Heavenly Lime Pie (Vintage Angel Pie with a Meringue Crust) 

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Last Updated on September 20, 2026 by Heidi Bruaw

It was Valentine’s Day, but I was already thinking about St. Patrick’s Day! Green is my favorite color, so I went looking for a green dessert that wasn’t mint for once, which is how I came upon Heavenly Pie. Heavenly Pie is an angel pie, which means the crust is a baked meringue shell instead of pastry, and you fill it with a citrus custard mixed with whipped cream.

These were all over the place in the 1950s and 60s, and Betty Crocker even put one in the 1950 Picture Cook Book as a version of schaum torte, an old Austrian meringue dessert. I found a couple of contenders in my grandma’s recipe book and nothing in my grandpa’s, and then I remembered the recipes my mom showed me at her house, the ones that belonged to her grandma, so I called her and sure enough there was Heavenly Pie in my Great Grandma Thora’s handwriting. It called for lemons, so I switched to limes and dyed it green, which turned it into the lime pie I was after.

Quick Facts

• What it is: An angel pie, meaning the crust is baked meringue instead of pastry
• Also called: Heavenly Pie, lime angel pie, meringue crust pie
• Where it came from: My Great Grandma Thora’s handwritten recipe card, originally made with lemons
• Flavor: Tangy lime custard, sweet crisp crust, cool and light
• Hands-on time: About 30 minutes
• Bake time: 1 hour at 275°F, low and slow so the meringue dries instead of browning
• Chill time: 24 hours in the fridge, or 2 hours in the freezer
• Makes: 8 slices
• Naturally gluten-free: Yes, no flour anywhere in it
• Not the same as: Key lime pie, which uses sweetened condensed milk and a graham cracker crust
• Best for: St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, spring potlucks, or anytime you want a green dessert

What Each Ingredient Does

• Eggs (4, separated) — The whites become the meringue crust and the yolks go into the lime filling. Nothing wasted. Let them come to room temperature first, because cold whites won’t whip as high.
• Cream of Tartar (¼ teaspoon) — Keeps the meringue from collapsing. Don’t skip it. If you’re out, here are some cream of tartar substitutes.
• Sugar (1½ cups, divided) — One cup in the meringue, a half cup in the filling. Add it to the egg whites slowly, or the meringue won’t set up.
• Lime Juice (3 tablespoons) — The tang. Fresh squeezed tastes better, and you need the limes for zest anyway. Thora’s original called for lemon if you want to go that way, and these lemon juice substitutes work in a pinch.
• Lime Rind (1 tablespoon, grated) — This is where the lime flavor really comes from. Grate it before you cut the limes open.
• Salt (⅛ teaspoon) — Just a pinch, but it keeps the filling from tasting like straight sugar.
• Heavy Whipping Cream (1 cup) — Whipped and folded in, this makes the filling light instead of heavy. Let the custard cool completely first.
• Whipped Topping (1 tub Cool Whip) — Goes on top. Cool Whip came out in 1966, so it’s a fitting finish for a recipe this old. Fresh whipped cream works too; it just softens up more overnight.
• Green food coloring and sprinkles (optional) — Not in the original, just my St. Patrick’s Day addition. Leave it out, and you’ve got a pretty pale pie for any time of year.

Tips for Success

• A stand mixer makes this easy: The meringue crust wasn’t as hard as I thought. In my opinion, a stand mixer is the best way to make a meringue. Stiff peaks form quickly, and you can work on other parts of the recipe while it mixes.
• Start with a clean, dry bowl: Any grease or speck of yolk will keep the whites from whipping up. Wipe the bowl and whisk with a little vinegar or lemon juice first if you want to be sure. Glass or metal beats plastic here, since plastic holds onto oils.
• Separate your eggs cold; whip them warm: Cold yolks hold together better so they’re less likely to break into the whites. Then let the whites sit out for 20 or 30 minutes before you beat them, because room temperature whites whip higher.
• Add the sugar slowly: Pour it in a little at a time while the mixer is running. Dump it all in at once, and the meringue goes grainy or weeps sugar syrup while it bakes. You’ll know it’s ready when the meringue is glossy and doesn’t feel gritty between your fingers.
• Low and slow is the whole point: 275°F for an hour dries the meringue out rather than browning it. That’s what gives you a crisp shell instead of a chewy one. Resist turning the heat up to speed things along.
• Let it cool in the oven: Turn the oven off and leave the door cracked with the crust still inside. Sudden temperature changes cause most cracking. A few cracks are fine anyway since the filling covers them.
• Pick a dry day if you can: Meringue pulls moisture out of the air, so a humid or rainy day can leave you with a sticky, soft crust no matter what you do. This is the one thing you can’t really fix with technique.
• Don’t rush the chill: The 24 hours in the fridge isn’t me being picky. The filling needs that time to firm up enough to slice, and the meringue softens into something almost marshmallowy underneath, which is the best part.
• Green is optional: I added green dye to the filling and green sprinkles to the top to make it extra festive. You can leave it plain if you like.

