Creamy Lemon Chiffon Pie is an old classic that was always a favorite at holiday parties when I was young.
Overhead photo of a lemon chiffon pie with piped whipped cream and lemon zest.
Lemon Chiffon Pie

This lemon chiffon pie is a TREASURED family recipe. We can trace it back to my great, great grandmother who lived in the 1800’s! If you’ve never had lemon chiffon pie before than you’re really in for a treat–it’s one my all time favorite pies!

Unlike more tart and dense lemon pies, this one has a soft lemon flavor and it’s ultra creamy, light and fluffy. Pair it with our Perfect Pie Crust and you will really “wow” your guests.

A piece of lemon pie with whipped cream and a slice of lemon on top, served on a white plate with a fork.

How to make Lemon Chiffon Pie:

I love this pie because the ingredients are simple and I usually have everything on hand.

Add water, lemon juice, salt, 1 cup sugar, and butter to a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Meanwhile, stir together the cornstarch and ½ cup of water in a small bowl. Add it to the saucepan and cook it until it has thickened.

Overhead photo of a saucepan with the ingredients to make lemon chiffon pie and another photo of the cooked filling inside the saucepan with a wooden spoon.

Separate the egg yolks and whites into two separate bowls. Beat the egg yolks with a fork, and beat the egg whites with electric mixers, slowly adding the remaining ½ cup sugar.

Add a large spoonful of the hot mixture from the saucepan to the egg yolks and stir well. Continue slowly adding a few more spoonfuls, stirring after each addition to temper the eggs.

Process for tempering eggs, including hot pudding mixture added to a white bowl of beaten eggs whites, and then mixed until smooth.

Add the tempered egg mixture to the saucepan and the remove it from heat and stir in the lemon zest. Allow the filling to cool for 10-15 minutes before folding in the beaten egg whites.

Process photos for making lemon chiffon pie including a clear glass bowl with egg whites being whipped into the filling and another photo of the pie filling being poured into a baked pie shell.

Pour the filling into a cooled pie shell and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. I like to place a piece of wax or parchment paper gently over the top of the pie (if you use plastic wrap or tinfoil it will pull some of the topping off when you remove it). Top the pie with freshly whipped cream, for serving.

A slice of lemon pie on a plate with a fork and a bite taken out of the pie.

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Recipe

Overhead photo of a lemon chiffon pie with piped whipped cream and lemon zest.
Prep 15 minutes
Cook 15 minutes
Total 2 hours 30 minutes
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Ingredients
  

  • 1 9 inch baked pie shell
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1/2 cup lemon juice
  • dash of salt
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar , divided
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 5 Tablespoons cornstartch + ½ cup water
  • 3 large eggs , yolks and whites separated
  • lemon zest , from one small lemon
  • fresh whipped cream , for topping

Instructions
 

  • Add 1 ½ cups water, lemon juice, salt, 1 cup sugar, and butter to a large saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil.
  • While waiting for mixture to boil, stir cornstarch and ½ cup of water together in a small bowl. Stir into saucepan and turn heat to low. Cook until thickened.
  • Separate the egg yolks and whites into two separate bowls. Beat the egg yolks with a fork. 
  • Add a large spoonful of the hot mixture from the saucepan, to the egg yolks and stir well. Continue slowly adding a few more spoonfuls, stirring after each addition to temper the eggs. 
  • Add the tempered egg mixture to the saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in lemon zest. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes. 
  • Beat the egg whites with electric beaters. Slowly add ½ cup sugar as you go. Beat until stiff peaks form.
  • Fold egg whites into the mixture in the saucepan.
  • Pour filling into cooled pie shell. Chill in refrigerator for at least 2 hours. I like to place a piece of wax or parchment paper gently over the top of the pie (if you use plastic wrap or tinfoil it will pull some of the topping off when you remove it).
  • Top with freshly whipped cream.

Nutrition

Calories: 206kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 1gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 73mgSodium: 102mgPotassium: 30mgSugar: 20gVitamin A: 355IUVitamin C: 4.7mgCalcium: 11mgIron: 0.3mg

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Have you tried this recipe?!

RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.

 

*I originally shared this recipe in November 2013. Updated November 2018.

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About The Author

Lauren Allen

Welcome! I’m Lauren, a mom of four and lover of good food. Here you’ll find easy recipes and weeknight meal ideas made with real ingredients, with step-by-step photos and videos.

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Comments

  1. 4 stars
    I had trouble getting it to set up, so we ate it spooned into a bowl like pudding. I had trouble getting the egg whites to stiff peaks, as I was wisking by hand. But the taste was delicious.

  2. Made this tonight for our gourmet supper club, and it was the star of the entire evening. The recipe worked perfectly. My only thought is that Step 2 should indicate that the mixture needs to boil, then add the cornstarch slurry. Mine thickened almost immediately when I used that technique. Thank you for sharing a GREAT recipe.

  3. I’ve just made this pie and haven’t yet tasted it HOWEVER, I have enough pie filling to make another pie! I used the proportions listed — has anyone else had excess fi.ling?

  4. 5 stars
    My son made me this for my birthday. He’s never made a pie before and this came out perfect following the recipe. Lemon filling was not too sweet, delicious.

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