The beloved classic lemon meringue pie gets a low carb, grain-free makeover. The lemon filling is both tart and sweet, and the meringue is crisp on the outside, tender in the middle.
I sincerely love making over the classics to be low carb and gluten-free. The funny part is that many of these classic dishes and desserts are not things I would have bothered with back in my sugar and flour days. Some of them I simply wasn’t interested in and some of them were just a little too daunting. For others, I would have had to follow the recipe to the letter and goodness knows how I hate doing that. I can hardly make my own recipes the same way twice. But now the challenge of recreating the classics in a healthy format I can enjoy holds great appeal. Can I take an iconic dish, something that stands out in people’s minds as the food or dessert they remember from childhood, that their grandmother made every time they came over, and can I remake it without sugar or flour or grains? Can I make it more than simply palatable, more than a mere approximation of the classic they love so much? Can I not only make it, but make it really, REALLY good?
Yep, I sure can. At least in this case, I believe I conquered that challenge and conquered it admirably. Now if only I could conquer crusty Italian or French bread. Then I would be the master of the low carb universe.
Lemon meringue is honestly not one that was very significant in my childhood. Ever the chocoholic, I would forego the citrus-based desserts in favour of something darker, creamier and denser. I know I had lemon meringue pie on a number of occasions, and it was even pretty good a few times. Other times, it was an overly-sweet, soggy mess. But such is the way with any classic dessert, there are good ones and there are awful ones.
Since I already have a low carb pastry recipe that I love, my challenge with this classic lay in both the filling and in the meringue. Lemon meringue fillings are made with plenty of cornstarch to help them set properly and we know that isn’t a gonna fly for low carb. And meringue without sugar can be tricky, as it can either be overly hard and crunchy, or it can lack structure and deflate during baking. I wanted the filling to be slightly gooey but not liquid, so I decided to tackle that in two ways. First, with xanthan gum to help thicken it a little, and secondly, with a little gelatin to help it set properly. I was more worried about the meringue, thinking it might disintegrate when I tried to spread it over the warm filling. But it held up nicely and even better, it baked to that perfect soft crispness. It was crisp on the very outside but sweet and tender on the inside, and I think it was the mix of both granulated and powdered sweetener that helped.
One word to the wise: be patient. Let it chill the full 3 hours. Don’t do as I did and cut in too soon or the un-set lemon filling starts oozing out everywhere. Patience is a virtue that I don’t have enough of!
Keto Lemon Meringue Pie
Ingredients
Crust
Filling
- 1 cup plus 2 tbsp water, divided
- 1 cup granulated Swerve Sweetener
- 2 tsp lemon zest
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 tbsp grassfed gelatin, (can use 1 envelope Knox gelatin)
Meringue Topping
- 4 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- Pinch salt
- 1/4 cup powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 1/4 cup granulated Swerve Sweetener
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF and lightly grease a 9-inch glass or ceramic pie plate.
- Prepare the crust according to the directions and press into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Bake 12 minutes, then remove and let cool completely before filling.
Lemon Filling:
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine 1 cup of the water, sweetener, lemon zest and salt. Bring to just a boil, whisking frequently, until sweetener dissolves.
- In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks until smooth. Slowly add about 1/2 cup of the water to the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Then gradually whisk the egg yolks back into the pan and lower the heat to low. Cook for 1 minute more, stirring continuously.
- Stir in lemon juice and butter and whisk until smooth. Sprinkle surface with xanthan gum and whisk vigorously to combine.
- In a small bowl, stir together the remaining two tablespoons of water and the gelatin. Let sit 2 minutes until gelled, then stir into hot lemon mixture, whisking until well combined. Cover and set aside while making the meringue.
Meringue Topping:
- In a large bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar and salt until frothy. With beaters going, slowly add sweeteners and vanilla extract and continue to beat until stiff peaks form.
To assemble:
- Preheat oven to 300F.
- Pour warm filling into crust. Dollop with meringue and spread right to the edges so that the meringue meets the crust. Swirl the top with the back of a spoon.
