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.
PrintClassic 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:Â 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 |Â 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.
I’ve made other lemon meringue pies in the past but this recipe was by far the best! I love that you provided pictures, video and solid details on every step. Even for someone with experience in lemon meringue, you did things differently than I have in the past and I will never go back! Thank you for putting this out there for others. Its wonderful.
I’ve made this particular recipe 3 X’s and it is always wonderful and highly complimented. I did do one thing before separating the eggs, I wiped out my metal bowl with a paper towel that had white vinegar on it to insure there isn’t any type of oily, or greasy film on it. I know that even the slightest residue can make my meringue fail horribly…Thank you for this recipe!!! I am making 2 more pies today!! God bless you and your family….
This pie was a big hit. Spot on delicious. But, after refrigerating leftover pie, it was seeping fluid on the bottom. Why did this happen. Crust was now soggy. How can I make this pie without water buildup
Hi Gerri, it sounds like the crust may simply have been too thin, causing some leakage. If possible, we also recommend using a glass pie dish. Glass dishes conduct heat evenly, which allows the bottom of the crust to bake thoroughly. Also, you’ll be able to see when the sides and bottom of the crust has browned, which will also help. We’re glad this recipe was still a hit!
So far so good, meringue came out great, could never of made that much meringue using a hand mixer, so the stand mixer is the way to go. The lemon filling tasted great out of the saucepan. It baked up good, although I only needed to bake my pie for about 12 minutes, didn’t dare to keep it in for the full recommended 25-30 minutes as the meringue had a nice carmel brown tinge to it after the 12 minutes! Here’s hoping it all tastes as good as it looks
Is there any way to make the lemon meringue with you crust from your fruit tart recipe? https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/fresh-fruit-tart-vanilla-mascarpone-cream/#tasty-recipes-70419
I wasn’t able to determine what the baking times should be.
Hi Priya, I can’t see why not. I would pre-bake that tart crust for at least 20 minutes with pie weights before adding the lemon filling.
It was ok. Thought it was a little too tart. The meringue topping slid off when cutting into the pie. Will look for an alternative recipe
The taste was wonderful, however my textures weren’t right. I cooked the filling and it was pretty thick and solid when I removed it from the stove as expected. However, after baking and cooling the recommended time, the very middle of my pie filling was soupy.
I just learned so much from reading your tips!!! My pies ALWAYS weep. If only I would have known…… Thank you.
Wow! Amazing! Thanks for helping me create my first lemon meringue pie for my husband’s birthday. I’vd made other similar pies with meringue, but love the addition of sugar in the meringue and tips on reducing crust shrinkage.
Delicious!
I recently made this pie It’s wonderful !!! The instructions are easy to follow and the tips great.
Hi! When do you add the two tablespoons of butter called for in the filling?
it says to add the butter when the filling is done cooking on the stove.
What does adding the 2 Tablespoons of butter to the cooked lemon filling do/add? Is it necessary without making the filling greasy and oily?
I could not get the egg whites to peek? I beat on high for a good 6-7 minutes? Eggs were at room temperature. They thickened but never to a peak. What did I do wrong?
Hi Rosalie! Grease or fat prevents your egg whites from whipping correctly. Is it possible any egg yolk got in with the whites? You can also try wiping all tools that touch the whites with a little lemon juice or white vinegar to get rid of any fats that may be present. Hope this helps!
Delicious!
Delicious! First time making and first time tasting lemon meringue! Great instructions; our family has a nee favorite pie! Thank you for sharing!
I just pulled this out of the oven – browning about 18 minutes – and it’s perfect looking.
Two questions:
Even after stirring and whisking, I still saw small clumps of cornstarch in the lemon layer. Is there any way to avoid this? I did follow directions perfectly.
Second – there was way too much meringue. I loaded it on, and I still had a good amount in the mixing bowl. I’m not complaining, but is this typical? THANKS!
Hi Happy, If you try it again you can try mixing just the cornstarch and the water together first, and then adding the rest of the ingredients. It should be easier to incorporate that way. And yes, we like to pile the meringue layer pretty high! If you don’t like as much feel free to reduce the amount you add to your pie.
Cook time was way off. Checked my pie at 20mins and the top was way over browned. Wish I would’ve stuck with my tried and true 12 mins. Also the filling needs more acid. Not nearly sharp enough. I’d sub 1/4 cup water for a 1/4 cup lemon juice for the curd.
