This Classic Lemon Meringue Pie is a perfect combination of tart and sweet. This pie features a high fluffy meringue, thick lemony custard, and a homemade crust. This is a perfect dessert for any occasion or party, whether it is spring, summer or even for Christmas!

Tips for Making Classic Lemon Meringue Pie

You can use either store-bought crust or make your own flaky pie crust from scratch before starting this Classic Lemon Meringue pie.

There is a lot of steps that happen very quickly at the stove so I suggest prepping all of your ingredients ahead of time so that you don’t get flustered when you are making the custard.

When making this recipe, you will make the meringue first. Use room temperature egg whites to make this process go so much smoother. Also, when you crack the eggs, make sure you do not get any egg yolk into the egg white. Not even a speck!

You will also want to make sure that your bowl and beater is very clean and doesn’t have any oil residue. Oil and egg yolks will inhibit the ability for the meringue to form.

Then, you will make the custard, and while the custard is still hot you will spread the meringue on top to prevent the meringue from weeping.

Weeping is when you see water droplets on the meringue. Spreading the meringue all the way to the crust so there are no gaps will make sure the meringue looks beautiful!

Alright, you ready?! Let’s get baking!!

Supplies

Measuring cups, spoons, and measuring scale
Stand mixer or hand-held mixer
Whisk
Large spoon
Prep bowls
Rubber spatula
9″ round pie pan
Zester
Sharp knife or lemon juicer
Sauce pan

Instructions on How to Make Classic Lemon Meringue Pie

(You can print the instructions in the recipe card below!)

First, you will want to assemble and blind-bake your crust. This will allow your crust to keep its shape and prevent bubbling. It will also help keep the crust from getting soggy. You will want to blind-bake your crust regardless of whether you use store-bought pie crust or make your own flaky pie crust from scratch.

After your pie crust is ready, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and prep all of the ingredients so that you can work quickly at the stove.

Next, we will prepare the meringue. In your stand mixer, you will whisk the egg whites on low until it is nice and frothy. Then, you will add in the cream of tartar and slowly add in the sugar. You can increase the speed to medium. Continue to beat until you have stiff peaks. When you lift up the beater, you will see these stiff peaks stay suspended in the air.

Once you have the stiff peaks, you can move on to the custard.

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the granulated sugar, all-purpose flour, cornstarch, and salt. Then, add in the water, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently.

Once it is boiling, add the butter to the saucepan and mix well until it is melted.

Working quickly, in a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Remove a 1/2 cup of the hot sugar mixture and add to the egg yolks and whisk together well.

Add the egg yolk-sugar mixture back into the saucepan, and whisk consistently. Bring the mixture back up to a boil, and whisk for one minute while it is boiling. The mixture has turned into a custard and should be very thick and creamy.

Carefully pour the custard into the pie crust in an even layer. Be sure not to burn yourself! The custard will be very hot.

While the custard is still hot, gently fold the meringue onto the top of the pie. Spread the meringue all the way over the edge of the crust so that the custard does not show through. Use a rubber spatula to create swirls on top of the meringue.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until the top of the meringue is a golden brown.

Allow to cool for an hour, and then refrigerate for four hours to cool and set completely.