The BEST Lemon Meringue Pie Recipe is right here! Pie crust filled with tart, smooth tart lemon filling, and topped with a perfectly fluffy toasted homemade meringue makes this homemade dessert pie recipe hard to resist! This pie is the perfect dessert for any special occasion!
First, you will need to make a homemade pie crust. Place the pie crust into a 9-inch pie dish, press the pie crust into the dish, and bake pie crust according to the recipe directions. Allow the pie crust to come to room temperature and then place it in the fridge for at least 2 hours to chill after baking. You can take a shortcut and use a premade pie crust and bake it if you want to, I do prefer homemade pie crust when making pies.
Once the baked pie crust is fully chilled, preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Make the Lemon Filling
Using a small bowl crack the eggs to separate the egg whites from the egg yolks. Put only the egg whites into the bowl, and set the egg whites aside.
In a medium mixing bowl add the sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, and egg yolks, stir until well combined, and set aside.
Make the Meringue topping
Set up the stand mixer with the whisk attachment. If you do not have a stand mixer you can use a large mixing bowl and an electric mixer to make the meringue topping.
In the bowl of a stand mixer place the egg whites and cream of tartar and whisk until soft peaks form on low speed for 1 minute and then up the speed to medium-high speed for the peaks to form.
Once the soft peaks have formed slowly incorporate your sugar while the mixture whips. Mix until you have stiff peaks and then turn off the mixer once you have reached stiff peaks.
Assemble and bake the pie
Pour the lemon meringue pie mixture into the bottom of the pie crust and spread it evenly on the bottom of the crust. If you are using a homemade crust make sure the pie crust is cooled completely.
Scoop the meringue on top of the lemon custard and spread it around on top of the whole pie to form small peaks using a rubber spatula. You can also use the back of a spoon to form the peaks of the meringue.
Place the pie in the middle of oven on the lowest rack for 12-15 minutes or until the meringue topping is a light golden brown.