Homemade Lemon Meringue Pie Recipe

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It’s sunshine in pie form – and, yes, YOU can make it!

photo: pamela irene for we heart this

It just dawned on me; I’ve been baking pies for over 25 years. I learned from the best; my Mother-in-law, Dottie, and good ole Betty Crocker! There are others who’ve taught me plenty but honestly, Betty Crocker’s Cookbook is like my second Bible. It has the best recipes and they are foolproof.

One of my favorite fruit pies to make is Lemon Meringue Pie – it’s one of the prettiest looking too. Plus it’s freshly squeezed lemon and zest will satisfy your taste buds the moment you taste it’s fluffy, sweet, meringue. This pie is a classic.

It reminds me of going out to a fancy dinning establishment when I was a kid. You would always find it displayed with other desserts – its whimsical meringue peaks just beckoning to be partaken. Who could be so crafty to make it? You can, I swear it.

Lemon Meringue Pie (adapted from Betty Crocker)

Pie Crust Ingredients:
1 cup spouted grain flour or King Arthur’s all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 to 4 tablespoons very cold water

Tip: I recommend making your own baked pie crust. If you opt not to, use a One-Crust Baked Shell using 9-inch glass/aluminum pie pan and skip the crust instructions below. Just follow the directions on the box and bake until a light golden brown. Set aside and allow it to cool completely.

Filling Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups cold water
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1 cup fresh lemon juice

Meringue Ingredients:
3 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup sugar

Tip: Eggs separate most easily when they are cold, but the whites will whip best at room temperature. To take off the chill, set the bowl of separated whites into a larger pan filled with warm water.

Pie Crust Directions: (also adapted from Betty Croker)

1. Heat oven to 475ºF. Mix flour and salt in medium bowl. Cut in shortening, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until particles are size of small peas.

2. Sprinkle with cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with a fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost leaves the side of the bowl (1 to 2 teaspoons more water can be added if necessary).

3. Gather pastry into a ball. Shape into flattened round on lightly floured surface. Wrap flattened round of pastry in plastic wrap and refrigerate about 45 minutes or until dough is firm and cold, yet pliable. This allows the shortening to become slightly firm, which helps make the baked pastry more flaky. If refrigerated longer, let pastry soften slightly before rolling.

4. Roll pastry, using floured rolling pin, into circle 2 inches larger than the upside-down 9 inch glass pie plate. Fold pastry into fourths; place in pie plate. Unfold and ease into plate, pressing firmly against bottom and side.

5. Trim overhanging edge of pastry 1 inch from rim of pie plate. Fold and roll pastry under, even with plate.

6. Prick bottom and side of pastry thoroughly with fork. Bake at 475º 8 to 10 minutes or until light brown; cool on wire rack.

Filling and Meringue Instructions:

1. In 2-quart saucepan, mix 1 1/4 cups sugar, the cornstarch and salt. Gradually stir in cold water until smooth.

2. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils. Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

3. In a small bowl, beat egg yolks with fork. Stir about 1/4 cup of hot mixture into egg yolks. Then gradually stir yolk mixture into hot mixture. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils. Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly.

4. Remove from heat. Stir in butter, lemon peel and lemon juice. Cool slightly, about 15 minutes.

5. Carefully pour into cooled baked shell.

6. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.

7. In small deep bowl with electric mixer, beat egg whites, cream of tartar and vanilla on medium speed about 1 minute or until soft peaks form.

8. On high speed, gradually beat in sugar, one tablespoon at a time, until stiff glossy peaks form and sugar is dissolved.

9. Spoon meringue onto pie filling; spread to edge of crust to seal well and prevent shrinkage.

10. Bake at 350°F, 12 to 15 minutes or until meringue is light golden brown.

11. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

12. Refrigerate until filling is set, about 3 hours. Store in refrigerator.

Trust me, this recipe is totally doable – and will impress. Enjoy!

we heartsters – what are your favorite pies of the summer?

we heart this review team member Pamela Irene, our kitchen guru, lives with husband David in Orange County, CA and works in the management office at the ‘happiest place on earth’ – South Coast Plaza. She can also mix a mean cocktail and is the owner of the largest bath & body collection we’ve ever seen.

Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link, a link that gives us a small commission if you purchase the item. For more info, or any questions, please see our disclosure policy.

Author

  • irene

    This Jersey Girl, now living in SoCal since 1988, is celebrating 21 yrs of employment at the “happiest place on earth”, South Coast Plaza. She lives in OC with her hubby and enjoys cooking, baking and organic gardening. She loves singing, music, the ocean, and all things living.

15 Comments

  1. Great recipe @irene, I can’t wait to try it! I love blueberry pie in the summer, or cherry, those are two of my favorites.

    1. If you make this, which I hope you will, I like to double the whites in this recipe. I like more Meringue..
      I love all fruit pies too.. but if I had to choose in pecking order.. It’s my blueberry pie.. than Apple than Cherry than Peach.. and always served warm with vanilla ice cream. And if I’m trying to be good, frozen yogurt! YUM!

  2. This looks absolutely divine, @irene! I love lemon desserts (I recently made Lemon Custard ice cream and it was a hit :)! It’s easy to make delicious desserts, but my other concern at times is execution and your pie came out so beautiful!!

    1. Thanks @Mandabear! I love Lemon desserts as well.. and Lemon Custard sounds amazing.. I would love to make that. Perfect for Summertime!

    1. Thanks @sarcasticcooking!
      Oh yeah, I forgot about Key Lime.. another dandy!
      I have a hankering for those Ribs! Dang, now I’m hungry and it’s only 11AM

  3. This looks amazing! Can’t wait to try my hand at this recipe!

  4. Wow @irene – that’s one pretty pie! Growing up Lemon Meringue was my favorite pie – I asked for it in place of a birthday cake one year! I always really loved the fluffy meringue.

    And it tastes great right out of the fridge. I think fruit pies (stored in the refrigerator) need to warm up to room temp a bit to really taste their best – but who has time to waste when there is pie in front of you?

    1. @Tyna–one of my good friends in HS would make me a lemon meringue pie instead of cake for my birthday! It was AMAZING. I absolutely love a good, homemade lemon meringue pie. Fortunately/unfortunately, I’m too lazy and too bad of a cook to attempt such a feat myself. I would just eat pie for days!

    2. I’m glad to know that @tyna! One of these days I’ll make you one!
      I also like to double the whites for this pie.. It looks like a mountain of snow peaks before It gets browned in the oven.. I use my fingers (clean of course) to make the peaks.. kinda like an art project! It’s fun!

  5. Get ready for a shocker – I don’t really like pie! Don’t worry, I love very other desert known to man. But pie? It doesn’t really float my boat.

    Which is terrible considering 2 of my closest friends (@irene and Eric, T’s roomie) are FABULOUS pie makers…

    1. @stef, I got your number! :)
      Thankfully, we have lots of other yummy things to make beside pies! Yes we do!!!

  6. Truth is.. I won’t eat most pies unless they are homemade and they have to be good..really good! Most pies out there are just so-so and crusts usually are, well. lame. I figure if I’m going to eat this, it had better be insane!

    1. I’m with you on this. There’s nothing worse than a sub-par pie. I think the biggest pie crime is when you get a fruit pie and it’s almost all gel—ewwwwwwwwww *cough, gag, cough*.
      Thanks for sharing this beautiful recipe with us, @irene :)

  7. I love meringue! The sweetness and the creaminess of it makes me forget my name! lol!
    Thank you so much for the recipe..

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