This is the perfect lemon meringue pie! With a delicious homemade pie crust, tart and smooth lemon filling, and a fluffy toasted meringue topping, it’s impossible to resist.
Let’s welcome a fresh new season with a fresh new pie—the pie I’ve been taunting you with for weeks!! The beautiful, the timeless, the Classic Lemon Meringue Pie.
My lemon meringue pie recipe has a billowy and toasty meringue topping, a balanced sweet/tart lemon filling, and an extra thick and flaky pie crust. I worked on this recipe for a long time, making at least a dozen meringue pies in the past few months. Both my kitchen and head were exploding lemons. Whenever we had friends or family stop by, I’d force lemon meringue pie on them. “PLEASE TELL ME YOUR THOUGHTS” I begged while barely blinking.
How to Make Lemon Meringue Pie
Over the years and especially the past few months, I learned that lemon meringue pie can be a daunting process but it doesn’t have to be. Let me make this recipe easy for you by giving you a tested (and praised!!!) recipe, lots of helpful recipe notes, and a video so you can watch it come to life. Perhaps you’re looking for Easter dessert recipes? Celebrating a birthday? Or just want to enjoy a beautiful lemon-y pie? No matter your reason, I’ve got you 🙂
- Blind bake pie crust
- Prepare lemon meringue pie filling
- Whip meringue topping
- Spread meringue on top of filling
- Bake pie until toasty brown on top
Now that you have a general idea of the process, let’s learn why this lemon meringue pie recipe works and what mistakes to avoid.
Here’s Why This Recipe Works
There are 3 main roadblocks when making lemon meringue pie: a soggy pie crust, a watery lemon filling, and/or a weeping meringue. Let’s work through each.
- Let’s avoid a soggy pie crust: Start by reviewing how we blind bake pie crust. You want to partially blind bake the crust because it will continue to bake when you bake the assembled lemon meringue pie. Watch me blind bake the crust I use for this lemon meringue pie in my separate post on how to blind bake pie crust. Lots of tips and tricks there. And to get those pretty decorative edges, see my how to crimp and flute pie crust tutorial.
- Let’s avoid a watery lemon filling: This is where I always had the most trouble. Lemon meringue pie filling is basically a thinner version of lemon curd. You’ll temper egg yolks. And before you run away screaming, watch me do this in the video below. Promise it’s not scary. While lemon meringue pie filling should be blissfully creamy, we also want it to be stable enough to slice somewhat neatly. (Think: a slightly firmer version of pudding, but not as firm as jello.) There was a lot of back and forth with the water vs lemon juice vs cornstarch vs sugar amounts. Follow my lemon meringue pie filling below. It’s not too tart, not too sweet, and has the silkiest, yet not-too-watery texture.
- Let’s avoid a weeping meringue: There are many different types of meringue topping, but let’s use a French meringue. Beat egg whites into soft peaks, add sugar, then beat into stiff peaks. Unless you want to waste a bunch of egg whites in failed meringue attempts, read these tips: Make sure you begin with just egg whites. Not even a drip of egg yolks. Make sure the bowl you’re using is completely wiped clean. No oil or water residue. Make sure you add cream of tartar. This will stabilize your meringue. Make sure you add the sugar *after* soft peaks are formed. If added before that, the egg whites could stretch too much which prevents a stiff peak altogether. (These tips apply for my chocolate swirled meringue cookies, too.) Make sure you spread the meringue topping so it touches the pie crust. This seals the lemon filling underneath and allows the crust to grip onto the meringue so the two do not separate. And, finally, don’t make lemon meringue pie on a humid day.
How to Make Lemon Meringue Pie Topping
The meringue toasts in the oven. A lot of recipes call for putting the whole pie under the broiler, but I prefer to bake it so that the egg whites have a chance to cook through. Also, see the end of step 6 in the recipe below. Make sure you spread the meringue topping on while the filling is still warm. The warm filling helps seal the two layers together, preventing separation.
- Did you know? (1) Room temperature egg whites whip faster than cold egg whites. And (2) room temperature egg whites whip into a greater volume than cold egg whites. So make sure your egg whites are at room temperature before starting the meringue.
