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This Gluten Free Lemon Meringue Pie features a sweet-tart, silky smooth filling balanced on a buttery gluten free crust capped with a pillow of meringue. It is so easy to make at home and tastes like it came from a bakery!
The Best Gluten Free Lemon Meringue Pie
If you’ve got a hankering for lemon meringue pie, chances are you won’t be able to find a gluten-free version at your local store. Happily, you can make gluten-free lemon meringue pie at home! Using simple ingredients like fresh lemon juice and fresh eggs, and by following my method below, you’ll soon be able to make the lemon meringue pie of your dreams without any gluten.
A lemon meringue pie is a sumptuous confection of a silky smooth lemon filling topped by fluffy swirls of lightly browned meringue. It’s easily adapted to be gluten-free by swapping in a gluten-free pie crust. You can use a store-bought pie crust if you’re short on time, although I highly recommend making your own. Or you can experiment with different cookie crusts, like a gluten-free graham cracker crust, for more flavor and texture.
Don’t be intimidated by the steps to follow for making the filling – I’ve outlined everything below so you can follow along without any stress. My recipe will help you create a gorgeously plush and creamy gluten-free lemon meringue pie that tastes like it came straight from the bakery.
Why You’ll Love This GF Lemon Meringue Pie
Lemon meringue pie is such a classic! It’s tart-sweet and topped with the most perfect meringue. Here’s why you’ll love this GF lemon meringue pie:
- Naturally gluten-free. This is the top reason why I love this lemon meringue pie! It’s made with all gluten-free ingredients so you won’t have to worry, and it tastes just as good as a “regular” lemon meringue pie.
- Beautiful textures. The ideal lemon meringue pie contains an ultra-smooth filling topped with fluffy meringue and a buttery crust. You’ll find all that and more in this recipe!
- Easily adapted. You can easily adapt this recipe to being dairy-free as well as gluten-free if needed.
- Simple ingredients. You’ll find all of the ingredients needed in this pie at your local grocery store, nothing fancy is needed.
What You’ll Need
I’ve outlined the list of ingredients you’ll need to make lemon meringue pie below. Don’t forget to scroll to the recipe card at the end of this post for the full ingredient amounts.
- Gluten Free Pie Crust: You can use a store-bought pie crust or make your own using my recipe!
- Eggs: Eggs form both the filling and the topping for this pie.
- Sugar: We use just enough sugar to sweeten the pie without overpowering the natural tartness of the lemon.
- Lemon Juice: Freshly squeezed lemon juice will give the best, most lemony flavor to this lemon meringue pie.
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch, a naturally gluten free ingredient, helps bind the lemon filling.
- Lemon Zest: Use the zest from the lemon you squeezed for the juice!
- Salt: I use fine grain salt in my baking recipes.
- Butter: I like unsalted butter in this recipe but you could use salted butter if necessary.
- Cream of Tartar: Cream of tartar is a wonderful ingredient that helps egg whites become very light and fluffy when whipped. It’s usually included in the spice aisle at the grocery store.
- Vanilla Extract: Pure vanilla extract will give the best flavor to this pie.
How To Make Gluten Free Lemon Meringue Pie
Here’s my method for making gluten-free lemon meringue. Let the photos below guide you through making this beautiful dessert.
- Preheat the oven. Preheat the oven to 425℉.
- Par-bake the pie crust. Roll out your pie dough and line a 9-inch pie tin. Use the tines of a fork to pierce the bottom of the pie dough 6-8 times. Crumble a sheet of parchment paper and line the inside of the pie shell with the paper. Then fill the crust up halfway with pie weights (or you can use dry rice or beans). Place the pie on the bottom rack of the preheated oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
- Reduce the temperature. Remove the par-baked pie crust from the oven and set aside. Reduce the oven temperature to 350℉.
Prepare the Filling
- Whisk the egg yolks. Divide the egg yolks and whites into two separate bowls. Whisk the egg yolks until smooth.
- Make the lemon mixture. Add the water, 1 cup sugar, cornstarch, ¼ teaspoon salt, lemon juice and lemon zest to a saucepan over medium heat. Stir well until the sugar has dissolved. Cook until the mixture is just bubbling and a little bit thicker.
- Temper the eggs with the lemon mixture. Pour a small amount of the hot sugar mixture into the egg yolks while whisking to temper the eggs. Add more of the sugar mixture and whisk again. Once the temperature of the egg yolks is warm, pour the yolk mixture back into the saucepan.
- Cook the egg and lemon mixture. Cook the egg/lemon mixture until it has large bubbles. Remove from heat and whisk in the butter.
- Place the filling in the pie crust. Spread the lemon filling into your par-baked pie crust.
Prepare the Meringue
- Beat the egg whites. Add the egg whites, cream of tartar, vanilla, and ⅛ teaspoon salt to a clean mixing bowl. Beat with the whisk attachment, starting at a low speed and slowly increasing the speed.
- Add in the sugar. Once the egg whites reach soft peaks, stream in the sugar at a steady pace. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and continue to whisk until stiff peaks form.
