vanilla and beat nicely.
- Unfold meringue over scorching filling, ensuring meringue covers all filling.
- Bake for 25-28 minutes.
Notes
For a real mile-high lemon meringue pie, you will need to use the 2 further egg whites.
Place the pie on a rimmed baking sheet for straightforward switch out and in of the oven.
Tailored from Southern Dwelling.
Really useful Merchandise
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Diet Info:
Yield:
8
Serving Dimension:
1 slice
Quantity Per Serving:
Energy: 366Complete Fats: 9gSaturated Fats: 5gTrans Fats: 0gUnsaturated Fats: 3gLdl cholesterol: 109mgSodium: 151mgCarbohydrates: 67gFiber: 1gSugar: 52gProtein: 6g


