Lemon chess pie is my personal favorite. I like to make it with my mix in the pan pie crust for a totally old-fashioned, simple but good experience. But it works beautifully in a standard store-bought pie crust, as you’ll see in this tutorial.
Let’s hear it for simplicity! All you need to make this lemon chess pie is butter, eggs, lemons, and sugar! I have used lemon juice on occasion when I didn’t want to fuss with lemons or didn’t have them on hand and it was still wonderful.
The actual recipe is at the bottom of this post in a printable recipe card, as always.
How to Make Lemon Chess Pie
Begin by separating your eggs, yolks from whites. Make sure there is no yolk at all in your white because we are going to beat those and they won’t do what we want them to do if they have yolk in them.
In a large bowl, cream sugar with butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks.
Lightly grate the rinds of your lemon to get some lemon zest. Add grated lemon rind and fresh lemon juice, beat in. 
In a separate bowl, with clean beaters (important), beat egg whites until stiff and then lightly fold into your batter by hand using a spatula or large spoon (this means just stir them by hand until they are mixed in).
The above photo shows stiff egg whites.
After you fold egg whites into your batter, pour into pie pan or shell and bake the pie at 350 until set and golden, about twenty five to thirty minutes.
It will be light and golden on top and smell like heavenly sunshine.
For pretty sake, you can sprinkle a little confectioner’s sugar on top, if you like.
Allow to completely cool before cutting. Even better if you make a day ahead of time and refrigerate until serving.
Recipe FAQs
Why is my lemon chess pie runny?
Sometimes, lemon chess pie will unfortunately still be runny after the recommended cooking time. If this happens, you can leave the pie in the turned-off oven for an additional 5 to 10 minutes. If that doesn’t work, place the pie in the fridge for a few hours to help it set.
How do you freeze lemon chess pie?
You can freeze lemon cheese pie for up to three months. After slicing the pie into individual servings, place the slices into an airtight container or wrap them individually in both plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Once you’re ready to eat, simply thaw the slices overnight in the fridge.
How long does lemon chess pie last?
As mentioned, lemon chess pie can last up to three months in the freezer. However, it’s recommended only keeping the pie in the fridge for two days.
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 4 Tablespoons Butter
- Grated rind and juice of two large or three small lemons
- 4 eggs separated
- 1 pie crust baked if it was frozen, but no need to prebake if using a from scratch pie crust recipe
Instructions
- Cream sugar with butter until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks. Add grated lemon rind and juice, beat in. Beat egg whites in a separate bowl (with clean beaters) until stiff and lightly fold in. Pour into pie shell and bake at 350 until set and light, about twenty five to thirty minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
This post featured on Meal Plan Monday!
You may also like these pies:
Water Pie: Recipe from the Great Depression
Cherry Cream Cheese Pie From Grandmama’s Kitchen
Grandmamas Chocolate Chess Pie
Your recipe under ingredients has 1 pie crust baked, but your instructions show unbaked pie crust. Which should it be?
If you are using a store bought frozen pie crust then you would bake it for 10-12 minutes but if you are making our pie crust from scratch and using it right away then no need to bake it.
I LOVE lemon so this is another recipe I will be trying in the near future. Thank you for sharing.
You are welcome! It’s sooo good!
I have been making this pie since I 1st came across the recipe in Gourmet Magazine in the early ’70s. It is so easy and so a family favorite. An easy add on for a busy holiday as it stores well and can be done a day or 2 ahead.
Thank you so much for letting us know that it is a family favorite. Have to say it is the same at my house. Really appreciate your comment.
I love chess pie. I first had it at the old Bishop’s cafeteria sadly they are long since closed. You can’t find it much in Iowa and so many here have never heard of it.
Sounds like a great excuse for you to make it and show the Iowans a thing or two about chess pies 🙂
Reading your recipes bring back memories of when my mom made these same recipes when I was a little girl. Wonderful memories. My mom is no longer with us ,she passed back in ,09 but her recipes live on in her 7 children , her grandchildren great grandchildren and great great grandchildren. That’s right great great grand children. We where in the Greensboro NC news paper for having 5 generation of girls. How’s that for a family? Sorry got off why I texted you. I want to let you know I appreciate all the recipes you put up for all of us and the walk down memory lane.
Reading about you and your daughter just brought all the good times my and I had together. Even with 7 kids mom always seemed to have time for all of us.
Thank you and God bless