Easy Zingy Keto Lemon Meringue Pie (Sugar-Free Pie)

Keto lemon meringue pie is the perfect sugar-free pie with layers of keto lemon curd topped off with the most incredibly soft and fluffy meringue.

In this keto lemon pie recipe, I’ll show you how to make an almond flour crust AND a coconut flour pie crust. Only 3 g net carbs.

This keto meringue pie can be eaten hot or cold and is freezer-friendly too.

When it’s lemon season and you have extra lemons to use, making low-carb lemon meringue pie is a delicious treat for a keto dessert.

What is lemon meringue pie?

A lemon meringue pie is a 3 layered baked dessert. There is a sweet pie crust baked and covered with lemon curd. Egg whites are whipped until stiff peaks form and placed into a mound on top of the lemon filling. Then, the entire pie is baked again until it is golden brown.

Delicious, right?

Low-carb lemon meringue pie is simple to make, and it tastes like the real thing (only sugar-free and gluten-free).

Is lemon meringue pie keto?

No, traditional lemon meringue pie is full of added sugar and wheat flour. It is high in unnecessary carbs.

To make a keto version of the sweet lemon pie, we use almond flour and sweetener as a quick sugar replacement.

This sugar-free lemon meringue pie has only 3 grams of net carbs and will help keep blood sugar stable.

Ingredients

All quantities, ingredients, prep time, and instructions are in the recipe card below.

There are 3 main parts to this pie: the almond flour pie base (crust), the keto lemon curd, and the keto meringue. Here’s what you need for each piece:

Almond flour pie crust

• Butter – use salted butter or unsalted butter with a pinch of salt
• Sweetener of choice – I highly recommend you go with a granulated sweetener.
• Egg – fresh eggs work best in most low-carb recipes
• Almond flour – ground almonds and almond meal can swap interchangeably with almond flour. I much prefer the smooth texture of the flour.

Keto lemon curd

• Egg yolks – separate the egg yolks and keep the egg whites as you’ll use them in the meringue below!
• Eggs
• Sweetener of choice – again, go with granulated.
• Lemon zest – fresh lemon zest is preferred. You can freeze lemon zest if you have too much.
• Lemon juice – fresh lemon juice is best but you can use bottled lemon juice if you need to.
• Heavy whipping cream – double cream, heavy whipping cream, and full-fat whipping cream all work beautifully.

Sugar-free meringue

• Egg whites – fresh egg whites are best but you can use bottled egg whites or egg whites from a carton.
• Granulated sweetener
• Vanilla extract – or vanilla essence.

The most popular sugar-free sweeteners that don’t raise your blood sugar and taste amazing in healthy recipes are erythritol, allulose, monk fruit, xylitol, and stevia.

How to make a sugar-free pie crust

The recipe uses almond flour because almond flour is low-carb flour and is naturally gluten-free. However, if you have a nut allergy you may wish to make a coconut flour pie crust instead. Either of these keto pie crusts is perfect for your keto lemon pie.

You can either add the hot lemon mixture on top of a coconut flour pie crust or place the pie filling on an almond flour pie crust. Both of those crusts are the perfect base for keto lemon meringue pies or other keto recipes like pot pies or quiches.

STEP 1:

Melt the butter then mix in the almond flour and sweetener. Add the egg and mix again to make soft and sweet keto dough.

STEP 2:

Line the bottom of your pie dish with baking parchment paper, or grease with butter.

Roll the almond flour pie crust between two sheets of baking paper or using the back of your hands or a cup. Press into your prepared pie dish. Poke holes all over the pie crust using a fork.

STEP 3:

Bake in a preheated oven at 180C/350F for 10 minutes. It may look pale but don’t worry, it will bake again with the lemon curd and meringue topping.

How to make sugar-free lemon curd

Making the lemon custard filling is the perfect way to use up lemons when you have too many from your lemon tree.

Lemon curd is a wonderfully smooth and creamy sweet dessert tart sauce that can be cooked until very thick custard-like consistency and will set solid.

Or lemon curd can be made pourable if you cook it for a little less or reheat it when you are about to serve.

Then, save some lemons and use lemon zest on top for extra aroma and taste.

To make this filling, heat the heavy cream in a saucepan on a medium heat. You don’t want it to get all the way to boiling, but close. Then take it off the stove.

In a different bowl, whisk egg yolks together with the whole eggs and sweetener. It should be a pale, fluffy mixture. Then add in your lemon juice and zest, and stir again.

Now, grab that saucepan of warm heavy cream, and very slowly whisk it into the lemon mixture. If you pour too quickly, you may curdle the eggs, which is not what we are going for!

Slowly add a little of the warmed cream to the egg mixture, constantly whisking all the time to stop the eggs from curdling or cooking. Keep adding the cream slowly until they’re all mixed through.

Stirring constantly, pour the filling (keto lemon curd) back into the medium saucepan and heat gently until the lemon curd is thickened.

Once the keto lemon curd is as thick as custard, pour it onto the cooked pie crust and bake at 180C/350F for 10 minutes.

How to make the meringue topping

Grab a large mixing bowl and wipe it with kitchen paper. This will ensure there’s no excess grease, which can stop the egg whites from forming stiff peaks.

Add the egg whites, sweetener, and vanilla to the large mixing bowl. I recommend using an electric mixer, food processor, or stand mixer to beat egg whites.

Whisk until soft peaks form. Then, place the meringue topping on top of the lemon curd within the pie, and bake until the meringue is golden.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180C/350F for another 10 – 15 minutes to allow the meringue to cook and go golden.

Variations

You can turn this pie into keto lemon meringue pie bars. Instead of a pie plate, place the crust and meringue pie filling into a loaf pan and make dessert bars.

Another way to change the flavor is to add a little more vanilla extract or top the pies with whipped cream.

Storage

This pie tastes the best when it is fresh out of the oven. The sugar-free lemon meringue mixture will get softer the longer you leave it in the refrigerator.

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for no longer than three days.

Always allow the pie crust to cool completely before storing in the fridge or freezer.

FAQs

If you don’t see your question in this list, please leave it in the comments.