• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • About
  • Contact
  • Newsletter
  • Work with me
    • Price List
  • Glutarama
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
Glutarama

Glutarama

Life's a drama, gluten free doesn't have to be

  • Recipes
    • Easy Free From Breakfasts
    • Mid Week Meals
    • Puddings and Desserts
    • Cakes, Bakes and Biscuits
    • Treats and Sweets
    • Christmas Recipes
    • Round Ups
  • Vegan Recipes
  • Behind the Scenes
    • Living with Coeliac Disease
    • Dealing with Type 1 Diabetes
    • Living day to day with Autism
    • Beth’s Corner – Autism
    • Beth’s Corner – Coeliac Disease
    • Beth’s Corner – Type 1 Diabetes
  • Reviews
    • Meet the Maker
    • Places to Visit
    • Giveaways
  • Shop
Home » Dairy Free Recipes » Easy Vegan Lemon Meringue Pie

Easy Vegan Lemon Meringue Pie

Puddings and Desserts, Recipes

Quick! Tell everyone what you found!

169 shares
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Yummly
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

My easy Vegan Lemon Meringue Pie is something of a triumph! I have memories of eating it as a child back in the 70’s and 80’s. I can’t remember if they were made from a recipe or made using the Birds packet mixes with a shop bought pastry case. Either way they were delicious and in recent years I’ve had a hankering good old fashioned Lemon Meringue Pie.

Vegan and gluten free Lemon Meringue Pie

Skip to the good bit

  • How to make a delicious gluten free pie case
  • How to make a vegan meringue
  • Other aquafaba recipe ideas
  • Easy vegan Lemon Curd
  • Do you bake a Vegan Lemon Meringue Pie?
  • Why is my Lemon Meringue Pie watery (weeping)?
  • Should a Vegan Lemon Meringue Pie be refrigerated?
  • Other delicious Summertime free from recipe ideas
  • Easy Vegan Lemon Meringue Pie Recipe

Of course, I say ‘old fashioned’ Lemon Meringue Pie. The fact remains that to make something both myself and my daughter can eat, it has to be both gluten free, dairy free and egg free. So, slightly less old fashioned in our case!

The first hurdle was to create an egg free, dairy free lemon curd (in other words a vegan lemon curd). I’m thrilled to report this turned out to be way more simple than I’d expected and I now have a wonderful Vegan Lemon Curd recipe that I can use with bakes, pies and on toast.

The next, slightly more scary hurdle was the eggless meringue. I was an aquafaba virgin before this recipe. So trust me when I say fear not. If this is your first play with aquafaba I promise you will be pleasantly surprised with the outcome. But first things first, the gluten free pastry case.

How to make a delicious gluten free pie case

I will always go to my favourite pastry recipe made with gluten free flour, dairy free free butter, white vegetable fat (I use Trex or Crisp n Dry), water and flaxseed. To make a sweet short crust you simply add sugar.

I’ll go on to explain more on why further down but for a vegan lemon meringue pie you need to blind bake then re-bake your pastry case as this is the only baking process in making this pie (i.e. no baking later on once meringue has been added).

As this is a vegan pie I make a vegan pastry using one flaxseed egg, for more info on this see the box below.

How to make a flax egg

to make 1 flax egg you need the following ingredients:
– 1tbsp ground flax seed
– 3tbsp water
– 1tsp psyllium husk (optional but does add elasticity to baking)

Simply add all ingredients to a glass and stir before measuring out the other recipe ingredients, by the time you come to use your ‘egg’ mixture it will have thickened to a frog-spawn consistency (thicker if you added psyllium husk)

Then just add to your baking as you would an egg. For 2 eggs double the ingredients but note that recipes that require more than two eggs may fail due to lack of support in the structure.

Vegan and gluten free Lemon Meringue Pie - blind baked pastry case

How to make a vegan meringue

To make a vegan meringue you need three ingredients; aquafaba, caster sugar and cream of tartar. So, if this is a new experience for you you may well be asking – What is Aquafaba?

