Any easy pie you mix up in the blender! A chopped whole lemon is blended up with butter, sugar and eggs creating a custard like pie bursting with lemon flavor. Top it off with sweet whipped cream!
I love a blender recipe. Probably because the clean up is so darn easy. I’m sure for most of you clean up is the worst part about baking/cooking. It’s amazing the amount of dishes you have from one meal. So yeah, something that you make in the blender? I am all over that. I was scrolling down my Pinterest feed and came across this recipe. The name caught my eye. Arizona Sunshine Lemon Pie?! Since my blog is called Baked in ARIZONA, I pretty much had to try it (and I am obsessed with lemon!) Then when I read that you use the WHOLE lemon, peel and all, I was very intrigued. The best part is this pie is super easy (I used a frozen pie crust) but if you wanna make a quick pie crust it will still be pretty easy. The hardest part is picking out all of the seeds from the lemon, other than that you just throw everything in the blender, blend it up and pour into the crust. 40 minutest later you have a lemon, custard like pie! We liked this best chilled with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream on top. Is life giving you lemons? Do you need something to brighten your day? Make this pie, it is sure to turn your day around. It was just what my Monday needed :). Enjoy!
Other recipes you might like!
- The best LEMON BARS! (I LOVE lemon bars so much)
- Chocolate Lemon Bars. (These are a really unique combo and so yummy)
- Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
- Grapefruit Pie (No-Bake!)
This lemon pie is so easy! You make the filling in your blender! Just 5 ingredients. A whole lemon is mixed with, eggs, butter, vanilla and sugar creating a creamy, tart lemon pie topped with fresh whipped cream!
- 1 whole lemon, washed & seeds removed (fresh from tree & in season is best)
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup butter, melted (I used salted)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla (I use this)
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 (9 inch) piecrust, unbaked (I use a frozen deep dish)
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons sugar
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Take your pie crust out of the freezer or make yoru own. I used a frozen deep dish pie crust and it worked great. I placed it on a cookie sheet for support. If using a homemade pie crust in a glass dish, you don't need to do this.
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Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
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Wash your lemon well then cut up and remove all the seeds. (No need to peel it, you will blend the whole lemon!) Plae in your blender.
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Add the eggs, butter, vanilla and sugar. Blend until smooth. I start at powder 5 then go up to 10.
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Pour the mixture into your piecrust. Bake for about 40 minutes or until set.
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Let the pie cool, then chill in the fridge.
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Place a bowl and beaters in the freezer for 20 minutes (not manditory). Pour in your whipping cream and sugar. Whip until peaks form.
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Slice pie and serve chilled with a dollop of whip cream on top. This can be enjoyed warm (it just won't be as firm) or at room temperature but we prefer it chilled.
- There is a lot of feedback in the comments about his recipe. Here is a little info. I used a lemon that was about medium in size (not huge but not small) and right off the tree in Arizona. Some have tired this with a meyer lemon and had great success. Others have tired this pie zesting the lemon into the blender, then removing the white peel and then adding the lemon pulp (minus the seeds). I haven't made the pie this way but wanted to give some info from the comments of those that said it was too bitter. Those that made it without adding the entire lemon said the pie did not set up as well as it did when they used the whole lemon.
Recipe card updated August 2019- I added notes to the recipe on feedback I received from people that have made this pie!
This is the frozen pie crust I used in the recipe (aff. link)–>
Mmmmmmmm luscious lemon!!! Made my mouth water and pucker at same 🙂
Thats why I love lemon! It just gets your taste buds going! haha
I wonder how key limes would taste in this recipe?
I haven’t tried that but it sounds delicious. Let me know if you do!
Can u freeze this pie?
I have never tried to freeze it. Sorry! Let me know if you did and how it worked out.
Its the best pie ever! All my friends love to come to AZ to have my pie. I tried it with oranges and it was not very good. Thank you for a wonderful easy recipe.
oh I am so glad you love it! What perfect pie to make for your friends visiting AZ! And thank you for the feed back about trying it with an orange. Good to know!
I tried it with limes and we had to throw it out! The lime rinds are way too bitter! Love it with lemon!!!
Good to know! We will stick with the lemon! 🙂
I really love the recipe. However, this one left a bitter taste in my mouth. Could it be the lemon or the frozen side piecrust? Trying to figure it out because I whis live to make it again soon. Thanks
It was probably your lemon. It is best to use a lemon right off the tree. The lemon does make a difference.
Agree. I just used a Meyer lemon from my tree (in California) and this pie was excellent. Meyer lemon is a sweeter variety but the pie is still tart. It’s what one would expect from a “whole” lemon dessert of any type.