Just the instructions for the merengue was amazing. A way better technique that I’ve been using for 50+ years!
Delicious pie!!!
Comes out perfect every time! I am blessed with a Meyers lemon tree so when its harvest time, I am crazy busy trying to use them up. I found this recipe this year and I’m now the lemon meringue pie queen of the neighborhood! Everyone loves the sweet & tart filling but they are particularly wowed by the mile high meringue. They ask me how it comes out so amazing.
I always shrug and say I have no clue. Go ask Sally, she’s the genius!
Easy directions and great tips for fool proof results. The pie crust is fabulous but in a pinch a quality pre-made still produces an outstanding result.
Thanks Sally!
Great instructions, great pie!!! I was nervous to make this but it came out great — patience was definitely key while waiting the lemon mixture to thicken, but it was pretty obvious once that happened. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
Everything about this recipe was perfect! It was the only pie to be completely eaten on thanksgiving ! I am going to make this again for New Years Eve and I had one question that was definitely user error 🙂
When I took my pie out of the refrigerator, I noticed it had little droplets of amber on the pie. What caused this and how do I avoid it ? It still tasted incredible, but I wanted it to look perfect too !
First time ever pie baker here! I decided on this amazing bit of heavenly goodness…it was sinful decadence on a plate. My family enjoyed it for our 2020 stay at home Christmas. It was just that little special something that we needed. Everyone loved it and I guess I’m now expected to make pies more often. Win? Absolutely.
Recipe is delicious! I’ve made it before, and the same thing happened the second time around. I’m cooking the final pie at 350 as stated. After about 15 min, the meringue is already browning all over (not just the peaks). Is the pie cooked at this point? Or do I keep it in to cook the pie, even though the meringue will be very brown by the completion of the 25 min cook time?
Came out beautifully. When you put it in the fridge do you cover it and if so with what that it doesn’t stick to the meringue?
Looking forwards to making this. Can it be made a day in advance?
Hi Jason, lemon meringue pie is best enjoyed right away, but you can certainly prepare the crust ahead of time. See recipe notes for details. Hope you enjoy it!
Wondering how well this would work out at smaller tarts? Has anyone tried? I have to make this and several other types of pies for a group so would like more individual sized portions than a whole bunch of full sized pies that everyone is eating out of. Any thoughts? Thanks!
Hi MaryBeth, You can use this recipe for mini pies but I’m unsure of the exact bake time.
Today was my first time making a lemon meringue. I used my own recipe for the crust but the lemon filling and meringue instructions were spot on!
It turned out perfect! Filling was not runny, meringue was firm and lightly brown.
Loved the tip to use a big spoon to make spikes/craters on the meringue.
5/5, from a Frenchmen who loves her fine food!
The only thing I did different was add a teaspoon of vanilla to my meringue at the very end. Gets rid of the eggy taste. Delicious pie. Best filling I’ve ever used.
Excellent from start to finish. Thank you
Really fantastic. My family was thrilled and so was I! Thank you!! I made a gluten-free crust but the filling was on point and is still holding up well for left overs!
For some reason, even though I made peaks, my top was all lightly tan instead of white with a little brown on the high points. Perhaps I need deeper valleys with my peaks next time or maybe I just need to take it out a little sooner?
Hi Sarah, I’m so glad you tried and enjoyed this pie. I think more exaggerated dips and peaks in the meringue could help it brown a little better in terms of appearance. You could also try lowering the oven rack or reducing the time in the oven, as you mentioned. All should help for next time.
Wonderful. Thanks so much for the tips. Looking forward to trying it again!
I just used this recipe to make not one, but two pies, because I am a firm believer that if you’re gonna make pie, you’d better make two, hence two is better than one, especially where pie is concerned. I had juiced around 50 lemons off of my mother in law’s bountiful lemon tree, and had the notion to make a pie. I am a veteran in the kitchen of 35 plus years, and I have to agree that this recipe nailed it! My pies turned out perfectly: Perfect taste, perfect meringue(which is not always easy to do, just sayin), perfect everything. Thank you Sally for sharing your pie wisdom because it worked here in SETX!! And on the rainiest of days, if you catch my drift. My husband and I shared a piece right away and it satisfied the tastebuds to our delight.