These melt-in-your-mouth lemon ricotta pancakes are gentle, fluffy, and bursting with recent, sunshiney lemon zest and juice. Delicate and creamy ricotta cheese lends these pancakes essentially the most superb texture! I really like dusting them with powdered sugar at brunch.
Is there such a factor as too many pancakes? Not on my watch. Strive my traditional buttermilk pancakes, sweet-savory cornbread pancakes, and blueberry crêpes subsequent.

We will name off the seek for the right summer season breakfast, as a result of I’ve discovered it. These lemon ricotta pancakes are the one approach I’ll be brightening up my weekend mornings from now till Christmas. I make these pancakes from scratch, they usually’re truthfully the perfect factor since sliced lemon bread. They’re gentle, zesty, and, to cite Dispicable Me, “SO FLUFFY!!” Brace your self, as a result of these pancakes are GOOD.
What Makes These Ricotta Pancakes So Flipping Good
- Pancakes with a twist. My Mediterranean roots can’t resist brilliant, zesty lemon. Or ricotta, for that matter. This pancake recipe marries them each right into a recent and scrumptious breakfast. The ricotta isn’t tacky in any respect. Mixed with melted butter, it rounds out the feel and retains the pancakes tender and moist.
- Massaging the zest. Whereas testing this lemon ricotta pancakes recipe, I used to be usually proud of the feel, however I discovered the delicate lemon taste left me wanting. My resolution? Therapeutic massage the lemon zest into the sugar, releasing the oils within the zest. It labored SO nicely! It’s my secret step for further flavorful pancakes that actually style like lemon.
- One bowl. I’ve seen recipes that advocate whisking the eggs individually for fluffier pancakes. It appears to work, however I’ve discovered it pointless right here. I’ve at all times made this lemon ricotta pancake batter in a single bowl, and so long as you don’t overmix, the pancakes come out simply as moist and fluffy.

Components You’ll Want
Ricotta retains these lemon pancakes creamy, tender, and full of moisture. It really works equally to my cottage cheese pancakes, and it’s one of many best-kept “secrets and techniques” to fluffy pancakes! These are some notes on the recipe elements. Scroll right down to the printable recipe card after the submit, adopted by a step-by-step with images.
- Lemon – You’ll want the zest and juice from a freshly squeezed lemon. Bear in mind to wash and rinse your lemon earlier than you zest it. Zest first, then juice.
- Brown Sugar – You possibly can additionally use granulated sugar.
- Dry Components – All-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Eggs, Milk, and Vanilla – For much more taste, swap common milk for buttermilk (or a do-it-yourself buttermilk substitute).
- Ricotta Cheese – Ricotta is a gentle Italian whey cheese. You’ll discover it within the refrigerated part on the grocery retailer alongside different Italian or specialty cheeses. Mascarpone and cottage cheese are good substitutes.
- Melted Butter – Melted butter provides fats, preserving the pancakes’ texture wealthy and moist. You don’t want loads, simply a few tablespoons.

Ideas and Variations
- Don’t overmix your batter. A couple of lumps of ricotta are advantageous, and it’s higher than overmixing! Overworking the pancake batter deflates the air pockets, resulting in dense, chewy pancakes.
- Add berries. After you’ve added your pancake batter to the skillet, sprinkle recent berries, like blueberries or chopped strawberries, over every pancake whereas the batter remains to be moist.
- Add chocolate chips. White chocolate is superb in these pancakes!
- Give them a grown-up twist. If I’m making these ricotta pancakes for less than us adults, one among my favourite swaps to do is to substitute the lemon juice within the batter with Limoncello, an Italian lemon liqueur.
- Make them mini. If I’m making these pancakes for youths, I’ll make them as silver greenback pancakes utilizing about 2 tablespoons of batter per pancake.

What To Serve With Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
I like to recommend serving the pancakes drizzled with actual maple syrup or honey, garnished with recent lemon wedges and fruit, like blueberries. One other one among my all-time favourite methods to decorate up these lemon ricotta pancakes is with caramelized figs (completely gourmand). You possibly can additionally prime them with strawberries or raspberries, and berry sauces, jams, or fruit preserves.
Serve with crispy air fryer bacon and a savory frittata or quiche Lorraine for a scrumptious summer season breakfast or brunch.

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Therapeutic massage the lemon zest. Mix the lemon zest and brown sugar in a bowl. Therapeutic massage the lemon zest with the sugar with clear fingertips. This can launch oils from the lemon zest, leading to extra taste.
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Mix the dry elements. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and the ready sugar-lemon zest combination to a big bowl. Stir to mix.
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Add the liquid elements. Add eggs, milk, ricotta, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and melted butter to the dry elements. Stir to mix till you will have a clean batter.
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Cook dinner the pancakes. Warmth a pancake griddle or a skillet and spray it gently with cooking oil. Pour ¼ cup of pancake batter onto the griddle (or skillet) and prepare dinner the pancakes till they kind bubbles on the floor. Gently elevate and flip the pancakes, then prepare dinner them for an extra 1-2 minutes. Put aside and repeat with the remaining batter.
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Take pleasure in! Serve the pancakes topped with recent berries and dusted with powdered sugar.
- Don’t overmix your batter. It’s advantageous if there are a number of ricotta lumps.
- You may serve the pancakes with recent berries, like strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries. Additionally, these will go nice with berry sauces or berry jam.
- If you need, you possibly can add a number of blueberries or chopped strawberries over the pancake batter when you pour it into the skillet
- For a gourmand expertise, serve the pancakes with caramelized figs.
- In the event you plan to make these pancakes only for the adults, substitute the lemon juice with Limoncello (an Italian lemon liqueur).
Energy: 228kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 8g | Fats: 8g | Saturated Fats: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 1g | Monounsaturated Fats: 2g | Trans Fats: 0.1g | Ldl cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 187mg | Potassium: 180mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 300IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 125mg | Iron: 2mg
Dietary data is an estimate and offered as courtesy. Values could range in response to the elements and instruments used. Please use your most popular dietary calculator for extra detailed data.
The way to Make Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
We’ll therapeutic massage the lemon zest to squeeze (actually) each final drop of taste into these fluffy ricotta and lemon pancakes. The batter is fast and straightforward to make in a single bowl:


- First, therapeutic massage the lemon zest. Mix your recent lemon zest and brown sugar in a bowl. Utilizing your (clear) fingers, therapeutic massage the zest into the sugar, releasing the oils.
- Combine the batter. Subsequent, add the sugar-zest combination to a bigger bowl with the opposite dry elements. Stir, then add your eggs, milk, ricotta, lemon juice, vanilla, and melted butter. Stir gently to make a clean batter.


- Cook dinner the pancakes. Now, prepare dinner the pancakes in batches on a scorching, frivolously greased skillet or griddle. I like to recommend ¼ cup of batter per pancake. When small bubbles begin to break on the floor of the pancakes, that’s your signal to flip. Cook dinner till the pancakes are golden on each side, then transfer them to a plate and repeat with the remaining batter.
- Serve. When you’ve turned all that batter into fluffy pancakes, serve them dusted with powdered sugar and topped with recent fruit.
Catering to a Crowd? Make Sheet Pan Pancakes!
Bake these lemon ricotta pancakes on a sheet pan following my sheet pan pancakes recipe.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
- Refrigerate. Leftover pancakes might be saved hermetic within the fridge for as much as 5 days.
- Reheat. Heat the pancakes within the microwave or cowl them with foil and reheat them within the oven till they’re scorching and steamy once more.
- Freeze. You may freeze pancakes for as much as 2 months and thaw them within the fridge earlier than reheating.
