Lemon Meringue Pie is one of my all-time favorites. Smooth, tart lemon filling with light and fluffy meringue that melts in your mouth. The best lemon pie you will ever taste!
Pies are the perfect dessert that can be enjoyed all year round. Whether it be Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas, or even Easter. You can never go wrong with a homemade pie.
Lemon Meringue Pie
This Lemon Meringue Pie is definitely one of our more treasured family recipes from our mom. We grew up on this dessert; it’s been a favorite in our family as far back as I can remember. Our dad always requests it to be one of the pies served at Thanksgiving dinner, many Sunday dinners and it has replaced his birthday cake on more than one occasion.
Fresh lemon juice and zest give the filling an irresistible tart lemon flavor. The meringue gets light and fluffy from whipped egg whites that turn a gorgeous golden brown in the oven. It really is the best lemon meringue pie recipe. A store bought pie doesn’t even come close to the deliciousness of this homemade treat. And it’s not as hard as you think to get the perfect meringue peaks. Give it a try!
For The Perfect Meringue…
Whip egg whites to create egg bubbles. Those bubbles will get trapped inside as the meringue cooks. This gives it the light fluffiness that complements the creamy lemon filling to perfection.
Suggestions for this Recipe
- Keep a close eye on the pie while baking. Only bake the pie until the peaks turn a light and golden brown.
- We love this delicious homemade crust which tastes perfect with this recipe. Or save yourself some time and effort and use a pre-baked crust. There are some delicious options out there, both frozen and fresh.
- For the best lemon flavoring try to use fresh lemon juice and zest. It gives the pie such a vibrant, fresh flavor that goes so well with the light crust and airy meringue topping. But if you don’t have fresh lemons on hand, lemon juice from the bottle works great too!
- The secret to silky smooth pie is stir stir stir! Stirring the filling constantly while it’s cooking will ensure a flawless smooth texture.
More Delicious Pie Recipes
Whether you’re baking up pies for the holidays, Sunday dinner, or a celebration, here are some traditional and unique pie recipes you will love!
- Key Lime Pie – A traditional southern pie in a graham cracker crust. It is creamy, sweet, and tart all at the same time.
- Easy Berry Pie – This pie is full of plump, juicy blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries and tastes delicious with vanilla ice cream. An easy pie recipe for any occasion!
- Island Pecan Pie – Loaded with coconut, pecans, and pineapple, this pie is creamy and full of flavor.
- Coconut Cream Pie – Coconut Cream Pie is a dreamy island dessert with a flaky crust, coconut filling that is made from scratch, and toasted coconut sprinkles.
- Creamy Lemon Pie – This Creamy Lemon Pie is packed full of tart, lemon flavor and creamy goodness. This recipe is super easy to make and is always a crowd pleaser!
- German Chocolate Pie – This pie recipe comes straight from Amish country. The rich, gooey, chocolate filling is to die for!
How to Make Lemon Meringue Pie
Ingredients
- 1 pie crust pre-baked
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- ½ cups cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 ¼ cups water
- 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
- 4 egg yolks
- 3 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup lemon juice
FOR THE MERINGUE:
- 5-6 egg whites at room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ cup sugar
Instructions
- In a medium-sized saucepot, bring sugar, cornstarch, salt, water, and lemon peel to a boil, stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat and mix in with wire whip 4 egg yolks. Return to heat for 1 minute stirring constantly. Remove from heat and whisk in 3 T. butter, then ½ c. lemon juice.
- Pour into pie crust and cool.
Meringue Topping:
- In a mixing bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy. Gradually add ½ c. sugar beating until stiff peaks form.
- Top pie with meringue and bake at 325 about 10 minutes or until meringue is lightly browned.
- Chill until set.
kricketts says
The favor was great. The meringue turned out without a hitch. The pie, however, did not set up for us. This was our first time making it and after doing a little research we found that after adding the eggs the time you cook for of one minute may not be as important as knowing to look for the mixture to be very thick. In a trouble shooting article it recommended to thicken it to almost sliceable because when you add the juice it will thin a great deal.
Brooke says
Haven’t tasted yet, but did lick the spoon and the lemon filling is fantastic. Used fresh squeezed lemon and zest. Hauled out the stand mixer for the meringue and it looks just as it should, although I could have made the meringue design a little prettier. Great recipe and thanks so much for sharing!
Favorite Family Recipes says
Thanks so much for the comment! It’s definitely tough getting the meringue just right. I have been making this recipe for years and I still can’t make it as pretty as when our mom does it!
Leigh Anne Whitacre says
Excellent pie! This is the best lemon meringue pie I’ve made yet! Saving this one!
Creamy and not too sweet – did increase the lemon zest a bit.
Favorite Family Recipes says
WOW! What a compliment! Thank you, Leigh Anne, for leaving such a kind comment!
Crab Dynasty says
Mom always made this for Dad on his birthday. It was his favorite!
Favorite Family Recipes says
Thanks for sharing! Love hearing these types of things 🙂
Lucy says
Ok so if your like me and not a real cook or baker of any kind. Here is a tip pre-bake pie crust and cool before you start. And,..I think Out of the 1 1/2 cup of sugar I was sopost to set 1/2cup To the side for the egg white topping
taylor says
Lucy — you absolutely must pre-bake your crust, it is not optional. If not, your dough will be raw.
