Coconut Free Classic Lemon Meringue Pie
Few desserts hit the way a proper lemon meringue pie does — that sharp, silky citrus filling, the buttery shatter of a homemade crust, and a cloud of toasted meringue that practically glows. Many store-bought and restaurant versions sneak coconut oil or coconut-derived ingredients into the crust or filling as a butter substitute, so making it from scratch is genuinely the safest and most satisfying route. Here, the crust is built entirely on cold unsalted butter and ice water, giving you those flaky, golden layers without any tropical oil in sight. The lemon filling gets its luscious body from cornstarch and egg yolks tempered into a bubbling, bright curd — nothing hidden, nothing unnecessary. The Italian meringue is the real showstopper: hot sugar syrup is streamed into whipped egg whites to create a thick, glossy, stable topping that toasts up beautifully under a kitchen torch or broiler. Every component is straightforward and completely transparent, which is exactly what you want when you're navigating ingredient sensitivities. This is the kind of pie that earns serious compliments and tastes even better than it looks.
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Learn more →Ingredients
8 servings
For the crust
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes and chilled
- 3–4 tbsp ice water
For the lemon filling
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 ½ cups water
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice (from about 3–4 lemons)
- 1 tbsp lemon zest (from about 2 lemons)
- 5 large egg yolks
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
For the Italian meringue
- 4 large pasteurized egg whites, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ tsp cream of tartar
Instructions
- 1
Make the crust: Whisk together the flour, 1 tbsp sugar, and 1/2 tsp salt in a large bowl. Add the chilled butter cubes and work them in with your fingertips or a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces of butter remaining. Drizzle in 3 tbsp ice water and stir with a fork until the dough just comes together; add the fourth tablespoon only if the dough is still crumbly. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, press into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- 2
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). On a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled dough into a 12-inch circle about 1/8 inch thick. Drape it over the rolling pin and transfer it to a 9-inch pie dish, pressing it gently into the bottom and sides. Trim the overhang to about 1 inch, fold it under, and crimp the edge. Prick the bottom all over with a fork, line with parchment paper, and fill with pie weights or dried beans.
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