This zingy lemon meringue pie rests in a crisp and flakey homemade butter crust and has a mound of light as air Italian meringue on top making for an easy to make but very special treat!
This pie is a lemon-lover’s dream come true! Tons of zing and a perfect balance of sweetness and textures in each bite. I loved this recipe with a homemade butter crust but you can make a crushed cookie or nut crust if desired.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you keep lemon meringue pie from weeping?
This recipe used an Italian meringue which is much more stable than the simpler French variety. You really won’t have to worry about weeping as long as your filling is free of condensation. Baking meringue can destabilize it a bit so using a torch to brown it helps with this as well.
How do you keep lemon meringue pie from getting soggy?
Baking your pie shell with an egg wash creates a barrier for moisture, which will keep your pie crust nice and crisp. If you’re planning on storing your pie for a bit longer or using a “wetter” filling with less corn starch you can brush a layer of melted white chocolate onto the baked and cooled pie crust to act as a barrier.
How long does lemon meringue pie last in fridge?
Your lemon pie will be fine at room temperature for a few hours but should be refrigerated for any time longer than that. A lemon meringue pie will last about 3 days in the fridge.
How to Make a Lemon Meringue Pie
- For the pie crust; preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a food processor, combine flour, sugar and salt. Whiz together. Grate in chilled butter and drizzle in ice cold water. Mix using a fork.
- Roll the pastry dough into a ball. Wrap it in plastic wrap or a ziplock bag and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- With a rolling pin, on a well-floured surface, flatten out into a circle at least 1 inch larger than the pie pan, rolling from the center to the edge, turning and flouring the dough so it doesn’t stick to the board. Fold the dough in half and ease it into the pie pan without stretching at all and unfold to fit the pan. With a small sharp paring knife, cut the dough 1 inch larger around than the pan. Fold the edge under and crimp the edge with either your fingers or the tines of a fork.
- Dock your pie crust. Add tin foil to keep your pie crust propped up. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.
- Make the egg wash by mixing the egg and a dash of heavy cream together. Take out the tin foil and brush the crust with the egg wash.
- Now dock the pie crust with a fork or sharp knife and add a tent of foil around the sides. Bake for 15 minutes at 425 then reduce temperature to 375 degrees and bake until the center is golden. Once the center is golden, remove the pie crust from the oven and set aside
- Zest 2-3 lemons for at least two tablespoons of zest. Juice lemons to obtain 3/4 cup of juice. Whisk together the five egg yolks in a medium bowl then set aside.
- Add sugar, cornstarch, and salt to a medium pot. Whisk to combine then pour in water, lemon juice and zest and whisk again to distribute all the dry ingredients. You don’t want clumps! Place on medium high heat and whisk continuously until thickened. About 5 minutes or so.
- Ones the mixture is thickened it;’s time to temper the eggs. Slowly drizzle in a cup of the hot lemon mixture to the eggs while whisking vigorously. Add the egg mixture to the pot while whisking and return to medium-high heat for 2 minutes of whisking over heat.
- Stir in butter until all is melted.
- Beat the egg whites, salt and cream of tartar, slowly add in 1/3 cup of sugar and continue beating until soft peaks form.
- Drizzle the sugar into the mixer immediately. Run mixer until meringue is tepid. Add the vanilla, beat to combine and use immediately.
Pro Tips For this lemon meringue Pie Recipe
- You can make this pie a day or two ahead, served chilled and it will be delicious!
- Add more lemon juice and zest for an even zingier flavor! remember to subtract an equal amount of water from the recipe.
- For a looser pie filling subtract a tablespoon of corn starch. It may be more difficult to get a clean piece but you’ll love the texture!
- The egg wash will prevent your crust from getting soggy so don’t skip that step!
- This pie works well with a cookie crust too so feel free to experiment! Try crushing up some lemon shortbread cookies!
If you like this easy lemon meringue pie recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this easy lemon meringue pie recipe then don’t forget to leave a rating and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Lemon Meringue Pie
This zingy lemon meringue pie topped with a mound of light as air Italian Meringue all in a crispy butter crust makes for an easy but very special treat!
