If your lemon meringue pie comes from powder in a box, STOP! A fantastic homemade lemon meringue pie, made completely from scratch, tastes much better and is actually just as easy to prepare.
Homemade Lemon Meringue Pie
Here’s one for the lemon lovers. Made completely from scratch, just like Grandma used to make. No artificial anything here! So much better than those artificial powder pretenders. Reminds me of Sunday suppers while growing up.
A homemade lemon meringue pie is a good reason to perfect your pastry making technique too. I always recommend that beginner bakers start with pastry pie shells before moving on to two crust filled pies. You will get a better feel for working with the the dough and likely have more success in getting a flaky pastry if you practice with making pie shells for filled or custard pies first. Perfect your flaky crust technique here and then move on to two crust fruit pies when you are more comfortable with pie pastry.
Homemade Lemon Meringue Pie
The minced lemon zest should be very finely chopped.
The filling should be very thick before adding the egg yolk mixture.
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Homemade Lemon Meringue Pie
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- 1 cup very cold butter cut into small cubes
- 2 ½ cups flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 1/4 cup to 1/3 ice water Only enough to make a dough form.
- 1/3 cup corn starch
- 1/3 cup cake flour
- pinch salt
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 5 egg yolk slightly beaten
- Zest of 2 lemons very finely chopped
- Juice of 2 lemons
- 2 cups water
- 3 tbsp butter
- 5 egg whites
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- ¼ tsp cream of tarter
- Pinch salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
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Using a food processor or a pastry blender cut cold butter into flour and salt until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Small pieces of butter should still be visible.
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Pour cold water over the mixture and work in by tossing with a fork until dough begins to form. Use your hands as little as possible and work the dough as little as possible.
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Divide dough into 2 balls, flatten into 2 rounds, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to rest for a minimum of 20 minutes. You can freeze the second round for another time.
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You can make your dough the previous day but make sure you take it out of the fridge for 10 minutes to warm slightly before rolling out.
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Roll the dough into a 12 inch round and place in the bottom of a 10 inch pie plate.
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Trim and flute the edges as desired. Poke a few holes in the bottom of the pastry shell, rest in the refrigerator for an additional 20 minutes before baking at 400 degrees F for 12 – 15 minutes or until golden brown.
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Cool completely before adding the filling.
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In a medium saucepan, combine corn starch, cake flour, sugar and salt. Pour in water and stir constantly over medium low heat until mixture comes to a slow boil.
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Remove the pan from the heat and reduce the flame to low.
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Pour about a cup of this mixture onto the slightly beaten egg yolks while whisking constantly.
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Pour the egg mixture back into the rest of the other mixture in the pot, whisking constantly.
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Return to the stove and cook for an additional 3 minutes stirring constantly.
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Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and lemon rind.
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Finally whisk in your butter one tbsp at a time.
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Pour the filling into the baked and cooled shell. Let stand for a few minutes while preparing the meringue.
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Whip egg whites, vanilla, salt and cream of tarter to soft peaks.
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Very gradually add the sugar while continuing to beat the egg whites.
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Dollop in heaping tablespoonfuls onto pie. Gently spread over the filling, making sure that the meringue touches the crust all the way around the pie. This will help to prevent the meringue from shrinking.
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Bake in a 325 degree F oven for about 20 to 25 minutes or until the meringue is well browned. Cool pie thoroughly in the refrigerator before serving.
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Keep refrigerated.
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Dip a sharp knife in cold water to help with cutting the pie into slices and clean the knife with paper towel between cuts.
Beautifully presented & outstanding taste! (^_^)
Oh my! I tried this recipe and must have done something so wrong! My mixture never thickened up and my meringue was liquidy. I’ve made lemon meringue using boxed pudding for years and never had an issue. Your photo’s are amazing. Any clue what could have happened??
Sounds like your meringue might have come into contact with some oil. Make sure the utensils are grease free. Did you have a specific issue with the filling Substitute anything?
Thats exactly what happen to me!! Im so sad
What happened? Not sure what you’re referring to here?
How do you stop your pie from weeping. I have put meringue on while pie is warm right to edge and also tried when meringue is cooled a bit. Thank You Ethel
Try adding meringue on a hot pie and browning it at a higher temp. The shorter the time in the oven the better.
This turned out amazing!!! So easy and delicious. Thank you.
I have a question. The recipe states that the pastry is sufficient for two 10in pie plates. Is the filling and meringue also for two pies?
Bo. You just can freeze one pastry for another pie later….or just make a half batch of the pastry of you prefer.
Is there really supposed to be 1 1/4 cups of sugar in the meringue? That seems like so much.
You can cut back a little if you like. I do like a sweet meringue.
Hello, can you please look at this recipe as it is different from another that I found on your page. Is the filling portion correct? My filling did not set at all before putting on the meringue. I put it in and baked it anyway. Will the filling set while cooling or do I have to start from scratch? This is not the first lemon pie I have made from scratch. The pies are in the fridge cooling now.
They are meant to set fully when cooled. The filling should be a warm pudding consistency when hot.
oops,my meringue slid off my pie, what did I do wrong?
