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Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Total Time: 30 minutes 0 Reviews Jump to Recipe

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Ricotta cheese is the secret ingredient in these Lemon Ricotta Pancakes that makes them extra tender and creamy. The lemon adds a beautiful brightness and makes these the perfect stack of pancakes!

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Love lemon? For more breakfast favorites, also check out these Lemon Pancakes or these Lemon Muffins.

Stack of Lemon Ricotta Pancakes topped with strawberries and powdered sugar.

I have been pancake obsessed lately.

Seriously pancake obsessed.

My kids are not usually very picky about breakfast in the morning. But last week, my kids asked for pancakes.

Every. Single. Day.

I’m not totally complaining. Besides the fact that we probably shouldn’t be eating pancakes every single morning, I’m happy to make and eat pancakes. But instead of making my go-to pancake recipe, I decided to start switching things up a little bit.

And since I’m always lemon obsessed, I decided that lemons needed to be involved.

Enter – these Lemon Ricotta Pancakes.

What are Ricotta Pancakes?

I know – it sounds weird. Isn’t ricotta for lasagna?

Actually, ricotta does something magical to pancakes. It gives them an almost creamy texture.

They definitely still look like pancakes. And taste like pancakes. But the texture is smooth and creamy, yet still fluffy and full of flavor.

Ingredients needed for lemon ricotta pancakes.

Ingredients

  • Flour: I use all-purpose flour.
  • Baking Powder: The baking powder will give the pancakes their lift and help with the fluffy texture.
  • Salt: The salt balances the flavors.
  • Nutmeg: I like to add a little bit of nutmeg. It’s not a dominant flavor, but just something in the background.
  • Ricotta Cheese: You’ll want either full fat or low fat ricotta. I would say to stay away from nonfat ricotta.
  • Milk: I use 2%, but whole or 1 % should work, as well.
  • Eggs: This recipe uses one of my favorite pancake tricks – you separate the whites from the yolks and whip the egg whites before folding them it. It really helps to make the pancakes fluffy. You could skip this step, but your pancakes will be a little bit more flat.
  • Sugar: The sugar adds sweetness and flavor.
  • Lemons: You’ll use both the lemon zest and lemon juice. Depending on how much lemon flavor you want, you’ll need 1-2 lemons.
  • Vanilla: The vanilla adds flavor, but if you really want to up the lemon flavor, you can sub in lemon extract.
Mixing the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients for lemon ricotta pancakes.

How to Make Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Mix your dry ingredients together in one bowl, then mix your wet ingredients, minus the egg whites, in another bowl.

Mixing pancake batter for lemon ricotta pancakes.

Combine the wet and the dry ingredients and mix just until combined.

In another bowl, whip the egg whites until you have stiff peaks.

Mixing whipped egg whites into lemon ricotta pancake batter.

Add about 1/4 of the egg whites and mix to combine. Then fold in the remaining egg whites.

Cooking pancakes in a cast iron skillet.

Cook the pancakes on a hot griddle or a skillet until there are bubbles popping, then flip and cook the second side.

Syrup being poured onto a stack of Lemon Ricotta Pancakes.

Tips and Tricks

Depending on how much lemon flavor you want, you can add anywhere between 1-2 tablespoons of lemon zest. We love lemon, so I usually use a full 2 tablespoons.

The first time I made these, I served them up with fresh strawberries and homemade strawberry syrup. Strawberries and lemon go so well together! You can also serve them with other fruit, like blueberries or raspberries.

We also love these with maple syrup, buttermilk syrup, or lemon sauce.

These pancakes are best served fresh, but if you do have leftovers, store them in the refrigerator. You can reheat them in the microwave or the oven.

Stack of Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with a bite taken from them.

More Favorite Pancake Recipes

Funfetti Pancakes
Cheesecake Pancakes
Cottage Cheese Pancakes
Cornmeal Pancakes
Carrot Cake Pancakes
S’mores Pancakes
Strawberry Pancakes
Oatmeal Pancakes with Chocolate Chips

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Syrup being poured onto a stack of Lemon Ricotta Pancakes.

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

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  • Author: Deborah Harroun
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 16 pancakes 1x
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Method: Stove Top
  • Cuisine: American
Print Recipe

Description

Ricotta cheese is the secret ingredient in these Lemon Ricotta Pancakes that makes them extra tender and creamy. The lemon adds a beautiful brightness and makes these the perfect stack of pancakes!