I want to try this with a Meyer lemon! Glad you liked it!
xo,
Adell
The smaller the lemon the better; a larger lemon equals a more bitter taste.
Thanks for your feedback! Good to know about lemon size 🙂
xo,
Adell
Just made this today, and it is great. I was afraid of bitterness from the rind, but it wasn’t at all. Next time I’m going to try to make it a meringue pie, going to let it cool, then top with beaten egg whites, and brown. Cause my companion prefers meringue to whipped cream. But IMO it’s great as is.
ok let me know how you like it with a meringue topping! sounds yummy 🙂
xo,
Adell
I LOVE LOVE LOVE LEMON ANYTHING..SOUNDS GREAT. .HAVE YOU EVER PUT 2 LEMONS IN IT..OR IS ONE PLENTY OF LEMON? ..
One should be plenty 🙂
I just made this wonderful pie and I used Meyer Lemons. I only have a 10-inch pie plate and I had to make a second recipe of the filling to fill the pie crust. I had left over pie filling and I just blended it a bit more in my VitaMix and realized that I now had lemon curd. This was great on toast, bagels, and etc. It was delicious.
The company loved the pie, as did I. I will be making this easy-to-make pie again and again. It is a great recipe.
That makes me so happy! Glad you and your company loved this pie. Thanks for the feedback! The lemon curd sounds so yummy too!
xo,
Adell
Just made it today. My husband loves it. Not bitter just pucker up. He’d prefer without the whip cream. He lives pucker and tart
Oh I’m so glad your husband loved the pie! Thanks for the feedback and rating!
Made it for my family. They loved it. Great recipe.
I am so happy your family loved it! Thanks for the comment! 🙂
I don’t have a blender. Do you think it would work in a food processor?
I am not sure. As long as it is pretty powerful and blended it up very fine, that would work. But I have not tried that yet.
Can I use my Cuisinart food processor to blend the ingredients for this recipe?
I think that would work just fine! I didn’t try that but as long as it is able to cream up the lemon that should work! (Cuisinarts are pretty powerful so I don’t think you should have a problem). 🙂
What about a ninja blender would that work?
I would think a ninja would work. As long as it is able to puree the lemon peel really well it should work. Let me know if you try it!
I used my nija and it worked just perfectly! Pie is in the oven now and I am SO excited to enjoy it!
yay! Thanks 🙂
My processor did just fine
Can I substitute margarine for butter in this recipe?
I wouldn’t recommend it. I have only used butter. But you could always try it. I just can’t guarantee it would work. I always recommend butter over margarine.
Would a nutribullet work
I am not sure. I haven’t tried a nutribullet. As long as it’s a hight power and can blend till smooth it should work.
I just have a mini food processor so would it still work if a boiled the lemon to soften it
I am not sure. I used a full size blender for the recipe. You can always try it, I just would feel bad if it didn’t work out. Let me know if you do!
The mini blender will only work if you do this in pieces and then mix it all together.
I made 6 of these today!! So quick and easy.. and they taste amazing.. the only change I made was to bake for 40 minutes at 350 in the center of the oven then change to the top rack for 10 minutes.. I have an electric oven so this made for a beautifully set lightly browned filling and crust!! Thank you for the recipe this is one I will definitely be using over and over again..
YAY! That is so awesome! Thanks for the feed back on the baking time & temp. I will have to try that next time. I am so glad you loved this recipe.
This sounds so good and easy..
Since the whole lemon is used, is there a bitter taste from the rind?
No, not bitter. It is a tart pie for sure. If you enjoy lemon you would love it. Very fresh.
Thank you!
LOVE lemons! Can’t wait to try it.
I found it very bitter. We could not eat it. Threw it in garbage. We were so disappointed as we love lemon pie.
I am so sorry! Maybe your lemon was too large? I used prob a medium sized lemon. It is a very tart pie.
I too found it to be very bitter. The pie texture and feel are great but the bitterness and the lingering after taste are unpleasant.
I’m sorry it didn’t taste good! I wonder if some lemons have more of a bitter taste than others? Were the lemons really ripe? Trying to see if that has anything to do with it.
Can they add a bit more sugar to take the bitter taste away?
I am not sure, I haven’t tried it. If you do let us know how it worked for you 🙂
I am concerned about the bitter white of the peel…. LOVE lemon and I like the idea of just throwing it in the blender, but I’ve been afraid to try it b/c of my concerns and after reading all the comments on this recipe, I don’t want to risk wasting all the yummy ingredients to bitterness! ADELL… can U think of anything that I might sub 2 get the right consistency without the bitterness of the entire peel? Thanks!