Why You’ll Love This Lime Pie

• No pie crust to roll out. The meringue is the crust, so there’s no dough, no chilling, no rolling pin, and nothing to cut in.
• It’s naturally gluten-free. This pie has no flour, so it works for people who need to avoid gluten.
• Eight ingredients, all easy to find. No sweetened condensed milk, no specialty anything, just eggs, sugar, limes, cream, and a tub of Cool Whip.
• You make it the day before. It has to sit overnight, which means the dessert is done and out of the way before anyone shows up.
• That crust texture is something else. Crisp and sweet on the outside, soft and almost marshmallowy underneath where it meets the filling.
• It’s tangy without being too sweet. The lime custard keeps it bright, so it doesn’t sit heavy after a big meal.
• Green without being mint. If you’re tired of every St. Patrick’s Day dessert tasting like toothpaste, this one’s for you.
• It came out of my Great Grandma Thora’s recipe box. Handwritten, cursive and all, and it’s been worth making all over again.

Substitutions and Variations

Swaps for what you have on hand

• Lemon instead of lime. This is how Great Grandma Thora wrote it. Use the same amounts; just swap the juice and zest, and skip the green dye.
• Key limes. They’re smaller and a little more floral. You’ll need quite a few to get 3 tablespoons, but the flavor is lovely.
• Bottled lime juice. It’ll work, but you still need a real lime for the zest, and that’s where most of the flavor lives.
• Fresh whipped cream instead of Cool Whip. Whip 1 cup of heavy cream with a couple of tablespoons of powdered sugar. Powdered sugar helps it hold up overnight better than granulated does.
• No double boiler? Use a metal or glass bowl set over a saucepan with an inch of simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water. A heavy saucepan over low heat works too; just stir constantly.
• No cream of tartar? A half teaspoon of white vinegar or lemon juice will stabilize the whites instead. Here are more cream of tartar substitutes.

Other flavors of angel pie

Angel pie has been made a hundred ways since the 1950s, and the meringue crust stays the same every time. Only the filling changes.

• Lemon angel pie. The classic, and the version most people’s grandmothers made.
• Chocolate angel pie. Melted chocolate folded into whipped cream instead of a custard. No double boiler needed.
• Orange or grapefruit. Same custard method, different citrus. Grapefruit is tart and a little unexpected.
• Coconut lime. Fold shredded coconut into the filling or toast some for the top.
• Pineapple or grape. Both showed up in newspaper recipe columns in the 1960s, which tells you people were putting just about anything in these.

Toppings

• Toasted coconut over the whipped topping.
• Candied or grated lime zest for a little color and a lot of citrus smell.
• Fresh berries if you’re making it in spring.
• Green sprinkles for St. Patrick’s Day, which is what I did.

Storage Tips

• In the fridge: This pie lives in the refrigerator, not on the counter. It has cooked egg custard and whipped cream, so it needs to stay cold. Cover it loosely with plastic wrap or foil, tented so the wrap isn’t pressing into the whipped topping, and it’ll keep about 3 days.
• Expect the crust to soften: on day one, the meringue is crisp. By day two it’s softer where it meets the filling, and by day three it’s more marshmallow than cracker. It still tastes great; it’s just a different pie. If you want that crisp bite, serve it the day after you make it.
• In the freezer: This one freezes well, which not every pie does. Freeze it uncovered for an hour until the top is firm, then wrap it and keep it up to 2 months. Move it to the fridge for a few hours before serving, or eat it partly frozen, which is honestly how I like it best in warm weather.
• Storing just the crust: You can bake the meringue shell a day or two ahead. Cool it completely, then keep it in an airtight container at room temperature, never in the fridge where the moisture will get to it. Fill it the day you plan to serve.
• Watch the humidity: Meringue pulls moisture right out of the air. On a humid or rainy day, the crust softens faster no matter how you store it, so plan around the weather if you can.
• How to tell it’s past its prime: Weeping liquid pooling under the filling, or a crust that’s gone sticky and wet rather than soft, means it’s done. The custard and cream make this one worth being careful about, so when in doubt, toss it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is angel pie? Angel pie is a pie with a baked meringue shell instead of a pastry crust, usually filled with a citrus custard or whipped cream. It was everywhere in American kitchens in the 1950s and 60s. You’ll also see it called Heavenly Pie, meringue crust pie, or schaum torte.