- Bake 20 minutes or until meringue topping is golden and just barely firm to the touch. Remove and let pie cool 20 minutes, then refrigerate at least 3 hours to set.
Notes
Total fat: 17.51g
Calories from fat: 157
Cholesterol: 98mg
Carbohydrate: 7.22g
Total dietary fiber: 2.12g
Protein: 6.45g
Sodium: 174mg
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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Thank you for this recipe. I am also grateful for the comment section, as I rely on comments from those that have tried these recipes before, to look for tips for when I make it. I thought that the filling was not too sweet, just right and perfectly lemony and the meringue came out perfectly as well. The crust was tasty, but not crisp. Even tho I kept it in the oven 5 min longer than suggested, next time I would bake it longer. It seemed “undone”, not soggy, but pretty close to soggy, or I might use another almond flour crust recipe that I have. I was so very worried when I took the completed pie out of the oven. The filling, when I poured it into the crust, before baking, was so very runny, I thought I had not cooked it enuff on the stovetop, and when it came out of the oven, it was still runny. As a matter of fact, it was so runny, I spilled some on the floor and countertop getting it from the oven to the counter. But after 4 hours in the fridge, Viola! it set up beautifully. So be careful when removing it from the oven, and do not worry, it will set up nicely. Again, thanks for the recipe, and thanks to those that share their experiences.
Hi! thanks so much for this recipe. When i had it the morning after i made it, it was amazing. But by the second day, it started to become very strange. It seemed like there was lumps of sugar everywhere and was not appetizing. Am I doing something wrong?! Thanks!
Nothing you are doing wrong, it’s the nature of erythritol sometimes that it re-crystallizes. Sometime it doesn’t, though. The more you heat it, the more it does it, so make sure you are not over-heating the filling as you cook it.
Carolyn, this recipe is fantastic, especially the crust. We made this for Easter dinner, and my whole family agreed it tasted just like the “real thing.” The only complaint was that since we have been eating a low-glycemic diet for quite a while, we have noticed our preferences have changed. We agreed that we would prefer the filling to be half as sweet. If I only add a half-cup of Swerve would I need to change anything else in order to make sure the filling sets properly?
I think it should be fine!
My first low carb pie! It is fabulous! Thank you!
So glad you like it!
Made this for the first time today and it was amazing! And it has to be the best low carb, gf pastry case recipe ever! Thank you.
Thank you!
Just wondering if i can omit the xathum gum in both the crust and curd? Its not available in my small town and i would have to wait a week to get it by post.
Also is it possible to use splenda instead of swerve? Again its something I would have to mail order.
BTW, did you ever make a video for this particular crust? It is so spectacular and easy to make, I’d love to encourage others to try it.
Once again I used this beautiful crust for a pie, (although I haven’t done the lemon meringue yet). This time I made a chayote “apple” filling, spread that in the bottom of a deep pie dish and covered with this crust. Painted with egg wash and cinnamon “sugar” and baked for 30 minutes. All my guests went back for seconds of this pie, as opposed to the real apple pie with traditional crust I also made. Now I’ve got to try it with your great-sounding lemon filling and meringue! Thank you for the wonderful recipes!
This was really good the first day but the next day the erythritol had crystallized and the pie was way too sweet. I have seen other recipes online that use teaspoons of sweetener as apposed to the cup and a half in this one. If I remake this I think I will a LOT less.
The crust is amazing though!
Interesting – I had the opposite experience. I baked it at 10 pm and had a piece for breakfast and concluded that the custard was good but the meringue was off. That night at dinner, however, the pie was delicious and my son said that this is the only low-carb desert I ever should make! The erythritol in the meringue had crystallized and was a bit gritty but the flavor was excellent! Even my wife liked it and she generally won’t eat any of my low-carb deserts except a fruit tart I make with xylitol. I didn’t have any granulated Swerve so I used only powdered Swerve at a 1:1 ratio which was probably not enough initially but great after it sweetened up like yours did. The amount of real sugar in a “normal” meringue recipe I saw is 6 TBS so next time I may try using 3 TBS of Truvia Baking Blend, which, if I did my math correctly, would add 1.5g sugar per serving (assuming 12 servings) which is acceptable for me.