I would just see if you can get a fresh lemon from a tree. Are you in Arizona? Seems to have better results when it’s an Arizona grown lemon 🙂
Meyer Lemons have less white pith and are perfect to use in this recipe.
I haven’t tried this pie with a Meyer lemon yet, will have to do that!
Might be easier to cut the lemon in half and remove seeds, then throw it in the blender
Yes, that is what I did. You wan’t to cut it open and remove the seeds before adding it to the blender. Thanks!
I have an old blender that might not be strong enough to cream up the entire lemon. Other than ease, what if anythng is the purpose of using the entire lemon and not the zest and the juice?
I am not totally sure. The zest adds flavor for sure and I feel like the white part of the peel adds to the consistency of the pie. If you cut up the lemon in chunks that may help with blending it up.
I used my old blender. It is just a regular blender and it came out perfectly. So so so very delicious. I don’t understand why some people did not like it. They must have done something wrong. Didn’t remove seeds or too large of a lemon like Adell said. I am so happy that I came across Adell’s recipe!
Yay! I am so glad you came across this recipe too 🙂
xo,
Adell
Arizona lemons are the best. Picked one from my tree (which grows HUGE lemons) and pie is in the oven! I finger testes the mix before I put the mixture in the pie shell and OMG what a great lemon taste, so I don’t expect it to be different when cooked.
Yay! Arizona lemons are the best! Glad you made this pie!
xo,
Adell
And what if we don’t live in Arizona? I’m just looking for a good lemon pie recipe.
Other people have tried this with a Meyer lemon. I will have to try that and see how I like it. But this pie recipe is best if you use a fresh lemon off a tree so it’s not too bitter. Let me know if you try it!!
xo,
Adell
It will definitely fill up a 9-inch deep dish pie tin with no room left over. And as for making this, it could not be any easier!!
Thanks for the feedback!
I have fresh squeezed lemon juice and powered lemon zest on hand. How much would I use of each instead of the fresh lemon? Thanks.
I am not sure because I think it would change the consistency of the pie not using the peel and pulp. You can always try and and just add according to your taste buds. The pie has a strong, tart, lemon flavor. Good luck!
I made this pie with just lemon juice and it didn’t turn out as well as the one I made with the peel and pulp. It didn’t set up as well.
Yes I think the peel and rind help it set up. It’s important to use the whole lemon.
Could you please give me a pie crust recipe? This looks so yummy, I wat to try it with a homemade pie crust.
There is a recipe for a pie crust on the original source of the recipe (I linked to it below the recipe).
Mine has been in the oven at 350° for over an hour and is still not set
It’s normal for ovens to vary in temperature. Sometimes things will take longer to bake. I hope it worked out for you! It isn’t a really firm pie, but firms up a bit more after you chill it.
Just curious..since the pith of the lemon can be bitter does the bitterness come through since you are using the entire lemon?
I didn’t taste a bitterness in the pie. It is tart but not bitter. But I realize everyone has slight different taste buds. It is a tart pie but the sugar balances it out well.
I’m not an avid pie baker. What does “set” mean? Not jiggily?
With a custard type filling, it will still jiggle but it should not wet like it did when . It will set up more as it chills as well. Hope that helps!
OK. I have made this pie 4 times now. For my taste, using the whole lemon was way too tart. So, the next time I only used 3/4 of the lemon rind. Still to tart. And half, well, much better and was ok. Then I tried 1/3 and it was perfect. It gave me the lemon flavor I was looking for but was not too tart. But, just because it was too tart for me does not mean it would be too tart for you.
Now we would take that pie filling and put merengue on the top before you cook it!
Yum! Let me know how you like that! Sounds delicious!
Made 4 pies today. So amazingly good. Will keep for future use. Yummy!
Thats amazing! So glad you love it!
Sunshine in a pie! Sounds so, so good!
Thanks so much!
can you substitute maple syrup or coconut sugar? Thx!!!
I am not sure, I haven’t tried it. If you do, let me know how you liked it!
Does the pie crust have to be blind-baked first?
No it doesn’t. Hope you enjoy!
Made this last night. It’s delicious! Will be making one tonight with lime.
Yay! How did you like it with lime?
I am very surprised by all the positive comments. No one in my family liked it, .. and we love lemon. I think using the whole lemon gave it too much of that funny taste of the rind. My family was very disappointed- going back to my old fashion recipe . . even though it’s much harder.
