Sweet, tangy, and absolutely stunning—this Lemon Meringue Pie is made with a buttery graham cracker crust with a silky lemon filling and golden meringue that's toasted to perfection. It’s a dessert that says “Wow” without you having to say a word!
Better Than The Rest: Here's Why
✅ The filling is a perfect balance of both sweet and tart, with a silky custard texture that’s rich and satisfying—not that heavy, creamy style you find in most lemon pies.
✅ Unlike most recipes, mine walks you through the simple, foolproof steps to prevent that thin layer of “skin” or "film" from forming on the lemon filling while your pie cools and you whip up the meringue. Learning how to do this correctly will get you that silky-smooth filling and a picture-perfect pie every single time!
❌ This pie is made the old-fashioned way—no condensed milk, just fresh, real ingredients for a bright, vibrant lemon flavor
Lemon Meringue Pie: What To Know & Recipe Highlights
- Graham Cracker Crust - I love making my own homemade graham cracker crust because it doesn't have any additives or processed ingredients. And, it's way more buttery when you make your own!
- Made from Scratch – yep, the entire pie is made from scratch. From squeezing the fresh juice from the lemons to making the meringue...it's all homemade!
- Flour Crust - if you prefer a flour crust over a graham cracker crust, you can definitely substitute! This homemade pie crust I use to make my homemade apple pie works well with this lemon meringue pie! It makes a double batch, so freeze the other one for later.
- Hand Held Citrus Juicer - If you don't have one, it's definitely worth buying. It makes juicing lemons easier and it gets all the juice out easily!
- Lemon Zest - It's optional, but I like to add the lemon zest to the pie filling because it adds extra flavor! Using a zester makes getting the zest super fast and easy!
- Storage - you'll need to refrigerate the pie to cool and to store any leftovers. Use a pie dome or a large cake carrier to cover the pie so the meringue doesn't get smushed.
🛒 Ingredients You'll Need
- Graham Crackers - It takes 1 sleeve of graham crackers (8 crackers) to make the pie crust. If you are in a pinch, you can use a store bought version, but it doesn't taste as fresh and buttery.
- Butter - used to make both the lemon pie filling and the graham cracker crust. Use unsalted butter so you can decide exactly how salty your pie turns out—especially since we’re adding salt later in the recipe.
- Salt - added to the graham cracker crust to balance out the sweetness.
- Lemons - skip the bottled stuff and squeeze your own lemons to get the juice. It takes about 3-4 lemons to get enough juice to make the pie. I also zest the lemons and use the lemon zest in the pie. It adds an extra zest to every bite!
- Sugar - used to make the filling and the meringue.
- Cornstarch - used to make the filling and helps get the custard like texture.
- Water - balances out the custard so it's not too thick and not to thin.
- Eggs - you need 4 egg yolks for the lemon pie filling and 5 egg whites to make the meringue. I talk about how to easily separate them below.
- Vanilla Extract - adds a hint of vanilla to the meringue. And, it adds a slightly golden color to the meringue that gets more vibrant when you cook the pie in the oven.
👩🏼🍳 Scroll down to the recipe card below for all the details you’ll need to make this recipe!
🥣 Here's How To Make It
Step 1: Using a food processor, crush the graham crackers until they are small crumbs.
Step 2: Combine the crushed graham crackers, melted butter, 3 Tablespoon of sugar, and the salt in a medium bowl and mix well with a spoon.
Step 3: Press the crumb mixture evenly into a 9-inch pie dish and place in the oven. Bake until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
Step 4: Remove the pie dish from the oven and set aside on a wire rack to completely cool.
Step 5: Crack the eggs and separate the egg yolks from the egg white.
Step 6: Add the cornstarch, sugar, 4 egg yolks, and the fresh squeezed lemon juice, to a medium saucepan and mix well to combine. Cook over medium-high heat for 1 minute, whisking constantly so the mixture does not burn.
Step 7: Add in 1¼ cup water and continue whisking until blended, using a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the saucepan to make sure the mixture is well combined.
Step 8: Continue to cook the mixture over medium-high heat until it comes to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium and continue to stir for 1 minute, stirring constantly. The mixture should be thick like a custard. Remove the saucepan from the heat and then add in 2 Tablespoons of butter and the lemon zest and stir vigorously until the butter is completely melted and the ingredients are combined.
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Step 9: Pour the mixture into the graham crack crust pie dish.
Step 10: Cover the pie filling with a round piece of parchment paper and let cool until it reaches room temperature.
Step 11: Now it's time to make the meringue. Add the 5 egg whites into the mixing bowl and mix on high speed until soft peaks start to form. Slowly add in the ½ cup of sugar and continue beating until stiff, glossy peaks form.
Step 12: Turn the mixer speed to low and then add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and mix until combined. Set aside.
Step 13: Remove the parchment paper. Spoon the meringue onto the lemon filling and spread it evenly to cover the whole pie.
Step 14: Make sure the meringue touches the crust all the way around so it doesn’t shrink and expose the filling.
