Lemon Meringue Pie is a light and refreshing pie. A creamy lemon filling is topped with a light and airy meringue. Nothing screams summer like a homemade lemon meringue pie.
Homemade Lemon Meringue Pie
I have to make a confession here. This recipe isn’t mine, it is my grandmother’s recipe. Growing up, she was always baking delicious pies and cakes. She is one of my largest inspirations for my love of cooking. Sitting at the kitchen table during the summer, enjoying fresh slices of tomatoes, fried chicken, green beans just plucked from the garden, and finishing a meal with a slice of lemon pie, is a pleasant memory I will always treasure.
If you haven’t made a lot of pies before, this style of custard pie is the perfect way to start making pies, and how doesn’t need a slice of pie?
What’s in lemon meringue pie?
What I love about this pie recipe, is that you can make it when ingredients you have on hand, you don’t need anything exotic, well you do need some fresh lemons. Fresh lemons taste better than bottled lemon juice, but if you are in a pinch, that will work too. You will need:
- A pie crust
- eggs
- salt
- cornstarch
- fresh lemons
- butter
- sugar
How to make a lemon meringue pie
Are you looking for an easy to prepare pie? This pie is for you! Not into rolling out a homemade pie crust? That’s ok, grab one of those refrigerated pie shells, and put it into your own pie pan, no one will be the wiser. A lemon meringue pie is made on the stovetop to start and then placed in the oven. Here is what you will need to do!
- Blind bake the pie shell (you need to cook it before you add the filling)
- Make the creamy lemon filling, and pour it into the pre-baked pie shell
- Make the light and airy meringue
- Top the lemon filling with the meringue
- Bake the meringue until it begins to turn golden brown
How to get the perfect meringue
Let’s face it, meringues can look intimidating. You may have heard that they are difficult to make, and you have to wait to make them when there is low humidity. Well, I promise they are easy to make when you follow a few simple guidelines.
- Start with room temperature eggs – a golden rule in baking is start with ingredients that are at room temperature. You will have the egg whites at room temperature, when you separate the egg whites for the filling, save them for the meringue.
- Start with super clean bakeware – make sure your bowl, and the beaters are very clean. Some residue oil can give you inferior results.
- No egg yolks allowed! – even a tiny bit of egg yolks can keep your egg whites from whipping up to perfection. Consider breaking an egg one at a time into a separate bowl then pouring that into another bowl just to make sure you don’t have this happen.
How to store a lemon meringue pie
There is always a great debate on how to store pies. There is a good general rule of thumb, if a pie contains eggs, you must store the pie in the refrigerator. Coconut cream pies, chocolate pies, lemon meringue pies must all be stored in the refrigerator. Fruit pies like apple, cherry, peach, and other similar pies can be stored at room temperature.
Love lemon desserts? Try these recipes:
- Italian Lemon Cream Cake Recipe
- Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
- Frosted Lemonade Chick Fil A
- Old Fashioned Lemon Bars
- Lemon Lush Dessert Recipe
- Cream Cheese Lemon Pie
More Tasty Pie Recipes
- Baskin Robbins Pie
- Easy Strawberry Pie Recipe
- Easy Blueberry Cheesecake Pie
- Koolaid Pie Recipe
- Cherry Cheese Pie Eagle Brand
- Apple Pie Made with Crackers
- Rhubarb Custard Pie
Be sure to check out more of my easy pie recipes and family favorites.
Lemon Meringue Pie
Ingredients
- 1 9 inch baked pie shell
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup cornstartch
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 3 beaten egg yolks
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 1/3 tablespoon grated lemon zest
Meringue
- 3 egg whites
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 6 tablespoons sugar
Instructions
Creamy lemon filling
- Heat oven to 400 degrees.
- Mix sugar, cornstarch in saucepan. Slowly stir in water. Stir constantly over moderate heat until mixture thickens and boils. Boil 1 minute.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat.
- Slowly stir half of the mixture into egg yolks, and then beat into hot mixture in saucepan.
- Place the saucepan back on the heat, and cook until the mixture thickens, this should take about 1 minute. Then remove the saucepan from the heat for final time.
- Blend in butter, lemon juices, and rind in the saucepan.
- Pour into a baked pie shell.
Meringue
- Make a meringue of 3 egg whites 1/4 teaspoon Cream of tartar, and 6 tablespoons of sugar.
- Spread over filling, sealing to the edge. Bake 8 to 10 minutes until delicately browned. Cool at room temperature away from drafts.
Recipe Tips for the Cook
- You will need just one pie shell for this recipe if you want to make a homemade pie shell, most recipes make two shells. So you can half the recipe if desired.
- You may want to blind bake your pie shell before you start the lemon filling, tempering eggs takes a bit of time, and you will want to give that portion of the cooking your undivided attention.
Liz says
My grandmother made a great Lemon Meringue pie this one comes really close to hers! Loved it!