- Time saving tip: You need 5 egg yolks for the lemon filling and 5 egg whites for the meringue topping. Separate the 5 eggs while they are cold. (Cold eggs separate easier! Remember NO egg yolks in the meringue, not even a smidge.) Leave the egg whites out on the counter. Blind bake the pie crust and prepare the lemon filling. By the time you’re ready to start the meringue, the egg whites will be room temperature.
Meringue can be tricky, but you’re a baker and you can absolutely handle this.
Craving something smaller? Here is my lemon bars recipe. Or, if you’re a lemon dessert lover, check out our top favorites in the The Lemon Dessert Collection.
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Classic Lemon Meringue Pie
- Prep Time: 6 hours
- Cook Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
- Total Time: 7 hours, 10 minutes
- Yield: one 9-inch pie
- Category: Pie
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This is the perfect lemon meringue pie! With a delicious homemade pie crust, tart and smooth lemon filling, and a fluffy toasted meringue topping, it’s impossible to resist.
Ingredients
- Homemade Pie Crust*
- 5 large egg yolks (use the whites in the meringue below)
- 1 and 1/3 cups (320ml) water
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup (38g) cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (120ml) fresh lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
Meringue
- 5 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Pie crust: I like to make sure my pie dough is prepared before I begin making lemon meringue pie. I always make pie dough the night before because it needs to chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before rolling out and blind baking (next step).
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C) and adjust your oven rack to the lowest position. Partially blind bake pie crust in a 9-inch pie dish. (Follow blind baking instructions through step 9. Be sure to crimp or flute the pie crust edges, too.) Tip: You can get started on the lemon meringue pie filling steps while your crust is blind baking. But making the filling is time sensitive because you will temper the egg yolks, so if multi-tasking isn’t your thing, just wait until your crust is done blind baking before beginning the filling.
- Reduce oven temperature to 350°F (177°C).
- Watch the video below to see how I work through each of the following steps.
- Make the filling: Whisk the egg yolks together in a medium bowl or liquid measuring cup. Set aside. Whisk the water, granulated sugar, cornstarch, salt, lemon juice, and lemon zest together in a medium saucepan over medium heat. The mixture will be thin and cloudy, then eventually begin thickening and bubbling after about 6 minutes. Once thickened, give it a whisk and reduce heat to low.
- Temper the egg yolks: Very slowly stream a few large spoonfuls of warm lemon mixture into the beaten egg yolks. Then, also in a very slow stream, whisk the egg yolk mixture into the saucepan. Turn heat back up to medium. Cook until the mixture is thick and big bubbles begin bursting at the surface. Remove the pan from heat and whisk in the butter. Spread filling into the warm partially baked crust. Set aside as you prepare the meringue. (Don’t let the filling cool down too much as you want a warm filling when you top with the meringue in step 7. The warm filling helps seal the two layers together, preventing separation.)
- Make the meringue: With a handheld mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar together on medium speed for 1 minute, then increase to high speed until soft peaks form, about 4 more minutes. Add the sugar and salt, then continue beating on high speed until glossy stiff peaks form, about 2 more minutes. Spread meringue on top of filling. (I like to make decorative peaks with the back of a large spoon.) Make sure you spread the meringue all the way to the edges so that it touches the crust. This helps prevent the meringue from weeping.
- Bake pie on the lowest oven rack for 20-25 minutes. (If the meringue is browning too quickly, tent a piece of foil over it as best you can without the foil touching the meringue.) When pie is done, remove from the oven, place on a wire rack, and allow to cool at room temperature for 1 hour before placing in the refrigerator to chill. Chill for 4 hours before slicing and serving.
- Cover any leftovers and store in the refrigerator. Lemon meringue pie tastes best on day 1 because it doesn’t keep very well. No matter how hard you try to prevent it, the meringue will wilt and separate over time. Best to enjoy right away.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: The pie crust can be prepared ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. You can also blind bake the crust ahead of time, see how to blind bake pie crust for details. Lemon meringue pie is not the best pie to freeze. The filling and meringue’s texture are never quite the same.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | 9-inch Pie Dish | Rolling Pin | Pie Weights | Glass Mixing Bowls | Citrus Zester | Saucepan | Whisk | Cooling Rack
- Pie Crust: My homemade pie crust recipe makes 2 pie crusts. If you use my “dough strip” method explained in my how to blind bake pie crust tutorial, you will need 1 and 1/2 pie crusts. Or you can skip that little trick and just use 1 pie crust.
