Gluten-Free Friday: Lemon meringue pie with homemade graham cracker crust

A homemade pie (and crust) like this will brighten your day with both flavor and color. This pie offers a classic combo of lemon filling, fluffy meringue and a graham cracker crust.

When you need a dessert that can go from an elegant setting to a casual picnic table, this gluten-free recipe for lemon meringue pie with graham cracker crust fits the bill. You’ll love the combination of flavors and the vibrant color it delivers.

What could be better than pairing lemon meringue pie with a homemade graham cracker crust? I say, not much. The pie filling is sweet yet tart, and the meringue piled high makes a pretty topping.

Lemon meringue pie with graham cracker crust recipe

Lemon meringue pie offers a fabulous dessert that’s perfect for the springtime. A graham cracker crust is the perfect partner to this sweet and tangy pie and fluffy meringue.

Serves 6-8

Prep time: 20 minutes | Cook time: 35 minutes | Inactive time: 1 hour | Total time: 1 hour 55 minutes

Ingredients:

For the crust

• 1-1/2 cups brown rice flour
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 5 tablespoons cold butter, cubed
• 6 tablespoons milk
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the filling

• 2 lemons, juiced, 1 zested
• 3 egg yolks (reserve the whites for the meringue)
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1-1/2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons butter

For the meringue

• 3 egg whites
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

For the crust

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly spray the pie pan with nonstick cooking spray, and set it aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the brown rice flour, cornstarch, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
3. Add the cubed butter to the mixture. Use a pastry cutter to mix in the butter until the mixture is coarse.
4. Make a well in the dry ingredients, and add the milk and honey to the mixture. Stir it together to form a dough.
5. Place the dough into a bowl and in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes.
6. Transfer the dough to the pie pan, and use your fingers to press it down into the pan and up the sides. Use a fork to prick the bottom of the dough all around.
7. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Place the pie pan on a wire rack to cool before adding the filling.

For the filling

1. In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks.
2. To a medium-size saucepan over medium-high heat, add the sugar and cornstarch. Add the water a little at a time.
3. Whisk constantly until the mixture begins to thicken and boil, then cook for about a minute.
4. Transfer 1/2 the mixture to the egg yolks to temper them, and stir for a minute. Spoon that mixture back into the pan, boil for a few minutes, then remove the pan from the heat.
5. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest and butter to the filling, and mix well.
6. While the filling is hot and thick, spoon it into your cooled pie crust.

For the meringue

1. To a medium-size bowl, add the egg whites, and beat with a hand mixer until they’re foamy.
2. Add the sugar to the egg whites a little at a time while mixing.
3. Continue to mix until smooth, stiff peaks form.
4. Add the vanilla extract to the meringue while mixing.
5. Spoon the meringue evenly over the pie filling, to the edges of the pie.
6. Bake the pie for about 10 minutes or until the meringue begins to brown just slightly.
7. Allow the pie to cool, then refrigerate until chilled, and serve.

More gluten-free dessert recipes

Chocolate-fudge cookies
Pumpkin-chai muffins with vanilla glaze and maple-coated almonds
Blueberry-coconut bars