Lemon Meringue Pie Recipe

This Lemon Meringue Pie Recipe is ultra-creamy lemon cheesecake, filled with pockets of lemon curd and topped with a billowy-soft swiss meringue.

My oh my, the lemon addiction rolls on with this Lemon Meringue Pie. Which was inspired by a Lemon Meringue Cheesecake I had back in Paris. When I booked my flights to France, I never thought I’d find the most amazing slice of cheesecake. Macarons and croissants, yes. Cheesecake? Not so much. But when we came across the cutest little shop, Berko, and then went inside and saw cases filled with cheesecake, we obviously had to try them. I ordered the Lemon Meringue Cheesecake because LEMON and I just about died because of how good it was. Actually, all of the cheesecakes were amazing, but the consensus was the Lemon Cheesecake was the favorite.

So, I’m no Berko, but I can make a mean pie that tastes ultra-lemony, extra creamy and super decadent. It’s a gift, what can I say? Whether you’re a passive cheesecake lover or at the addictive level, this is the kind of dessert that always gets finished, that always has people raving and that doesn’t get easily forgotten.

In a nutshell, this Lemon Meringue Pie has three parts: the crust, the filling, and the topping.

The crust is a simple graham cracker crust, made with crushed graham crackers, melted butter, and sugar. Press that into a springform pan and bake before throwing in your filling.

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The filling is cream cheese, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, lemon extract, vanilla extract, and lemon curd. The lemon curd gets dolloped into the bottom of the pan before the cheesecake filling gets poured over the top! Bake and leave to cool in the oven.

The topping is simply just a swiss meringue (made in a double boiler) that has been toasted.

It is a bit of a long recipe, but the directions couldn’t be simpler. I promise it’s easier done than said! My biggest tips would include using cream cheese that is absolutely at room temperature and leaving the cooked cheesecake in the oven for a good 6 hours (or overnight!) after baking to cool and avoid cracking, though a crack in a cheesecake never stopped me from eating it. That’s basically it!

Here are a few photos of the process to use as a guideline, but generally speaking if you have a moderate amount of kitchen experience, this recipe should be relatively stress-free! Just plan ahead because it’s not a one and done.

Have a great day, friends!

5 from 4 votes

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Lemon Meringue Pie

This Lemon Meringue Pie is ultra-creamy lemon cheesecake, filled with pockets of lemon curd and topped with a billowy-soft swiss meringue.

Course Dessert

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Total Time 9 hours 30 minutes

Servings 10 servings

Calories 371 kcal

Author Lauren Brennan

Ingredients

for the crust-

• 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 5 tablespoons melted butter

for the filling-

• 4-8 oz. packages cream cheese completely at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons lemon extract
• 4 large eggs at room temperature
• 1/4 cup lemon zest very loosely packed
• 2/3 cup cold lemon curd

for the Swiss Meringue topping-

• 3 egg whites
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, stir graham cracker crumbs with sugar and melted butter until combined and moist. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake 10 minutes and set aside to cool.
2. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.
3. In a large bowl, stir cream cheese and sugar together until smooth and combined. Stir in vanilla and lemon extracts. Add in one egg at a time and stir in completely before adding in the next egg. Scrape edges and stir in lemon zest. 

4. Add lemon curd into the cooked crust by dolloping it around the edges and into the center. (Using cold lemon curd with allow it to hold its shape while baking.

5. Pour prepared batter over top of the lemon curd and smooth the top. Bake 1 hour, then turn oven off completely, leaving cheesecake inside the oven to cool completely, about 6 hours.
6. Refrigerate cheesecake until completely chilled.
7. For the topping, using a hand mixer, whisk egg whites, granulated sugar and cream of tartar together in the top of a double boiler OR in a large, heat-safe bowl overtop of simmering water. Whisk 5-7 minutes or until topping is very thick, glossy and billowy. Fold in vanilla.
8. Spread over top of cheesecake and broil on low until topping has browned. OR use a kitchen torch to brown. Refrigerate until ready to serve. 

Nutrition Facts

Lemon Meringue Pie

Amount Per Serving

Calories 371 Calories from Fat 117

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 13g 20%

Saturated Fat 7g 35%

Cholesterol 92mg 31%

Sodium 241mg 10%

Potassium 83mg 2%

Total Carbohydrates 58g 19%

Sugars 52g

Protein 5g 10%

Vitamin A 8.4%

Vitamin C 3.8%

Calcium 3.4%

Iron 4.5%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

other lemon recipes you might like:

Chewy Glazed Lemon Sugar Cookies

Lemon Cream Pie

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Lemon No-Bake Icebox Cake

Glazed Lemon Cookies