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Light & fluffy Ricotta Pancakes with hints of lemon and a fantastic texture to soak up a little syrup. Serve with your favorite fresh fruit for a delightful and delicious way to start the day!
If you’re a pancake loving family, I hope you’ll give these amazing pancakes a try! There’s something about ricotta cheese that turns these pancakes into light and fluffy, deliciously rich, tiny cakes that don’t crumble or fall apart when drizzled with syrup. Personally, I’m all about thick pancakes so we cook these low and slow to ensure they’re done all the way through. It’s practically torture waiting until they’re done!
These pancakes freeze beautifully and re-warm in the microwave for an instant delicious breakfast on the go. If you like light, fluffy, thick and delicious pancakes, you will be so happy with this recipe!
Our light and fluffy Ricotta Pancakes are pretty great with just a drizzle of maple syrup or honey.
I love the bright, tart bite from the addition of fresh lemon juice and a little bit of sugar in the batter gives them just enough sweetness. These pancakes are an absolute winner and perfect for an easy Mother’s Day treat or weekend brunch. Enjoy!
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Light & Fluffy Ricotta Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ¾ cup ricotta cheese
- ⅓ cup milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Optional toppings:
- sliced almonds
- fresh blueberries, strawberries, raspberries or blackberries
- honey
- maple syrup
- butter
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. In a medium mixing bowl combine the ricotta cheese, milk, egg, vanilla and lemon juice. Whisk until smooth. Add the flour mixture to the ricotta mixture and blend well with a rubber spatula.
- Preheat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Lightly grease the pan with vegetable oil using a paper towel to remove the excess. Lower the heat to medium-low and add ¼ cup of batter for each pancake. You can easily cook three at a time in a large skillet. Gently spread the batter to a 3 ½-inch round pancake using the back of a spoon. Cook until the bottom is golden brown and the edges are drying. Gently turn and continue cooking until browned and cooked through. Transfer to a baking sheet in a single layer. To keep warm, put the pan in a warm oven until serving. Continue cooking until all the batter is gone. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Here are a few of our favorite kitchen tools used when making these luscious pancakes – click on the photos for more information:
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If you’re looking for a few more pancake recipes – check out our Best Pumpkin Pancakes and these wonderful Blueberry Greek Yogurt Pancakes too.
Here are a few more pancake recipes from some terrific bloggers:
I love these Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes from The View from Great Island – they look sooooo good! I really want to try these Whole Wheat Pancakes that are freezer friendly and healthy too from A Mindful Mom. You’ll want to check out these creative and amazing Sheet Pan Pancakes from Belly Full. You can serve 6 people at once with that recipe! And finally, you’re going to love this recipe for The Best Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes from Mom on Timeout. Yum, yum and yum!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Tricia
Jamie
I make these pancakes on a regular basis! They’re so darn good. I add lemon zest and serve them with blueberry sauce and they are always devoured lightning fast! These pancakes are so light, fluffy, and soft and I am so appreciative for this wonderful recipe 🙂
Tricia Buice
Thank you Jamie! I’m thrilled you’re loving these pancakes and we appreciate you!
Sarah
Holy Buckets 😋😋😋😋
The best pancakes ever!!
I didn’t change a thing!!
My go to forever ❣️❣️❣️
Tricia Buice
Thank you Sarah! Great way to start the day for sure 😉
Julie G
Our favorite has been Sweet Cream Pancakes, made with heavy cream….until I made these for dinner tonight. OH MY GOSH!!! These pancakes were the best I’ve ever had, bar none.
I doubled the recipe, with great success, because I wanted to have a few leftover for Friday morning. I ended up with only 3, which is a perfect amount for me. They couldn’t stop eating them all. Lol.
Measured out the dry ingredients on lunch, covered with plastic wrap and left it on the kitchen island. Measured out the wet ingredients, covered with plastic wrap and placed in the fridge. Everything was ready when it came time to make them.
I did not use the lemon juice because I didn’t have any. Just added a bit extra vanilla. They take a bit longer to cook since they are thicker, but sooooo worth the wait.
Absolutely delicious!!
Tricia Buice
Thank you for the feedback Julie! We love these pancakes too. So thick and fluffy perfect for soaking up the syrup. Yum 🙂
Mili
Easy to make and super delicious! Thanks so much!
Tricia Buice
Thank you Mili! We LOVE these pancakes and are so glad you did too.
Jeanne
Can you use whole wheat flour in this recipe?
Tricia Buice
Hi Jeanne. It should be fine to use whole wheat flour. I would start by using half AP flour and half whole wheat. Let us know how they turn out for you!
Jeanne F.
Thank you for your reply and suggestion to try 1/2 and 1/2 of AP and WW at first! These look great and I plan to try them very soon! I will let you know how they turn out!
Tricia Buice
Thanks Jeanne!
Michele
I made these for dinner and my husband said they were the best pancakes he ever ate!!