- Prepare Ahead of Time: Prep all of your ingredients before you begin, including grating the lemon zest and separating the eggs. Don’t multitask unless you’re confident! The filling is time sensitive and you want to make sure everything is ready when you need to add it. Prep all of the meringue ingredients as well. You want them on hand, especially the sugar and salt, the very moment you need them. Don’t walk away from the bowl of egg whites as they whip. Meringue can beat into stiff peaks quite quickly.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I keep coming back to this recipe every few months! Lemon Meringue Pie is my absolute favorite! Your recipes are so easy to follow, but very educational as well. Sometimes when I am in a rush, I use a pre-made graham cracker crust. For the meringue, I prefer powdered sugar over granulated and I add a quarter teaspoon of vanilla extract. For my grown folks version, I add 1/2 cup of limoncello to the curd right at the end!
Great recipe, my husband loved the finished product. Recipe was detailed and easy to follow, thank you so much!
I have mad this pie on many occasions and it is always a hit. Even the meringue is delicious.
I pre-baked my pie crust in a pie pan and after making the lemon filling, poured it into the pie pan on the crust and the filling didn’t come up all the way to the top. There was maybe 2 inches of space left, but I made the meringue top and put it on. Hope it turns out okay. Is it supposed to fill up the pie pan with the crust?
Hi Joanne, the filling doesn’t come all the way to the top to leave room for the meringue. We hope you enjoyed it!
I never had good luck with the meringue. Best meringue ever!!!! Thank you!
I made this and although the taste is great the meringue collapsed after I took it out of the oven 🙁 It looked amazing before then! how can this be prevented?
A collapsed or weeping meringue could be the result of a few things– see #3 above where we discuss how to avoid a weeping meringue. Was it particularly humid the day you made it?
I did read the instructions and can’t see where i went wrong. I live in a very dry climate so I dont think humidity would be the issue – hopefully I have better luck next time!
Made this recipe once and lost it. Went looking for about half an hour before I found it. It is worth the search, now that I’ve had it nothing else will do!!! Love it ❤️❤️❤️
So glad you love it, Teresa!
Going to make this for Father’s Day, but my husband prefers a graham cracker crust since that’s how he remembers it from when he was young. Assuming (hoping!) the graham cracker crust won’t be too porous for the custard? Thought I’d ask first 🙂 !
Hi Illya! The pie won’t be as sturdy (slicing will be a little tough!) but you can absolutely try a graham cracker crust instead. We recommend this graham cracker crust recipe. Bake it at 350°F (177°C) for about 15 minutes before adding the filling.
I am a young, teenage baker and I love getting new recipe ideas! This seems yummy and quite simple to make! Wish me luck! 🙂 <3
Is there. Only the cornflour it seems not enough dry ingredients
Hi Saleigh, yes, this is correct!
I’ve never made pie before but my husband requested it for his birthday…It turned out great!! This seemed a little daunting at first, but the instructions were easy to follow and the multiple tips really helped a lot. My husband loooves lemon meringue and he said this was the best one he’s ever had lol – Thank you so much!!
Can I make the filling and fill the pie crusts a day or 2 before and the meringue the day of serving?
Hi Steph, we don’t recommend it. Unfortunately this pie really does taste best on day 1. You can make the crust in advance and prep everything the night before (see recipe notes).
Can you use the filling in this recipe to put in blueberry muffins before they bake?
Hi Savanah, we haven’t tried that, but you may enjoy our Lemon Blueberry Muffins.
Followed to the letter… the meringue shrank in the fridge and something weeped and made a watery mess, and the curd and meringue completely separated. I feel like the baking part ruined it. But I cannot figure out what went wrong.
Curd is amazing. I’ve never had a sally baking addiction fail.
This is a first.
Love to know why it happened. I’ve never had meringue shrink.
This is absolutely the best lemon pie I’ve ever had.
Just started making lemon pie this year, and I’ve never made meringue before.
Instructions are clear and easy, and the recipe was a success.