Is this the same as key lime pie? No. Key lime pie uses sweetened condensed milk in a graham cracker crust. This one has a baked meringue crust and a cooked lime custard folded into whipped cream, so it’s lighter, and the texture is completely different.

Why won’t my egg whites whip up? Almost always grease. Any oil in the bowl or a speck of yolk in the whites will stop them from forming peaks. Start over with a clean, dry glass or metal bowl, and separate the eggs cold so the yolks stay intact.

Why did my meringue crust crack? Usually a sudden temperature change. Turn the oven off and let the crust cool inside with the door cracked instead of pulling it straight out. Some cracking is normal anyway, and the filling covers it.

Why is my meringue weeping or grainy? The sugar went in too fast. Add it a spoonful at a time with the mixer running, and beat until the meringue is glossy and doesn’t feel gritty when you rub it between your fingers.

Can I use bottled lime juice? Yes, but buy a lime anyway. You need the zest, and that’s where most of the lime flavor actually comes from.

Can I make it ahead? You have to, really. It needs 24 hours in the fridge to set up. You can also bake just the meringue shell a day or two early and keep it in an airtight container at room temperature until you’re ready to fill it.

Can I freeze it? Yes, up to 2 months. Freeze it uncovered for an hour first so the top firms up, then wrap it. Thaw in the fridge, or eat it partly frozen, which I like even better.

Is this pie gluten-free? Yes. There’s no flour anywhere in it, since the crust is just egg whites and sugar. Check your whipped topping label if you’re cooking for someone with celiac.

Do I have to use Cool Whip? No. Whip a cup of heavy cream with a couple of tablespoons of powdered sugar instead. The powdered sugar helps it hold its shape overnight.

What do I do with the leftover egg yolks? There aren’t any. The whites make the crust, and the yolks make the filling, which is exactly the kind of thrifty thinking you find in old recipes.

Can I use lemon instead of lime? That’s how Great Grandma Thora wrote it. Swap the juice and zest 1:1 and skip the green dye.

What to Serve with Heavenly Lime Pie

For a St. Patrick’s Day dinner

This pie is light, so it’s nice after a heavy meal. Corned beef and cabbage is what everybody makes, but if that’s not your thing, my Old Fashioned Shepherd’s Pie or a Slow Cooker Rump Roast will do the job just fine. Add some colcannon or my Classic Coleslaw, and you’ve got to have Irish Soda Bread on the table.

For Easter or a spring dinner

Ham and lime pie sound like a strange pair, but the salty and the tart together are so good. Classic Potato Salad, Orange Glazed Carrots, or Green Beans Almondine with Bacon all work for spring. If you’re putting together a whole spread, I’ve got more ideas in my Best Easter Desserts roundup.

For a potluck

I never bring just one dessert, so set this out with my Pastel Mints or 3 Ingredient Mint Truffles. My Chocolate Mint Dreams keep things green for anyone who wants mint. There’s more in my Potluck Dishes roundup if you’re bringing a main too.

Something to drink

Fresh Squeezed Lemonade or Sherbet Punch if you’ve got a crowd. For the grownups, a Moscow Mule plays off the lime, and you can’t beat an Irish coffee in March. Plain coffee is good too, since the pie is sweet enough on its own.

Want another green dessert?

My Grasshopper Pie is the minty green one. If you want more citrus, there’s my Key Lime Pie if you like the sweetened condensed milk kind, plus Key Lime Pound Cake and Lemon Icebox Cake.

Other Recipes You May Enjoy

If a classic fruit pie is more your speed, try my Blueberry Pie. You might also like my Black Bottom Pie or my Chocolate Macaroon Pie.