Lemon Meringue Pie
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With a graham cracker crust and sweetened condensed milk filling, this lemon meringue pie is foolproof and easy.
This lemon meringue pie recipe comes from Myra Santoro, the mom of one of my oldest and dearest friends. Originally from Snow Hill, North Carolina, Myra is a fabulous Southern cook with a huge heart. As a kid, I practically lived at her house and, with so many good smells coming from the kitchen, I was always trying to finagle a way to stay for dinner.
Unlike most lemon meringue pie recipes, which can be rife with issues — a soggy crust, a soupy filling, or a meringue that weeps — Myra’s recipe is foolproof. It’s delicious too: I once made it and left it on the counter with a note for my husband and kids to try it. I came home to find the pie butchered with forks and almost entirely gone; they had not even bothered to slice it!
What You’ll Need To Make Myra’s Lemon Meringue Pie
How To Make Lemon Meringue Pie
Step 1: Make the Crust
Start with the crust. In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Add the melted butter.
Stir with a fork first, and then your hands until the mixture is well combined.
Using your fingers and the bottom of a clean drinking glass or measuring cup, press the crumbs firmly into the bottom and up the sides of a deep dish pie pan. The crust should be about 1/4-in thick. Bake for about 10 minutes, until just slightly browned. Let the crust sit on a wire rack while you prepared the rest of the pie, and lower the oven temperature to 325°F.
Step 2: Make the Filling
Combine the egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a medium bowl.
Whisk to combine and set aside.
Step 3: Make the Meringue
Bring about 1/2 inch of water to a simmer in a pot that’s large enough to hold the bowl of a stand mixer without letting it touch the water. Reduce the heat to low.
Put the egg whites and sugar in the bowl off the heat and whisk until frothy. Put the bowl over the pot and whisk gently but constantly until the whites are very warm to the touch, or about 115°F and the sugar is completely dissolved, 2 to 4 minutes. (Heating the egg whites and sugar before beating them helps stabilize the meringue so it doesn’t weep once cooked.)
Remove the bowl from the heat and transfer it to the stand mixer fit with the whisk attachment. Add the cream of tartar.
Beat over medium-high speed until the egg whites form thick, glossy medium-firm peaks, 3 to 5 minutes total.
When you lift the whisk out of the bowl, the whites should hold their shape but curl at their tips.
Step 4: Assemble the Pie
Pour the lemon filling into the baked crust.
Mound the meringue onto the wet lemon filling.
Using a soup spoon, gently spread the meringue over the entire surface of the filling, making sure to go all the way to the crust’s edge (it is essential that the edge of the meringue be anchored to the rim of the crust; otherwise it will shrink). Make decorative peaks and swirls in the meringue with the back of the spoon.
Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the meringue is lightly browned.
Let the pie cool completely on a rack before serving, about 3 hours.
Photo by Our Salty Kitchen
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Easy Lemon Meringue Pie
With a graham cracker crust and sweetened condensed milk filling, this lemon meringue pie is foolproof and easy.
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 1½ cups graham cracker crumbs, from about 12 whole crackers
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ¼ cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
For the Filling
- 4 large egg yolks (reserve the whites for the meringue)
- 1 (14-oz) can Eagle sweetened condensed milk (see note)
- 1 teaspoon packed finely grated lemon zest, from 1 lemon
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice, from about 3 lemons
For the Meringue
- 4 large egg whites
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
Instructions
For the Crust:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and set an oven rack in the middle position.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Add the melted butter; stir with a fork first, and then your hands until the mixture is well combined. Using your fingers and the bottom of a clean drinking glass or measuring cup, press the crumbs firmly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9 x 1.5-inch pie pan. The crust should be about ¼ inch thick.
- Bake for about 10 minutes, until just slightly browned. Let the crust sit on a wire rack while you prepared the rest of the pie. Lower the oven temperature to 325°F.
For the Filling:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Pour into the warm crust.
For the Meringue:
- Bring about ½ inch of water to a simmer in a pot that's large enough to hold the bowl of a stand mixer without letting it touch the water. Reduce the heat to low. Put the egg whites and sugar in the bowl off the heat and whisk until frothy. Put the bowl over the pot and whisk gently but constantly until the whites are very warm to the touch, or about 115°F (the temperature does not need to be exact; the mixture should feel hot, but not so hot that you can't leave your finger in there) and the sugar is completely dissolved, 2 to 4 minutes.
- Remove the bowl from the heat and transfer it to the stand mixer fit with the whisk attachment. Add the cream of tartar. Beat over medium high speed until the egg whites form thick, glossy medium-firm peaks (they should hold their shape but curl at their tips), 3 to 5 minutes total.
- Mound the meringue onto the wet lemon filling. Using a soup spoon, gently spread the meringue over the entire surface of the filling, making sure to go all the way to the crust’s edge (it is essential that the edge of the meringue be anchored to the rim of the crust; otherwise it will shrink). Make decorative peaks and swirls in the meringue with the back of the spoon.
- (Be sure you've reduced the oven temperature to 325°F.) Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the meringue is lightly browned. Let the pie cool completely on a rack before serving, about 3 hours.