Ingredients
For the Pie Crust
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour 300g, plus more for rolling
- 4 tbs granulated sugar 36g
- 1/2 tsp sea salt 3g
- 1 cup unsalted butter 225g, chilled
- 4 tbs ice water 60mL
- 1 egg for the egg wash
- 1 tbsp cream for the egg wash
For the Filling
- 5 egg yolks
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt 2g
- 1/4 cup corn starch 50g, plus 1 tablespoon extra for a firmer filling if desired.
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar 250g
- 2 tbsp lemon zest add more if you want extra zing!
- 3/4 cup lemon juice 177mL
- 1 1/4 cup water 296
- 4 tbsp butter 57g, unsalted
For the Italian meringue
- 1 1/3 cups sugar 266g divided
- 1/3 cup water 50g
- 4 egg whites
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp cream or tarter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Pie Crust
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
In a food processor, combine flour, sugar and salt. Whiz together. Grate in chilled butter and drizzle in ice cold water. Mix using a fork.
- Roll into a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
With a rolling pin, on a well-floured surface, flatten out into a circle at least 2 inches larger than the pie pan, rolling from the center to the edge, turning and flouring the dough so it doesn't stick to the board. Roll the dough onto your rolling pin.
Unroll the dough into the pie pan without stretching. Press into pie pan.
- With a small sharp paring knife, cut the dough 1 inch larger around than the pan. Fold the edge under and crimp the edge with either your fingers or the tines of a fork.
Add a round of parchment paper frilled on the edge onto the crust. Now press tin foil onto the paper, pushing it against the edge of the crust. This will keep your pie crust propped up during baking.
Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.
Take out the tin foil and brush crust with an egg wash, Made with an egg mixed well with a tablespoon of cream. Dock the pie crust.
Add foil around the sides. Bake another 10 minutes at 425F then reduce temperature to 375 degrees and bake until the center is golden, about 15-20 minutes.
For the Filling
Zest 2-3 lemons for at least two tablespoons of zest. Juice lemons to obtain 3/4 cup of juice.
Whisk together the five egg yolks in a medium bowl then set aside.
Add sugar, cornstarch, and salt to a medium pot. Whisk to combine then pour in water, lemon juice and zest and whisk again to distribute all the dry ingredients. You don't want clumps!
Place on medium high heat and whisk continuously until thickened. About 5 minutes or so.
Time to temper the eggs! Slowly drizzle in a cup of the hot lemon mixture to the eggs while whisking vigorously. Add the egg mixture to the pot while whisking and return to medium-high heat for 2 minutes of whisking over heat.
Add in butter and stir until all is melted.
For the Italian Meringue:
Beat the egg whites, salt and cream of tartar, slowly add in 1/3 cup of sugar and continue beating until soft peaks form.
In a medium saucepan add the remaining one cup of sugar and 1/3 cup water then place on medium-high heat. Stir until sugar melts and becomes clear. Maintain at medium-high heat until temperature reads 235-240F.
Drizzle the sugar into the mixer immediately. Run mixer until meringue is tepid. Add the vanilla, beat to combine and use immediately.
For the Assembly
Pour lemon filling onto pie shell and smooth.
Add meringue onto pie leaving a small border of the lemon curd exposed. use your spatula or a spoon to create some swirls and peaks for visual interest.
You can toast the meringue with a kitchen torch or bake at 325F for about 20 minutes or until meringue is golden.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- You can make this pie a day or two ahead, served chilled and it will be delicious!
- Add more lemon juice and zest for an even zingier flavor! remember to subtract an equal amount of water from the recipe.
- For a looser pie filling subtract a tablespoon of corn starch. It may be more difficult to get a clean piece but you'll love the texture!
- The egg wash will prevent your crust from getting soggy so don't skip that step!
- This pie works well with a cookie crust too so feel free to experiment! Try crushing up some lemon shortbread cookies!
This luscious lemon pie has my name on it. I needed this recipe to enjoy my bounty of gorgeous homegrown lemons!
So good you are my go too when I bake ,I bake always make everything from scratch .i discovered you and love your concept makes perfect sense.i will make your lemon pie and share it with many.
I substituted the water with puréed prickly pear strained through a mesh. I also used my own crust recipe. The end result was this gorgeous purplish red prickly lemon meringue pie that was absolutely delicious! Fantastic recipe and easy to follow video.