Lemon Meringue Pie Recipe – Traditional Natural Recipe

All-natural lemon meringue pie is one of those much-loved classic recipes. The lemon filling in this pie is made with fresh lemons, giving it a soft yellow color without the artificial dyes found in packaged mixes. If you’ve been making lemon pie from a mix, this from-scratch version is well worth trying.

This traditional lemon meringue pie has a smooth, bright lemon filling and a light meringue topping, making it a timeless dessert that never goes out of style.

Note: A single-crust pie is a great place to start if you’re new to pie making. With just one crust on the bottom, there’s less to worry about, and even if it isn’t perfectly flaky, it will still hold the lemon filling beautifully. For most pies, the bottom crust tends to be a little sturdier anyway.

Lemon Meringue Pie Ingredients

Pie Crust

This recipe works well with either a homemade pie crust or a store-bought one. If you enjoy baking from scratch, I’ve shared my traditional pie crust tutorial with all the step-by-step instructions. The ingredients below are for one single pie crust.

Lemon Pie Filling

Meringue

How to Make the Lemon Meringue Pie

This small pie crust recipe makes enough for a large lemon meringue pie. If you want to make more than one pie I will link my larger traditional pie crust recipe at the end of the post.

Step 1 – Make the Pie Crust

In a large bowl, add 2 cups of flour and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Stir to combine. Cut in 2/3 cup of lard until the mixture is crumbly and the lard is broken down into pieces about the size of peas.

Add 6 tablespoons of water and gently bring the mixture together to form a dough. If needed, add a little more water, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough holds together.

Lightly flour your counter and roll out the pie dough. Transfer it to a pie plate, prick the bottom with a fork, and flute the edges.

When baking a single crust, it helps to fill the shell with pie weights to prevent shrinking. If you don’t have pie weights, dry beans work just as well.

Bake the pie shell at 400°F for about 15 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden.

Step 2 – Make the Lemon Pie Filling

Prep the lemons first. To get the pretty yellow color, you do not need food coloring. The soft yellow tones from fresh lemon juice and egg yolks make such a lovely pie. You do not need a fancy zester either. Simply wash and dry the lemons, then grate the rind using the fine side of a standard grater. Squeeze the lemons and set the juice aside.

In a medium size saucepan, place 1 1/2 cups sugar, 3 tablespoons cornstarch, 3 tablespoons flour, and 1/4 teaspoon salt, and mix to incorporate. Add the 1 1/2 cups water and 1/2 cup lemon juice. Whisk until smooth and free of lumps. Cook over low heat, stirring often, until thick, about 6 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Separate the 5 eggs. Crack the egg yolks into a small bowl and mix them together. Place the egg whites in a large mixing bowl for the meringue and set aside.

Note: If you add the eggs directly to the hot lemon mixture the eggs cook too fast, causing curdling with bits of cooked egg whites.

To bring the egg temperature up, slowly add a few tablespoons of the hot mixture to the egg yolks, whisking well. Then slowly drizzle the egg yolk mixture back into the saucepan. Give it a whisk and return it to low heat.

Continue cooking until the filling thickens and large bubbles begin popping at the surface.

Remove from the heat and add the 1 tablespoon of butter and the lemon rind. Stir well, then pour the filling into your baked pie crust.

Step 3 – Make the Meringue Topping

This recipe calls for five eggs because the extra two yolks make the pie filling thicker and easier to serve, and more importantly, they create a large, generous meringue. Meringue is not heavy like whipping cream, and the thicker meringue makes the overall pie taste lighter, well worth using the extra two eggs.

Place the 5 egg whites in a large mixing bowl and add the cream of tartar. Beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, beating continuously until all of the sugar is dissolved.

While the homemade lemon pie filling is still warm, cover the pie with large dollops of meringue until it is fully covered. Using a knife, gently spread the meringue to ensure it reaches over the edges of the pastry and that no large gaps remain.

Step 4 – Finish and Bake the Pie

Place the lemon meringue pie in a 350°F oven and bake until the meringue is lightly golden, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stay nearby while the pie is baking, as meringue can go from perfectly golden to burnt very quickly.

Remove the pie from the oven and allow it to cool completely before slicing. Cooling helps the lemon filling finish setting and makes the pie easier to cut into clean slices

Tips for Making a Successful Lemon Meringue Pie

Lemon meringue pie can feel intimidating, but a few simple tips make it very reliable.

Make sure the lemon filling is fully cooked and thickened before adding the egg yolks. The filling should look clear and glossy once it’s ready. This helps the pie set properly once cooled.

Always spread the meringue onto the warm lemon filling. Sealing the meringue all the way to the edges of the crust helps prevent shrinking and keeps the topping from weeping.

Watch the pie closely while it’s in the oven. Meringue browns quickly, and once it starts to turn golden, it can go from perfect to overdone in just a few moments.

Serving and Storing

Lemon meringue pie doesn’t keep very well. The crust can get soggy, and the meringue can flatten, so this pie is best enjoyed fresh, soon after it’s made.

Pin this lemon meringue pie recipe for later. It’s a classic, from-scratch dessert made with fresh lemons and a fluffy meringue topping, perfect to come back to when you’re ready to bake something special.

I really hope that my post adequately describes how wonderful this recipe is.  Its been a family favorite for generations.

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