I am wondering if you lemon was not all the way ripe? Maybe that is why you had a funny taste from the rind. I’m so sorry you didn’t enjoy this pie. Thanks for the feedback 🙂
My sister tried baking it with a store-bought lemon and with a lemon picked right off of an Arizona tree. It seems like you have to have a fresh lemon right off the tree to make sure it will be delicious. The store-bought lemon pie was bitter and did not taste good.
good to know. I used a lemon off my tree in Arizona. I will add a note to the recipe!
For those, such as me, who find using the whole lemon to be to tart, try what I did. I reduced it to a half, which was still too tart, and then to a third. Using the third of the lemon along with some zest, was just the right amount of lemon. It was tart, but not too tart. And once I put some cool whip on top of it before eating, it was perfect.
Using this recipe as inspiration, I made a graham cracker pie crust and filled a large rectangular pan, but instead of fresh lemon (not too keen on tossing the whole thing jn there, and didn’t have any lemons on hand :/ ) I substituted lemon créme (canned) and added 1 cup cream cheese, 1 cup sour cream, and subbed honey for the sugar. However, if you go this method do NOT, I repeat DO NOT add in the vanilla extract. It makes it weird and I wound up having to add some actual sugar to the mix to make up for it. Also, layered some frozen floured blueberries on top of the crust (after pre-baking) before adding the lemon filling ♡ came out like a blend of this pie recipe and cheesecake 😮 I was looking for lemon bar(s) recipes and am so glad I came upon this one because none of the others sounded like what I was going for! ^-^
Yum! I love the added blueberry part! Glad this recipe was inspirational for you!
I’ve made this pie several times after getting the recipe from a friend. I LOVE it and it always comes out good. The bitterness some people are experiencing could have to do with the lemon, or it could have to do with individuals’ tastebuds. Some people are very sensitive to sour or bitter tastes.
I agree. It is a tart pie and not every lemon is created equal. I am spoiled with lemon trees everywhere in Arizona 😉
I’ve made this pie and love it! You get bitterness from using store bought lemons. The lemon’s from the lemon tree’s in Arizona make the best pie’s and not bitter. The fresh sun ripened lemons is the trick.
That makes sense about the store bought lemons. For sure use sun ripened lemons if possible. Thanks for the tip!
Well I live in Canada and never in my 80 years have I ever seen a lemon tree but I will be making this tomorrow for sure I love sour lemons and drink a whole one every morning. Thanks for the recipe
Oh my goodness I wish I could give you a lemon from my tree in my backyard! I have way too many… I hope you love the pie! xo, Adell
This pie looks so yummy, and I cannot wait to make it!
i hope you enjoy!
Do you use the whole egg or just the egg yolks? Every lemon pie recipe I’ve seen say egg yolks.
whole egg 🙂
Just made this today and it was SOOOO easy and so delicious! Thank you.
yay! I am so glad you liked it!
Wonderful pie! Because of family dietary needs I used Smart Balance margarine instead of butter and half sugar & half Splenda. The results were outstanding. The filling is rich and is a “wow” desert to serve to guests. Note: It is essential to remove all seeds as they cause bitterness.
My take aways were to bake for 40 min not the extra 5 I gave it. The custard would have been less dry.
Here’s a tip for testing when a custard is “set”: gentley jiggle the pan. If it jiggles as one mass it’s set. If it isn’t, you will see liquid parts that are separate.
thanks for the tips!
Made the today and it tasted good, will e making it again soon. I used a Meyer Lemon from my tree.
🙂 so glad you liked it!
If you wanted to nix the crust (I’m on a diet), could you just bake it in a glass pie pan, as you would bake a custard? I am dying to try this recipe. Perhaps I could put it in custard dishes and cook it in a Ban Marie (not sure of the spelling of that). Any suggestions?
you could probably make this with no crust. I haven’t tried it though. Let me know if you do.
Tip: Not all lemons are created equal. I’ve made this about 4 times now and the first and the last were the absolute best. Lemons vary in size, taste, texture and variety and market lemons are far different from tree lemons -in various parts of the states and the world. All 4 pies were made with my Cuisinart. Lemon variety varied from store, type and home gardened. Twice, I follows the recipe and the pith and inner white membranes made my pies more bitter– than tart and there were bits of ungrounded lemon peel. My best pie which was made last week – I used 4 store large lemons and I zested, seeded and juiced each one and discarded the hulls. My Result: My pie was perfectly tart and sweet. The tartness was subsided with the cool fresh whipped cream that I also sweetend with powdered sugar. The recipe is fantastic in that it allowed me to even consider making this on my own. For me the extra prep of jesting and juicing gave me a perfect tasting filllinh. Also, you can always test the tartness and sweetness and make adjustments before filling your pie shell. We simply love a tart lemon pie and thus doesn’t disappoint! THANK YOU ADELL!
