This classic lemon meringue pie is a vintage recipe that’s perfect for cooler months, is made with simple ingredients, and uses REAL lemon flavor, making it one of the BEST lemon pies out there.
My Top Tip: Remember lemons give the most juice when room temp, not cold, and rolling them on the counter a few times first will also help release more juice. Read on for more!
I love comfort food – who doesn’t? If you are a looking for a show-stopping dessert that’s also tasty, look no further. This will remind you of your grandma’s baking for sure.
Lemon desserts like this lemon puppy chow and lemon brownies, are perfect for the warmer months, for a refreshing snack. This lemon bundt cake and lemon poke cake are other lemon desserts that are great for gatherings.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Pie crust – Make your own, or buy one at the store. It isn’t the star of the show here. If you do get the refrigerated pie crust, two usually come in a package. You can use the other pie crust to make this vintage buttermilk pie or make these sugar cinnamon pie crust cookies with the second crust.
- Lemons – Since you need to grate your own zest here, It is worth it to also squeeze the lemons for fresh juice. This will give you the best taste. I use this same method for these lemon blondies too.
- Cornstarch – This helps thicken our lemon filling. It is a sort of insurance that you will achieve the right consistency, rather than depending on heat alone.
- Vanilla – Always use pure vanilla extract in your baking. It complements all flavors really well. Even if you don’t taste vanilla per se, you would miss it if it weren’t there as a finishing touch.
How to Make Lemon Meringue Pie
Do you know the term “docking”? This is why so many crackers have little holes in them (think buttery rounds or graham crackers). This process helps steam release and keeps the dough from puffing up. You can dock well or use pie weights (even dried beans you keep for this purpose!) to keep your pie crust from rising up while baking.
Another fun term you might not be familiar with is “blind baking.” That’s what we are doing here where we pre-bake the crust before filling. If the filling was added to raw crust it wouldn’t cook through and would be soggy and saggy. No one wants a saggy pie slice!
Lemon meringue pie is essentially a custard. Heat carefully and always be stirring. This way you won’t have scrambled eggs in your filling! It will remain nice and smooth if you heat gently and keep stirring.
Whip those whites! The cream of tartar helps stabilize the finished product so you can make pretty swirls and so it lasts in the fridge.
I prefer to bake my meringue, but if you are skilled with a kitchen torch, by all means, use it! People also pop it under the broiler quickly for deep color, but there’s a chance to get distracted.
Pro Tip: Each lemon can give 2-3 tablespoons of juice, depending on size. Always zest first, then slice in half to juice. Remember that they give the most juice when room temp, not cold, and rolling them on the counter a few times first will also help release more juice. Pick up 3-4 lemons for this pie just to be safe.
Recipe Pro Tips
- Separate eggs carefully. Any fat from the yolk in the whites will keep them from whipping nicely. I recommend separating each egg into a small bowl first so you can inspect it before adding to the other eggs in a large bowl!
- Special ingredients. Don’t skip out on the cream of tartar – this is what will stabilize your whipped egg whites!
Storage Instructions
Store in the fridge, covered. I don’t recommend storing much past 2 days, though. The meringue can start to “weep” or break down, or begin sliding off the filling if the pie has been cut and some is missing.
You can absolutely make your own pie crust. Follow your favorite recipe and make sure to bake your crust fully before adding your lemon filling. If you’re short on time, a premade pie crust is there to save the day.
You can make this pie a day ahead and store it in the refrigerator before serving. Use a few toothpicks to create a tent on top of the pie with cling wrap so you don’t disturb your beautiful meringue and nobody will ever know that you didn’t bake it that day. Unfortunately, this isn’t a recipe that will freeze well.
More Pie Recipes
Recipe
Lemon Meringue Pie
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 package refrigerated pie crust
For the lemon filling:
- 1 ¼ cup water room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest about 1 lemon
- ⅔ cup lemon juice freshly squeezed (about 3 lemons)
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 5 egg yolks beaten lightly
For the meringue:
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 5 egg whites room temp
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
For the crust:
- Line a 10 inch (40 ounce) deep dish pie pan with one thawed pie crust, crump the edges, and bake according to package instructions. Make sure to weigh your crust down with parchment paper and beads or sugar.
- While the pie crust is baking, make your filling.
For the lemon filling:
- Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- In a saucepan over medium heat, whisk the water, sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice, cornstarch, butter, vanilla and salt.
- Stir continuously until the butter is melted, sugar has dissolved and it’s slightly thick (about 5 minutes).
- Once thickened, reduce heat to low.
- In a mixing bowl, add the egg yolks.
- While stirring, slowly ladle in about ¼ cup of the lemon mixture.
- Stirring constantly, slowly stream this mixture back into the saucepan.
- Turn the heat back to medium and heat and stir until smooth and slightly bubbly. Your mixture will be even thicker now, the consistency of pudding.
- Spread the lemon filling into the pie crust and set aside but keep warm.
For the meringue:
- Using a hand or stand mixer with a whisk attachment on low, beat together the cream of tartar and egg whites together just until peaks start to form (about 2-3 minutes)
- Continue to mix while slowly adding the sugar and salt until stiff smooth peaks form (about 3-4 minutes) and the mixture looks shiny.
- Spread the meringue over the warm pie filling and use the back of a spoon to form swirls and wisps.
- Bake on the lowest rack for 20 minutes or until the tips of the meringue swirls start to lightly brown.
- Cool completely on your counter then allow to set in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving.
Notes
- It’s important to bake your pie crust before adding the filling. If you don’t, the crust won’t cook all the way through in the time it takes to bake the filling and it will also become a soggy mess
- Make sure to work quickly when building your meringue. If you allow the lemon filling to cool too much before adding the meringue on top it won’t fuse together well and will separate.
- This pie is best served chilled.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
Jessica says
Lemon pie is my favorite vintage pie!! This recipe is by far the best one yet. I hope you love it too.