Name: Lemon Meringue Pie
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total time: 1 hour plus cooling
Yield: Makes one 9- to 10-inch single crust pie
Ingredients: 1 recipe Pastry Dough for a single-crust 9- to 10-inch pie; Raw rice or pie weights for weighting shell; 1 cup sugar; 5 tablespoons cornstarch; ¼ teaspoon salt; 1 cup water; ½ cup milk; 4 large egg yolks; 1 tablespoon unsalted butter; ½ cup fresh lemon juice; 2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest; 4 large egg whites; ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar; ½ cup sugar

A lemon meringue pie in a pie plate with a server.

Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne

Active Time
20 minutes
Total Time
1 hour plus cooling

This lemon meringue pie recipe is perfect for any season. While citrus fruits like lemons are at their best in winter, this sweet-tart dessert has such a sunny color that it also looks right at home on a summer day. The filling is similar to lemon curd, with fresh lemon juice and lemon zest, sugar, egg yolks, and plenty of butter. While it has a fairly sharp flavor, the cloudlike meringue topping balances it out, giving you a perfect equilibrium of taste and texture in every bite.

While each of the pie’s elements—pie crust, filling, and meringue—is simple, you’ll want to proceed with care to avoid having a soggy crust, a soupy pie filling, or a meringue that “weeps” (releasing beads of water): First, blind-bake your pie shell and let it cool to room temperature, so that it’s nice and crisp. Then, when you make the lemon filling, be sure to bring the milk mixture to a boil, to activate the cornstarch (which is what will thicken the pudding). While the pie crust and lemon filling cool, whip your egg whites with cream of tartar and sugar until stiff peaks form so the meringue holds its signature shape. Finally, when you fill the baked pie crust, spread the meringue to the very edges of the pie, so that it touches the crust, before decorating it with pretty swoops and swirls. This will seal the pie and keep it from losing moisture when you slide it back into the oven to toast the meringue until it’s golden brown.

Ingredients

Makes one 9- to 10-inch single crust pie

For shell:

1 recipe Pastry Dough for a single-crust 9- to 10-inch pie

Raw rice or pie weights for weighting shell

For filling:

1 cup sugar

5 tablespoons cornstarch

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup water

½ cup milk

4 large egg yolks

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

½ cup fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest

For meringue:

4 large egg whites

¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

½ cup sugar

Preparation

Make shell:
Step 1
On a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin roll out dough into a 13-inch round, (about ⅛-inch thick) and fit into a 9-inch (1-quart) pie plate. Trim edge of dough, leaving a ½-inch overhang, and crimp edge decoratively. Prick shell in several places with a fork and chill, covered, 30 minutes.
Step 2
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Step 3
Line shell with wax paper and fill with rice or pie weights. Bake shell in middle of oven 10 minutes. Remove paper and rice carefully and bake shell until golden, about 12 minutes more. Cool shell in pie plate on a wire rack.
Step 4
Lower oven temperature to 350°F.
Make filling:
Step 5
In a heavy medium saucepan whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and salt and gradually whisk in water and milk, whisking until cornstarch is dissolved. In a medium bowl whisk together egg yolks. Cook milk mixture over moderate heat, whisking, until it comes to a boil. Gradually whisk about 1 cup warm milk mixture into yolks and then whisk egg yolk mixture back into milk mixture. Bring to a simmer, whisking, then continue to whisk until thick, 3–5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and whisk in butter, lemon juice, and zest until butter is melted. Cover surface of filling with plastic wrap.
Make meringue:
Step 6
In a large bowl with an electric mixer or in a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, beat egg whites with cream of tartar and a pinch of salt until they hold soft peaks. Beat in sugar in a slow stream, beating until meringue just holds stiff peaks.
Step 7
Pour filling into shell and spread meringue on top, covering filling completely, sealing it to pastry. Draw meringue up into peaks and bake pie in middle of oven until meringue is golden, about 15 minutes. Let pie cool completely, about 2 hours. Pie can be chilled for up to 6 hours.

Editor’s note: This recipe was originally published in the May 1995 issue of ‘Gourmet’ and first appeared on Epicurious in August 2004. The instructions have been updated to reflect that the lemon filling should be cooked on the stove until thick and that the pie should be completely cool before slicing. This way for more of our best pie recipes →

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Reviews (181)

