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–+ servings
meringue pie slice on stack of white plates with fork beside on white napkin with lemon slices and meringue pie behind

Lemon Meringue Pie

4.88 from 8 votes
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Author: Traci Crossland
Sweet, citrus-y, silky, and oh so delicious. There's no better summer/springtime treat than this Lemon Meringue Pie. Especially one that you never have to worry about weeping meringue! SO. GOOD.

Ingredients

Pie

  • 1 10-inch pie crust, fully baked
  • 6 large egg yolks
  • ½ cup cornstarch
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 cups water
  • ½ cup fresh lemon juice, strained
  • 2 ½ Tablespoons salted butter, room temperature
  • 2 ¾ teaspoons lemon zest

Meringue

  • 6 large egg whites
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • ½ cup water
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Pie

  • Mix egg yolks and cornstarch together. Set aside.
  • In a medium saucepan, heat sugar, water, and lemon juice until hot but not boiling.
  • Pour a small amount of hot sugar mixture into egg yolk mixture.
  • Stir until combined completely.
  • Repeat until about half of sugar mixture is used.
  • Pour into remaining sugar mixture.
  • Mix well.
  • Heat, while stirring, over low to medium-low heat, until thickened, translucent, and holding its shape, about 10 minutes.
  • Remove from heat.
  • Strain through a mesh sieve.
  • Stir in butter and lemon zest.
  • Continue stirring until butter melts.
  • Pour into prepared pie shell.

Meringue

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat egg whites to stiff peaks.
  • In a small saucepan, heat and stir sugar and water until sugar melts.
  • Brush down sides with a pastry brush dipped in water.
  • Cook over medium heat to 246-250 degrees F.
  • With mixer running, stream sugar syrup into egg whites.
  • Continue beating until completely cooled, about 15-20 minutes.

Putting It Together

  • Spoon meringue onto cooled pie.
  • Spread to edges.
  • Swirl into desired pattern.
  • Use a kitchen torch to brown top.

Notes

  • You can use a homemade or store-bought crust for this recipe.
  • The corn starch and egg yolk mixture is VERY thick and can be hard to stir. We recommend using a rubber spatula and folding the two ingredients together until smooth and well combined.
  • Be sure to constantly stir the egg yolk and corn starch mixture when pouring in the hot lemon syrup.
  • When cooking the custard, it should take about 10-15 minutes to thicken.
  • Try to get the filling as level as you can when adding it to the crust.
  • Do not over cook the sugar syrup for the meringue! Anywhere between 246-250 is the perfect temperature.
  • Slowly stream the sugar syrup into the egg whites. You don't want to wind up with scrambled egg whites!
  • It's best to use a blow torch to toast the meringue.

Nutrition

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 410kcalCarbohydrates: 84gProtein: 5gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 148mgSodium: 84mgPotassium: 74mgFiber: 1gSugar: 76gVitamin A: 294IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 24mgIron: 1mg

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.