Aquafaba is the liquid you drain from a can of chickpeas. Normally, if making hummus for example, you’d drain that liquid away and think no more about it. The liquid started out its life as water, pure and simple but in the canning and storage process the chickpeas bathe in the water and release much of their starch into the liquid. It’s the starch in the chickpea water that is whippable and keeps its structure. There’s a lovely article about aquafaba that I found on the America’s Kitchen website and interestingly they conducted an experiment to find out the best way to whip your aquafaba so it’s worth a read if you’re interested; What Exactly is Aquafaba, and how do I use it?

In this recipe, you simply treat the aquafaba as you would egg whites. Whip them until light, white and fluffy (yes the rusty coloured water turns white!). Then you add your sugar and cream or tartar. The cream of tartar does the same job as it would in an egg meringue and for want of a better word, glues the liquid together ensuring the whipped structure doesn’t revert back to a liquid. As you can see from the image I have used a shop bought carton of Aquafaba by Oggs (available in the UK, I got mine in Sainsbury’s in the butter aisle).

Other aquafaba recipe ideas

Vegan Chocolate Cherry Amaretti
Delicious little Italian inspired Amaretti biscuits but made vegan with aquafaba, with dark chocolate folded into the ground almonds, a hidden liqueur cherry and rolled in icing sugar. You'll never know these are egg free. Naturally gluten free and dairy free too. Perfect for teatime, festive celebration tables and homemade gifts.
Check out this recipe
Vegan Chocolate Cherry Amaretti naturally gluten free by Glutarama
Vegan Amaretti Biscuits
Delicious little Italian inspired Amaretti biscuits but made vegan with aquafaba and rolled in icing sugar. You'll never know these are egg free. Naturally gluten free and dairy free too. Perfect for teatime, homemade gifts or even add to trifles for an extra luxury touch.
Check out this recipe
Vegan Amaretti biscuits, naturally gluten free and dairy free by Glutarama
Easy Vegan Rhubarb Meringue Pie
This is a surprisingly simple Vegan and Gluten Free Rhubarb Meringue Pie. It can be made in parts so still possible for a busy baker juggling various jobs. Using my homemade eggless rhubarb curd and a delicious aquafaba meringue you'll be surprised how much this reminds you of the 70/80's classic Lemon Meringue Pie but with a seasonal rhubarb twist.
Check out this recipe
Rhubarb Meringue Pie made gluten free and vegan
Vegan Lemon Curd Genoise Slice
A gluten free and vegan triple layer Genoise sponge, sandwiched with homemade vegan lemon curd and dusted with icing sugar. A beautiful addition to any afternoon tea table or to have on its own with a cup of tea.
Check out this recipe
Vegan Lemon Curd Genoise Slice

Never miss out again…

Sign up to my weekly Friday newsletter and not only get a FREE e-Book (currently my Gluten Free & Vegan Cookbook) but also get VIP subscriber discounts on free from goodies delivered to your door. Join me in my journey and learn to make anything gluten free.

Download now
Vegan and gluten free Lemon Meringue Pie

Easy vegan Lemon Curd

My easy vegan lemon curd is made with 4 staple ingredients that I’d imagine many bakers to have in their cupboards. Add the lemons and water and you’re on your way to delicious citrus curd in no time. This recipe makes nearly 500ml/g of lemon curd so if you like you could stop there and jar this for another day.

I use the juice of 5 lemons and top up the liquid to 300ml. Into a pan I add the lemon juice and sugar and heat until all the sugar crystals have melted. Then in a small bowl I measure the cornflour, custard powder and arrowroot and add the water to make a paste. Have fun with that, I sure do, it’s like a physics science experiment I used to do back in school!

Incidentally, I add the custard powder to add a little extra colour to this vegan lemon curd (I use Birds Custard Powder but it does have a may contain to be mindful of this is you suffer with CMPA). Without the egg yolk a vegan lemon curd can look a little translucent in colour and I’m loathed to add food colouring to a lemon meringue pie.

Do you bake a Vegan Lemon Meringue Pie?

