Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

By Maria Lichty

Published on March 12, 2024

View RecipePin Recipe4.62214

Pancakes are always a good idea for breakfast. We love classic buttermilk pancakes, blueberry pancakes, and chocolate chip pancakes.

These Lemon Ricotta Pancakes are also a favorite. The ricotta cheese is the secret ingredient. The ricotta adds a nice richness and creaminess to every bite and creates a heavenly pancake. The pancakes don’t taste “cheesy.” They are light, fluffy, and bursting with lemon flavor.

The pancakes are perfect for holidays, feeding guests, or just a weekend morning when you want something flavorful and yummy. They’re delicious with butter and syrup, with a sprinkle of powdered sugar, or with a homemade blueberry sauce.

The lemon ricotta pancakes are soft, fluffy, and will melt-in-your-mouth. The lemon flavor is delightful and perfect for spring, summer, or anytime!

Adding Ricotta to Pancakes

Why Ricotta cheese? It might seem random, but using Ricotta in your pancakes gives them a really fluffy, delicate texture. The pancakes are moist and melt in your mouth good!

You can find ricotta cheese at any grocery store. I recommend using full fat ricotta cheese for the best results.

Plus, ricotta cheese and lemon are a match made in heaven. The lemon adds a refreshing twist that you are going to love!

Pancake Ingredients

• Flour– use all-purpose flour.
• Granulated sugar– to sweeten the pancakes.
• Baking powder and baking soda– to help the pancakes rise and be nice and fluffy!
• Salt– to enhance all of the flavors.
• Ricotta cheese– to create light, moist, and tender pancakes! The secret ingredient.
• Eggs– you need an egg and 2 large egg whites.
• Lemon juice and lemon zest– for the ultimate lemon flavor.
• Oil– you can use canola oil, vegetable oil, or avocado oil.

Easy Blueberry Sauce

You can serve the pancakes with butter and pure maple syrup, always a winning combo, but I like to mix things up by using a simple blueberry sauce.

You can make the blueberry sauce ahead of time for one less step in the morning! It’s made with blueberries (you can use fresh or frozen), lemon juice, cornstarch, sugar, and water. That’s it!

• In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice and cornstarch. 
• In a medium saucepan, combine the blueberries, sugar, and water. Bring to a boil over high heat. 
• Reduce to a simmer and stir in lemon juice and cornstarch mixture. Stir until the sauce thickens slightly.  Cover to keep warm and set aside.

How to Make Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

It’s only a few more steps than making a boxed pancake mix, but these Lemon Ricotta Pancakes taste 100x better!

• Whisk all the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl: flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• In a second, medium bowl, mix the wet ingredients: ricotta cheese, egg, egg whites, lemon juice and zest, and oil. 
• Pour this into the bowl with dry ingredients and gently fold it all together. Mix it as little as possible! You just want to mix until the dry ingredients are incorporated. The batter will be very thick; that’s normal!
• Heat a griddle or nonstick skillet over medium heat. Spray it with cooking spray to prevent sticking. If you want to up the decadence level, you can use melted butter instead of cooking spray. Both work great!
• Use a ⅓ cup measuring cup to drop spoonfuls of batter onto the hot skillet. Cook them for about 2 minutes, until the bottoms are browned and small bubbles form across the top. Flip them and cook for 2 minutes on the other side.
• Continue making and flipping! You can store pancakes on a baking sheet in the oven heated to 200 degrees until you’re ready to serve them. Nobody likes cold pancakes!

Toppings

Serve the pancakes warm with your favorite toppings. Here are some ideas!

• Blueberry sauce
• Fresh berries (raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, or blueberries)
• Butter
• Maple Syrup
• A dusting of powdered sugar
• Lemon curd
• Whipped cream

How to Store & Freeze

Storing Leftovers in the Fridge: Store leftover pancakes in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in a skillet on the stovetop over medium-low. You can also reheat in the microwave or toaster oven.

How to freeze: Let the pancakes cool completely. Place the pancakes between layers of waxed paper, then place them in a freezer bag or freezer container. Freeze for up to 2 months.

More Pancake Recipes

• Best Buttermilk Pancakes
• Blueberry Pancakes
• Chocolate Chip Pancakes
• Easy Blender Pancakes
• German Pancakes
• Pumpkin Pancakes
• Banana Pancakes
• Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes

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Pancakes

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

These light and fluffy lemon ricotta pancakes with sweet blueberry sauce are a breakfast favorite!

4.62 from 86 votes

PrintSave RecipeReview

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Cuisine American

Servings 5

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

  

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To make the blueberry sauce:

• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
• 2-3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons water

To make the pancakes:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 large egg
• 2 large egg whites
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon oil, canola, vegetable, or avocado

Instructions

 

• First, make the blueberry sauce. In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice and cornstarch and set aside. In a medium saucepan, combine the blueberries, sugar, and water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer and stir in lemon juice and cornstarch mixture. Stir until the sauce thickens slightly.  Cover to keep warm and set aside.
• In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together ricotta cheese, egg, egg whites, lemon juice, lemon zest, and canola oil. Gently fold this mixture into the dry ingredients until flour disappears. Don’t over mix. The batter will be thick.
• Heat a griddle or a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Spray with cooking spray.  Drop about ⅓ cup of batter onto the hot griddle or skillet. Cook the pancakes until browned on the underside and beginning to set, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook the pancakes on the other side, about two minutes longer. Continue making pancakes until batter is gone. Serve warm with blueberry sauce.

Notes

If you don’t want to make the blueberry sauce, the pancakes are great with butter and maple syrup. Store leftover pancakes in the fridge for up to 3 days. Freeze for up to 2 months. 

Nutrition

Calories: 333kcal, Carbohydrates: 49g, Protein: 12g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 58mg, Sodium: 303mg, Potassium: 349mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 19g, Vitamin A: 298IU, Vitamin C: 17mg, Calcium: 184mg, Iron: 2mg

Keywords lemon, ricotta cheese

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