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Home » Recipes » Breakfast

By Kaleigh McMordie - April 25, 2019, Updated July 13, 2021

Healthy Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

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stack of lemon ricotta pancakes with raspberries and syrup on top with text overlay.

Healthy lemon ricotta pancakes are rich, moist and creamy, yet light and barely sweet. They're the perfect spring breakfast and great for using up leftover ricotta!

stack of healthy lemon ricotta pancakes with a bite cut out on a gold fork.

Anyone else ALWAYS ends up with half a container of ricotta cheese? Every time I buy ricotta for baked ziti or my tortellini lasagna soup, I use a bit for the recipe and then have a least a good cup left that needs to be used. Why don't they sell it in smaller containers?

My solution to a half container of leftover ricotta cheese? Pancakes! We make pancakes almost every Saturday morning, so why not change them up by using up that half container of ricotta?

overhead view of ingredients needed to make lemon ricotta pancakes.

Why You'll Love These Ricotta Pancakes

If you've never had ricotta pancakes, they’re not your average pancakes. They’re incredibly moist, dense and creamy with a beautiful richness. Kind of like the cheesecake of pancakes. They're absolutely delicious. This version is brightened them up with tangy lemon, and a sprinkle of sugar adds just enough sweetness.

I used white whole wheat flour in these yummy lemon ricotta pancakes because that's what I always use in my kitchen for a little nutrition boost, but feel free to use all-purpose flour if that's what you have.

How To Make Healthy Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

six image collage showing steps for making healthy lemon ricotta pancakes.
  1. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
  2. In another bowl, whisk the ricotta, lemon juice, zest, buttermilk, and eggs.
  3. Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients and mix well.
  4. Heat a griddle or skillet over medium low heat. Pour batter by ¼ to ⅓ cup and cook until bubbles start to appear on the surface, edges appear to dry, and the bottom is golden, 2-3 minutes.
  5. Flip and cook until the other side is golden, another 1-2 minutes.
  6. Repeat with remaining batter and serve with pure maple syrup.

Tips For Making Perfect Ricotta Pancakes

  • Because of the high moisture content of these pancakes, they take longer to cook than typical pancakes. Low and slow is the name of the game to avoid burning the outsides. 2-3 on my gas stove or 300°F on the griddle is usually perfect.
  • If you don't have buttermilk, you can make 'soured milk' by pouring 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to a measuring cup and filling to the 1 cup line with milk.
  • Store extra pancakes in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
syrup being poured on a stack of healthy lemon ricotta pancakes with raspberries on top.

Pancake Add-Ins

These ricotta pancakes are delicious just as they are, but they would also be great with your favorite fruit added in. Drop blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, or blackberries onto the surface of the batter before flipping if you'd like to add them.

If you made this recipe, please leave a star rating in the comments!

Print

Healthy Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

stack of healthy lemon ricotta pancakes with raspberries and syrup on top on a white plate.
Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

Healthy lemon ricotta pancakes are rich, moist and creamy, yet light and barely sweet. They're the perfect spring breakfast and great for using up leftover ricotta!

  • Author: Kaleigh
  • Prep Time: 10 min
  • Cook Time: 10 min
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: about 12 pancakes 1x
  • Category: breakfast
  • Method: stovetop
  • Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 cup white whole wheat flour (or all-purpose)
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • Juice from 1 lemon
  • 1 cup ricotta cheese

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
  2. Add remaining ingredients to a separate bowl and whisk well. Stir into dry ingredients until just combined.
  3. Heat a griddle or large nonstick skillet to 300°F or medium low heat. Lightly oil the pan if necessary.
  4. Scoop ¼ cup batter onto the hot griddle for each pancake. Let cook until bubble appear on the surface and the bottom is lightly golden. Flip and continue to cook until done, about 1-2 minutes.
  5. Repeat with remaining batter.
  6. Serve pancakes warm with pure maple syrup.

Notes

  • Because of the high moisture content of these pancakes, they take longer to cook than typical pancakes. Low and slow is the name of the game to avoid burning the outsides. 2-3 on my gas stove or 300°F on the griddle is usually perfect.
  • If you don't have buttermilk, you can make 'soured milk' by pouring 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to a measuring cup and filling to the 1 cup line with milk.
  • Store extra pancakes in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Keywords: lemon ricotta pancakes, healthy lemon ricotta pancakes

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About Kaleigh McMordie

Kaleigh McMordie, MCN, RDN, LD, is a Registered Dietitian and Licensed Dietitian in Abilene, Texas, as well as a member of the Baby Led Weaning Dietitians Network. Kaleigh can be found at kaleighmcmordie.com.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kathy says

    May 05, 2020 at 12:54 pm

    Can you provide the nutrition information for this recipe?

    Reply
    • Kaleigh says

      May 07, 2020 at 6:05 am

      Hi Kathy, I don't provide nutrition information for my recipes, but you can use one of the many free online calculators to get an estimate.

      Reply
  2. Natalie says

    March 28, 2020 at 11:29 am

    Made these this morning and they were ridiculously good!! Will definitely be making them again. 🙂 Thanks for the recipe.

    Reply
    • Kaleigh says

      March 28, 2020 at 2:05 pm

      I’m so glad you liked them!

      Reply
  3. Chris W. says

    September 07, 2019 at 2:36 pm

    Just made these and they are delicious! Thanks for the lovely recipe.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Kaleigh says

      September 08, 2019 at 8:26 am

      I'm so glad you enjoyed them!

      Reply

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