Thanks for the feedback! Happy you had success with this pie 🙂
YES!!! Thank you for posting this! I’ve tried this pie twice and the first time it was bitter (not tart) with a bit of an aftertaste. It set really well though. The second time I made it I used the zest of two lemons and the pulp of one of the lemons (not the bitter white part of the peel). There was no bitterness (and tasted great) but didn’t set well like the first pie. I’m hopeful that your adjustments to the recipe will fix both of my problems. Gonna give this another go. Thanks again!
What a good idea …..taste before filling! Will have to remember to do that. I am making 2 more for the 2nd time tonight for tomorrow. My first 2 came out absolutely perfect and so delicious! I am in love with Adell’s recipe that she found and kindly shared!
So happy you loved this pie! I love it too 🙂
xo,
Adell
If you love lemons you will love this dessert. So simple to make and delicious. I just used the shop bought sweet crust pastry and line a deep pie dish with it. Great because you make it ahead of time being a chilled dessert.
so happy you liked this pie!
When buying lemons, always look for very smooth, shiny ones. They are usually very thin skinned and will not have as much of the white that can cause the bitterness. I have not tried this recipe yet. It will be my next dessert.
Good to know! Thanks for the tip.
I just made this and it has been in the oven almost an hour. It is still not set. I followed the recipe. Do you know why it won’t set?
I don’t. It doesn’t get super firm. Did it ever set up for you?
I just made this pie and it took well over an hour to make. What really bummed me out is it looks nothing like your photo, not sure where I failed. It doesn’t look pretty but it tastes perfect!
Darn! I am sorry it didn’t look the same. But glad it tasted great!
Smother it in whipped cream. LOL. Then no one will know that it doesn’t look pretty.
haha yes! perfect idea 🙂
There is a big difference in lemons. The store bought lemons were picked green and not ripe yet. They are stored in large 4x4x4 bins. Once that is done the huge room is sealed and the fruit “gassed” and forced to the bright lemony color it is. This is done for shipping to markets around the world. It’s better to sell a yellow lemon than one that is still green. If your lemon is not ripe it could be that it’s not ripe yet. And don’t skip scrubbing them before you use them. Hope this helps all of you.
Interesting! Thanks for the info.
How about using a smal meyer lemon and a small regular lemon instead of a large lemon?
That might work. Did you try it? How did it go?
I love this recipe, and my little girl absolutely loves this lemon pie. It’s always a big hit when i make it!
Yay! Smart girl, lemon is the best!
I made this lemon pie and have never in my life made a lemon pie before. Just out of the oven but haven’t tasted it yet. Excited for it too cool. 🤪
I hope you loved it!
My Meyer lemon produces an abundance of fruit. So glad I found this recipe. So easy and the results were beyond my expectations. I only had a 10” deep dish ceramic pie plate so I upped the lemons to 2, the eggs to 6 and the sugar to 2 full cups. I also upped the butter to a full stick. I used palm sugar because that’s all I ever used. So tasty! Thank you Arizona, this is going in regular rotation as long as it’s lemon season (twice a year in Texas)😃
Lemon season is the best! Glad this worked for you! Thanks! I’ll have to try this with Meyer lemon soon, sounds awesome.
I have made this with fresh lemon off the tre., It was Sooo good!! Now going to try with lemons off the shelf…We’ll see! Can it be frozen?
I have never frozen it before so I am not sure. You could try!
Recently, I made this pie as bars in a 9×13 pan. I used a large organic lemon. It was delicious! Is it okay to freeze this pie? I am thinking of making it ahead for Christmas.
I am not sure about freezing. Did you try it? Let me know if you did!
Ok so my mom sent me this recipe through Facebook so I attempted it and OMG yes. I doubled up on the recipe and used 2 graham cracker crust had some left over and had some leftover so I had Krispy Kreme donuts laying around broke them up to fit exactly as a pie crust filled my dish up and baked it as well I added a little extra sugar one more extra egg and ran it through the Ninja on dough for 5 minutes you can taste the tart but you can taste the sweet a lot more and the big scoop of whipped cream on top.
yum! a donut crust sounds divine! glad you liked this pie! lemon is my favorite!
