Description
These lemon ricotta pancakes are soft, fluffy, and will melt in your mouth. They’re bursting with the bright flavor of fresh lemon juice and zest, which makes them the perfect pancakes to make during the spring and summer months. The ricotta cheese gives these pancakes a rich and smooth consistency, with a slightly sweet flavor.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 3/4 cup (180g) full-fat ricotta
- 2 large eggs
- 2/3 cup (158ml) whole milk (or buttermilk)
- 1/2 tablespoon - 1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest, depending on how lemony you like it
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Butter, ghee, or cooking oil, for cooking
- Maple syrup, for serving
Optional Toppings:
- Macerated berries
- Warm berry compote
- Fresh berries
- Whipped cream
- Powdered sugar (confectioners sugar)
- Lemon curd
- Jam
Instructions
- Whisk the wet ingredients together: In a large bowl, whisk the ricotta and eggs together until well combined. Add the milk, fresh lemon juice and zest, and vanilla extract. Whisk again until all the ingredients are fully combined.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together: In a medium bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until everything is well combined.
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients: Gently add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk everything together until just combined. AVOID overmixing the batter. It’s okay if there are few lumps. You want to mix the ingredients until you no longer see any dry clumps of flour. Let the batter rest for 10 minutes at room temperature while you preheat the griddle and get your toppings ready. The batter will thicken slightly.
- Cook the pancakes: Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium-low heat. Add a little butter, ghee, or cooking oil to the skillet. Once the skillet is hot, pour 1/4 cup of pancake batter into the skillet to make a pancake. You should be able to make 2 pancakes. Give each pancake enough space to cook without overlapping, about 1½ to 3 minutes per side.
- Flip the pancakes: When you see bubbles start forming and popping on the surface of the pancake and the edges start to firm up, use a spatula to confidently flip the pancake.
- Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more cooking oil or butter as needed. If you’re using butter, carefully wipe out the skillet with a clean paper towel between batches to avoid the burnt taste of butter.
- Serve and enjoy! Serve these lemon ricotta pancakes warm with butter and pure maple syrup.
Notes
- Use full-fat ricotta for the best flavor and texture.
- I use whole milk or buttermilk in this recipe, but I’ve also had good results using skim, 1% or 2% milk.
- For fluffier pancakes, use 2 teaspoons of baking powder (instead of 1½ teaspoons).
- I always use all-purpose flour for this recipe. I haven’t tested it using other types of flours. If you do, let me know how it goes!
- Always use freshly squeezed lemon juice and zest in this recipe. NEVER use lemon juice from a bottle because it will give these pancakes a weird artifical taste.
- Baking soda reacts with the acid in lemon juice to make these pancakes light and fluffy. You can leave it out if you prefer, but I like the texture of these pancakes best when using both baking powder AND baking soda.
- Pure vanilla extract gives these pancakes a great flavor. I’ve also tried using 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract with great results.
- Nutrition information is a rough estimate based on 3 servings with no optional toppings.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 pancakes
- Calories: 366
- Sugar: 15g
- Sodium: 478mg
- Fat: 9.4g
- Saturated Fat: 2.6g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2.5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 54.2g
- Fiber: 3.2g
- Protein: 17.8g
- Cholesterol: 115mg