Looking for how to make a tasty lemon meringue pie? It’s the perfect summertime dessert option for any gatherings you are planning!
Do you have a favorite pie? I love all things lemon so it should be no surprise to you then that my favorite pie is Lemon Meringue Pie. My mom always said it was my dad’s favorite too which makes it extra endearing to me!
She would make lemon meringue pie for all of my dad’s birthdays growing up. And boy does she have the meringue peaks down to a beautiful science!
I practice and practice and my meringue peaks still don’t look like hers… but as long as the pie tastes delicious – who am I to complain??
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Making an Easy & Tasty Lemon Meringue Pie
I know it can be frustrating to click on a recipe post and have to read a really long drawn out post.
So I am not going to sit here and tell you some emotional history I have with this particular type of pie… I am just going to get straight to the chase here with the recipe!!
Ingredients You Need to Make Lemon Meringue Pie
Be sure to buy the Jello Pudding COOK AND SERVE 4.3 oz box of lemon pudding – not the smaller instant pudding!!
Recipe for A Tasty Lemon Meringue Pie
Lemon Meringue Pie
Ingredients
Pie Crust
- ½ cup butter
- 1½ cups flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 5 Tbs milk
Lemon Pudding Filling
- 1 box Jello Lemon Flavored Cook and Serve Pudding and Pie Filling 4.3 oz size
- ¾ cup sugar
- 3 egg yolks
- 3 cups water
Meringue Topping
- 3 egg whites
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ½ tsp cream of tartar
Instructions
Crust:
- Mix flour and salt together in a medium mixing bowl
- Cut the softened butter into pieces and cut into flour mixture using a fork or pastry cutter
- Stir in milk with fork and then knead dough together with hands to make a ball
- Refrigerate for 1/2 -1 hour
- Put flour on countertop and roll out dough to the size of your pie dish
- Place carefully in pie dish and prep sides as desired – I just use my finger and thumb to add a slight wave to my sides
- Prick dough in many places with a fork – especially sides and corners
- Bake in a 450° oven for about 10 minutes or until golden brown
- Let cool for about 30 minutes
Lemon Filling
- Mix pudding mix, sugar, egg yolks and ½ cup of water in a medium saucepan
- Add in remaining 2½ cups of water
- Bring to a boil on medium heat stirring constantly
- Turn stove off and set aside to cool for 5 minutes as you make the topping
Meringue topping
- Beat 3 egg whites and cream of tartar with electric mixer on medium speed for one minute then increase to high speed until high peaks are formed (about 4 more minutes).
- Gradually beat in ⅓ cup sugar until glossy stiff peaks form – about two more minutes.
Pie
- Pour lemon filling into cooled baked pie shell
- Starting with the edges of the pie – drop meringue topping on top of lemon filling by the spoonful
- Make sure the meringue is going right up to the pie crust and is sealed to the edges of the crust
- Drop the rest of the meringue topping onto the filling and spread to connect all the drops
- Use an icing spatula or spoon to pull up the peaks and put a design on the meringue
Bake in a 350° oven for 15 to 20 minutes until lightly browned
- Cool completely at room temperature.
- Refrigerate any leftovers
Shop My Kitchen Favorites
Over the years, I have collected so many favorite baking supplies and dishes. I have slowly been adding quality items to my kitchen so that baking and cooking have become a wonderful treat. Having a well equipped kitchen is honestly one of my must haves in order to be a well prepared hostess :).
Having said that – it does take time and patience in order to find the best items. I have listed some of my favorites below for you ;).
Tips for the Perfect Lemon Meringue Pie
Believe me when I say – I have still not perfected the art of the best lemon meringue pie. As I said above – that is my mom! However, I have most certainly made plenty of mistakes in so doing!
Here are some of the things I have learned:
- I recently used a refrigerated store bought pie crust to speed up this pie making recipe. I even mentioned it above as an easier way to make this pie. But truth be told – I do not like the flavor with a store bought crust!!! So if you have the time – I highly recommend the pie crust above (also it’s my mom’s recipe and it is delicious!!)
- Along the lines of pie crust – my mom always had extra strips of crust that she would sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 8-10 minutes and give to us as a treat – LOVE THIS!!!
- Be sure to allow plenty of time for your pre-baked pie crust to cool off. Do not start making the filling or meringue until your pie crust IS ALREADY COOLED!
- DO NOT LET THE PUDDING MIX OR MERINGUE SIT AFTER YOU MAKE THEM! I made this HUGE mistake the other night (and truth be told – if you look at some of the above photos real closely you can see this mistake!). This tip goes along with the above tip because I baked my crust while I made the pudding filling and meringue topping. And then I let ALL of them sit for about thirty minutes while the crust cooled down. The pudding filling got lumpy and the meringue topping crystallized!! Since I was in a hurry (my birthday was the next day and I needed to get pics for this post 😳) – I made the pie anyway with these two not so perfect options… still tastes good but just wanted to make you aware – it will not be nearly as pretty!!!
- Your meringue topping needs to touch the pie crust edges – otherwise the pudding and topping will separate.
- Make sure to spread the meringue topping on top of the pudding filling while the pudding is still warm. This will allow the two to seal and prevent separation.
- Cold eggs separate easier than warm eggs so be sure to do so immediately after taking out of the refrigerator.
- However – room temperature EGG WHITES will whip faster and at a greater volume than cold egg whites so be sure to let the egg whites get to room temp while cooking the pudding filling.
- To avoid a weeping meringue – make sure you add the sugar *after* soft peaks are formed. If added before that, the egg whites could stretch too much which prevents a stiff peak altogether.
- Let pie sit for one hour on the counter before putting in the refrigerator for four hours before serving.
- Serve cold and cover and refrigerate any leftovers.
- Lemon meringue pie is best on day one because the meringue will start to wilt and separate after this and become stickier to slice.
- That said – I will eat a three day old homemade lemon meringue pie! (so don’t think you have to throw it away after the meringue starts wilting!).
Lemon meringue pie is certainly one of the easier pies to make. You can even purchase a pre-made refrigerated pie crust that would make this recipe even faster!
I just made this pie a couple of nights ago for my own birthday in honor of my dad. He passed away in June 2006 so now when I make this favorite pie of mine and his – it always brings a smile to my face.
I unfortunately ate that pie in about two days – I am pretty sure my husband ate one slice.
Which leaves the fact that the other 7 slices were eaten by yours truly 😬.
I hope this post on how to make a tasty lemon meringue pie was helpful in making this year round treat! If you are an anything lemon lover like me – you probably see yellow hearts in your eyes and your mouth waters just reading recipes like this ;).
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