This is a keeper! Awesome lemon pie. Just a few tweaks to the process. Couldn’t figure out what “large” meant for the lemon. So I used 2 Meyer lemons. quartered them and took out the seeds. I tasted the batter before pouring into my pie shell. Even though Meyers are a sweeter lemon, I added about 1/4 C more sugar to the original recipe which was personally just right for me. The completed baked pie, which was so easy and quick to assemble, looked pretty and had that luscious not too tart but really lemony taste. Thanks! This is a great twist on the standard lemon meringue pie.
I used a very large, ripe Meyer lemon
Meyer lemons are very juicy and not much white rind. The pie was delicious!
This is a wonderful recipe Thank you, Adell!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed!
I made this pie but had some mascarpone cheese that need to be used. I added 6 ounces of the mascarpone to the original recipe and it’s great my kids love it and they are 4 and 7
Yummy! What a great addition! Glad it was enjoyed by all!
Thank you for this recipe! I am a lemon freak and I made this pie yesterday with the following changes:
I oiled the extra large pie dish and made it crustless.
I used two lemons, six eggs, one cup sugar and the vanilla. We ate it warm, w vanilla ice cream and warmed puréed frozen cherries (slightly thickened w cornstarch). My family LOVED it and I think I will try a lime version next. It think it will need to be a plump large lime. My guess is that key limes have more peel to pulp ratio than a large round lime. Orange might also be fun. Thanks again, I will make this plenty!
Yum, orange sounds fun. Did you try that yet? glad you liked the pie!
Made this pie recently……..DELICIOUS!! However, I only added one cup organic sugar, instead of one and half. And the recipe I got from a friend only had 1/4cup butter(4 Tablespoons) and no vanilla was in the recipe. But it came SO good…….NOW my question is this……….Can I put the lemon in the blender and freeze it to make the pie at another time…..OR can I mix everything together and then freeze THAT mixture to use later? By doing this I am hoping to be able to use my lemons while they are fresh from my tree……..
Let me know if you have done this
Thank you so much!
Connie
I have not tried this but that is a great idea. Let me know if you ended up freezing the mixture and if it worked for you .
My Mother-in-law passed along this recipe to try in our Vitamix. We followed the recipe to the letter, used a store-bought lemon, and we are SO pleased! I think folks who are experiencing bitterness may be using a blender with less power than recommended. Did anyone ever try a lime version? I am very excited to try it soon.
I have heard the lime version does not work as well. I will have to try it and report back. I am so glad you loved the lemon pie! A powerful blender is key for sure!
I tried this yesterday with two mid-sized limes.
I did add extra citric acid to bring the pucker factor, however the pith made the pie really quite bitter. I’ll be adding a layer of whipped cream tonight and hope that it alleviates some of that. I’ll definitely change the manner in which I approach this in the future.
The taste and texture is great and quite the success, aside from the bitterness.
From what I have heard, this pie doesn’t turn out as well with limes versus Lemons. I will have to try a lime version and see how it works out.
Love this pie to death!! I did try with using key limes but for some reason the skin of the keys don’t work out the same. Little pieces of skin that don’t grind up like the lemon unfortunately but the lemon is a new favorite in the house!!
Good to know about the key limes. Glad you enjoyed the lemon version. Yay for a new favorite lemon pie! Thanks for the comment.
No amount of whipped cream could take the bitterness of this away, though a huge portion did help the overall impression. It’s definitely worth doing with the juice and zest, just leave out the rind. 🙂
I have a food processor and I could not get the lemon pulps smooth ?? I even used my Ninja mini one in batches but with no results…so I put it through a fine strainer and I am cooking it now, hope it comes out good. Thanks for the recipe.
Hopefully that worked for you! A high powered blender such as vitamin or blended is recommend for this recipe.
Never have I experienced such a difficult task as to try printing out the Sunshine Lemon Pie recipe. Jeez, 1st we’re supposed to go thru umpteem photos before pg. 9 when recipe arrives. Your web page is not easy overall to navigate & I choose to not return to it.
I’m so sorry you had a bad experience. To print the recipe, you simply click the PRINT button on the recipe card. That will take you to a printer friendly page with the recipe and one small picture.
I just made this pie and it was DELICIOUS!! I did choose a small lemon that had a thinner skin so less pith ~ not bitter at all.
Yay! Good to know, thanks for the info.
I gave this recipe a go. It was very easy. Only downside is that the bitterness from the peel gave the pie an off taste. At first I thought I burnt it, but the crust was completely fine. I think the issue was that the lemon I used had a thick peel. If I did it again I would remove some of the white portion of the peel.
Thanks for the feedback!
Would it be better to cook the pie shell first?…I don’t like underbaked pie crust.
