Sour Cream Lemon Meringue Pie, filled with creamy sweet/tart lemon filling and topped with puffy meringue, is a fabulous dessert you’ll love!
Today I want to share a delicious recipe for Sour Cream Lemon Meringue Pie with you. This recipe is very special to me, because my Dad typed it up and e-mailed it to me almost 19 years ago before he passed away. My father loved to cook, and enjoyed listening to a cooking show on the radio on his daily commute to work. He said he thought that’s how he originally got this recipe.
About 20 years ago, both my Mom AND Dad were confined to bed due to different circumstances. My Mom had severely hurt her back, and my Dad had become paralyzed from the chest down due to complications from bone cancer. Since my Mom was my Dad’s full-time caregiver, they needed some extra help! I flew home from our home in Oregon to their home in Southern California to take care of them while they both were bedridden. While there, I cooked all the meals for the 3 of us, and enjoyed sharing each one with them.
One day while there, I found this recipe written down in my Mom’s recipe box and made it as a surprise for them, using lemons from a tree in their backyard. They were so surprised when I brought them slices of fresh sour cream lemon meringue pie upstairs! Of course I “sacrificed for the team” (wink, wink) and ate pie too, and we were thrilled with this dessert. My Dad later sent me the recipe via e-mail so I would always have it. I have treasured this recipe ever since, because I got it from my DAD, who I dearly loved. Here’s how to make this decadent pie:
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Use A Pre-Baked Pie Shell
You can use a purchased pie crust or a homemade one for the pie. Prick the pie crust on the bottom and sides with the tines of a fork, so it won’t “bubble up” too much when pre-baked. You can also put parchment paper on the bottom and fill the crust with pie weights or dried beans to weigh the pastry down.
Bake the crust at 350°F. until golden brown around the edges (approx. 8-10 minutes). Set the baked pie crust aside to let it cool.
Make The Lemon Pie Filling
Now it’s time to make the pie filling. Combine granulated sugar, salt and cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Add milk, and stir to combine. Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbly. Remove the pan from the heat, and set it aside.
In a small bowl, slightly beat egg yolks. Slowly drizzle in a small amount of the hot milk mixture, a Tablespoon at a time, stirring constantly (total of about 1/3 cup). Keep stirring while adding, because you do NOT want the hot liquid to scramble the egg yolks! This is called “tempering” the eggs, because you “warm them up” so they won’t cook when the cold eggs hit the hot liquid.
Slowly add the warmed egg yolks back into the milk in the saucepan, stirring constantly as they’re added. Cook on medium heat for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, then remove the pan from the heat. Immediately stir in the butter, lemon juice, and all but ½ teaspoon of the lemon zest. Cover the pan, and let the pie filling cool to room temperature before completing the final step.
Final Step To Make The Filling
When the pie filling is at room temperature, fold in the sour cream. Once combined, pour the pie filling into the cooled, pre-baked pie crust. Set the pie aside while you make the meringue topping.
Prepare Meringue And Cover the Pie Filling
Use an electric mixer to beat the egg whites, cream of tartar and vanilla until soft peaks form. Add 6 Tablespoons granulated sugar (a little at a time while beating), and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
Spread the meringue carefully over the pie filling, sealing the meringue to the crust. I use the back of a large spoon to drag it all the way to the edges. The filling should be completely sealed in. This way it won’t produce moisture on top of the meringue, due to gaps between the filling and the meringue.
Take the back of the spoon and “decorate” the meringue topping by pulling up small dollops of meringue to form peaks on the pie.
Bake The Sour Cream Lemon Meringue Pie
Bake the sour cream lemon meringue pie in a preheated 350°F. oven for 13-15 minutes. When done, the meringue should be golden brown on top. The pie filling should only BARELY jiggle in the middle.
Remove the sour cream lemon meringue pie from the oven, and transfer to a wire rack. Sprinkle with the reserved lemon zest. Let the pie cool completely, and then slice and serve!
Time To EAT!
Slice the pie into 8 wedges, and transfer onto serving plates. It’s SO DELICIOUS, and I think you’ll enjoy this sour cream lemon meringue pie as much as we do! Remember to store any leftover pie in the refrigerator (covered) for up to 3 days. Meringue tends to “break down” a bit when stored, so this pie is at its best served the day it’s made (or within 24 hours).
The pie is a perfect combo of sweet and tart, and the fluffy meringue puts it right over the edge! YUMMY! I hope you can make this pie for those you love, and trust they will enjoy it, too. Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you’ll come back for more family friendly recipes. Take care, may God bless you, and have a GREAT day!.
Looking For More PIE Recipes?
You can find ALL of my recipes in the Recipe Index, located at the top of the page. I have quite a few delicious pie recipes you might enjoy, including:
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↓↓ PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW ↓↓
Sour Cream Lemon Meringue Pie, filled with creamy sweet/tart lemon filling and topped with puffy meringue, is a fabulous dessert you'll love!
- 1 9" baked pie pastry shell
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 cup milk
- 3 large eggs **separated
- 4 Tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup lemon juice (fresh)
- 2 Tablespoons grated lemon zest **divided use
- 1 cup sour cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 6 Tablespoons granulated sugar
Preheat oven to 350°F. To pre-bake crust, prick pie crust on bottom and sides with tines of a fork. Bake crust at 350°F. until light brown around edges (approx. 8-10 minutes). Set aside to cool.
Combine 1 C. sugar, salt, cornstarch in medium saucepan. Add milk; stir to combine. Cook on medium, stirring constantly, until thick/bubbly. Remove from heat; set pan aside.
In small bowl, slightly beat egg yolks. Slowly drizzle in a small amount of the hot milk mixture, a Tablespoon at a time (total approx. 1/3 cup), stirring or whisking constantly. Keep stirring while adding, because you don't want hot liquid to scramble egg yolks! Slowly add warmed egg yolks back into milk in saucepan, stirring constantly as they're added. Cook on medium heat for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove pan from heat. Immediately stir in butter, lemon juice, and all but ½ teaspoon of lemon zest. Cover pan; let pie filling cool to room temperature.
Once at room temp., fold in sour cream. When combined, pour pie filling into room temp. baked pie crust. Set pie aside.
Use electric mixer to beat egg whites, cream of tartar, vanilla until soft peaks form. Add 6 Tablespoons granulated sugar (little at a time while beating), and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over pie filling, sealing meringue to the crust. Use back of large spoon to drag it all the way to the edges. Filling should be completely sealed in. Take the back of the spoon and "decorate" meringue by pulling up small dollops of meringue to form peaks on pie.
Bake at 350°F. for 13-15 minutes. When done, meringue should be golden brown. Pie filling should only BARELY jiggle in the middle. Transfer pie from oven to wire rack. Sprinkle with reserved lemon zest. Let pie cool completely, then slice and serve! Refrigerate leftovers.
**IMPORTANT NOTE: Caloric calculation was made WITHOUT the pie crust included. There are so many types of pie crusts (frozen, refrigerated, handmade with butter or shortening, etc.) all with varying ingredients that you might use. On average, pie crust has between 110-175 calories per slice, so please take this into account.
Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!