Also, the filling recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups sugar and then another 1/2 cup sugar for the meringue.
Terri says
On What shelf do you bake this pie? Can’t wait to try it
Favorite Family Recipes says
Usually on the middle rack just so it bakes evenly. Hope this helps!
Kathy Wright says
Do you need to chill lemon filling in pie crust completely before adding meringue and putting back in oven?
Favorite Family Recipes says
Yes, that would be ideal so the meringue doesn’t get too liquidy! Hope this helps!
Judy says
This is the exact recipe of my mother’s lemon meringue pie she’s been gone 30 years maybe I’ll make it and coconut and banana cream pies were he best and my dads fsvorite. !!! True about the meringue My mother always said it would weep if baked too far ahead ;)thanks for printing this memory for me
Favorite Family Recipes says
Thank you so much for sharing your memory with us! We love hearing stories like this 🙂
Anita says
mine is never as yellow as that even though the flavor is stupendous. Do you put yellow food coloring in it
Favorite Family Recipes says
No, we never add food coloring to it. It could be the lighting in the picture as well that gave it a brighter color?
Lisa says
I just put mine in the fridge but I notice like some sugary watery stuff dripping as I put it in. Is that normal? Or what did I do wrong? Looks great lol
Favorite Family Recipes says
Yes, that is normal! Was there a TON of it? There should usually just be a little…
Bettine Cavanaugh says
Directions were so easy to follow. I used real lemon for the juice and it was a tad thin. I hope it thickens up as it cools.
Sheri says
Best lemon meringue pie I have EVER made! Thank you for posting this!
Favorite Family Recipes says
So glad you liked it! My mom has been making this pie as long as I can remember!
Andrea says
Is the butter salt or unsalted?
Melissa says
This looks great, but was wondering if it could me made with half sugar and half Truvia. Lemon Meringue is my husband’s favorite, but he’s long to cut back on sugar.
Favorite Family Recipes says
Truvia claims to be a 1:1 substitute for sugar so if their claims are correct, you should be fine. Personally I don’t love the taste of Truvia so I think it alters the taste too much, but if you don’t mind, I would say “go for it”! Hope this helps!
Frankie Parks says
I just made this pie. I want to say WOW really it is good and beautiful with the tall meringue… Oh a thing of beauty. I will be proud to show it off this Thanksgiving! Thank you for sharing!
Favorite Family Recipes says
I’m glad this recipe was a success for you! Thank you!
Deebee says
What are the measurements in grams please
Favorite Family Recipes says
I’m sorry but we don’t have conversions to grams.. yet. It is something we are working on. Hopefully we will have it available soon!
Carol VanHorn says
/This is the recipe I used for over 50 yrs from the Betty Crocker Cook Book, 1957 edition. Always so good!! Your mom probably got the recipe from that book also.
Favorite Family Recipes says
ha! Crazy! I know she has a LOT of old cookbooks, so you are probably right!
Nicole says
How many days before Thanksgiving could I make and refrigerate this pie? I’m making 5 pies so I need to do some a few days ahead of time.
Favorite Family Recipes says
You could probably do it 2-3 days ahead of time but you will probably want to do the meringue fresh. Just be sure to cover the pies well so they don’t dry out and get gummy. Hope this helps!
Jana says
How long do you cool the pie before adding the meringue? I find Meringue pies get weepy and then crust gets soggy. How do you prevent this?
Favorite Family Recipes says
Wait until the pie is completely set – I usually stick it in the fridge for at least an hour.
Bob Handley says
Looks good, gona try to put it togather NOW !!!
THANKS
Janie says
Can this be made into coconut Mirangue pie ?
Favorite Family Recipes says
Hmmm I’m sure it could, you could search for “Coconut Cream Pie” on our site and use that filling and then this meringue topping. I am sure it would be delicious!
Celia says
Would you share your pie crust recipe,, please?
Favorite Family Recipes says
You can find our pie crust recipe here: https://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/perfect-pie-crust-peach-pie/
Kim says
Also fresh squeezed lemon juice work fine,thanks never made one before
Kim says
Deep dish pie shell?
Ryan says
Mmmmm this Saturday I make this pie!
Erica says
Good call 😉 This goes SO GOOD with Easter dinner!
Kim says
Deep dish pie crust or regular
Erica says
You just need regular but you could do deep dish if you would like.
Pat Kirkland says
How long do u cool begore adding meringue?
Erica Walker says
You want it to be completely cool before adding the meringue. You can put it in the refrigerator to help it cool faster. Hope this helps!
Emma bushby says
Hi what temperature please for a fan oven thanks
Erica says
I’m not sure I am familiar with a “fan” oven..? Can you elaborate?
Allan says
That would be a convection oven
Favorite Family Recipes says
Ah.. got it haha
Michaela U. says
This pie was wonderful! It was exactly what a lemon meringue should be. Thank you for sharing this recipe for us to enjoy!
Erica says
So glad you enjoyed this Lemon Meringue Pie! 🙂 Thanks so much for the 5-stars!
aubrey Sharp says
Turned out fabulous. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Carol says
Was the lemon filling like the canned lemon filling?
Sheila says
homemade is so much better than canned.
Jennifer G says
I just found out this is my husband’s favorite pie so thank you for posting this again! His birthday is coming up and I needed to find a good recipe.