- Lemon meringue pie is best eaten the day it’s made, but leftovers will keep, loosely tented with aluminum foil and refrigerated, for 2 days. Just keep in mind that meringue gets quite sticky in the fridge. Do not freeze.
- Note: Several readers have had issues with the filling being too runny. I believe this is likely caused by using less common brands of sweetened condensed milk, such as Meadow Gold or Weis. Please use Eagle brand sweetened condensed milk for reliable results. Also, for Canadians, please note that Canadian Eagle sweetened condensed milk comes in a smaller-sized can than the American version (you will need two cans but you won't use all of it).
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (10 servings)
- Calories: 309
- Fat: 11 g
- Saturated fat: 6 g
- Carbohydrates: 47 g
- Sugar: 39 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 7 g
- Sodium: 138 mg
- Cholesterol: 100 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Hi Jenn, I have a diary intolerance and am always looking for tips on how to modify the recipe to take this into account. What do you suggest I substitute for condensed milk? Any other changes I should make to the recipe?
Hi Melissa, I’ve only made this with sweetened condensed milk so I can’t say for sure how it will impact the recipe, but this page provides an option for a nondairy substitute. You may also want to check out my Lemon Bars. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
Hey Jenn! I was wondering if I would achieve the same outcome with a fluffy meringue if I used an electric mixer as I don’t own a stand mixer…?
Yep, that will work. 🙂
Hi Jenn, my friend requested this pie for her son’s birthday party (next Friday). However, he has a severe dairy allergy. What could I substitute for the condensed milk?
Hi Deniza, I’ve only made this with sweetened condensed milk so I can’t say for sure how it will turn out, but this page provides a suggestion for a nondairy substitute. You might also want to check out my lemon squares. Please let me know how it turns out if you try it!
Oh My Goodness!!! This was a complete disaster! I made this at a friend’s request for her son’s birthday party. He has a dairy allergy, so yesterday I spent over 2 h making home-made coconut condensed milk. Today I made the pie – let me just say, I bake a lot. I have been baking for over 15 years. I have never had such a failure before! I didn’t put any sugar in the crust (graham crackers are plenty sweet by themselves), I used coconut oil instead of butter, and condensed coconut milk. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly. My pie didn’t look as pretty as Jenn’s, but this is the first time I made a meringue, so all things considered, it was ok. I baked at 325 F for 20 minutes. The meringue looked as it should, so I took the pie out and let it cool. Fast forward 5 hours – I am on my way to my friend’s house, and the pie is on the passenger seat, slightly at an angle. After 5 minutes of driving, I look over and the seat is covered in pie filling. I was mortified! I picked it up and gently rocked it – the meringue was floating on a sea of soupy filling. Once at my friend’s house, I covered the pie with parchment paper to protect the meringue, and popped it in the oven at 325 F. I told her to leave it for 20 minutes and not to tell me if she ends up throwing the whole thing out. Super frustrated for the time I spent making the condensed milk. I am not sure how the filling was even supposed to set. I am looking at other recipes now, and all of them ask for some sort of thickener. Anyway, I will not attempt to make this again. Super bummed.
Deniza, I’m so sorry to hear this was such a fail!! If you attempt to make another dairy-free lemon meringue pie, I hope you find a better alternative next time around. Such a bummer to spend that time with nothing to show for it… 🙁
Seems rude to make so many changes to a recipe and then write such a bad review.
Mary, 100%! You’re so gracious. My take is that it doesn’t only seem rude, it IS rude.
10 million changes but otherwise “followed the recipe exactly” hahahaha and then you complain… this comment really takes the biscuit 😉 bless Jenn’s patience and ability to remain civil.
Sounds like my mom’s recipe.
Best lemon meringue pie ever. My husband said it was his favorite dessert ever!
Best LM pie. EVER! I followed directions closely.
Tried this recipe tonight. Was disappointed in the process for the meringue as it would not set up and I ended up with liquid goop. Threw the batch of meringue away and returned to the tried and true method that has always worked. Hopefully the custard portion will turn out better. I will edit after trying it.
Sorry you had trouble, Keri. Hope the pie turned out well.
Jenn, my family is not a fan of meringue. Can I double the filling, bake as directed, and add whipped cream topping after its cooled?
I am the worst cook; yet with your help, that’s rapidly changing. Love your recipes. They are healthy… and incredibly delicious. Thanks.
So glad you like the recipes, Robyn! I honestly don’t think it’s necessary to double the filling here. After you add the filling to the crust, it should take a little less time in the oven; I’d guesstimate about 15 minutes. Enjoy!
This pie is delicious with whipped cream. My granddaughter (then age 9) used this recipe (all the same ingredients) in a version that doubles all filling ingredients except the zest, and bakes (350 degrees for 15 minutes) without the topping. She tops the cooled pie with whipped cream and garnishes with mint and thinly-sliced lemon wedges. She won a local baking competition, and has made it for her grandpa’s birthday very year since then. It’s his favorite, and it’s delicious!
Easy Lemon Meringue Pie – delicious and so easy to make. Fool proof recipe.
Jennifer, I made this pie this weekend and it was perfect, my friends loved it. I will certainly make it again! Thank you so much.
Ruth