Tangy and sweet, these lemon meringue pie bars start with a homemade lemon curd topped with pillowy meringue. All the amazingness of lemon meringue pie, but in bar form. These pie bars are perfect for parties or the holidays!
Why this recipe works
You’ll get more servings out of these lemon meringue pie bars than you would with a traditional pie, making it great for larger get-togethers.
Ingredients you will need
Get all measurements, ingredients, and instructions in the printable version at the end of this post.
CRUST – To make these pie bars quick and easy, we’re using a premade pie dough. You can certainly make your own pie dough or even a shortbread or graham cracker crust instead.
FILLING – The second layer is made up of sweet and tangy homemade lemon curd that holds up well thanks to the cornstarch allowing it to reach a nice thick consistency.
TOPPING – Don’t let meringue intimidate you, this meringue consists of just 3 ingredients and is easy to whip up with the consistency of marshmallow fluff. It should hold stiff peaks when held up on your beater. If you have a preferred method of making meringue, feel free to substitute with that.
How to Make Lemon Meringue Pie Bars
These step by step photos and instructions are here to help you visualize how to make this recipe. You can Jump to Recipe to get the printable version of this recipe, complete with measurements and instructions at the bottom.
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Using an 8×8 inch pan, roll out the pie crust and cut to fit the bottom of the dish. Cut to be slightly bigger than the bottom since it will shrink as it cooks. Spray the 8×8 pan with non-stick spray and lay the pie crust dough into the bottom.
- Into a 2 quart saucepan add the cornstarch, sugar, and salt. Give a quick whisk. Whisk the warm water, lemon juice, and zest into the saucepan. Turn the burner on medium-low. Stir until the mixture begins to boil. Remove from the heat.
- In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks. One Tablespoon at a time, drizzle five Tablespoons of the cornstarch mixture into the egg yolks, whisking to avoid clumping.
- Next, drizzle the warmed egg yolk mixture into the saucepan with the cornstarch to fully temper. Return to heat and whisk until thick, without boiling, for about 10 minutes. Add the butter and stir until melted.
- Pour the mixture over the unbaked pie crust.
- Next, make your meringue topping. In a large bowl or stand mixture, add the egg whites and pinch of salt. Beat on high speed until soft white peaks form.
- Keeping the speed on high, slowly add in sugar 1 Tablespoon at a time until all sugar is incorporated. Keep beating until stiff white peaks have formed. This will look similar to the texture of marshmallow fluff, will be glossy, and pull from the bowl during beating in a ribbon-like form. Removing the beater from the bowl should show the meringue holding form in a stiff peak.
- Spoon out the meringue topping onto the still warm filling.
- Use the back of a spoon or a rubber spatula to pat the meringue making the traditional peaks of a lemon meringue.
- Bake at 400F for 10-15 minutes on the center wrack. Remove from the oven when the meringue is set and browning on the tips.
- Allow to cool at room temperature for 1 hour, refrigerate and allow to chill for 4-8 hours before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions & Expert Tips
Yes, you can make these pie bars ahead of time. If you’d like to do so, we suggest making them one day in advance. Giving the pie this much time in the refrigerator works out well as it helps it to fully chill and be ready to slice and serve!
You can store your lemon meringue pie bars in an air tight container or baking dish with a lid in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Yes, these pie bars can be frozen. After fully cooled, store in an air tight container in the freezer for 2-3 months.
Serving Suggestions
Lemon meringue pie bars are a great dish to bring along to potlucks, BBQs, or for Easter and Thanksgiving gatherings. They’re also loved when served at bridal showers or baby showers! These pie bars are best served when chilled on individual plates or straight from the pan with a fork.
Citrusy sweet lemon curd piled with pillowy soft toasted meringue, these lemon meringue pie bars are a refreshing dessert for spring or summer parties!
