They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day – and these ricotta cheese pancakes will make your heart skip a beat (much like my almond flour pancakes and almond flour buckwheat pancakes).
I love to make them with my homemade ricotta cheese for the most pronounced sweet cream kick. I serve them with plenty of warm maple syrup, homemade blueberry sauce (or my blueberry puree), and fresh berries, which really bring out the lemon flavor.
Why Should You Try This Recipe?
I find these to be the best lemon ricotta pancakes to add to your list of pancake and waffle recipes. I know you will love them because:
- Light, bright and fluffy: The texture of these pancakes is hard to beat thanks to fresh ricotta cheese. Plus, the vibrant lemon pop just makes you smile.
- Celebrates the sweet side of ricotta: Ricotta is one of the few ingredients that can be mixed into sweet recipes. Think of it like cream cheese, but without the tang but with a similar creamy texture.
- Bite-size pancakes with big flavor: If you love lemon-y desserts, these pancakes are guaranteed to satiate all your lemon cravings.
Ingredients
The ingredients for these ricotta pancakes are what you would find in your usual pancake mix, but much, much better.
Gather together all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, ricotta cheese, milk, eggs, fresh lemon zest, fresh lemon juice, vanilla extract, butter, granulated sugar, and vegetable oil.
Ingredient Substitutions and Notes
- Ricotta Cheese: Use full-fat ricotta cheese for the best pancakes. I always have some homemade ricotta in my fridge. Italian markets carry top-quality fresh ricotta cheese, too.
- Milk: I used whole milk, but buttermilk would give a nice tang.
- Sugar: Use coconut sugar, or your favorite granulated sugar, if you prefer not to use white sugar. It changes the color of the pancakes but it is still very good.
- Eggs: The ricotta pancake recipe below uses 4 egg whites and 2 egg yolks. You can use the extra 2 egg yolks in another recipe.
How to Make
This recipe for ricotta pancakes takes a little help from whipped egg whites, but the extra effort is well worth it. Simply:
- Mix dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Whisk wet ingredients: In a medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese, milk, 2 egg yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and melted butter. Whisk until just combined.
- Make pancake batter: Gently pour and stir the ricotta mixture into the dry ingredients. Do not overmix.
- Whip egg whites: In a separate bowl, place the egg whites. Using a hand mixer, whisk egg whites for 1 minute at medium-low speed. Increase the speed to medium and whisk until foamy for 1 more minute. Slowly add the sugar and whisk until soft peaks form (it will be very silky), about 1-2 minutes.
- Whisk in ⅓ egg whites: Gently whisk 1/3 of the beaten egg whites into the pancake batter.
- Fold in remaining egg whites: Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the rest of the whipped egg whites.
- Keep them warm: Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.
- Cook pancakes: Heat 1 teaspoon vegetable oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Using a paper towel, wipe out the excess oil. Measure 1/4 cup of the batter and gently pour into the skillet. You should be able to fit about 3 pancakes, with a few inches between. Cook for 2 minutes, flip, and cook for another 1 minute, or until the edges are set. Repeat with the rest of the batter. As you are cooking the rest of the batter, place the cooked pancakes in a single layer on a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven.
- Serve: Serve with maple syrup, blueberry sauce and fresh berries.
How to Serve
Ricotta lemon pancakes can be served in a number of ways. Some of my favorites include:
- Breakfast: Keep it simple with a drizzle of maple syrup and extra butter.
- Brunch: Give these pancakes a touch more finesse for special occasions and holidays by topping with blueberry sauce, fresh blueberries and/or maple whipped cream.
- Pancake Bar: Set up a complete pancake breakfast bar with your favorite toppings like maple syrup, butter, lemon curd, blueberry syrup, fresh fruit, jam, powdered sugar, chocolate chips, and more.
Variations
Feel free to throw in a mix-and-match of your favorite mix-ins to make this homemade pancake recipe your own. I like to add the mix-ins after I’ve ladled out the batter onto the griddle for even distribution.
- Nuts: Add ½ cup slivered almonds or toasty pecans.
