Name: Strawberry Meringue Pie
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 5 h 30 min
Yield: 9
Ingredients: 165g (around 10 ½ sheets) graham crackers; 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar; 85g (6 Tablespoons) butter, melted; 450g (1lb) fresh or frozen strawberries; 65g (⅓ cup) granulated sugar; 3 Tablespoons cornstarch; 2 ½ Tablespoons cold water; 1 Tablespoon lemon juice; 1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 3 large egg whites; 150g (3/4 cup) granulated sugar; 1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract; Pinch of salt

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This no-bake strawberry meringue pie is layered with a sweet strawberry filling and crowned with a glossy Swiss meringue topping. The end result is a really beautiful pie.

The base of this pie is my no-bake graham cracker crust. It’s super simple to whip together in a food processor, then press into a pie pan and chilled until firm.

The strawberry filling is made of frozen or fresh strawberries, cooked and thickened with cornstarch. Once cooled, it holds its shape, but it’s still beautifully juicy and soft.

My favorite part of the pie is the Swiss meringue on top. It’s essentially a homemade marshmallow mixture, torched to golden brown perfection. I like to make the base and the filling the day before I want to serve this pie. Then once ready to serve, I whip up the meringue.

Ingredients

Find the ingredient amounts for this strawberry pie written in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here is a rundown of what you will need.

Graham Cracker Crust

Graham Crackers: These sweet wholegrain crackers add a slight honey flavor and a crunchy texture to the pie crust. You can also use digestive cookies but add around 20g more.
Powdered sugar and salt: Enhances the overall flavor of the crust.
Butter: Acts as a binding agent for the graham cracker crumbs and gives the crust a rich, buttery flavor. This can be salted or unsalted butter.

Strawberry Filling

Fresh or frozen strawberries: These will get cooked down, so it works just as well with frozen fruit.
Granulated Sugar and salt: Sweetens and enhances the tangy strawberries. This recipe uses 1/3 cup sugar, but you can increase of decrease this as you like.
Cornstarch: This is used as a thickening agent. It helps to thicken the strawberry filling.
Lemon Juice: The acidity from the lemon juice balances the sweetness of the strawberries and sugar and enhances their flavor.

Swiss Meringue Topping

Egg Whites: The base of the meringue. These will get heated with sugar before being whipped.
Granulated Sugar: Adds sweetness to the meringue and helps to stabilize the whipped egg whites.
Vanilla paste or extract and salt: Adds flavor to the meringue

Equipment

You will need:

9-inch pie plate or 10-inch tart pan
Food processor for blending the graham crackers
Saucepan for cooking the strawberries
Stand mixer for beating the Swiss meringue. You could also use an electric mixer, but a stand mixer is the easiest.

Method

Graham cracker base

Add the graham crackers and powdered sugar to a food processor and blend into fine crumbs.

Blend in the melted butter to create a thick and crumbly mixture.

Press the mixture into a 9-inch pie pan. Press it in and around the edges using your fingers or a measuring cup.

Place the crust in the freezer while you make the strawberry filling.

Strawberry filling

Remove the top green leafy part of the strawberries and roughly chop them into pieces. Combine cold water and cornstarch into a slurry in a medium saucepan. Add the chopped strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, and salt.

Place the saucepan over medium heat and stir regularly as the mixture begins to warm up.

As it gets hotter, start stirring continually to stop the cornstarch from prematurely cooking at the bottom of the saucepan.

As the mixture boils, it will thicken quickly, become jelly-like, and lose its cloudy appearance.

Let it boil for a full minute before taking it off the heat. It’s important the cornstarch is cooked through properly, or else the filling can lose its thickness.

Let the mixture cool for 5 minutes, then pour the filling into the chilled pie shell. Cover the pie with cling film and chill it for at least 4 hours until completely cold and set. I prefer to let it set overnight.

Swiss meringue topping

Mix egg whites and sugar in a stand mixer bowl. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water.

Whisk the mixture constantly until the sugar dissolves or until the mixture reaches 160°F/71°C on a food thermometer.

Remove the bowl from the saucepan. Add the vanilla extract and salt and place the bowl in your stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.

Beat at high speed until stiff glossy peaks form. They should be thick and glossy.

Dollop the meringue over the chilled strawberry pie filling and use an offset spatula to spread it in an even layer.

You could also use a piping bag to add the meringue. Add in a few peaks and dips to the meringue.

Torch the meringue crust with a blow torch so it’s a deep golden brown.

Serving and storing.

Slice the pie with a sharp knife. Any leftover strawberry meringue pie can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Variations

Different Berries: You can swap the strawberries for raspberries, blackberries, or a mix of summer berries. Add in some lemon zest or orange zest to bring in more flavor.

Whipped Cream: You can replace the Swiss meringue with a simple whipped cream topping. Whip 3/4 cup of heavy whipping cream with a tablespoon of powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract until stiff peaks form.

Or try this S’mores baked Alaska!