Scale

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 cup ricotta cheese
  • 1 cup milk
  • 3 eggs, separated
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • Zest from 1–2 lemons
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.
  2. In another bowl, whisk together the ricotta, milk, egg yolks, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.
  3. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture. Stir together just until combined.
  4. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites with a hand mixer until stiff peaks form.
  5. Take about 1/4 of the egg whites and stir them into the batter. Once it is mixed in, add the remaining egg whites and fold them gently into the batter, just until no more white streaks remain.
  6. Heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add a bit of butter to grease the surface. Pour about 1/3 cup of the batter onto the griddle and cook until bubbly. Flip, and cook until the pancake is cooked through. Repeat with the remaining pancake batter.

Recipe Notes:

The original recipe printed here was served with my Strawberry Syrup and fresh strawberries.

The original recipe has also been slightly adapted to make more pancakes. The ingredients have also been slightly altered.

Nutrition information provided as an estimate only. Various brands and products can change the counts. Any nutritional information should be used as a general guide. Nutrition information does not include butter for the skillet.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 4 pancakes
  • Calories: 428
  • Sugar: 17 g
  • Sodium: 667 mg
  • Fat: 14 g
  • Saturated Fat: 8 g
  • Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
  • Trans Fat: 0 g
  • Carbohydrates: 55 g
  • Fiber: 1 g
  • Protein: 19 g
  • Cholesterol: 177 mg

Keywords: lemon ricotta pancakes, ricotta pancakes

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Comments

  1. Sol says

    These pancakes were delicious! A very good dupe for Cheesecake Factory’s lemon ricotta pancakes. I doubled the recipe, made syrup with just 1.5 cups of strawberries (and we still had some left) and used vanilla instead of nutmeg. The amount of lemon peel in the batter was spot-on and really made the recipe.

    Reply

  3. Jen says

    these were AH-MAZING!! the syrup was a little too sweet for me and overall, i tasted more strawberry than lemon with it on top, but without it, the lemon was subtle and just right. Thank you!

    Reply

  4. Jennifer B. says

    I was skeptical when these called for ricotta (I’ve only used it in savory before), but I love the lemon-strawberry combo so I wanted to try it. I used vanilla instead of nutmeg and these pancakes turned out awesome!!! They remind me of cheesecake! I only used one cup of sugar in the syrup and next time will probably use less, but we don’t really use much sugar. I used a 1/4 cup of batter and got 8 small pancakes and one really big one, it was enough for my family, but I agree with the previous comments that it would need to be doubled if you are only eating pancakes. Still, a very amazing recipe! Thanks for sharing it!

    Reply

  5. mabani says

    I will say IO was pretty disappointed with this recipe. First of all the stated 4 servings should have been more specific. This will not feed a family of 5. So I had to double it. The 4 servings stated make 8 tiny pancakes. The recipe was also bland. Not enough contrast in flavors. Couldn’t make out the lemon so I had to adjust that as well as the sugar. I also added vanilla because I felt it was necessary as they were entirely too bland. With my adjustments & my own homemade blueberry syrup they turned out great but that first batch from this recipe was awful.

    Reply

  6. Aggie says

    Oh I’m loving these!! I ordered ricotta pancakes 1 time out and have always wanted to make them at home. My kids are always pancake obsessed lol! I’m wishing we had these for breakfast this morning!

    Reply

  10. Jocelyn @BruCrew Life says

    I would give my left arm for a stack of these to appear in my kitchen right now!!! Holy moly do those look awesome or what! Girl your photog skills just keep getting better and better 🙂 Love these!

    Reply

  15. sally @ sallys baking addiction says

    I am a fool for ricotta pancakes. I always order them from my favorite breakfast cafe when we go there on the weekends. But guess what? I’ve never tried to make them at home! Now, I don’t have an excuse!! I love these! Strawberry + lemon = outstanding 🙂

    Reply

  20. Joanne says

    I could totally be down with pancakes-for-breakfast every morning! Especially if they involve two of my favorite spring flavors.

    Reply

  29. Amy says

    Pancake perfection! Lemon ricotta pancakes are a favorite of mine! I can’t help but order them if they’re on a menu. I trick myself and pretend that I can only have them at restaurants or I’d be making them all the time. 😉

    Reply

  31. Tracey says

    I love using ricotta in pancakes – it makes them so fluffy! These sound incredible with the strawberry and lemon combo, and they’re absolutely gorgeous!

    Reply

  33. Tieghan says

    Who does not love pancakes and seriously who could not love THESE pancake! One, they are beautiful and two, they sound incredible! I love all those strawberries!

    Reply

  34. Belinda @themoonblushbaker says

    I make these too with ricotta or curd cheese, they taste like cheese cake in pancake right? I love to serve mine with blueberries steeped in maple syrup. It is like a flavour bomb! You strawberries look so luscious; I am envious!

    Reply