This lemon ricotta pancakes recipe is your new go-to morning delight! The addition of ricotta in the batter makes for the FLUFFIEST pancakes.
Not to mention the delicious and subtle lemon flavor that makes these delicious pancakes the BEST easy breakfast.
Fluffy Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
If you haven’t yet added ricotta pancakes to your breakfast repertoire, you’re truly missing out. Ricotta is just what your stack of pancakes needs to get that fluffy texture that is absolutely decadent.
Top these perfect pancakes with maple syrup, fresh berries, agave syrup, or whipped cream for an even more decadent breakfast experience!
Whether you’re getting ready for a busy day or having a slow, relaxing Saturday morning, these fluffy lemon ricotta pancakes will be your new favorite way to start the day!
why you’ll love ’em!
- Super Fluffy: in case we didn’t say it enough, all-purpose flour and ricotta cheese leave these ricotta pancakes nice and fluffy!
- High protein: thanks to the ricotta and eggs, you get 17g of protein per serving. Woot Woot!
- Easy to freeze: These pancakes freeze really well! Make a double batch of pancakes to freeze some extra for later.
Lemon Ricotta Pancakes — What You Need
- All-purpose flour: we love all-purpose flour for pancakes because it allows them to come out nice and fluffy.
- Granulated sugar: sugar sweetens up the taste of these pancakes to make them perfectly decadent.
- Baking soda + powder: these ingredients are used as a leavening agent.
- Salt: salt elevates all the other wonderful flavors while also balancing out the sweetness.
- Eggs: make sure not to swap any kind of egg-free variety. Eggs are essential for this recipe.
- Whole milk: any kind of milk will work for lemon ricotta pancakes (even dairy-free), but we love the extra fat whole milk adds to this.
- Vegetable oil: we kept our oil option basic and mild with vegetable oil.
- Vanilla extract: adding a hint of vanilla deepens the overall flavor. Plus, it tastes SO good with lemon!
- Lemon: you’ll use both lemon juice and zest in this recipe. Citrus pulls everything together.
- Ricotta cheese: make sure to buy full-fat ricotta cheese or create your own.
- Butter: butter makes pancakes super rich and moist. We used unsalted butter, but salted works just as well if you substitute some for plain salt.
Ingredient Swaps
Want to avoid a run to the store? Here are some ingredient swaps to try if you are missing some of these items from your kitchen!
- Flour: try swapping the all-purpose flour 1:1 for gluten-free all-purpose flour. We’re also confident that white whole wheat flour will work too, though it might come out a little denser.
- Oil: coconut oil is an excellent alternative to vegetable oil.
- Lemon: substitute orange juice and zest for the lemon for a slightly sweeter pancake.
- Sugar: feel free to use maple syrup or honey instead of sugar!
Tutorial
How to Make Ricotta Cheese
Homemade ricotta cheese is a brilliant way for anyone to begin their journey into home cheesemaking. The magic of turning fresh milk and cream into delicate curds and whey is deeply satisfying and deliciously simple!
How to Make Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
MIX DRY INGREDIENTS
Place your dry ingredients into a medium bowl and mix well. Set aside.
MIX WET INGREDIENTS
In a separate bowl, crack the eggs and whisk. Then add the milk, oil, vanilla, lemon juice, zest, and ricotta. Whisk to combine, then whisk in the melted butter.
COMBINE
Next, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined.
Pro Tip: Be sure to keep the batter from sitting mixed for too long. Otherwise, the leaveners will become deactivated.
HEAT SKILLET
Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-low heat and spray with cooking spray.
COOK PANCAKES
Once your skillet is heated, scoop your pancake batter onto the skillet using a 1/3 measuring cup.
Allow the pancakes to cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, flipping when bubbles start forming in the pancake’s center. Repeat until you’ve used all of the pancake batter.
SERVE + ENJOY!
Now it’s time to devour your fluffy pancakes! Serve with your favorite toppings, and enjoy!
Try it!
Ricotta Pancakes
If you’re looking for a more basic Ricotta Pancake recipe, no fear! We have that too.
FAQs
What do lemon ricotta pancakes taste like?
Ricotta pancakes taste slightly sweet and very fluffy. Since ricotta cheese does not have a sharp flavor, these pancakes taste similar to buttermilk pancakes or normal flapjack but with a hint of lemon.
When should I flip pancakes?
You know your pancakes are ready to flip when little bubbles start to form on the outer rim of the pancake and the bottom side starts to firm up. Make sure that you are using a low/medium heat with these pancakes so that you don’t cook the outsides too fast!
Toppings for Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
Because pancakes are best enjoyed with toppings, here are some delicious pancake topping ideas for you to choose from!
- Maple syrup
- Lemon zest
- Nut butter
- Dark chocolate chips — try our chocolate chip ricotta pancakes!
- Sliced strawberries
- Fresh blueberries or raspberries – try our blueberry ricotta pancakes!
- Coconut chips
- Honey
- More ricotta 😀
Storage
Let leftover lemon ricotta pancakes cool completely. Then, store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-5 days.
How to Freeze Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
- Let pancakes cool completely.
- Then, stack 2 pancakes on top of each other and wrap them in plastic wrap.
- Option to wrap that in a piece of tin foil, but it’s not necessary.
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
To thaw: we like to pop a frozen pancake into the toaster and toast them. But you can also defrost them in the microwave.
Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
- 1.5 cups whole milk
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice ~1 small lemon
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest ~1 small lemon
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
Instructions
- Place the dry ingredients into a medium bowl and mix well. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, crack the eggs and whisk. Then, add the milk, oil, vanilla, lemon juice, zest, and ricotta. Whisk to combine, then whisk in the melted butter.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, ensuring that all ingredients are combined. Be sure to keep the batter from sitting mixed for too long, or the leaveners will become deactivated.
- Next, heat a large skillet over low/medium heat and spray with cooking spray.
- Using a 1/3 cup measuring cup, scoop pancake batter onto the skillet. Let the pancake cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, flipping when bubbles start forming in the pancake’s center. Repeat until all the pancake batter is gone.
- Serve with your favorite pancake toppings.
Tips & Notes
- To freeze the pancakes, stack them using parchment paper in between every pancake. This will help prevent them from sticking together.
- Make these pancakes fancy by using ricotta cheese from the specialty cheese departments at the grocery store.
- Substitute orange juice and zest for the lemon for a slightly sweeter pancake.
