Lemon Meringue Pie: a zesty, refreshing dessert for any occasion

Lemon meringue pie is as classic a dessert as they come. Made from tangy, sweet, zesty lemon filling in a buttery, flaky pie crust and topped with cloud-like sweetened meringue, each bite is a delight to the taste buds.

Lemon meringue pie is a delicious medley of sweet and tart, and it's a fantastic dessert to serve for afternoon tea or barbecues when you're looking for a refreshing, fragrant sweet. It's easy to make – you can use store-bought pie dough or a premade crust or whip up the pie crust from scratch to cut down your time in the kitchen. Either way, this easy lemon meringue pie is sure to be a success!

Tips for Making the Best Lemon Meringue Pie

Use homemade or store-bought pie crust.

Make sure your ingredients are at room temperature.

Separate the yolks and whites from five eggs and place them into two bowls before getting started. You'll need the yolks for the pie filling and the whites for the meringue.

Make sure the bowl you use for making the meringue is completely clean and grease-free. Otherwise, you'll run into trouble trying to form still peaks.

Cream of tartar is a must – it helps to stabilize the meringue and hold its shape.

To prevent it from becoming soggy, don’t cover it when you store it in the fridge. This will cause condensation, making for a watery mess on your pie. Since your Lemon Meringue Pie will be stored in the fridge uncovered, make sure there isn’t any pungent food that can transfer unappealing flavors to the pie.

While lemons are the classic choice for meringue pie, you can use other citrus fruits. Oranges, clementines, lime, Meyer lemon, grapefruit – the options are endless!

How to Store Lemon Meringue Pie

Cover your pie and keep it in the fridge. Enjoy your lemon meringue pie within 2 days.

How to Make Lemon Meringue Pie

Preheat your oven to 375F.

Roll out the pie dough on a lightly floured work surface. Arrange in a standard pie dish and trim away the edges.

Par-bake the crust on the lowest shelf in your oven for 8 to 10 minutes until the base just begins to brown. Lower the heat to 350F and remove the crust from the oven.

Combine water, sugar, cornstarch, salt, lemon juice, and zest in a pot over medium.

Cook for 6 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally until the mixture thickens and begins to bubble. Lower the heat.

Working very slowly, pour a small amount of the lemon mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly to temper the eggs.

Slowly whisk the egg yolks into the lemon mixture.

Turn the heat up to medium and cook until thick. Take the pot off the heat and stir in the butter.

Pour the filling into the pie crust.

In a large, clean bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.

Add in salt and sugar.

Beat until stiff peaks form.

Spread the meringue on top of the hot pie filling so it will cook right away and will not weep.

Spread it well.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. If the meringue is browning too quickly, tent foil over the top of the pie. Take the pie out of the oven and cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Place the pie in the fridge for 4 hours to chill.

When ready, slice, serve and enjoy lemon meringue pie!