Easy Ricotta Pancakes

These ricotta pancakes are special breakfast recipe with a soft, fluffy texture, creamy center and crisp edges.

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Ricotta in Pancakes

My family’s absolute favorite breakfast is pancakes! They could literally eat a pancake recipe every day if I let them. We love homemade buttermilk pancakes, Swedish pancakes and now these easy ricotta pancakes!

It may sound strange, but adding ricotta cheese to your pancakes is a game changer! You can’t taste the tangy flavor like you would in a lasagna yet the ricotta makes them super moist and soft, with a fluffy consistency.

The texture is thicker than a crepe and they have a more dense and rich consistency than your traditional pancake recipe with a sweeter, buttery taste. Ricotta is a hidden gem that takes baked goods up a notch like these pancakes and ricotta cheese cookies.

Ingredient Notes

• Baking staples: All purpose flour, milk, vanilla extract, baking powder and salt. Basic pancake ingredients.
• Sugar: Granulated sugar helps gives these pancakes their sweet cream taste.
• Ricotta cheese: Whole milk ricotta will add the best rich taste.
• Eggs: Two eggs for binding.
• Butter: Both for serving and frying your pancakes. Butter is what will give your pancakes crispy edges with a custardy center.

How to Make Ricotta Pancakes

• Whisk dry ingredients: Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl to remove any lumps.
• Make pancake batter: In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, ricotta, eggs and vanilla. Add ricotta mixture to the dry ingredients and stir your wet ingredients with dry until just combined then let rest a few minutes while your skillet heats up.
• Fry pancakes: Heat a large skillet over medium heat with one Tablespoon of butter. Then using a 1/4 cup pour the batter onto the pan. Wait until bubbles appear then flip. Cook the other side an additional 2 minutes. Repeat to cook the rest of the pancakes. Turn to medium-low heat if they are browning too fast. 
• Serve: Serve pancakes hot with butter and maple syrup. 

Recipe Tips

• Don’t over mix. It’s okay if there are still a few lumps in the batter. You don’t want to over mix it or else it can make the texture a bit dry and chewy.
• Let rest. While your griddle or skillet is heating up, let the batter rest in the bowl for a few minutes. This will help create a super light and fluffy result.
• Crisp edges. For crispy edges on the ricotta pancakes, you will need to fry the pancakes in butter. Non-stick cooking oil will work but the edges will not be crispy.
• Bubbles. As soon as the tops are covered with small bubbles (like in picture above), then your pancakes are ready to flip over.
• Extra mix-in’s: Feel free to mix in extra ingredients like chocolate chips, cinnamon or a dash of warm spice.
• Toppings: There are plenty of ways to enjoy these ricotta pancakes! You can keep it classic with butter and maple syrup, or fancy them up a little with some sweet lemon curd, fresh blueberries or strawberry jam and a sprinkle of powdered sugar.

How to Store and Freeze

• Store: Refrigerate leftover pancakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 4 days. Place a piece of parchment paper between pancakes to prevent sticking.
• Freeze: Any leftover pancakes are great for freezing. Make sure they have cooled completely, then store in a large freezer bag for up to 3 months. Reheat in the microwave or toaster oven for 30 seconds when ready to enjoy.
• Reheat: Reheat easy ricotta pancakes in the microwave. Stack 3 on a plate or the desired amount and cover with a damp paper towel. The damp towel will help prevent them from drying out. Reheat in 30-45 second intervals until warmed through.