These lemon ricotta pancakes are fluffy, moist, and full of lemony flavor. These pancakes are made with lemon zest, lemon juice, and ricotta cheese which makes these pancakes moist, extremely fluffy, and flavorful.
One of our favorite things about this recipe is that they are very easy to make, they are full of protein they take only a few simple ingredients, and they are melting in your mouth delicious! These are the perfect pancakes to eat on a bright summery day.
If you like simple breakfast recipes, you should try our chocolate chip pancakes, puff pastry apple turnovers, tahini banana bread, bakery-style banana muffins, brown butter chocolate chips banana bread.
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Why this recipe works
- This recipe uses simple ingredients that are easy to find in your pantry.
- It doesn't get easier than this! this recipe can be made by anyone, there is no need for cooking skills.
- Perfect to make when you need a quick breakfast.
- Made in under an hour from start to finish.
Ingredients
Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Ricotta cheese- we like using low-fat ricotta cheese, but any ricotta cheese will work.
Buttermilk– gives the cake extra moisture. You can make your own buttermilk if you don’t have one on hand. Simply mix a cup of milk with a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice and let it sit for at least 10 minutes.
Eggs- you will need large eggs for this recipe. Make sure that your eggs are at room temperature.
Lemon juice- use fresh lemon juice for this recipe. Fresh lemon will give you the best result. We don't recommend using store-bought lemon juice. This will make the flavor pop!
Vanilla extract- for extra flavor.
Lemon zest- for flavor and zingy aroma. We recommend zesting the lemon first and then juicing it.
Sugar- we use granulated sugar, but caster sugar will work as well.
Baking powder and baking soda- to allow the pancakes to rise. Make sure that your baking soda and baking powder are not expired!
Kosher salt- use kosher salt for this recipe.
Flour- we use all-purpose flour for this recipe, but cake flour will work great as well.
Instructions
In a large mixing bowl, add the ricotta cheese, buttermilk, eggs, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and lemon zest, and mix well with a whisk.
Add the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and flour. Mix with a whisk or with a spatula, make sure you don’t overmix so you won’t get dry pancakes.
Melt ½ teaspoon of butter on a skillet over medium heat and cook each pancake until bubbles are formed on the top of the pancakes.
Flip the pancake and cook for another minute on medium-low heat.
Serve these pancakes with blueberries and maple syrup and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have a moist pancake and not a dense and dry pancake.
- Sift your flour! sifting your flour is a very important step when baking and making pancakes. Use a fine-mesh sifter to sift out the flour. also, recommend sifting your cocoa powder. Cocoa powder tends to have big lumps, so we always sift the cocoa powder to make sure that there won’t be any cocoa lumps in the mixture.
- Make sure that you are using fresh ingredients! One of the most common mistakes in baking and making cookies is not noticing that your baking powder or baking soda is expired. This can ruin your pancakes and waste your time and money on the ingredients.
- Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Faq's
We like using low-fat ricotta cheese. every ricotta kind or percentage of fat will work though.
These pancakes will last for up to 3 days stored in the fridge in an airtight container. We suggest making these pancakes the day you eat them, they taste the best fresh.
We love serving these pancakes with whipped cream, blueberries, and maple syrup. These pancakes are extremely moist, so you won’t need to add a lot of maple syrup.
Storing
Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for a day or for up to 3 days in the fridge.
Freezing
These pancakes freeze great although we prefer and suggest eating these pancakes fresh. If you want to freeze these pancakes, place them in an airtight container for up to a month in the fridge.
To preheat, place the pancakes in a preheated oven for 150c (300f) until the pancakes are heated well.
Reheating
These pancakes are amazing while fresh and hot, but if you want to reheat these pancakes the day after, simply preheat an oven to 150c (300f) and heat them for 5-7 minutes.
Another way to reheat these pancakes is by reheating them in the air fryer for a few minutes at 150c (300f).
Another way to reheat pancakes is by toasting them in the toaster oven, just like you would do with bread.
Substitutions
Dairy-free- swap the milk with dairy-free milk and the ricotta with vegan ricotta.
Variations
Add-ins- add your favorite pancake add-ins like chocolate chips, dried fruit, nutmeg, chopped fruit, lemon zest, orange zest, etc.
Spread- add peanut butter or Nutella, or any of your favorite spreads that go well with chocolate, and swirl it into each pancake with a toothpick.
Topping ideas
- Maple syrup
- Fresh berries
- Lemon curd
- Jam
- Whipped cream
- Butter
- Powder sugar
- Blueberry sauce
- Extra ricotta and lemon zest
More breakfast ideas:
Chocolate chip pancakes- chocolate chip pancakes are one of our favorite sweet breakfasts to make, they are super simple to make, come together in under 20 minutes, and tastes amazing.
Chocolate Chips Banana Bread- This chocolate chip banana bread is extra moist banana bread that is made with brown butter, greek yogurt, and plenty of mashed bananas making this banana bread super moist, flavorful, and fluffy.
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📖 Recipe
Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup Ricotta cheese
- 1 cup Buttermilk
- 2 Eggs
- ¼ cup Lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon Lemon zest
- 3 tablespoon Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Baking powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 2 cups Flour
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add the ricotta cheese, buttermilk, eggs, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and lemon zest, and mix well with a whisk.
- Add the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and flour. Mix with a whisk or with a spatula, make sure you don’t overmix so you won’t get dry pancakes.
- Melt ½ teaspoon of butter on a skillet over medium heat and cook each pancake until bubbles are formed on the top of the pancakes.
- Flip the pancake and cook for another minute on medium-low heat.
- Serve these pancakes with blueberries and maple syrup and enjoy!
Notes
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have a moist pancake and not a dense and dry pancake.
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