I’m finding it’s best to add the meringue while the filling is still warm but it does happen the longer the pie stays around before being served.
Turned out amazing! My dad will be very happy(: Birthday dessert
I have made this for my husband and will be making it again for Thanksgiving. It was pure perfection!!!!
I just bought a bag of lemons myself to make it again. I love it!
Hi Barry, can you make this the day before without the meringue shrinking?
I usually make it a day ahead.
Can you answer a question I have had for a long long time? Is it necessary to refrigerate this pie? When I do, it seems the meringue becomes gummy. Any suggestions? Thanks
It is really in order for it to set properly and not spoil. Sounds like you are not whipping your meringue enough. Mine never lasts more than a day anyway.
Hi! What a beautiful pie! I’m looking for a recipe that doesn’t have an egg taste! Every single one I have made taste so strong in egg we have stopped making them and just buy the box kind. Any suggestions!!?
I can’t say that I’ve noticed that in this recipe. The lemon zest usually puts the zing in there to up the lemon flavour.
Hi.. I tried to make this pie and the filling became too runny.. Lemon sizes differ, so how much lemon juice (liquid) should I add? (the lemons I used were large).. Thank you..
Maybe a little too large. I use average size. Next time I’ll measure the juice and update the method photos too.
omg, great pie! It was perfect. I added a little bit of lemon extract because my lemons were on the small size. Other than that, followed your recipe to a T! My kids and I loved it and so did my co-workers. Definitely want to keep this in the recipe file. Thank you!
Thanks for sharing your success! I love this pie too!
looks so yummy!!! some times my crust is so wet,a pool of water,when I cut it,do you know what causes this?
Jean the wetness is from your meringue….go to All Recipes.com and look for No Weep Meringue….there is a cornsyrup step that is extra in the process and make the meringue wee free..try it
Thank you for this lemon merengue pie recipie,,I made today it was so delicious and look so pretty merengue xxx
So glad it was such a success!
Is the butter salted or unsalted?
Either is fine. Your choice.
my meringue came out like syrup? 🙁 how long do you have to whip it? to end up fluffy?
In my stand mixer it takes just a few minutes. You should ensure that your bowl and utensils are very clean. Any trace of oil of example, can prevent egg whites from stiffening.
Made this pie. It had the best tasting lemon filling ever. Followed the recipe and doesn’t need any changes. Absolutely the best ever no more box filling in this house! The meringue was nice and fluffy but I found it too sweet….maybe next time I will cut the sugar by half. I did have a problem with weeping but I don’t have enough experience with this type of recipe to know why. If anyone can suggest what causes this or why this happens I would like to know what you think.
Meringue is sweet by nature. Cutting the sugar too much can cause it to collapse. Be careful.
I don’t like meringue at all. Can you bake it without it? thx
Just ignore the meringue and add whipped cream on top. The filling does not need to be baked after filling the baked pie shell.
This was my first time making it completely from scratch and it turned out great! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe!
My meringue never fluffed up! what did I do? What can I do?
Were all your implements…bowl, beaters, bowl scrapers really clean? The smallest amount of oil or grease can cause meringue to fail. Glass or metal bowl os best because it’s easiest to get very clean. Try again and good luck.
This recipe is very similar to my super old cookbook I stole from Mom. 😉 It was my first time to make lemon meringue from scratch. It was challenging, but turned out DELICIOUS! Thank you for the thorough instructions. It was very helpful!
I have made this pie twice now. Wonderful recipe!! The only adjustment I made was that the filling is skimpy for the two pie crusts so I just doubled the filling/meringue recipe. Then I have 2 BIG pies. Really nice recipe. A keeper!!
The filling is for one pie, the pastry for two as indicated.
This was Very Best Lemon Meringue Pie EVER. Fresh, flavorful, easy. Thrilled this was the recipe I chose to make!
Will this recipe be ok to make the day before I serve it?
Yes.
The best and in my book the original, lemon meringue pie’s fill I g is only made with sweetened condense milk. No flour or cornstarch. The lemon juice (fresh) when added to the condense milk will thicken beautifully. Then add egg yolks and lastly meringue. You will never use flour plus again. TO DIE FOR. Maybe its only us South African’s who swear by the condense milk. Try it you won’t be disappointed.
Is the filling baked? Can you point me to an actual recipe?
The filling and meringue recipe is awesome! It’s definitely a go to. I did have a big issue with the crust. I made the pie twice and each time the shell would shrink when it first went in to bake. I followed the recipe exactly and poked holes in the bottom. Will use a different shell recipe with this filling and meringue.
Do blind bake the shells with baking weights? Do you let the dough rest after rolling and before baking? In my experience, those are the best ways to avoid shells shrinking in the oven. I always have great success with this recipe that way.
I have made this 3 times now. Each time it’s amazing. Husband asks for it all the time. I also made it using limes. Also amazing!!! Thank you. Husband now thinks I’m a great baker haha
Pie is the way to a man’s heart! 🙂
Why does the meringue separate from the pie
Condensation mostly but sometimes undercooked meringue. Adding your meringue as close to serving time as possible might help.