This easy Lemon Meringue Pie is cool, creamy and tangy — the perfect dessert for Easter, spring or any occasion! Go totally homemade or take some shortcuts if you’re short on time.
Love lemon? Try this Lemon Blueberry Cake, this Lemon Bread Recipe, this Lemonade Recipe or this Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup next!
Maybe I’ve said it 1 million times before, but let me say it again: I love lemon.
I love lemon in just about everything: sweet, savory, healthy baked goods or extravagant desserts.
It just goes. With everything.
It’s no surprise that this easy Lemon Meringue Pie showed up here today, joining the family.
It’s the perfect dessert for spring and Easter — light and fresh and citrusy — but it’s also the perfect dessert for the dead of winter, when citrus is in season.
How to make Lemon Meringue Pie:
- The crust: you can do it homemade or purchase a store bought, refrigerated or frozen pie crust. If you need to take a shortcut but want it to still appear homemade, opt for the refrigerated, rolled crust and you can roll it right into your own pan 😉
- The filling: I like to keep mine as simple as possible, which means whisking everything together before cooking, rather than having to temper the eggs later. Be sure to strain through a fine mesh sieve for the smoothest filling.
- The meringue: Make sure that there is no drop of egg yolk or other grease in your egg whites — this will prevent them from whipping. Also be sure that you whip it until the sugar is completely dissolved, as undissolved sugar can lead to a weeping meringue.
Tips to cut down on prep time:
- Opt for a refrigerated carton of egg whites instead of separating them yourself if you’re unsure about getting perfectly clean whites separated from your eggs (you’ll still need the yolks though, so this might not be the best time saver)
- You can use a refrigerated pie crust to make life simpler.
- Choose a store bought lemon meringue pie filling, then top with homemade meringue and you can fool anyone into thinking it’s totally homemade 😉
- Choose store bought frozen mini tart shells for a fun, easy, bite sized treat (that isn’t nearly as fussy!)
How to store Lemon Meringue Pie:
Lemon Meringue Pie is best eaten shortly after making, as the meringue tends to weep and get runny if refrigerated for a long period of time.
I like to make mine the night before, then refrigerate uncovered overnight. It will set perfectly, but still be fresh and not watery.
Any leftovers should be refrigerated after a few hours, and the crust may get a little soft but it will still be delicious.
More lemon recipes you might enjoy:
- Lemon Lush Dessert — an easy lemon dessert that everyone loves!
- Easy Homemade Pink Lemonade Recipe — fun and fresh.
- Baked Lemon Blueberry Doughnuts — for breakfast or dessert!
- Real Deal No Bake Lemon Cheesecake — because cheesecake + lemon is the way to my heart.
- Lemon Icebox Pie — creamy, tangy and freezer friendly!
Easy Lemon Meringue Pie
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
Pie crust:
- 1¼ cups all purpose flour, 156g
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup cold butter, cut into cubes
- 3-4 tablespoons cold water
Filling:
- 1½ cups sugar, 300g
- ½ cup corn starch, 60g
- 1½ cups water
- 4 egg yolks
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- zest from 2 lemons
- 2 tablespoons butter
Meringue:
- ½ cup water
- 1 tablespoon corn starch, 8g
- 4 egg whites
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- pinch of salt
- ½ cup sugar, 100g
Instructions
Pie crust:
- In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar and salt.
- Cut in butter with a pastry cutter or fork until you see pea-sized chunks of butter remaining.
- Gradually add in cold water, stirring each time until you can press it 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℉.
- Roll out 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 use pie weights if you have them).
- Bake for 10-12 minutes until 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 – medium-high high, whisking constantly, until thickened — it will be thick, slightly thicker than pudding when warm. This can take 10-15 minutes, but don’t rush it. Remove from heat and stir in butter.
- Turn off the heat, but cover and keep warm while you make the meringue.
Meringue:
- Preheat oven to 375℉.
- 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.
- Pour the hot pie filling into the pie crust.
- 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℉ 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.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Bri says
Everyone loved this pie! When cooking the cornstarch I didn’t wait for it to get completely clear but it was still very thick.
Ashley Fehr says
Thank you!