This is where I do the practise and you reap the benefits! The first time I made this I went into auto pilot. I baked the pastry case blind, added the hot lemon curd, topped with clouds of fluffy white vegan meringue and shoved the whole pie into the oven to cook the meringue. Big Mistake!

Aquafaba meringue is a beautiful thing but you have to remember it started out life as water. Water evaporates. My first attempt came out of the oven looking amazing but the meringue was, I don’t know how to describe this best so bear with me. The meringue was almost a ghost of itself! It looked great but touch it and it disappeared, turned to powder!

The key to a great vegan meringue is to keep that water trapped, hence the use of cream or tartar, the magic ingredient that makes this possible.

The only way to get that all important golden colour to your vegan meringue pie is to either put it under a hot grill or use a chefs blow torch. Normally I’d use a blow torch but on this occasion I opted to use the grill as I know that not everyone has a chefs torch.

TOP TIP: make sure the grill is already heated and carefully pop your meringue under the grill. You may also find some areas of your grill are hotter than others therefore don’t be afraid to gently slide the pie out and rotate it to get an even toasting.

Vegan and gluten free Lemon Meringue Pie

Why is my Lemon Meringue Pie watery (weeping)?

Remember what I said about about cream of tartar? Well if you’re pie is weeping profusely than it may be because you didn’t add enough cream of tartar. Another reason is if your lemon curd wasn’t hot enough when you added it to the pastry case.

The action of adding a hot curd, and then immediately topping with your meringue, is that as soon as the meringue makes contact with the curd it cooks it and seals it.

I’ll be totally honest here, vegan lemon meringue pies are going to be more likely to weep than non vegan ones, simply due to the fact you’re using aquafaba. In the grand scheme of things is it really a disaster….I say no. The liquid is gorgeously sweet as its effectively a sugar syrup so it’s not going make the pie taste bad.

As long as you’ve baked your pastry case well, it shouldn’t make your pastry go soggy either, nobody likes soggy bottoms right?

Should a Vegan Lemon Meringue Pie be refrigerated?

Absolutely you should refrigerate your lemon meringue pie. The pie will continue to set in the fridge and strengthen its structure. I kept the pie you see here for three days in the fridge. after 24hrs you will expect to see some weeping but to solve this I simply sat the pie on a couple of sheets of kitchen roll in an up-side-down Tupperware container (so the pie sat in the lid). By doing this the syrup soaked into the tissue and my pastry case remained crisp.

Vegan and gluten free Lemon Meringue Pie

Other delicious Summertime free from recipe ideas

Easy No Bake Lemon Cheesecake made gluten free, dairy free and vegan
Lemon Cheesecake (GF, DF, Ve)
Gluten Free Profiteroles, with dairy free option
Profiteroles (GF, DF option)
Ice Buns - Gluten and Dairy Free
Iced Buns (GF, DF, Ve)
Gluten Free Victoria Sponge Gateau made with Genoise Sponge and Dairy Free Cream
Victoria Sponge Gateau (GF, DF)

Easy Vegan Lemon Meringue Pie Recipe

If you make it and like the recipe I would be eternally grateful if you popped back and commented leaving a star rating as this will tell search engines that this recipe is worth checking out and others will get to find it in searches.

Vegan and gluten free Lemon Meringue Pie

Easy Vegan Lemon Meringue Pie

Glutarama
This is a surprisingly simple Vegan and Gluten Free Lemon Meringue Pie. It can be made in parts so still possible for a busy baker juggling various jobs. Using my homemade eggless lemon curd and a delicious aquafaba meringue you'll be surprised how much this reminds you of the 70/80's classic Lemon Meringue Pie.
No ratings yet
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prevent your screen from going dark
Prep Time 40 mins
Cook Time 25 mins
chilling time 1 hr
Total Time 2 hrs 5 mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine Vegan
Servings 8 slices
Calories 399 kcal

Equipment

  • fluted flan tin 20cm
  • hand blender
  • silicone spatula
  • mixing bowl
  • medium saucepan
  • set of measuring spoons
  • Kitchen Scales
  • baking beans

