Breakfast

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

ByEric Jones posted onNovember 14, 2025November 14, 2025

I’m always thinking of new and creative ways to put a twist on the traditional pancake recipe. If you like lemon, these Lemon Ricotta Pancakes are a no-brainer. The crispy edges of these delicious pancakes will start you off on the right foot any day of the week.

Looking for another pancake idea? Check out my Sweet Potato Pancakes or Spiced Buttermilk Pancakes with Caramelized Apples.

Everyone needs a go-to pancake recipe, and this is it! The fresh lemon zest and fresh lemon juice, along with butter and sugar, make this breakfast idea as refreshing as a tall glass of lemonade on a sunny day. They are even good enough to enjoy without maple syrup! Now that’s a good pancake.

Why add ricotta to your pancakes? First and foremost, adding ricotta makes the pancake light and fluffy. They literally melt in your mouth. Ricotta also adds an extra richness that you don’t get from traditional pancakes. And although ricotta is a dense ingredient, it doesn’t weigh the pancakes down.

Ingredients you’ll need to make Lemon Ricotta Pancakes:

Be sure to check out the full recipe and ingredient list below

For your dry ingredients, you’ll need all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt, nutmeg, and sugar. Salt is used to balance the sweetness from the other ingredients.
Fresh lemon juice and lemon zest give these pancakes that pronounced lemon flavor.
Eggs will help to bind the pancake batter.
Milk and buttermilk will add moisture to your pancakes and help create a light, fluffy texture.
The ricotta cheese adds moisture and richness to the pancakes.
And speaking of richness, you’ll need vanilla extract. It’s the perfect complementary ingredient to pair with lemon.
Butter gives pancakes their crispy edges thanks to the fat in butter. Using a generous amount of butter is key, as it provides the fat needed for the edges to turn golden brown and crunchy. To further enhance crispiness, you can also add a little extra butter to the pan when you flip the pancake.

How to make Lemon Ricotta Pancakes:

Mix the dry ingredients. Mix your flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and lemon zest in a large bowl.

Mixing all dry ingredients for Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Mix your wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, blend sugar, lemon juice, eggs, butter, buttermilk, milk, ricotta cheese, and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.

Mixing all wet ingredients for Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Blend all ingredients. Mix all ingredients with a hand mixer (paid link), spatula (paid link), or whisk (paid link) until well blended. Do not overmix. Allow the batter to rest for 5-10 minutes before cooking. This allows the gluten to relax, resulting in fluffier pancakes.

Blending all ingredients together to make Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Make the pancakes. Add to a cast iron skillet (paid link) over medium heat. Pour 1/4 cup of pancake batter into the skillet for each pancake. Flip when air bubbles appear. Cook for another minute (or less) on the second side. Serve warm with powdered sugar and/or maple syrup.

A stack of Lemon Ricotta Pancakes topped with butter

Tips & Tricks

Consistency is very important in this recipe. You want the pancake batter to be thick, yet pourable. It should resemble the consistency of a thick milkshake or heavy cream and should drip, not run, off a spoon.
To achieve the best results, you’ll want to mix your wet and dry ingredients separately. This ensures you don’t overmix the pancake batter, which can lead to a tough pancake. Hence the reason you will love these. They are some of the moistest pancakes I’ve ever made.
Don’t press down on the pancakes after flipping, as this will flatten them and remove the air bubbles that make them fluffy.

A stack of Lemon Ricotta Pancakes topped with butter and maple syrup.

When you want a change from your traditional pancakes, give these Lemon Ricotta Pancakes a try, and you will love them. They are the perfect balance of tart and sweet.