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How to make Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Lemon ricotta pancakes are one of our favorite weekend treats. Light and fluffy, lemony and slightly sweet, these pancakes are easy to whip up for any occasion. Whether it’s a lazy Saturday or a celebratory breakfast, they are always the perfect choice.

I’ll give you variations and substitutions where I can, plus helpful tips and tricks for success. Read on for this info as well as the recipe. If you’d like to skip straight to the recipe, use the jump to recipe button at the top of the post.

You may also be interested in my banana pancakes and my crispy hash browns recipes. For ease of browsing, you can find all of my breakfast recipes in one place.

Lemon ricotta pancakes with blueberry compote on top. Pancakes are on white plate with a blueish gray background.

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Why you should make this recipe

I’m sure we’ve all had pancakes that needed butter, blueberry syrup or some kind of jam to give them flavor, right? Rest easy, friends. You can eat these straight out of the pan, they are that good.

  • Quick and easy – These lemon ricotta pancakes are done from start to finish in about 30 minutes.
  • Make ahead – Make the batter the night before, or make the pancakes and freeze them for later.
  • Feeds a crowd – As written, the recipe feeds 4, but you can easily scale up the recipe to feed 2 or 3 times that many.
Pancakes on fork with blueberry syrup.

Lemon ricotta pancakes

Brunch is by far my favorite indulgence. These days, I make it at home, but that doesn’t mean we don’t go all out. Pancakes are always a good idea in my book, and these are not only simple to make, but they are good enough to eat plain.

I make my lemon ricotta pancakes with a little almond flour. It gives it just a touch of texture and extra flavor. If you live in a nut-free house, you don’t have almond flour or you just don’t want to use it, feel free to omit it and replace with all-purpose flour.

Ingredients

With a handful of pantry ingredients, you can whip up a delicious pancake breakfast from scratch in no time.

Ingredients for lemon ricotta pancakes on a gray marble background.
  • Almond flour – It’s made from ground almonds, you can make your own by grinding blanched almonds into a flour or you can buy it, like I did.
  • Eggs – Eggs provide moisture and lift.
  • All purpose flour – The regular flour that you have in the pantry.
  • Sugar, salt, baking powder & baking soda – These give our pancakes flavor & rise.
  • Milk – I used whole milk, you can substitute 2%, but I wouldn’t recommend skim.
  • Vanilla – Vanilla adds fantastic flavor to the pancakes.
  • Ricotta cheese – I prefer whole milk, not fat free.
    • Substitution: Small curd cottage cheese is a good substitute.
  • Lemons – We’re using the zest and the juice, so you’ll need fresh lemons. A microplane makes quick work of zesting them.

How to make

Here’s a quick summary of how to make lemon ricotta pancakes. Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full recipe. 

Step by step photos showing how to make pancakes.
  1. Combine – Add the dry ingredients to a medium mixing bowl.
  2. Add – Add the lemon zest and give it a good whisk to coat the zest with flour.
  3. Whisk – Combine the wet ingredients, then whisk into the dry ingredients.
  4. Cook – Add a ladle of batter to a hot pan with a little butter, cook the pancakes for a few minutes on each side.

You’ll know when it’s time to flip the pancakes when you see bubbles around the edges. The edge of the pancake will also start to look dry. If you look closely, you can see tiny bursts of yellow in the pancakes. That’s the lemon zest giving the pancakes little pockets of zing!

Lemon ricotta pancakes FAQ’s

Can I make them ahead?

Yes. You can make the pancake batter the night before and store it in the fridge.

Can I freeze lemon ricotta pancakes?

To make the pancakes to serve at a later time, place them on a sheet pan in a single layer to freeze them, then store in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

Pancakes with lemon and ricotta, topped with blueberry syrup on white plate.

Variations and substitutions

  • Syrup – Top with maple syrup, or your favorite pancake syrup instead of the blueberry compote.
  • Nut-free – Omit almond flour and replace with all purpose flour.
  • Extra lemony – Add in an additional teaspoon or two of lemon zest to make them extra lemony. Top with lemon curd to go the extra mile.
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03/16/2024 06:36 pm GMT

Serving suggestions

Blueberries complement these pancakes really well. To make a quick topping, grab some blueberry jam and warm it in a pot with a splash of water to loosen it up. Then generously pile on your stack of pancakes and dig in.

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Yield: 8 pancakes

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Lemon ricotta pancakes are the perfect weekend brunch. Light, fluffy and lemony, they are perfect for any occasion.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour // 120g
  • 1/4 cup almond flour // 24g, optional (*see note)
  • 1/4 tsp. fine sea salt
  • 2 tbsp. sugar
  • 1 tbsp. baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese // 227g
  • 2 eggs
  • 2/3 cup whole milk // 152g
  • 2 tbsp. lemon zest
  • 2 tbsp. lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp. unsalted butter (for pan)
  • Black and Blue Jam

Instructions

  1. In a medium bowl combine flour, almond flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda and lemon zest. Stir to combine, making sure to coat the lemon zest with flour and break up any clumps of zest.
  2. Beat the eggs in a small bowl, then add milk and vanilla. Whisk to combine.
  3. Gently whisk in ricotta cheese and lemon juice until mixture is fairly smooth.
  4. Add wet ingredients to flour mixture and whisk to combine (mixture will be slightly lumpy, it's ok).
  5. Heat medium sauté pan over medium heat and add 1 tbsp. of butter.
  6. Using a 1/3 cup (80ml) measure, pour batter into the center or the pan.
  7. Cook pancakes, without moving, until they begin to form bubbles on top and start to dry around the edges. Gently flip pancakes over and cook until golden and cooked through. (about 3 minutes per side)
  8. Add butter to the pan as needed and continue cooking pancakes until all of the batter is gone.
  9. Warm the jam in a small saucepan & thin with a few tablespoons of water. Serve warm over pancakes.

Notes

  • For my personal taste, 2 tbsp. of sugar is enough. If you prefer things a bit sweeter, increase to 3 tbsp.
  • For nut-free pancakes, omit almond flour and increase AP flour to 1 1/4 cups
  • To make these ahead of time: You can make the batter the night before and refrigerate. Then cook pancakes in the morning. You can also freeze the pancakes to serve them later. Place on a sheet pan in a single layer and freeze. To reheat, place on sheet pan in a single layer, covered with aluminum foil and reheat for 10 - 15 minutes at 350°F / 180°C.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

2 pancakes

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 384Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 141mgSodium: 693mgCarbohydrates: 36gFiber: 2gSugar: 9gProtein: 15g

Nutrition information calculated by a third-party company as a courtesy. It is intended as a guideline only.

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Originally published 4/2/12, most recent update 1/22/24.

2 Comments

  1. I made these pancakes this morning. OH. MY. GOODNESS!!! They are soo good!! I made my own almond flour, as described. It never would have occurred to me to melt down jam to use as pancake syrup!! I used some blueberry jam we had in the fridge. It worked very well. Thanks for another winning recipe, Cheryl!

    1. Thank you so much, Kristi!!! I’m so happy that you liked them! And bravo to you for making your own almond flour! Way to go!!!

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