Want to make lemon pie filling from scratch? This easy recipe is tart, tangy, and simple to make. Once you try homemade lemon pie filling, you may wonder why you ever bought it in a can.
Homemade lemon pie filling has a fresh, sweet-tart flavor that’s hard to beat. One of my favorite pies is my great-grandmother’s lemon meringue pie. I had it often growing up, and I think that’s where my love of lemon desserts began.
I once tried a dessert with pie filling mixed into the frosting and thought it was such a fun idea. When I made my Lemon Cake, I decided to make lemon frosting with homemade filling. It was delicious!
If you love lemon desserts, try our Lemon Dump Cake too. It’s an easy treat the lemon lovers in your family will enjoy.
Ingredients
You’ll need just a few simple ingredients to make this lemon pie filling recipe:
- Granulated sugar
- Cornstarch
- Cold water
- Egg
- Concentrated lemon juice
The full ingredient amounts are listed in the recipe card below.
Instructions
You’ll find the complete instructions in the recipe card. The short version: stir the water and cornstarch together in a saucepan, then add the sugar, lemon juice, and beaten egg.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and comes to a boil.
Substitutions
- You can use fresh lemon juice instead of concentrated lemon juice. You’ll need more juice, and the filling may take longer to cook.
Variations
Lemon juice, eggs, sugar, and cornstarch give lemon pie filling its familiar tart-sweet flavor and creamy texture. The lemon juice adds tang, while the sugar balances its sharpness. Cornstarch thickens the mixture, so there’s no need to add flour.
This filling works for lemon meringue pie, too. Once it’s cooked and cooled, spoon it into a baked pie crust and top it with your favorite meringue. It also makes a tasty lemon pudding and pie filling for other desserts.
Lemon pie filling is different from lemon curd. Both are bright and tangy, but lemon curd is usually richer and often includes butter. This recipe uses cornstarch to thicken the filling.
Equipment
A small saucepan and a whisk or spoon are all you need to make this recipe. You can store the cooled filling in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Storage
Store the filling in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. It can also be frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to six months. Thaw it in the refrigerator before using, then stir until smooth.
This recipe contains egg and cornstarch, so don’t store it at room temperature or process it for canning. Keep it refrigerated or frozen.
Top Tips
As the filling cools, it will continue to thicken. It usually starts thickening after about 3 to 4 minutes of cooking, but keep stirring until it’s thick and comes to a boil.
You can use this lemon filling in plenty of desserts, including:
- Lemon meringue pie
- Lemon cookies
- Lemon tarts
- Homemade Poptarts with Lemon filling
- Lemon Danish
- Lemon muffins
- Lemon Frosting
For a lighter pie crust, try the crust from this Skinny Easy Strawberry Pie Recipe.
FAQ
Can I use lemon pie filling between cake layers?
Yes! A thin layer of lemon pie filling adds a bright burst of flavor between cake layers. Use as much as you like, keeping in mind that a thicker layer can make the cake a little messy to slice.
How do I make lemon pie filling thicker?
If the filling isn’t as thick as you’d like, keep cooking it over medium heat and stir constantly. It will also thicken more as it cools.
Can I freeze lemon pie filling?
Yes. Let it cool, then transfer it to a freezer-safe container and freeze it for up to six months. Thaw it in the refrigerator before using.
Lemon Pie Filling
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 1 1/2 cups cold water
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup concentrated lemon juice
Directions
- In a small saucepan, mix together water and cornstarch.
- When the cornstarch dissolves, add sugar, lemon juice, and a slightly beaten egg.
- Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until it thickens and comes to a boil.
- If adding food coloring, add it in this step.
- Remove the thicken lemon mixture from the heat.
- Let the filling cool before using.
Mita
Can you make without eggs
Debi
I have never tried it without eggs
Liz
1/3 c applesauce substitutes for one egg and it comes out delicious!
Jeanne McIntyre
Is it possible to prepare this recipe for canning?
Debi
I am not sure. I am still new to canning.
Rita
I was making cream cheese pastry dough so had 4 oz of very soft cream cheese which I added with immersion blender! Almost ate the whole batch …
Frances
Can I use lemon juice instead of the concentrate, and if so how, how much?
Debi
You can but I am not sure the amounts. I haven’t tried it with real lemon juice
Kathy
The lemon juice that you linked is not concentrated. It is made from concentrated but just reconstituted to regular lemon juice strength. If you squeezed a lemon and compared it to the bottled “concentrated” Real Lemon juice it would taste the same as the great lemon although maybe not as fresh. I have seen this exact recipe on ten different posts that all reference “concentrated lemon juice” which I am not sure actually exists
Susanne
Fresh lemon juice can be substituted for concentrate in any recipe, in the same amount.
Carolyn
Thank you, I was wondering the same as I have a friend that has 2 lemon trees!
Josephine B
Hello, I just came across your site while looking for “Lemon Filling”, but now find you use lemon concentrate. I live in Australia and we don’t have the concentrate, so what can I use i place of the concentrate? Can lemon juice be used?
Thank you.