- Chocolate: Stir in a handful of chocolate chips (~ 1/4 cup) or a chopped chocolate bar.
- Cannoli: Give these a cannoli twist by swapping the lemon zest and juice for orange instead and add a dash of cinnamon and mini chocolate chips, too.
How to Store and Reheat
Ricotta pancakes keep well in both the fridge and freezer and reheat beautifully. Here’s how to do it:
- Fridge: Store leftover pancakes between layers of parchment paper in a plastic storage bag or airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: Store pancakes between layers of parchment paper in a plastic freezer bag or freezer-safe container for up to 2 months.
- Reheat: Reheat in the microwave in short 20-second increments. To reheat a large batch, set the pancakes on a wire rack set inside a baking sheet, cover with foil, and warm through in a 350-degree F oven for 5-10 minutes. Add 2-3 minutes to the baking time if reheating from frozen.
Expert Tips
- Whip egg whites to stiff peaks. Gradually add the sugar and whip just until the peaks hold their shape on the whisk. You know they’re ready when the mixture is shiny, silky, and smooth.
- Whisk in one-third of beaten egg whites. This helps lighten the batter and makes it easier to fold in the remaining egg whites.
- Small lumps are good in pancake batter. It means the batter has not been overmixed and makes for fluffier pancakes.
- Watch for popped bubbles when cooking pancakes. The bubbles indicate the pancakes are nearly done on one side. Flip when those bubbles pop, form holes and you start to see the edges turn golden brown. As it is with any other pancake recipe, patience is key here.
- Use a bigger cup measure. As you can see in the pictures, I made my lemon pancakes rather small using ¼ cup of batter for each one. If you prefer larger pancakes, you can use a larger cup measure.
- Keep pancakes warm while you make the remaining batter. As you are working with the rest of the batter, keep cooked pancakes in a 200-degree oven on a baking sheet sprayed with vegetable oil.
FAQs
Yes, they do. To freeze, place cooled pancakes between layers of parchment paper in a freezer-safe plastic storage bag or airtight container. Pancakes will keep frozen for up to 2 months.
The secret to thick, fluffy pancakes is to separate the eggs. Place the egg yolks in the bowl with the wet ingredients and whip the egg whites with granulated sugar to stiff peaks, then fold them in.
Place the pancakes on a wire rack set inside a baking sheet, with space between them. Cover with foil and reheat in a preheated 350-degree F oven for 5-10 minutes, or until warmed through. Frozen pancakes will take an additional 2-3 minutes to get warm.
Similar Breakfast Recipes You Might Also Like:
If you are a fan of lemon and ricotta pairing, be sure to try my Ricotta Lemon Pasta recipe as well. Otherwise, below are a few other delicious must-try breakfast dishes.
- Brioche French Toast
- Almond Flour Waffles
- Belgian Waffles with Yeast
- Brioche Waffles
- Want more? Check out all our pancake and waffle recipes
- If you’d rather prefer a recipe without milk, try this Pancakes without Milk recipe from Texanerian.
If you try this Ricotta Lemon Pancakes recipe or any other recipe on Foolproof Living, please take a minute to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe. And if you took some pictures, be sure to share them on Instagram using #foolproofeats so I can share them on my stories.
This recipe has been adapted from America’s Test Kitchen cookbook with minor changes to the original recipe.
Lemon Ricotta Pancakes Recipe
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour, (3 1/2 oz.)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup ricotta cheese, 8 oz. ricotta cheese
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1/3 cup whole milk
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled – or vegetable oil
- 4 large egg whites
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar*, (1 3/4 oz.)
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil, for cooking the pancakes
- 1 cup homemade blueberry sauce, Optional – or any other one of your favorite toppings
Instructions
- Whisk dry ingredients: Place flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl and whisk until combined. Set it aside.
- Mix Wet ingredients: In a seperate bowl, whisk together ricotta cheese, egg yolks, milk, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and butter until it is just combined. Set it aside.
- Gently pour and stir the ricotta mixture into the dry ingredients. Do not over mix.