Ingredients
 
 

Sweet shortcrust pastry

  • 80 g butter I use Flora plant butter
  • 20 g fat (I use Trex white vegetable fat) I use Trex vegetable fat solids
  • 200 g gluten free plain flour all purpose flour
  • 50 g caster sugar
  • 1 tbsp ground flaxseed
  • 3 tbsp water
  • 1 tsp psyllium husk powder (optional) optional

Lemon curd

  • 5 lemons squeezed then topped with water to 300ml
  • 200 g caster sugar
  • 60 g cornflour/cornstarch corn starch
  • 1 tbsp Bird's original custard powder
  • 1 tsp arrowroot
  • 4 tbsp water

Meringue topping

  • 100 ml aquafaba I use Oggs or drain a tin of chickpeas [see notes]
  • 100 g caster sugar
  • 2 tsp cream of tartar

Instructions
 

To make the pastry

  • Make your flaxseed egg by adding the flaxseed, water and psyllium husk (if using) to a small jug, stir to combine and leave.
  • Measure the gluten free flour, 'butter' and vegetable fat into a large bowl and using your fingertips or a pastry cutter work the fat into the flour until you have breadcrumbs.
  • Stir in the sugar, then add your flaxseed egg.
  • Stir the 'egg' into the breadcrumb mixture and turn out onto the kitchen surface. No need to flour the surface.
  • Bring the crumble mixture together and knead until you have a ball of pastry dough. Pop into a container and put in the fridge to chill while you make the lemon curd.

To make the lemon curd

  • Add the juice from 5 squeezed lemons to a jug and add enough water to make the liquid up to 300ml. Add this and the caster sugar to a medium saucepan and begin to heat until all the sugar has dissolved.
    TOP TIP: keep back one of the lemon halves for later.
  • In a small bowl measure the cornflour, custard powder and arrowroot, then add 4 tablespoons of water and mix to combine, stir slowly otherwise physics gets in the way!
  • Remove the lemon and sugar liquid from the heat and pour in the cornflour paste whist stirring with a small whisk. Once all the paste has been combined with the lemon liquid, return to the heat.
  • Continue to stir on a medium heat. The lemon mixture will change from a cloudy pale cream colour to a slightly translucent delicate yellow colour and thicken. Taste to make sure it's not too sour for your liking (if it is add a little sugar at this stage and stir until it melts).
  • Remove from heat and set aside. Now you can return to making your pastry case.

To make the pastry case

  • Pre heat oven to 200°C | 180°C fan | 400°F | Gas 6
  • Remove the pastry dough from the fridge and knead for a minute. Roll out into a circle with a good thickness (just under 1cm) and line a 20cm round cake tin with the pastry. Preferably use a loose bottom so you can easily remove your pie at the end.
  • Trim the edges of the pastry with a knife. If you like you can gently press a fork around the edges to create a pretty pattern. I also prick the bottom of the case with a fork to encourage an even bake.
  • Take a large square of baking paper and screw it up in your hands. This can then be placed inside the pasty case shell and on top of that add your blind baking beads
  • Blind bake for 10 minutes, then remove from oven, carefully take out the baking paper and baking beads and return to the oven for another 10 minutes
  • Remove from oven and leave on the side to cool slightly.

To make the meringue topping

  • Wipe the mixing bowl you plan to use with half a lemon, this ensures the bowl is grease free and encourages the very best fluffy meringue whites.
  • Pour the 100ml aquafaba into the bowl, add the 2tsp of cream of tartar and using a mixer or hand held whisk, whip for approximately 6-8mins to get a stiff bowl of fluffy white meringue.
  • Now add the caster sugar one tablespoon as a time and continue to whisk until all the sugar has been incorporated. Set aside for a minute.