Step 15: Place the pie in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes, ot until the meringue starts to turn a golden brown color. When done, remove it from the oven and let it cool on the wire rack to room temperature.
Step 16: Then, place the pie in the refrigerator until the filling is cold, about 4 hours. Make sure it is covered with a pie dome or a large cake carrier so the meringue does not get smushed. When chilled, slice and serve. Store any leftovers covered in the refrigerator.
🙋🏼 Top Questions I Get Asked About This Recipe
This step is important because it prevents a thin “film” from forming on the surface of the filling. Lemon filling is similar to a custard—if left uncovered, the top layer can start to dry out and thicken. This film can keep the meringue from bonding well with the filling, which may cause the two layers to separate after baking and serving. By covering the filling with parchment paper, you keep the surface smooth and moist so the meringue can stick evenly to the lemon meringue pie.
The easiest and most consistent way is to use a food processor—just break the crackers into smaller pieces, then pulse until they turn into fine crumbs.
If you don’t have a food processor, place the crackers in a sturdy zip-top bag, seal it, and crush them with a rolling pin until they reach a sand-like texture. For small batches, you can also crush them in a bowl using the bottom of a glass or measuring cup.
Just make sure you have fine graham cracker crumbs so your crust holds together really well.
Crack the egg over a small bowl and gently pass the yolk back and forth between the shell halves, letting the white drip into the bowl. Then, place the yolk in a second bowl once it’s separated.
Expert Tips
- When making the meringue, make sure you add the sugar gradually. When you do this, the meringue will get fluffier and will be more stable and hold it's shape better.
- Spread the meringue over the filling while it’s still warm. The warmth helps cook the underside of the meringue slightly, creating a stronger seal between the layers.
- You can use parchment paper and cut it into a circle shape to place over the pie filling so the film does not form, but these air fryer liners made from parchment paper are already cut work perfect!
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Lemon Meringue Pie
Equipment
- 1 medium mixing bowl
- 1 Mixing Spoon
- 1 9 inch round pie dish
- 1 medium saucepan
- 1 hand whisk
- 1 rubber spatula
- 1 hand mixer or standing mixer
- 1 large bowl
- 1 cooling rack
Ingredients
For The Graham Cracker Crust
- 1½ cups crushed graham crackers, about 8 whole crackers
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For The Lemon Pie Filling
- ⅓ cup cornstarch
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 4 egg yolks
- ⅓ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1¼ cup water
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 Tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
For The Meringue
- 5 egg whites
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
To Make The Graham Cracker Crust
- Preheat the oven to 375°F
- Crush the graham crackers until they are small crumbs.
- Combine the 1½ cups crushed graham crackers, 6 Tablespoons of melted butter, 3 Tablespoon of sugar, and ¼ teaspoon salt in a medium bowl and mix well with a spoon.
- Press the crumb mixture evenly into a 9-inch pie dish and place in the oven.
- Bake until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Remove the pie dish from the oven and set aside on a wire rack to completely cool.
To Make The Lemon Filling
- Add ⅓ cup cornstarch, 1½ cups of sugar, 4 egg yolks, and ⅓ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice, to a medium saucepan and mix well to combine. Cook over medium-high heat for 1 minute, whisking constantly so the mixture does not burn.
- Add in 1¼ cup water and continue whisking until blended, using a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the saucepan to make sure the mixture is well combined.
- Continue to cook the mixture over medium-high heat until it comes to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium and continue to stir for 1 minute, stirring constantly. The mixture should be thick like a custard.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and then add in 2 Tablespoons of butter and the lemon zest and stir vigorously until the butter is completely melted and the ingredients are combined.
- Pour the mixture into the graham crack crust pie dish. Cover the pie filling with a round piece of parchment paper and let cool until it reaches room temperature.
To Make The Meringue
- Add the 5 egg whites into the mixing bowl and mix on high speed until soft peaks start to form.
- Slowly add in the ½ cup of sugar and continue beating until stiff, glossy peaks form.
- Turn the mixer speed to low and then add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and mix until combined. Set aside.
Baking The Lemon Meringue Pie
- Remove the parchment paper. Spoon the meringue onto the lemon filling and spread it evenly to cover the whole pie. Make sure the meringue touches the crust all the way around so it doesn’t shrink and expose the filling.
- Place the pie in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes, or until the meringue starts to turn a golden brown color.
- When done, remove it from the oven and let it cool on the wire rack to room temperature.
- Then, place the pie in the refrigerator until the filling is cold, about 4 hours. Make sure it is covered with a pie dome or a large cake carrier so the meringue does not get damaged.
- When chilled, slice and serve. Store any leftovers covered in the refrigerator.
Notes
- When making the meringue, make sure you add the sugar gradually. When you do this, the meringue will get fluffier and will be more stable and hold it's shape better.
- Spread the meringue over the filling while it’s still warm. The warmth helps cook the underside of the meringue slightly, creating a stronger seal between the layers.
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