Walnut Free Classic Lemon Meringue Pie
Few desserts hit the way a lemon meringue pie does — that sharp, silky citrus filling, the buttery homemade crust, and a cloud of toasted meringue that practically begs you to take a photo before you slice it. The filling gets its gorgeous, jammy texture from fresh lemon juice and zest combined with cornstarch and egg yolks, tempered carefully so everything sets up clean and glossy. The Italian meringue technique — pouring hot sugar syrup into whipped egg whites — gives you a topping that's dramatically stable and beautifully shiny, with none of the weeping you sometimes get from a standard meringue. Every component here is straightforward pantry and produce-aisle stuff: flour, butter, sugar, lemons, eggs. There's nothing hiding in this recipe that doesn't belong, which makes it a genuinely worry-free bake for anyone navigating tree nut sensitivities. Torch the peaks until they're amber-tipped and gorgeous, then let the whole thing chill until the filling slices like a dream. This is the kind of pie that makes people ask if you went to culinary school.
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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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