More Dessert Recipes
- Blueberry Delight
- Lemon Icebox Cake
- Strawberry Pretzel Salad
- Lemon Blueberry Icebox Cake
- Cream Puff Chocolate Eclair Cake
- Cream Puffs
- Lemon Cake
- Nanaimo Bars
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Lemon Meringue Pie Bars
IMPORTANT – There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
Print It Rate ItIngredients
- 1 pie crust 9 inch
- ½ cup cornstarch
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1-1/2 cup warm water
- zest of one lemon
- ½ cup lemon juice freshly squeezed, about 3-4 lemons
- 4 egg yolks
- 1 Tablespoon butter
Meringue Topping
- 4 egg whites
- a pinch of salt
- ½ cup granulated sugar
Things You’ll Need
Before You Begin
- These pie bars can be stored in the refrigerator in an air tighter container for up to 3 days.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Using an 8×8 inch pan, roll out the pie crust and cut to fit the bottom of the dish. Cut to be slightly bigger than the bottom since it will shrink as it cooks. Spray the 8×8 pan with non-stick spray and lay the pie crust dough into the bottom.
- Into a 2 quart saucepan add the cornstarch, sugar, and salt. Give a quick whisk. Whisk the warm water, lemon juice, and zest into the saucepan. Turn the burner on medium-low. Stir until the mixture begins to boil. Remove from the heat.
- In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks. One Tablespoon at a time, drizzle five Tablespoons of the cornstarch mixture into the egg yolks, whisking to avoid clumping.
- Next drizzle the warmed egg yolk mixture into the saucepan with the cornstarch to fully temper. Return to heat and whisk until thick, without boiling, for about 10 minutes. Add the butter and stir until melted.
- Pour the lemon mixture over the unbaked pie crust.
Make the Meringue Topping
- In a large bowl or stand mixture, add the egg whites and pinch of salt. Beat on high speed until soft white peaks form.
- Keeping the speed on high, slowly add in sugar 1 Tablespoon at a time until all sugar is incorporated. Keep beating until stiff white peaks have formed. This will look similar to the texture of marshmallow fluff, will be glossy, and pull from the bowl during beating in a ribbon-like form. Removing the beater from the bowl should show the meringue holding form in a stiff peak.
- Spoon out the meringue topping onto the still warm filling. Use the back of a spoon or a rubber spatula to pat the meringue making the traditional peaks of a lemon meringue.
- Bake at 400F for 10-15 minutes on the center wrack. Remove from the oven when the meringue is set and browning on the tips.
- Allow to cool at room temperature for 1 hour, refrigerate and allow to chill for 4-8 hours before serving.
Nutrition
Amanda Davis
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Mikelle says
Good flavor but crust is totally raw. Should have pre-baked it.
K says
The filling was so thick and rubbery.
Theresa says
Instead of pie crust I line my 9×13 pan with graham wafers, quick
and easy. I double the filling and meringue, also add an extra egg yolk to filling, so I have an extra egg white to add for the topping. Been making it this way for over 30 years!
Kayla Bennett says
Hi Theresa I am morning to make these with a graham cracker crust as well. I haven’t heard a graham cracker wafers but I will look for those when I go to get ingredients but I am new at cooking desserts so when you said you doubled the filling and the Meringue does that mean you are doubling the amount of ingredients? And also you said that you added an extra egg yolk to the filling( the lemon filling?), and use the egg white for the topping? (The meringue?) I know some of these questions probably sound really stupid but you said you’ve been making them for 30 years so I figured they gonna be pretty good.😊
MAXINE Townsend says
I would make a thin pie crust & lay tin foil with the sides up on top of the crust, pour about 4 cups of refined sugar in the foil & bake the crust for about 10 minutes till partially or almost baked. Remove the sugar that is fine for baking other items. Let the crust cool before pouring the lemon mixture in the pan, top with the meringue & bake for another 20 or 12 minutes. I’m sure this would work perfectly.
Roberta Ross says
Unfortunately I cannot give these bars a very high rating. I questioned the recipe when the crust was not precooked. It doesn’t work. I followed the instructions and the result was an undercooked crust. Also they were quite tart. The meringue turned out perfect!
Susan says
You don’t suggest blind baking the crust. Will the crust cook enough if you don’t pre-bake it?
Amanda Formaro says
Hi Susan! We’ve found that the crust shrinks too much if we pre-bake it, then the filling gets underneath it. The crust cooks fine with the method we have provided. Hope that helps!
Deborah Leslie says
Can this recipe be doubled to 9×13 pan?
Amanda Formaro says
Yes that should work!