Tricia Buice
Yea!!! So glad you tried these pancakes. We adore the texture and flavor. Thanks for taking the time to comment, Michele. Bravo!
Abbe@This is How I Cook
I have always wanted to make ricotta pancakes. These glorious photos convinced me. I think these will be dinner!
Mimi
These are stunning. And I can only imagine how fluffy they are. I always keep ricotta on hand – it’s a remarkable ingredient!
Joanie
The batter is thicker, but still produces a light pancake. The ricotta adds the texture and richness but I think the pancake would benefit from some zest. I didn’t think the lemon flavor was strong enough.
Tricia Buice
Thanks for the feedback Joanie. Lemon zest would be very nice in these pancakes – great idea! Thank you again.
Monica
Ricotta pancakes are a real treat and yours looks perfect, Tricia. I don’t know how you get them quite so fluffy but I am in awe. We are digging out of this crazy nor’easter and we’re craving all kinds of comfort foods. A big stack of fluffy pancakes are in order. Hope you’re well and warm!
Tricia Buice
Thanks Monica! I’ve been thinking about you and wondered if you enjoyed the snow extravaganza. My husband had been in New York on business and got out the day the snow arrived. I think he caught the last train out of the city. Thank you sweet friend!
Monique
I made some years ago..whilst on GardenBuddies,time to do again.Lovely!
Tricia Buice
Enjoy!
Larry
Great shots of your delicious looking cakes
Tricia Buice
Thank you Larry 🙂
Liz
Now THIS is an impressive stack of pancakes! So thick and fluffy—I need to whip some up for the weekend!!
Tricia Buice
Haha – thanks Liz!
Terry Covington
Hi, I did make the raspberry ricotta cake, and it was delicious! But that recipe said to use “15 oz. of ricotta,” which I did. Above in describing this recipe, you say if you make that cake you will have enough ricotta left over from a 15-ounce container to make these pancakes. So I’m confused. Could you clarify, please? And I need to say, every recipe I have made from your site has been fantastic!
Tricia Buice
Hi Terry! You are such a sweetie to let me know I made that mistake. I’ve updated the post and corrected my error – and you are correct, the Raspberry Ricotta Breakfast Cake uses the entire container of ricotta. However, I’m posting another cake on Monday which is the right one to link to the pancakes – haha, as it only uses 3/4 of a cup of ricotta. I got ahead of myself with the ricotta recipes. Thanks again for letting me know. Hope that’s clear as mud now! Thanks for the sweet comment and so happy you got a chance to try the cake. Let me know if you ever have a special request or any more questions. SRFD would be nothing without wonderful readers like you!
Wendy
Your pancakes and breakfast cake are a good reason to run out and pick up some ricotta! I do love lemon and ricotta! So fluffy and bright!
Tricia Buice
Thanks Wendy – hope you are doing well!
Susan
They do look so light and fluffy! There is something about cheese, lemon and blueberries that makes my taste buds tingle!
Tricia Buice
Yes indeed Susan … me too 🙂 Thank you so much.
Sharon McKay
Is it ok to not put the lemon in?
Tricia Buice
Hi Sharon. Yes you can omit the lemon juice. However, I would add a 1/2 teaspoon of vinegar in its place. Enjoy!
sue | theviewfromgreatisland
This is JUST the way I love my pancakes, yours have such a fluffy tall look to them, it must be the ricotta. I’ve never used it in pancakes, but I guess I better try these!!
Tricia Buice
Thanks Sue – my favorite too. Hope you’ll give the ricotta a try – amazing stuff!
Julia
Can you make the batter ahead? Everyone gets up at different times and would like to cook to order.
Tricia Buice
Hi Julia. The batter will keep for a few hours if refrigerated. I wouldn’t make it the night before, however. Enjoy!
Gerlinde
These ricotta pancakes are perfect for a spring breakfast. They look perfect, light and fluffy . Pinned!
Tricia Buice
Thank you Gerlinde – they are absolutely delicious!
Victoria K.
Can you use cottage cheese instead of ricotta?
Tricia Buice
Hi Victoria – thanks for the great question. I haven’t tested this recipe with cottage cheese but I think it would work just fine. I wouldn’t use anything fat free – or a product that is very watery. I’m anxious to hear if it works out for you so let us know if you get the chance to try it! These are easy enough so it’s worth a try. Thanks!
Angie@Angie's Recipes
They look so very fluffy! I should make a huge batch this weekend too.
Tricia Buice
Don’t forget to freeze a few to enjoy on busy mornings. Thanks Angie!
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers
Beautiful and so lovely and fluffy! Love ricotta pancakes 🙂
Tricia Buice
Me too Jennifer – thanks!
Chris Scheuer
The name is perfect, they look so… light and fluffy. I love the addition of lemon too, lovely for a spring brunch!
Tricia Buice
Thanks Chris!