- Using a hand mixer, whisk egg whites for 1 minute in medium-low speed. Increase the speed to medium and whisk until foamy for 1 more minute. Slowly add the sugar and whisk until soft peaks form (it will be very silky) for 1-2 minutes.
- Gently whisk 1/3 of the egg whites and sugar mixture into the flour and ricotta mixture.
- Using a spatula, fold in the rest of the egg whites and sugar mixture into the batter making sure to be gentle to not to deflate all the air we incorporated into the egg whites.
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.
- Heat 1 teaspoon vegetable oil in a 12-inch non-stick skillet in medium heat. Using a sheet of paper towel, wipe out the excess oil. Measure 1/4 cup* of the batter and portion it in 3 places leaving a couple of inches around each pancake. Let it cook 2 minutes, flip, and cook each pancake for another 1 minute or until the edges are set. Repeat it for the rest of the batter.
- As you are working on cooking the rest of the batter, place cooked pancakes on a baking sheet in a single layer to keep them warm.
- Serve with blueberry sauce, fresh blueberries or any other fresh fruit.
Notes
- This ricotta pancake batter makes 10-12 small pancakes. You can use a larger cup to make bigger pancakes if you wish.
- The calorie information below does not include the blueberry sauce drizzled on top.
- Sugar: I first shared this post back in 2014. In 2016, I decided to no longer share recipes made with refined sugars. This recipe is made with granulated sugar but I have tested it with an equal amount of coconut sugar as well. Other than the color of the pancakes there was not much of a difference in taste. Therefore, if you prefer a more natural sweetener, you can use coconut sugar in place of granulated sugar.
- Storage: Store leftover pancakes between layers of parchment paper in a plastic storage bag or airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: Store pancakes between layers of parchment paper in a plastic freezer bag or freezer-safe container for up to 2 months.
- Reheat: Reheat in the microwave in short 20-second increments. To reheat a large batch, set the pancakes on a wire rack set inside a baking sheet, cover with foil, and warm through in a 350-degree F oven for 5-10 minutes. Add 2-3 minutes to the baking time if reheating from frozen.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated Magazines’ Lemon Ricotta Pancakes.
Kızım kızım sen iyice olayı aÅŸtın!! Aklım başımdan uçtu…. Bu gördüklerim resimler, olaÄŸanüstü.. Artık geldiÄŸinde sen yaparsın biz yeriz.. Öpüldünüz canımcımmm.
Oh my goodness. I am drooling. This just looks like the most perfect breakfast ever, heavenly!!
Thank you Aimee.. It tastes good too.. 🙂
I’ve never made pancakes with or made ricotta cheese. Your photos are so lovely, beautiful composition. I’m going to give a go:)
Hi June,
I was surprised how easy it is to make Ricotta cheese at home. The ricotta and lemon pancakes are delicious.
Thank you for your comments!
Let me know how it turns out..
Cheers!
Ice
Wow…..looking so YUM.. I love this food.Great idea.
Thank you Yead!
These turned out GORGEOUS. That first photo? W-O-W. What kind of camera/lens do you use? Is that info on your blog somewhere that I’ve missed?
Hey Lori,
I took that picture with a 50 mm 1.4f Canon lens. I have been very happy with it. It takes beautiful pictures. Especially close shots like the one you liked.
My camera is Canon EOS T4i. I think it is a pretty good camera for beginners.
I have been working on a resources page, similar to yours. Should be up soon.
Hope all is well. I love the chorizo dish you posted today.. 🙂
Cheers!
Ice
Thanks for the info, Ice! I really love my 50mm lens, too. But ultimately, I think it’s all about the lighting. Some days, I get really lucky with it, and other days, not so much. haha.
Very true. Lighting is always a challenge and unfortunately, it makes all the difference.
Yum!! Your photos are gorgeous. These are my favorite type of pancakes, so will definitely be trying out your recipe!
Hi Korin,
Words cannot describe how delicious they are. :))
I am happy to hear that you liked the pictures.
Thanks for stopping by!
Cheers.
Ice