Healthy Lemon Ricotta Pancakes Recipe (2024)

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!

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?

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

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.

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!

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