One of my favorite things about the weekend is being able to roll out of bed and take my time making a delicious breakfast. I put on some tunes, start brewing some coffee, and get in the zone. It’s pure bliss.
Speaking of bliss, these lemon ricotta pancakes are about as close to a perfect breakfast as you can get. They’re fluffy, they’re sweet, they’re zesty. You don’t even need maple syrup to dress them up!
How these are different from regular pancakes
You’re probably used to the classic buttermilk pancakes that are smothered in butter and drenched in maple syrup. Although buttermilk pancakes are certainly tried and true (looking at you, Cracker Barrel), the lemon zest and ricotta in these pancakes give them a little something extra that you probably won’t find at your neighborhood diner.
Notably, instead of buttermilk, these pancakes are made with ricotta. An Italian whey* cheese, ricotta is white and fluffy, and unlike many aged cheeses, it has a very mild flavor. It’s used in a number of popular Italian dishes, both savory like lasagna and sweet like cannolis. It may seem odd to include cheese in a pancake, but folding it into the batter produces sweet, fluffy pancakes that have an airiness unmatched by traditional pancakes.
Another factor that really makes these pancakes shine is the lemon flavor. Adding both zest and juice to the batter will give these pancakes an awesome pop of flavor that’s refreshing and almost feels like dessert.
*Whey is the liquid that remains during the cheese-making process, after the milk has been curdled and strained. Ricotta is made by recooking the whey and allowing it to coagulate until it forms a fine curd. It is then strained again, leaving behind just the curd and thus producing ricotta cheese. If it sounds gross, it isn’t. If you’re still skeptical, think about that lasagna you love so much, and then get back to me.
When it sounds fancy, but it’s simple
This may look and sounds like a fancy meal that’s going to take up half your morning, but it’s actually very simple and doesn’t require too many ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need:
Flour, sugar, baking powder These 3 are pretty standard pancake ingredients. You’ll just need to mix these up together before adding the wet ingredients
Milk, eggs, and vanilla Again, you typically need these for pancakes. But, note you’ll be using regular milk and not buttermilk
Ricotta Here’s where the fun begins! If I haven’t convinced you to use ricotta yet, just try it out and see what happens 🙂
Lemon You’ll need both the zest AND the juice of a lemon. Just make sure to zest it before you juice it!
⟶ the recipe
lemon ricotta pancakes
ingredients
1 ½ cups flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
1 lemon, zested and juiced
½ cup full-fat ricotta cheese
Pinch of salt
Prep time
10 minutes
Cook time
10 minutes
Total time
20 minutes
Makes 8 small pancakes
instructions
Mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
Whisk the milk, eggs, and vanilla in a separate bowl. Add the lemon juice and zest, and mix until well-combined. Gently whisk in the ricotta cheese to the wet mixture. Make a well in the dry mixture, and pour in the wet mixture, folding it in until just combined.
Brush a griddle with melted butter, and on medium heat, spoon the pancake batter with a ladle onto the griddle. Once bubbles begin to form, flip pancakes and cook until both sides are slightly golden.
Serve with vanilla yogurt, and a handful of mixed berries.
⟶ recipe notes
- You may have noticed in the recipe, I included the instruction to “fold in” the wet ingredients. This means instead of mixing everything altogether rigorously, you’re just going to pour the wet mixture and use a large spoon or rubber spatula to gently spoon the dry mixture on top of it, repeating until everything is combined. You definitely don’t want chunks of flour sitting in the batter, but you also don’t want to over mix, as doing so can take away the fluffiness of the ricotta
These are super sweet on their own, so I would recommend serving without syrup at first and trying some yogurt and fresh berries. If you have a super sweet tooth and can’t eat pancakes without the maple, then go for it!