Debi
You can. You just need more of it
Anita M Thompson
I used the juice from 2 lemons for a double batch. I also put some of the rind in it. I just used a small grater .
Annette
How many days can you store 5his for?
Debi
I use it within 5 days
Jeanne Denis
Hi, I made this today. It is very tasty…but I had bits of cooked egg white in mine, which I had to pick out, which
was very time consuming. I cooked over medium heat as suggested…do you think I should try low heat next time?
Is there a trick to the egg not cooking? I constantly stirred and thought I was doing a good job…until I was done cooking it and it had the white egg globules. I’d welcome suggestions as to what I did wrong and what I can do the next time to prevent this from happening again. Thank you.
Kathy
Whisk as you pour in the eggs then when it’s all cooked strain through a very fine strainer and it removes the egg white a leaves a very smooth spread.
Roybal J
You can add one tablespoon of the lukewarm mixture to the egg and whisk it first then pour it back into the pan and continue cooking!
Brenda
I have a very old recipe for this and you don’t use the whole egg ,just the yolk and you use 2 yolks…hope this helps you!!!
Michael
This is so good and easy thank you!
Brenda Griffith
Can this filling be frozen for a later date?
Paula
This pie is sooooo easy and Delish with a capital D! Thanks!
Carolyn
Can this be frozen?
Debi
Yes, it can be frozen.
Lizlittle
Great recipe!! I had to use limes, no lemons at the store..I added a tablespoon more of juice plus some zest. Delicious!
Rosemary Ruiz
Finished lemon pie recipe equates to how many cups/ounces
Can this recipe be doubled?
Thanks
Melody
Easy and yummy
Debbie Sanderson
I made this for first time I always bought Sheriff box lemon couldn’t find it so figured it try this I found adding the eggs there were lots of egg whites in lemon and and it didnt thicken as much I want it for lemon tarts but tastes delicious. In box lemon it asks for just yokes maybe I made mistake reading your receipe wrong .
Debi
If it didn’t thicken enough, I would cook it longer
Caye
When making this or homemade custard you need to heat the other ingredients and temper the eggs. Whisk them and add a T. Of hot liquid at a time while continuing to whisk. Once it is hot you can whisk it into the pan and add the thickening agent.
Olga
Can I use this recipe with juice other than lemon?
Debi
I haven’t tried other juices. But I would think that you can
jak
Quick, easy and delicious! Thank you! I have used this recipe several times just as written and it is very very good .
The only thing I did a little bit differently this time (no lemon concentrate available) was add a 1/4 cup and 1 TB extra of Juiced lemon and a little of the zest for pucker.
Patricia
I love this recipe but i cut back on the sugar as i find it was to sweet. Thanks for sharing
Kristine
Is the sugar granulated or powdered?
Debi
Granulated sugar
marjorie
I can’t imagine using concentrated lemon juice. I always use fresh squeesed lemon juice. the rest of the recipe is great. The info about keeping or frezing is new to me & much appreciated. Love your recipies.. Thank you.
Mel
Can you just use egg yolks instead of whole egg
Our Wabi Sabi Staff
Yes, you can use 2 egg yolks to replace 1 whole egg.
Cathy
I made I used this recipe as a guideline, it came out great. I made two batches. First batch I used half lemon juice concentrate. Second batch used fresh lemon juice. I grated zest for a tart taste and so you could tell it was homeade filling. I made one gluten free crust and two regular crust. Thanks for the recipe. One helpful hint…be sure to stir and pay attention to thickness because this will scorch very easily.
Our Wabi Sabi Life Staff
Glad you liked the recipe and thanks for the tip!
Cindy Riojas
is this recipe enough for 1 whole pie?
Debi
Yes, I use it to make 1 pie.
Rosemary Scalera
I used Swerve in place of sugar. Really good.
Brenda
Great recipe. I liked using the whole egg. I did whisk it to insure there was no white to be seen. Followed it using lemon juice and it turned out super. Graham cracker crust. Will not hesitate to make again.
Judy
Thanks for letting me join
Elena Bowe
I make a lemon and pineapple crumble add lemon mix to crushed pineapple then put a ginger crumble mix on top, flour, butter sugar ginger rub in put in top sprinkle with a little Demerara sugar and bake in a medium oven 25 mins. No need to make custard with it as your lemon filling is your sauce. Enjoy.
Mark
How do you concentrate the lemon juice? I squeeze the lemon juice and freeze it in 20oz bottles.
Liz Chilcott
I too did not have lemon concentrate so used more fresh and took out equal amount of water. I also added lemon zest. at the end of process ran trough sieve. I also used a keto friendly thickener and powdered Monkfruit sweetener 1 to 1. Came out great!
DEBRA
I find whipping my egg in some of the sugar does the trick for cooked egg white.
Cheryl Curtis
Thanks for sharing this recipe, I love all kinds of lemon treats. I come from a large family and appreciate ideas for fun and food that maximize pleasure, and minimize costs. As a single Mom of two with 1 grandson I was always on the lookout for ways to stretch my money. I also love crafts like crocheting, jewelry making, making holiday decor and I am a lover of all types of books. I look forward to seeing more of your interesting ideas.