You could try that. I haven’t done that before, so I’m not sure if it would be too cooked. You could partially bake it and cover the edges with foil so they don’t get over brown. Let me know what works for you.
That is what I did. I baked mine first because I do not like under backed crusts at all either. And they never bake thoroughly for me if I do not bake before filling. I only lightly bake so that it will not burn once filled.
Thats a great idea! I don’t like under baked crust either. I will have to make a note of this. Thanks!
xo,
Adell
Really good pie. I love the idea of adding the whole lemon. I’m making this pie a second time using 1 cup sugar and switching the lemon to orange. I have it baking now. I’m sure it will be just as good as the lemon version.
Yum! How did you like the orange version?!
I made it but it just didn’t come out the way I thought it would. I fear I messed up the easiest of direction. The sugar, I used regular sugar. Should I have used confectioners sugar?
No regular cane sugar is what you should have used. I am so sorry it didn’t turn out!
Ok, I was wrong. It came out great! I did mess up a little and put a cup instead of a half of cup of butter, but no one complained. Great recipe! Thank you for sharing!
yay! I am so happy it worked out! And a little extra butter never hurt anyone 😉
xo,
Adell
Has anyone tried this as a meringue topped pie? Looking for a lemon pie recipe, but my mom prefers the meringue pies. Just wanting to make everyone happy (:
I havne’t tried this with a meringue. Did you end up trying it? If so, let us know!
I fell in Love with this recipe over a year ago…. and I remember commenting and then realizing how old the original post was… I am still getting updates in my mailbox when new people comment about this pie…. I love that the recipe is such an ongoing thing!!! Good job Adell!
Yes! The recipe has turned out to be super popular on my blog 🙂 I am so glad you love the recipe too! 🙂
xo,
Adell
I love the thought of being able to throw in the whole lemon ( omit seeds) but I know for a fact that the lemon rind is bitter. I would get as much zest off the lemon that you can. Peel it, then cut it up and seed it, then throw it in the blender. I wouldn’t want to risk that I bought a bitter lemon. That would insure there is no bitter after taste. If you want more lemon flavor you can add store bought lemon zest. I’m not trying to steal the spotlight, but I know first hand the embarrassment of a bitter lemon pie. lol
yes there is a chance it could be too tart or bitter. But from feedback and my own experience, if you use a fresh lemon, off a tree (we grow wonderful lemons in AZ) then the pie should turn out great!
This looks so good! Do you think a graham cracker crust would be good!
Thank you! I think the a graham cracker crust would be yummy, I haven’t tried it, so if you do, let me know what you think!
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
It will keep in the fridge for 2 to 3 days.
Ok, I do not have access to AZ. lemons, not do I have my own tree. Meyer lemons are not in season right now. How can I “adapt” this recipe by using a small “store bought” lemon? Would zesting first, de-seeding and cutting off the white pith help? Thanks!
I have not tried that but I think it would work. The texture of the pie might be a little different. If you try it, let us know how you liked it!
xo,
Adell
Have you tried this pie with an orange instead of a lemon? I have a large orange tree but no lemons
I have not tried it with an orange. If you do, let me know how you liked it!
Fantastic recipe, and super easy! I made it in my NutriBullet with the large cup and the filling fit perfectly. It pulverized all the lemon and made it a really smooth consistency. I did have to bake it longer than 40 min for it to set, but maybe that’s just my oven. Yum!!!
Glad to hear you enjoyed this pie! Thanks for the feedback! 🙂
Sounds delicious but was very disappointed. I followed the recipe exactly and it was so bitter and had a very bad after taste.
I am so sorry this did not turn out for you!
Made this with my mother-in-law to see if this one lemon would work and it did! Very good, do recommend using a BIG fresh lemon. So easy, so good.
So easy and so good are my jam! Glad you enjoyed the pie!
I made this the first time with a Meyer lemon, and it was wonderful. The second time, I used two limes in place of the lemon. The limes have thin, tough peels, and the Ninja blender did not pulverize the lime peel completely at first. I blended it longer to compensate. Also, I used kitchen scissors to cut up the lime into very small pieces to look for seeds, which assisted the blender. There were actually no seeds in the limes, so fewer seeds might be an advantage with limes. The lime pie is delicious and slightly bitter from the peels. I would call it deliciously bitter! Because I wanted a meringue, I used five eggs and reserved part of the egg white for meringue. That worked fine. Next time, maybe I’ll get a carton of egg whites and use four whole eggs as in the original recipe, but this version was very successful. Thank you!
Yum! I will have to try this with a lime. Sounds delicious! Thanks for the feedback!