laurielemon is definitely cray! I have made this recipe, exactly as written, and have had outstanding results. The small amount of milk helps give the curd depth of flavor. Every single time I have made it, my guests are amazed and say it is by far the best lemon meringue pie they have ever had. Interestingly, nearly every lemon meringue pie recipe out there uses a 1 - 1 1/2 cup sugar to 1 cup water, and 1/3 cup of lemon juice ratio. So I have found this ingredient combination to be perfect. It uses more lemon than most and less sugar. For me, cooking times for custards are a suggestion. I always cook them until they are properly set. I never understand people who give a bad review when THEY are the one who clearly made the mistake.
- mamabeauty
- Valley of the Sun
- 11/26/2020
My mother made the BEST Lemon Meringue Pie, but I don't have her recipe, so opted for this one. I did follow some of the other reviewers' advice and added an extra egg (yolk and white) plus an additional Tablespoon cornstarch. I upped the lemon juice to 2/3 cup and cut down slightly on the water to balance the curd consistency. I also left the curd on low heat whisking constantly for a couple minutes after adding all ingredients. Turned out delicious. (But if using a convection oven, 400 degrees is a little high as meringue will brown faster than the 15 minute bake for the curd to set.) Four forks with the above changes.
- qtcook
- Tucson, AZ
- 4/3/2020
I don't really understand all the bad reviews. 5 tbsps of corn starch is more than enough to thicken the filling. You have to bring the sugar/corn starch/water/milk to a boil for a minute or so and it thickens up nicely. I've made this recipe three times and it's come out perfectly each time.
- prpauquette
- Georgia
- 6/9/2019
I followed this recipe, making only one change. I mixed the water with the cornstarch before adding it to the sugar, salt, milk. The pies (we made two) were perfect and delicious. Adding the water to the cornstarch before, keeps the pie from being runny. This is going to be my go-to lemon meringue pie recipe. Fabulous!!
- Anonymous
- Darien, CT
- 11/24/2018
The pie worked great - laurielemon is cray. Bake for 12 minutes. Success!
- pie_maker_69
- Ford Central
- 11/22/2014
I read the reviews of everyone saying how great this is BUT they had to change the recipe. That means that the recipe doesn't work - it doesn't. I changed the recipe and made it great. When I saw the ingredients, I thought, "This isn't gonna work," and added more lemon, less sugar, and cut out the water altogether. I gave it one star to reflect the actual recipe - not how I changed it to make it work. Hope this helps others who are looking to use this recipe in their kitchen.
- laurielemon
- san francisco, ca
- 9/19/2014
I'd never made a lemon meringue pie before, and this recipe was very easy to follow. I followed some of the advice in the commentary-- such as using slightly less sugar and increasing the lemon juice to 2/3 cup-- and the filling was deliciously tart. Even though I increased the lemon juice, the filling still set nicely. I stirred it until it was very thick, as advised, and let the pie chill for 6 hours. I will make this pie again soon.
- mrslewis
- Seattle, WA
- 4/21/2014
Very easy, very good. I would perhaps put a little less sugar or a bit more lemon as I like to have a bit more lemon rather sweet. Otherwise, a wonderful recipe!
- Thea6323
- Frederick, MD
- 4/5/2014
Yummy. Remember, your saliva has an enzyme that will liquify the lemon curd and make your pie soupy, no matter the amount of saliva that gets in...don't double dip your tasting spoon!
- 3019778670
- Gaithersburg, MD
- 3/15/2014
I followed this recipe to the letter, even timing every step with an over timer. Unfortunately, the custard came out soupy. I thought it might set in the oven but no such luck. It was for a church dinner and it came out more like lemon pudding with a meringue on top. We ate it and it tasted good but it was embarrassing to serve.
- alinekaplan
- Hudson, Ma
- 2/18/2014
I made this recipe by following the instructions and it came out perfectly. I used a store-bought pie shell, but everyone raved and it was gone in just a few minutes. The custard was perfect, although I would let it cool a bit before baking with the meringue.
- sseubert
- Portland, OR
- 12/24/2013
I used the recipe for the lemon curd only as I have my own favourite pie crust (jeffrey steingarten) and prefer whipped cream to meringue. The curd worked perfectly and tasted subtle and fresh. The key is to keep it over the heat for at least the full three minutes. It does look a bit soupy once adding the lemon juice, but continue to stir for a minute or so and it thickens once again. I will definitely use this recipe again.
- plgraham
- ontario
- 11/3/2013
OMG! I've made this pie many times before with great success and rave reviews, but, for some reason, this time the custard was totally soupy...I mean we ate it with a spoon! After re-reading the recipe, I finally realized that while in the midst of a family get-together and many conversations happening at the same time, I had not cooked the custard for the full 3 minutes after adding the lemon juice and zest. I whisked it all together for about a minute, set it aside to cool, and picked up a grandchild, talked to my visiting 88 year old sister, or who knows what! Luckily, no one got sick from eating the uncooked custard! I guess I was alone in the kitchen when making this before and could concentrate......a new wrinkle in being 69 yo!
- Anonymous
- Crozet, VA
- 4/28/2013
This is a terrific recipe and I wonder if the bad reviews were due to a lack of experience by the makers. The recipe worked beautifully for me and I followed the directions. Watch your crust as it pre-bakes. All ovens are different so if your crust is browning quicker than the recipe states, take it out of the oven! The lemon custard pulled together perfectly and my suggestion for the people who said their filling was soupy is to keep whisking over the heat. You can always add a little more cornstarch if necessary. The only change I would make to the recipe is to add a little more lemon juice and a little less water because I like things tart, but the custard as is was delicious. Very very good recipe and beautiful to boot.
- chipndip
- Los Angeles, Ca.
- 4/17/2013
I made this for our Easter dinner dessert yesterday and it was delicious! I followed the recipe exactly and the pie turned out beautifully. I'm not sure why so many people had trouble with the filling coming out runny or soupy; I can only guess they didn't cook the yolk/milk mixture at a high enough temperature for long enough?
- Anonymous
- Norway
- 4/1/2013