- Spoon the meringue onto the lemon pie filling. Use the back of the spoon to make swoops in the meringue. Make sure the meringue touches the crust to seal the pie together.
- Bake. Bake in the preheated oven on the bottom oven rack for about 20 minutes or until the meringue is golden brown.
- Chill. Remove the pie from the oven and cool at room temperature for 1 hour, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.
Tips for Success
To make the best gluten free lemon meringue pie, there are a few simple tips you can follow. I’ve detailed them below:
- Use room-temperature eggs. To make the best, most fluffy meringue, you should always use eggs that have been brought to room temperature.
- Separate your eggs carefully. Another tip for making a super fluffy meringue is to separate your eggs very carefully – you don’t want to get even a speck of yolk in the whites. And make sure to use a clean bowl when you whip the whites.
- Temper the egg yolks. Tempering the egg yolks will help keep the filling from becoming watery. It’s a fine balance between keeping the filling smooth but also thick, and cooking the yolks a bit first before adding them into the whole filling mixture to cook will help with this.
- Chill the pie thoroughly. As with many pies, the longer a pie rests after it’s baked the more solidified the filling will be. This step is especially important with lemon meringue pie because the lemon filling is loose when it’s hot. Cooling the pie on the counter for 1 hour and then having it set in the fridge for at least 4 hours will ensure a perfectly textured filling.
- Make the pie in advance. Following along with the previous tip, you can definitely make this pie a day in advance! If you do so, it will make sure the filling is set, as well as being nice and cold.
- Par-bake the crust. Follow my instructions for blind-baking, or par-baking, your pie crust before you fill it. This will help keep the crust crisp even after it’s filled with lemon filling.
- Make it dairy-free. You can easily make this recipe dairy-free by substituting non-dairy butter for the butter and making the pie crust with non-dairy butter.
Common Questions
A lemon meringue pie filling may become watery if the filling was not cooked long enough on the stove, or the pie was not baked long enough for the filling to fully set.
A lemon meringue pie has a filling based on egg yolks, cornstarch for thickener, and butter while a lemon cream pie has a custard filling based on cream and egg yolks.
Adding cornstarch to egg white when you make meringue helps absorb extra water and makes the meringue extra light and fluffy.
Can GF Lemon Meringue Pie Be Made In Advance?
Yes! You’ll need to budget at least 4 hours for the pie to cool before eating it, and you may want to just plan to make it a day in advance so that the filling will be fully set and cooled by the time you serve it.
Proper Storage
Always store lemon meringue pie in the fridge, and never on the counter. To protect the meringue, you can stick a few toothpicks on the top of the meringue and cover the pie with plastic wrap. Store the pie in the fridge for up to 2 days. Serve it cold and straight from the fridge.
Gluten Free Lemon Meringue Pie
Ingredients
- Single 9-inch gluten free pie crust
- 4 eggs
- 1 ½ cup sugar, divided/300 grams
- ½ cup lemon juice / 120 ml
- ⅓ cup cornstarch / 42 grams
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- ⅜ teaspoon salt, divided
- 3 tablespoons butter, cut into cubes
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425℉.
- Roll out your pie dough and line a 9-inch pie tin. Use the tines of a fork to pierce the bottom of the pie dough 6-8 times. Crumble a sheet of parchment paper and line the inside of the pie shell with the paper. Then fill the crust up halfway with pie weights (or you can use dry rice or beans). Place the pie on the bottom rack of the preheated oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
- Remove the par-baked pie crust from the oven and set aside. Reduce the oven temperature to 350℉.
Prepare the Filling
- Divide the egg yolks and whites in two separate bowls.
- Add the egg yolks to a medium sized bowl and whisk them until smooth.
- Add the water, 1 cup sugar, cornstarch, ¼ teaspoon salt, lemon juice and lemon zest to a saucepan over medium heat. Stir well until the sugar has dissolved. Cook until the mixture is just bubbling and a little bit thicker.
- Pour a small amount of the hot sugar mixture into the egg yolks while whisking to temper the eggs. Add more of the sugar mixture and whisk again. Once the temperature of the egg yolks is warm, pour the yolk mixture back into the saucepan.
- Cook the egg/lemon mixture until it has large bubbles. Remove from heat and whisk in the butter.
- Spread the lemon filling into your par-baked pie crust.
Prepare the Meringue
- Add the egg whites, cream of tartar, vanilla and ⅛ teaspoon salt to a clean mixing bowl.
- Beat with the whisk attachment, starting at a low speed and slowly increasing the speed.
- Once the egg whites reach soft peaks, stream in the sugar at a steady pace. Increase the mixer speed to medium high and continue to whisk until stiff peaks form.
- Spoon the meringue onto the lemon pie filling. Use the back of the spoon to make swoops in the meringue. Make sure the meringue touches the crust to seal the pie together.
- Bake in the preheated oven on the bottom oven rack for about 20 minutes or until the meringue is golden brown.
- Remove the pie from the oven and cool at room temperature for 1 hour, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving
Did you make this?
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