Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

By Genevieve Ko

Updated September 15, 2024

  • A side image of a stack of pancakes topped with blueberries, a deep blue syrup running down the sides.
    Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. Prop Stylist: Megan Hedgpeth.
Media 1 of 2
Total Time
20 minutes
Rating
5(7,548)
Comments
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This quick batter cooks into the most tender pancakes for the most comforting breakfast. Milky ricotta and butter, along with tangy buttermilk, lend a soft, sweet creaminess, and well-beaten eggs keep them fluffy and light. Lemon- and vanilla-scented sugar makes the pancakes sweet enough to eat on their own, but they’re fun to serve with blueberry syrup or your favorite toppings. If you prefer soufflé-like pancakes, separate the whites from the yolks and beat them to stiff peaks. Mix the yolks in with the wet ingredients, fold the whipped whites in after the dry ingredients are incorporated and cook as directed below. (Watch the video of Genevieve Ko making lemon ricotta pancakes here.)

Featured in: A Few Simple Tricks Yield the Most Tender Pancakes

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Ingredients

Yield:8 to 10 small pancakes

  • ¾ cup/102 grams all-purpose flour

  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

  • ¾ teaspoon fine salt

  • ¼ cup/50 grams granulated sugar

  • 1 lemon

  • 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

  • 3 large eggs

  • ¾ cup/170 grams whole-milk ricotta

  • ¼ cup/61 grams buttermilk, preferably whole milk

  • 2 tablespoons/28 grams unsalted butter, melted, plus room-temperature butter for cooking and serving

  • Blueberry Syrup or other toppings, for serving (optional)

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving

17 grams carbs; 71 milligrams cholesterol; 136 calories; 2 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 6 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 170 milligrams sodium; 5 grams protein; 6 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Heat a griddle or large nonstick pan or well-seasoned cast-iron skillet over medium-low.

  2. Step 2

    Add the sugar to a large bowl, then finely grate the zest of the lemon directly over the sugar.

  3. Step 3

    Using your fingers, gently rub the zest into the sugar.

  4. Step 4

    Add the vanilla and whisk to evenly moisten. Add the eggs and whisk until foamy on top.

  5. Step 5

    Next, add the ricotta, buttermilk and butter, and whisk until well blended.

  6. Step 6

    Add the flour mixture and gently stir until no traces of flour remain.

  7. Step 7

    Generously butter the griddle, then drop a scant ¼ cup batter onto it. Repeat, spacing the rounds at least an inch apart. Cook until the bottoms are golden brown and the tops are bubbling, 2 to 3 minutes.

  8. Step 8

    Flip and cook until the other sides are golden brown, about 2 minutes more. Repeat with more butter and the remaining batter. Serve warm, slathered with butter and blueberry syrup or other toppings if you’d like.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
7,548 user ratings
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Comments

LSB

If you don’t have ricotta on hand, a large spoonful of sour cream gives a similar effect. This recipe is unnecessarily complicated. I always add lemon zest, vanilla (and cinnamon, not sugar) but I don’t bother to separately mix them. I just put all ingredients in a bowl and briefly whisk together. We also like to drop in blueberries as each pancake cooks (to avoid turning the whole batter blue).

Katherine

These were easy and delicious. I used plain milk with lemon juice instead of buttermilk and the pancakes still turned out perfectly fluffy.

JKF in NYC

Bobby Flay's lemon-ricotta pancakes have been my go-to for a while. Similar to this recipe, but a bit simpler: no buttermilk, no vanilla, simply dry ingredients in one bowl, wet in another. The clincher: warmed lemon curd for the topping.

Ingrid Mazziotta

Delicious Sunday breakfast! We made a homemade blueberry syrup with equal parts blueberry, sugar, and water (okay I threw in a little extra blueberry) and some cornstarch to thicken it for the pancakes.

gren

This is our go-to special breakfast treat. For two of us, we only eat a third and after a guilt fed sentence in the fridge, the rest end up in the compost. But oh oh oh, those moments right off the griddle are heavenly. I usually make your suggested berry sauce and have lime juice infused maple syrup around, and a couple of strips of turkey bacon on the side (extra for the pups) make for the absolutely perfect breakfast. Even the making of them produces some of the best food smells ever.

tiffany

so soft and delicious!

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