To build and bake your lemon meringue pie

  • Return the lemon curd in the saucepan to the heat and bring back to almost boiling.
  • If using the grill to caramelise your meringue turn on the grill.
  • Pour the hot lemon curd into the slightly cooled pie case. Then add spoonful's of sweet meringue to the pie making sure all curd is covered and no longer visible. I don't tend to bother with piping the meringue but instead take a fork and draw swirl patterns in the meringue for effect.
  • Pop the meringue under the grill and watch like a hawk, rotate the pie if necessary to get an even colour.
  • Remove from grill once beautifully golden and leave on the side to cool completely.
  • Once completely cooled pop into the fridge for that final setting to take place (approx. 30mins)

Notes

If using a tin of chickpeas, make sure you thoroughly shake the tin to ensure all the starch is released from the contents of the tin.
You can use the leftover chickpeas to make hummus or simply to add to a salad.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Easy Vegan Lemon Meringue Pie
Amount per Serving
Calories
399
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
12
g
18
%
Saturated Fat
 
6
g
30
%
Trans Fat
 
1
g
Polyunsaturated Fat
 
1
g
Monounsaturated Fat
 
3
g
Cholesterol
 
28
mg
9
%
Sodium
 
80
mg
3
%
Potassium
 
259
mg
7
%
Carbohydrates
 
75
g
25
%
Fiber
 
5
g
20
%
Sugar
 
46
g
51
%
Protein
 
4
g
8
%
Vitamin A
 
270
IU
5
%
Vitamin C
 
36
mg
44
%
Calcium
 
52
mg
5
%
Iron
 
1
mg
6
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Keyword Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Lemon, Meringue, Pastry, Vegan
Have you tried this recipe?Let me know how it was & I will be super grateful. Take a picture & tag me @glutarama on your social media posts – I love seeing your photos more than you will ever know x
Facebook
twitter
instagram

I love to see your own photos of my bakes, dinners and treats head to your favourite social media account and don’t forget to tag me in @glutarama

Subscribe to my email list so that you get NEW recipes straight in your mailbox every Friday PLUS a FREEBIE and access to some amazing gluten free DISCOUNTS

Vegan Lemon Meringue Pie made with gluten free pie crust

*disclaimer: I use affiliate codes on my website, the vast majority are to Amazon. If you click on any of the links or images in the post and make a purchase my family will benefit from a small % of that purchase at no extra cost to you, in fact, for full transparency, in 2020 I made my first £25, and recently in 2022 I reached my next £25 (Amazon don’t transfer the money until you reach £25). As you can see, it won’t make me a millionaire but it will treat me to a few coffees, Lord knows I need the caffeine!

08/06/2021 · Leave a Comment

Previous Post: « Easy Gluten Free Chocolate Profiteroles
Next Post: Gluten Free No Bake Cherry Chocolate Squares »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Welcome to Glutarama

Rebecca Smith - Glutarama, Delicious Gluten Free Recipes since 2015

Hi I'm Rebecca, slightly bonkers but can you blame me! Mum to two teens with additional needs and a great combination of dietary needs. With over 13 years experience of cooking gluten free from scratch. Welcome to my site you lovely person now learn how to make anything gluten free with me!

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Latest Recipes

  • Gluten Free Spotted Dick also made dairy and egg free buy Glutarama
    Gluten Free Spotted Dick
  • Cheats Sausage Casserole - Gluten Free and Family Friendly 4
    Gluten Free Cheats Sausage Casserole
  • Gluten Free Tortillas by Glutarama
    Easy No Corn Gluten Free Tortillas
  • Gluten Free Roast Parsnip Soup made vegan too
    Roasted Parsnip Soup
  • Date Free Sticky Toffee Pudding
    Date Free Sticky Toffee Pudding made Gluten Free
  • Gluten Free Sausage Wreath
  • Gluten Free Stollen Bites by Glutarama
    Gluten Free Stollen Bites
  • Gluten Free Stollen by Glutarama
    Gluten Free Stollen

Never miss a recipe

Glutarama

Footer

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Categories

  • Contact
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • Disclosure Policy & Contact
  • Recipes, Drama and more…

Copyright - Glutarama © 2023 · Thyme Theme by Restored 316

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT