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If you’re looking for an easy, healthy pie for spring or summer (hello, Easter and Mother’s Day!), this keto lemon meringue pie is it. You’d never know it’s low carb! The sugar-free lemon meringue pie has layers of keto lemon curd (modified to be thicker for a pie filling) and meringue (like my keto meringue cookies) for a creamy and sweet dessert that is also a show-stopper with its browned edges.
Two key ingredients help this pie taste sweet and authentic (while keeping every bite low carb): Besti Powdered Monk Fruit Allulose Blend and Wholesome Yum Almond Flour. This sweetener dissolves seamlessly into the filling for a grit-free mouthfeel, while the finely-ground flour makes a deliciously buttery crust. You won’t miss the original if you use these ingredients!
Is Lemon Meringue Pie Keto?
No, traditional lemon meringue pies are not keto friendly, as they are made with lots of flour and sugar! So, I made this keto lemon pie without sugar, so that we can enjoy it, too.
Why You Need My Keto Lemon Meringue Pie Recipe
- Sweet, tart, and creamy flavor
- Smooth layers
- Made with simple, natural ingredients
- Just 15 minutes prep time
- Naturally gluten-free
- 3.3g net carbs per slice
Ingredients & Substitutions
Here I explain the best ingredients for my keto-friendly lemon meringue pie recipe, what each one does, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card.
Pie Crust:
- Almond Flour Pie Crust – Follow the instructions for the sweet crust. If you need a nut-free option, use coconut flour pie crust instead.
Lemon Filling:
The filling in this low carb lemon meringue pie is a modified version of my keto lemon curd recipe, but made thicker to be suitable for a pie filling:
- Egg Yolks – A crucial component for lemon curd, they make it thick and creamy. Use large eggs, and save the whites for the meringue (below).
- Unflavored Gelatin Powder – Gelatin is a natural thickener.
- Water – Blooms the gelatin.
- Xanthan Gum – Another component that helps thicken the filling.
- Lemons – You’ll need both lemon juice and lemon zest. However, you’ll need zest from about 3 lemons and juice from about 4-6 lemons, so you could just get 3 and supplement the remaining juice with the bottled kind for convenience if you like.
- Besti Powdered Monk Fruit Allulose Blend – Like my sugar-free lemon curd, I only recommend Besti here because unlike other sugar alternatives (including erythritol and other brands of monk fruit sweetener), Besti dissolves completely and won’t crystallize. You can try other powdered sweeteners (check the sweeteners conversion chart), but most of them will crystallize and yield a gritty result.
- Sea Salt – Balances the sweetness.
- Butter – Adds flavor and also helps thicken. Make sure it’s unsalted.
- Keto Lemon Curd – The lemon layer of this keto meringue pie is both sweet and tart in the best way, and includes egg yolks, gelatin powder, xanthan gum, lemon juice and zest, butter, and sweetener.
Meringue:
- Egg whites – Save the egg whites from the lemon curd above, which utilizes the egg yolks.
- Besti Powdered Monk Fruit Allulose Blend – The same sweetener used in the filling above. This is my top choice for the same reasons as above.
Free Printable: Low Carb & Keto Food List
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How To Make Keto Lemon Meringue Pie
I have step-by-step photos here to help you visualize the recipe. For full instructions with amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card.
- Make crust. Follow the instructions for either almond flour pie crust or coconut flour pie crust. Bake the crust, and you can make the lemon curd layer in the meantime.
- Whisk egg yolks. Separate the eggs (you’ll need the yolks for the filling and the whites for the meringue.) Whisk the yolks in a small bowl and set aside.
- Bloom gelatin. In a separate bowl, whisk water, gelatin, and xanthan gum together and set aside.
- Simmer. Combine lemon juice, zest, Besti, salt, and egg yolks to a saucepan and heat to to a gentle boil.
- Add gelatin. Whisk in the gelatin mixture, stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes to incorporate.
- Add butter. Add butter and stir until melted. Remove from heat.
- Pour and chill. Pour the lemon custard filling into crust. Cool at room temperature for an hour, then chill for at least 5-6 hours, or preferably overnight.
- Make meringue. Beat egg whites with an electric mixer or stand mixer until stiff peaks form. Add in Besti and continue mixing on high speed until it’s glossy and smooth.
- Top. Dollop the meringue over the lemon filling with a spoon. Smooth over the top, making swirls with back of the spoon.
- Broil. Place the keto lemon meringue pie under the broiler, until meringue is golden brown (or use a culinary torch).
- Chill. Cool completely and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.
Storage Instructions
Keep keto lemon meringue pie in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Freezing the pie is not recommended, as the freezing and thawing process will change meringue texture.
More Keto Pie Recipes
If you like this sugar-free lemon meringue pie recipe, you might also like these other keto pie recipes:
My Tools For This Recipe
- Pie Pan – This one is the perfect size for this recipe.
- Hand Mixer – Easily whip up the meringue layer with a hand mixer. You can also use a stand mixer instead if you prefer.
- Kitchen Torch – Optional, but this is the best way to get perfectly browned edges on the meringue.
Sugar Free Lemon Meringue Pie
By
Keto lemon meringue pie has layers of sweet flavor and just 3g net carbs! Learn how to make sugar-free lemon meringue pie with natural ingredients.
Ingredients
[ See substitutions ]Tap underlined ingredients to see the ones I use.
Pie Crust:
Lemon Filling:
Meringue:
Instructions
[ See step photos ]Tap on the times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer.
Pie Crust:
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (176 degrees C).
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Make the almond flour pie crust according to the instructions here. Set aside to cool completely.
Lemon Filling:
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In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks and set aside. Save the egg whites for the meringue.
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In another small bowl whisk the water, gelatin, and xanthan gum. Set aside.
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In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the lemon juice, lemon zest, Besti Powdered, salt, and whisked egg yolks. Bring the mixture to a simmer.
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Slowly whisk in the gelatin mixture. Whisk constantly for 2-3 minutes over medium heat.
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Add in the butter and stir until melted.
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Remove from heat and pour the lemon filling into the cooled pie crust. Let it sit at room temperature for 1 hour, then place the pie in the fridge overnight or for at least 5-6 hours.
Keto Meringue:
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Preheat the oven to Broil.
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Using a hand or stand mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Add Besti Powdered and continue mixing on high speed until the meringue is glossy and smooth.
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Place small dollops of the meringue on top of the lemon filling. Smooth over the top, making swirls with the back of a spoon.
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Place the keto lemon meringue pie under the broiler for 2-3 minutes, until the meringue is golden brown. Alternately, to achieve perfectly browned edges, you can use a blow torch.
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Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. Serve cold.
Did you make it? Leave a review or tag me @wholesomeyum on Instagram!
Maya’s Recipe Notes
Serving size: 1 slice, or 1/12th of entire pie
I provide nutrition facts as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see my nutrition policy.
Add Your Notes Your Notes
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© Copyright Maya Krampf for Wholesome Yum. Please DO NOT SCREENSHOT OR COPY/PASTE recipes to social media or websites. We’d LOVE for you to share a link with photo instead.
Keto Lemon Meringue Pie
69 Comments
Susan
1I made this for Easter dinner and it was decicous, was easy to make. I had my doubts about the merignue coming togather but it did. The only thing i did was add cream of tarter to the egg whites before i statred mixing. 1/8 of a tspoon for each egg white. I used 1/4 tsp for all five and it came out great .
Nyja Sawa
0Wonderful pie! I made it with a shredder coconut crust. It worked so well with the lemon custard!
Maya,
Is it possible that there is an error in the recipe with using hot water to bloom the Gelatin? According to the instructions on my packet, it must be bloomed in cold water and after blooming it should be mixed into hot liquid. Apparently, the liquid should be above 40°C, but it should never be boiled as it would not set properly.
I followed the instructions on the Gelatin packet and bloomed the gelatin in cold water. I also turned off the burner and only used the residual heat when dissolving the Gelatin and butter. It set very well and no weeping. 🙂
Thank you for all your advice and recipes! LOVE THE APP!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Nyja! Thank you so much for flagging that, the water is not supposed to be hot. I fixed it.
Linda Marie Kraner
0I want to know why we put the lemon filling in the pie crust and chill it overnight?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Linda, I’m sorry, I’m not sure I understand the question fully. Chilling helps the filling set. Is that were you were asking?
Faye
0Can I cool the lemon filing before adding it to the pie crust? I found my pie weeped under the pie crust & I’m figuring it’s because I added the lemon filing when it was hot and put it in the fridge right away, your thoughts?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Faye, Yes, you can. I plan to test this recipe again soon and will likely update the instructions to recommend this. Hope you liked it otherwise!
Faye Warrian
0I made the pie, it turned out great although when I cut a piece of pie it was watery under the bottom crust, I did place the lemon filling on a cooled crust , but the lemon filling was warm from cooking it and I put in fridge warm, this was probably why the crust got watery underneath it. It didn’t stipulate in the recipe to wait until the lemon filling was cooled off before pouring it into the cooled crust.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Faye, Sorry about that. Yes, I recommend letting the filling cool inside the crust for about an hour before refrigerating. I’ll clarify this in the steps. I’m glad you liked it otherwise!
Faye Warrian
0Can I use the Besti granulated sugar & just put it in my food processor to make it thinner, I ran out of the confectioner
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Faye, Yes, you can do that! Please let me know how your pie turns out!
Laura
0When I made this it cured great for the first step, but once I baked with the meringue topping it turned to liquid and still hasn’t taken its form back after 5 hours. Any idea why this happened?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Laura, There are several reasons this could have happened… did you follow the recipe as written?
Mary
0Can you make this without lemon zest? I froze juice from my lemon tree, but didn’t think I could freeze the zest. The new lemons aren’t ripe yet.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Mary, Yes, you can, but it would have less lemon flavor. But wow, a lemon tree, that’s awesome! For future reference, yes, you can freeze lemon zest. 🙂
Olga
0My 5 eggwhites whipped up very high. Is 3 minutes really enough under broiler? I did that and it browned alot on top but I’m really not sure in the middle. Afraid a bit to cut into it. Wondering if I should stick in back in oven at 350 for a few minutes ?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Olga, I can’t say for sure because I am no there but it sounds like you should be ok to continue with the recipe.
Paul Marshall
0Love this recipe. I’m new to Keto but was sold when I found I could still eat lemon meringue pie. LOL. Only problem I had as per the notes, was a grainy texture as I was unable to purchase the Bestie Monk Fruit, Allulose powder. When will wholesomeyum be able to ship to Australia?
Kate
0Hi Paul! For powdered sweetener, just measure out the same amount of granulated, and then pulverize it in magic bullet or other such small grinder. I always make my own powdered sweetener.
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Paul, We are trying our hardest to start selling our product outside of North America. You can use my Keto Sweetener Guide to find another sweetener you have access to.
Sam
0Hi Maya,
I would love to make this but as I live in Australia I don’t have ready access to the Besti Monk Fruit Powder. Are you able to suggest alternatives? I have Xylitol and Erthritol Powder.
Thank you! Sam
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Sam, You can use my Keto Sweetener Guide to find a substitute.
Sam
0Thank you!
Shelby
0This lemon meringue pie hits the spot! It comes out with the perfect texture and sweet but not overdone. Love it!
Lara
0I was a little intimidated to make this at first, but it came out so good! Finally gave me an excuse to use the blow torch!
Sara
0Maya, this was SO GOOD. I used ground sunflower seed meal in place of almond flour (allergies), and it worked perfectly! We loved it!!
Lisa
0So good! No one even knew this pie was keto-friendly.
Gena
0This recipe sounds so amazing!
Michael Miller
0I’m trying to find out what went wrong with a meringue sponge yesterday. Realizing that a number of things can go wrong I would like to rule out Besti. We used 4 egg whites, cream of tartar, one cup powdered Besti and a pinch of salt, 1 teaspoons vanilla. Baked at 250 for an hour. It had a light brown color and didn’t crust over as usual as well as going flat. Any thoughts?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Michael, I don’t have a recipe for meringue sponge so I can’t say for sure what went wrong.
debbie
0Can I use beef gelatin from vital proteins in this recipe?
Teresa
0This pie turns out perfectly for me every time. It’s delicious! I’m actually going to have a piece for dinner tonight. My only issue is by the next day there is quite a bit of liquid in the bottom of my pie plate. Any idea why? I do store it in the fridge.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Teresa, I’m glad you like this pie! Regarding the liquid, this is the pie “weeping” and can happen if the pie is covered in plastic wrap flush against the surface for an extended period of time. To avoid this, I recommend placing toothpicks over the pie surface before wrapping with plastic wrap, so that the plastic doesn’t touch the top of the pie and there is some air. It can happen anyway if it’s stored too long, but this will slow down the process. Hope this helps!
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi Debbie, Yes, that should work for you.
Evi
0This pie was delicious! I loved that its keto also, and its perfect for when I crave something sweet after dinner.
LaKita
0This lemon meringue pie is so perfect to make and share with those that need an alternative to the regular version!
Anna
0This recipe is a keeper! I tried it this weekend for a small gathering with friends, and everyone loved it! I couldn’t tell the difference between this lemon meringue pie and a classic/ traditional one!