This will work with ANY citrus — the high pectin in citrus (orange, lemon, lime, kumquat, grapefruit, etc) is what really makes this pie set up. The egg gives it the curd-like smoothness. I make 10 minute lemon/orange etc Curd the same way, with almost exactly the same ingredients. I also make 10 Minute marmalade with just citrus, sugar, my food processor and the microwave.
Ken, I make lemon curd in my VitaMix really quickly. What is your recipe? How do you make your marmalade?
Thanks for the info, this is very good to know.
10 Minute Marmalade
“some” citrus fruit — for a pint of marmalade, about 1 grapefruit, or 3 oranges, or a lemon an lime and an orange. Or any combination of citrus fruit — lemon-lime-orange is particularly good
White Sugar or Splenda (or demerara or piloncillo) not honey or other liquids or powder sweeteners
Microwave safe glass bowl
Chop the fruit into thumb size pieces — skin, pith seeds and all, and put it in your food processor. Take it for a spin until the result looks like marmalade — small bits of skin floating around>
Measure the puree into the glass bowl. Add the same measure of sugar (cup for cup) and stir to dissolve. Taste. If too sweet take a little for fruit for a spin. If too tart, add a bit of sugar.
Microwave on High for 5 minutes. Taste. Adjust taste if necessary. Microwave 5 more minutes. Ladle into screw top jars and let it cool to ambient temperature before lidding. Will keep in the fridge for 6 months or until you finish it, whichever happens first.
Ten Minute Curd
Another simple microwave recipe.
1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice, orange juice, or lime juice (not bottled juice, use only fresh)
1 cup White Sugar
1/2 cup Butter, melted
3 Eggs, beaten
1/4 to 1/3 cup cup of citrus zest
In a microwave safe bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs until they are very smooth. Add the juice, zest and butter and whisk again. Whisk some more — you don’t want scrambled egg in your curd!
Microwave on High for 1 minute. Stir. Repeat…and repeat. After 3-10 1 minute blasts, the mixture will have thickened until it will coat the back of your stirring spoon. Time depends on your lemons and your microwave. Ladle into screw-top jars and refrigerate after cooling, for up to 3 weeks. After that time it will start to break down and become watery — still tasty,but watery…
Thanks, Ken, for replying so quickly. I can’t wait to try these recipes.
I just made this recipe with a Meyer Lemon from our tree here in AZ. Delicious!!
Yum! I am going to have to make this soon and try a Meyer lemon!
Thank you for a super easy, super yummy recipe! Just made for the second time with a Meyer lemon picked from my tree. Absolutely perfect both times!
I need to try this with a Meyer lemon. So happy you liked it! Thanks for the rating and feedback!
Pie super easy. Do not use large lemons it is extremely bitter but otherwise a good recipe
I will try it again with smaller lemons
thanks for the feedback!
I have made this lemon pie 4 times on this month alone. I’m a lemon lover. This recipe is the easiest, few ingredients and in the blender, which means less cleanup for me. Love it, the right amount of tart. Lemon flavor and sweetness. Just prefect. I’m from South. Florida and we like our very tart Key lime, so using the rind did not add any tartness than the necessary mild one. Again perfection fie me.
oh this makes me so happy! I love that you have made it 4 times in the month alone! I love lemon and everything tart too. Thanks for the feedback! I need to visit Florida and try some tart key lime 🙂
Made it love it. So yummy. My only problem I had was 350 for 40 mins wasn’t long enough my pie crust did not cook underneath. It looked done and beautiful. So next time I will pre cook my pie crust slightly
THanks for the feedback! Glad you enjoyed it 🙂 You could also try cooking it on a lower rack, to help the crust cooke faster.
I make 10 Minute Marmalade with any whole citrus fruit and this pie is the perfect extension of that recipe. Here in Florida we’re orange folks, and I make your recipe with Cara Cara or Moro “blood” oranges.
The ‘too sharp’ taste mentioned by some reviewers come from the skin/pith, not the fruit itself. Don’t blindly follow the recipe. You have to adjust the sugar content ‘on the fly’ (taste before you cook!) to achieve the sweetness level you want.
I use a food processor, not a blender to puree things (I save the blender to whizz up margaritas and mojito slushies!
FYI I started my Personal Chef career there in Arizona as The Portable Gourmet, out of Prescott; changed the name when I moved to Florida about 20 years ago.
The orange versions sound so good! I need to try this with a Cara Cara or blood orange too And thanks for the tips on tasting and adjusting the sugar level!
That is so cool you started your career in Prescott!! I want to visit Florida, I’ve never been 🙂
xo, Adell