Dumb question however. I do use a stand mixer for the meringue and it does not take nearly as much time as a handmixer.
Is there a possibility of overbeating a meringue?
Hi Michelle! Yes, you can over-beat and deflate a meringue so keep a close eye on it.
I was looking for a recipe that was close to my Grandma’s and I came across your recipe. Your instructions were easy to follow and the pie came out perfect! The meringue was sky hi! I was impressed with myself!
This pie will be on rotation at our house!
I have gotten so good at this recipe that I was asked to make this instead of birthday cake.
Do you have a recipe for plain meringue?
Hi Linden! What kind of meringue? Here’s our pavlova recipe, our meringue frosting, and meringue cookies.
I made individual pies by using the back of a muffin tin. We were doing them for a community lunch. They were delicious and I received several compliments. Thank you.
Thank you so much for the detailed instructions!
If I could make a couple of suggestions they would be as follows:
1) Encourage the slow addition of sugar into the meringue.
2) Have your followers think about doubling the recipe for the lemon filling.
Although my pie tasted good, it didn’t have the usual cookbook appearance of an inch plus of lemon filling when it was cut.
Sally is a wonderful teacher! But I agree with you, Maureen, about doubling the recipe for the lemon filling. I made mine in a deep dish pie plate, and it really needed a lot more lemon filling.
The recipe is spot on! Thank you so much for all your tips and tricks for success! My pie was a huge hit and I will definitely make it again and again. Lovely flavor and texture.
My lemon pie was all you said it would be. Thank you.
How many crusts can be used in this recipe?
This homemade pie crust recipe makes 2 crusts.
This is the best lemon meringue pie I have ever made– perfect filling, weep-free meringue, easy peasy! Thank you!
Hi Sally and staff,
I just made this for Easter and it is the best recipe yet! The blind bake pie crust is perfect! It doesn’t get soggy with the filling. The tartness of the lemon and sweetness of the meringue was absolutely awesome!!
Fabulous recipe…even when you do it all wrong!
I got a call Easter Morning that the person bringing dessert was ill so I needed to make something and figured Lemon Meringue pie is quick and easy. I’ve made it before with no issues…but long ago.
I began by separating the eggs…whites in one bowl, yolks in the pan to cook. Whipped the eggs with the sugar and the other ingredients…then went back to check out the recipe to make sure I had everything in the pan was doing it correctly. Well…you can see I put everything IN ONE PAN. Didn’t keep the eggs out to be tempered. OK…hmmm…what to do. I just have to make sure the eggs don’t scramble and the filling is smooth…so I began on low heat. As the mixture heated, I upped the heat in small incriments and STIRRED THE WHOLE TIME. Surprisingly, it all came together in a most luscious lemon filling. No lumps, no cooked egg, just a sweet/tart filling that would have been good enough to eat straight out of the pan! If you make that same mistake…slow heat with steady stirring is the answer.
Meringue was yummy as well. Baked it until it was golden brown.
I didn’t have time to make a crust, but I did have a graham cracker crust in the pantry and used that. All in all a great dessert was produced with little notice! Thanks.
Excellent pie! Delicious! I used bought frozen crusts with no problem. I prepared two pies the evening before serving, and was delighted that the meringue did not weep, and the whole pie held its shape well when cut. I dip the knife in hot water before cutting each slice.
Made this gorgeous sky high lemon meringue pie today. I’m taking it to our Easter feast tomorrow. It looks delish! The filling tastes fabulous.
One trick I employed was to mix the lemon peel into the sugar to steep while Iprepared the crust. It releases the oils and enhances the lemon flavor. I can’t wait to share this with our friends!
First time LM pie maker. This recipe made me look like a pro. That meringue was so high! So, so lemony good…
This recipe is fantastic! Best lemon meringue pie recipe out there. I’ve made it multiple times and it doesn’t disappoint!
I have made this recipe before and it turned out absolutely beautiful. I am making this for a friend who is dairy free, and I was hoping to substitute the butter for plant-based becel ‘butter’. Will it still set the lemon curd without using real butter?
Thanks so much, love your recipes!!
Hi Jen! We haven’t tested this recipe with diary free butter so can’t speak to the results, but we would love to hear how it goes if you do give it a try. So glad it’s a favorite!