Ooooooh my!! I couldn’t wait and made this (unfortunately) on a humid day 🙁 while my egg whites never really fluffed up- the custard was AMAZING! I made mine using lime zest and key lime juice… can’t wait for a less humid day to try a lemon version!! Thank you for your brilliance!!!
This IS the best GF LC pie crust I have ever tasted!! Usually almond flour pie crust ends up more like a graham cracker crust you would use for cheese cake. I can’t wait to try this again with a blueberry filling.
I made this for Easter dinner and it was a huge hit! No one noticed it was gluten free and sugar free! Usually my family eats my “healthy” desserts to be polite, this time they asked for seconds!
Thanks! I actually have a video coming out with this crust soon!
Hi. I tried the recipe, but it had a few problems.
The filling took upwards of 6~7 hours to actually gel (@ 31F), and it made the crust soggy (as it was poured into the crust in a liquid state, then baked another 20+ minutes). That was a bummer, as it was suppose to be for my mom’s birthday :(shoulda made it the night before). I didn’t have oat fiber, and I couldn’t bring myself to use the arrowroot powder as it has more carbs than wheat flour. So I went with someone’s suggestion here, and used flax meal instead.
Given, I was using a larger pie pan (an 11″ stoneware pie pan), so I had also increased the recipe by 50%. Between the stoneware pan probably staying hot longer, and the extra 50% filling, it explains the extended time it took to gel. The filling looked more like a banana cream pie filling, instead of what a lemon pie usually looks like (not very firm at all). I seen a regular sugar & starch version of one the very next day to compare it with.
The meringue part tasted okay, even a bit too sugary, but it had a hard shell on the outer surface because the erythritol tends to re-crystallize when there is no fat present in the recipe (and egg whites won’t whip into a meringue if there is even a drop of oil in the bowl). I’m thinking I might try using something like liquid sucralose instead if I ever make another meringue. Or just go with a whipped cream topping instead….
I used erythritol + stevia (1C to 1/3tsp ratio) instead of swerve, but I usually don’t have a problem doing that substitution for most recipes. I used some LC corp’s confectioner sweetener in the meringue, very similar to swerve powdered sweetener in ingredients.
I’m thinking that maybe one might use a combination of konjac flour and maybe a little xantham instead of gelatin for thickening the filling? I’m thinking along these lines as that is a more direct analog to how traditional lemon pie filling is made, where as gelatin is not, has a different texture, and takes longer to solidify. That would also give an immediate thickening to the filling (less soggy pie crust, faster/better gelling).
Any opinions on this idea? Has anyone tried it, or something like it? Would you need to put a pinch (or more) of pickling lime in it to get the konjac flour to gel properly?
Otherwise the pie tastes pretty good, so it ain’t going to waste ;-).
From the flaky crust to the perfect meringue that surprisingly for the first time ever that I made a lemon meringue pie, did not slide all over the place, in taste and appearance it is a perfect pie 🙂 big thank you for making me look and feel like a good cook, thumbs up from kids and hubby too!
Wow, what a lovely comment. Thanks!
Wonderful recipe. A big treat as my first low carb pie with a crust. Clear instructions took the guesswork out of crust-making (and the rest). Got the difficult AOK from my husband and am completely happy myself.
I made this recipe for the first time last night. My dad always has a lemon meringue pie for his birthday (which was on Friday). So I thought I’d try this in honor of him. I can’t remember the last time I had lemon meringue pie and didn’t really see one on my low carb horizon. This was UNBELIEVABLE!!! Can you take a guess on what I had for breakfast today? (I’m ashamed to admit that I had THREE slices last night!)
Thanks for another wonderful recipe!
Would it be a problem tob7se the grassfed gelatin in the green can. I have better luck with it.
I am not sure it will gel enough to solidify the lemon portion.