Name: Lemon Ricotta Pancakes Recipe
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 3 eggs; 1/4 cup sugar; 1 small lemon, zested and juiced; 2 tsp baking powder; 1 1/2 cups flour, sifted; 3/4 cups ricotta; 1/2 teaspoon lemon oil

Jump to Recipe

I first tried these lemon ricotta pancakes while staying at The Four Seasons Los Angeles in Beverly Hills. Instead of the Cali-style breakfast of fresh mixed juices characteristic of LA culture, I was lured into a bit more of an indulgent breakfast.

The extra protein from the ricotta added to the pancake batter certainly makes this breakfast more nutritionally filling. The lemon ricotta pancakes are fluffy, and best when served with a side of fresh blueberries or blueberry preserves. I think nothing beats the zesty combination of lemon mixed with the sweet blueberries.

I tested the lemon ricotta recipe out at home and modified it a bit to be suitable for a home cook (as opposed to the hotel’s commercial kitchen sized portions). If you’re ready to start, just hit that “jump to recipe” button. Otherwise scroll through for recipe tips.

Stack of lemon ricotta blueberry pancakes on a white plate, covered in blueberry preserves and fresh blueberries. The plate is resting on a wood board with a fork to the left of the plate.

What Does Ricotta Do For Pancakes?

Ricotta is a creamy white Italian cheese with a sweet flavor and slightly grainy texture. It’s used in a lot of different Italian recipes, but for pancakes, it’s kind of a secret ingredient. The lactic acid in the ricotta reacts with the baking powder in the pancake batter to produce carbon dioxide gas while cooking. The bubbles of gas are what makes these pancakes fluffy. And while you won’t taste the ricotta in the pancakes, they add an almost custard-like texture which makes these pancakes decadent.

Overhead look at a stack of lemon ricotta blueberry pancakes on a white plate, covered in blueberry preserves and fresh blueberries.

What Can I Substitute For Ricotta Cheese?

Wanna make these lemon ricotta pancakes but don’t have any ricotta cheese on hand? No problem. There are a few other dairy alternatives that will give you similar results.

Cottage Cheese: Cottage cheese is a good substitute. Be sure to mix the batter well in a blender so that the larger pieces in cottage cheese are minimized.
Sour Cream: Sour cream is another good ricotta cheese substitute. And it blends into the pancake batter more easily than cottage cheese.
Mascarpone: Mascarpone is another soft and creamy Italian cheese, similar to American cream cheese. You’ll typically find it in recipes like tiramisu, or strawberry tiramisu. It’s a bit more tart in flavor than ricotta, but the lemon would balance it nicely. You’ll need to let mascarpone soften a bit a room temperature before using it in your pancake recipe.

How To Make Lemon Ricotta Pancakes – Step-By-Step

These lemon ricotta pancakes are easy to make! They’re light, a bit creamy, and best served with a side of fresh blueberries or blueberry preserves. First, gather together your ingredients. Here’s a list of what you’ll need.

eggs
sugar
lemon
baking powder
flour
ricotta cheese
lemon oil or lemon extract

Ingredients to make lemon ricotta pancakes: 3 eggs 1/4 cup sugar 1 small lemon, zested and juiced 2 tsp baking powder 1 1/2 cups flour, sifted 3/4 cups ricotta 1/2 teaspoon lemon oil

Zest and juice the lemon. Then add the zest and juice as well as all of the ingredients listed above to high speed blender.

Pulse the blender until a batter forms and ricotta cheese is well blended.

Heat griddle or non-stick frying pan to medium-low heat. Once surface is hot, spray with non-stick oil and place 2 heaping tablespoons (per pancake) of the lemon ricotta pancake batter on griddle or pan.

Cook pancakes for approximately 3 minutes on each side, or until pancakes are golden and cooked through. Serve with fresh blueberries and blueberry preserves.

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes Recipe

Yield: 6-8 Pancakes

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

3 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1 small lemon, zested and juiced
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups flour, sifted
3/4 cups ricotta
1/2 teaspoon lemon oil

Instructions

Add ingredients listed above to high speed blender.
Pulse until a batter forms and ricotta cheese is well blended.
Heat griddle or non-stick frying pan to medium-low heat. Spray with non-stick oil and place 2 heaping tablespoons (per pancake) of the batter on griddle or pan.
Cook pancakes for approximately 3 minutes on each side, or until pancakes are golden and cooked through.
Serve fresh fruit and preserves. We recommend blueberries and wild blueberry preserves.

Notes

No ricotta? No problem! You can also make these pancakes with cottage cheese.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 246Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 103mgSodium: 229mgCarbohydrates: 35gFiber: 1gSugar: 9gProtein: 10g

Nutrition information provided is only an estimate.

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Originally published Aug 4, 2014. Updated 2022.

Comments

Rebecca @ Mom Meets Blog says

03/16/2015 at 12:27 pm

Just found your site via Twitter – can’t wait to try this recipe! Lemon + Pancakes = Love!

- Rachelle Lucas says
  
  03/16/2015 at 4:35 pm
  
  Sooooo good. I sometimes throw blueberries in them too. 😉
  
  Nice to e-meet you!
  
Eden Passante says

09/16/2015 at 11:54 pm

These look so good! I love lemon pancakes!

- Rachelle Lucas says
  
  09/17/2015 at 4:50 pm
  
  They are SO good! You’re so close to the Four Seasons there in LA, you could pop over for brunch sometime. They have an amazing fresh juice menu too. 🙂
  
Terri says

02/20/2023 at 12:43 pm

I feel like a liquid ingredient is missing (milk?). The batter was super thick and the pancakes were very dense.