These easy to make Lemon Ricotta Pancakes are made from scratch in one bowl and served with a simple, homemade strawberry syrup! They are moist, fluffy and have a delicious, subtle lemon flavour!
If you have never added ricotta cheese to your pancakes and are looking at this thinking “what is this crazy chick doing?” I am here to tell you that I am perfectly sane (well, that’s debatable at times) but it most certainly is not a crazy thing to do. While ricotta cheese is typically used in savoury dishes, its subtle flavour lends itself so well to sweets too. If you have had a cannoli, then you know how delicious that sweet ricotta filling is.
When adding ricotta into a batter, it adds SO MUCH moisture, giving anything you bake the most wonderful texture and tender crumb. These pancakes are just that. Moist, fluffy and downright delightful!
To these fluffy pancakes, I added a strawberry syrup. This is totally optional. You can serve these lemony pancakes with just a dusting of sugar or drizzle them with a traditional maple syrup. I just love the combo of berries and lemon so I decided to take things up a notch today and whip up a homemade strawberry syrup using the frozen berries in my freezer stash. So good!
Did I mention yet that these pancakes are the easiest pancakes you can make? They’re a one bowl wonder. Add all the ingredients into the same bowl, mix and voila! Pancake batter is done. I love one bowl recipes cause not only are they easy to whip up but that also means clean up involves fewer bowls to clean. Bonus!
How to make Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
To make this recipe, you will need:
Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
- 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/2-3/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 egg, whisked
- a teaspoon vanilla extract
Strawberry Syrup
- 2 cups fresh or frozen strawberries, sliced
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 11/2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/4 cup water
To make the strawberry syrup:
I begin by making the strawberry syrup because it needs time to cool.
In a saucepan, add the strawberries, water and sugar and simmer on medium-low heat for 5-7 minutes, stirring often and mashing the strawberries as they soften. Strain the strawberries through a mesh sieve to be left with a thin sauce. Return the liquid to the saucepan. In a small cup, mix the lemon juice, cornstarch and another 1/4 cup of water to make a slurry. Add it to the strawberry liquid in the saucepan and stir until thickened to desired consistency. Remove from heat and let it cool completely.
To make the pancakes:
In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, egg, and vanilla extract and mix to form the batter. If the batter is thick, add the remaining milk or as much as needed to reach the right consistency for pancakes (how much milk you need will depend on how much moisture is in the ricotta cheese).
Heat a pat of butter in a frying pan or griddle over medium heat and scoop 1/3 cup pancake batter (or as much as desired). Cook for a couple of minutes and then flip to cook the other side. Repeat with remaining batter.
To serve, dust pancakes with powdered sugar (optional) and drizzle with the strawberry syrup. Enjoy!
What to serve with Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
As mentioned, I served these pancakes with a homemade strawberry syrup. I also dust them with powdered sugar.
Other options for toppings include:
- fresh berries
- maple syrup
- lemon curd
- whipped cream
- butter
Tips and variations for this recipe
These pancakes are pretty darn easy to make and aren’t fussy at all. There are a few things to keep in mind to ensure the perfect pancake:
Tip #1: Don’t overmix your batter. Stir or whisk until the batter is formed and then let it be. As a general rule when baking (which also applies to pancakes), overmixing will result in tougher textures. You want these light and fluffy.
Tip #2: Adjust the amount of milk as needed to reach a good pancake consistency. I find that the thickness of my ricotta varies by brands and so I wrote the recipe using 1/2 cup of milk and then I adjust and add only if the batter is too thick.
Tip #3: Cook your pancakes on medium to medium-low heat. Cooking them on high heat will result in overly browned outsides with a wet batter still in the middle. Cooking them on medium to medium-low heat results in a fully cooked pancake that’s perfect inside and out.
Variations for this recipe
I love the recipe as is, but that doesn’t mean you can’t switch things up! I love berries with lemons and so one things I sometimes do is add some fresh berries to the batter. Blueberries and raspberries are both good choices.
Speaking of berries, for the homemade syrup in the recipe I used strawberries. Feel free to use another berry like blueberries or raspberries.
I hope you enjoy these pancakes as much as I do!
-Cathy
You may also like:
Chocolate Chip Ricotta Pancakes
Lemon Ricotta Cake
Gluten-Free Keto Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Strawberry Syrup
Ingredients
Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
- 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup milk (may need up to 3/4 cup to reach desired consistency)
- 1/4 cup lemon juice fresh
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 large egg whisked
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Strawberry Syrup
- 2 cups strawberries fresh or frozen, sliced
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 11/2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/4 cup water
Instructions
- Begin by making the strawberry syrup. In a saucepan, add the strawberries, water and sugar and simmer on medium-low heat for 5-7 minutes, stirring often and mashing the strawberries as they soften. Strain the strawberries through a mesh sieve to be left with a thin sauce. Return the liquid to the saucepan. In a small cup, mix the lemon juice, cornstarch and another 1/4 cup of water to make a slurry. Add it to the strawberry liquid in the saucepan and stir until thickened to desired consistency. Remove from heat and let it cool completely.
- In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup milk, lemon juice, lemon zest, egg, and vanilla extract and mix to form the batter. If the batter is thick, add the remaining milk or as much as needed to reach the right consistency for pancakes (how much milk you need will depend on how much moisture is in the ricotta cheese).
- Heat a pat of butter in a frying pan or griddle over medium heat and scoop 1/3 cup pancake batter (or as much as desired). Cook for a couple of minutes and then flip to cook the other side. Repeat with remaining batter.
- To serve, dust pancakes with powdered sugar (optional) and drizzle with the strawberry syrup. Enjoy!
Note: Metric ingredient measurements are provided as a courtesy using a third-party calculator and are rounded to the nearest unit. The recipes provided on this site have not been tested with metric measurements and their accuracy cannot be verified.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is based on third-party calculations and is an estimate only. Accurate nutritional facts will vary based on the particular brands used, portion sizes, measurement accuracy and more.
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These are sooooo good. Had ricotta I needed to use, so I tried these for my grandkids and they thought them AMAZING! My husband dislikes pancakes, but he tried a taste and is a total convert. Had to make a second batch!
With all the protein included, these stuck with the kids all through our morning hike. Something regular pancakes never do with their sugar carb load. Five stars for this recipe!
I’m so glad to hear your family enjoys them as much as we do!