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Bursting Blueberry Lemon Ricotta Pancakes. Everyone needs a go-to blueberry pancake recipe, and this is it! These pancakes are made with a touch of fresh ricotta cheese, a little squeeze of lemon, and each one is swirled with plenty of sweet blueberries. They’re light, extra fluffy, perfectly sweet, and all around delicious. And as if that wasn’t enough, they’re served drizzled with a lemony poppy-seed syrup. Perfect for a lazy weekend morning breakfast!
It’s become the time of year when I’ve decided I’m pretty over winter and ready for spring. This is a bit of a problem, since officially we still have over a month of winter left. It’s even more of a problem for me, because up here in the mountains we definitely have way more than a month of winter left. Usually we’ll have a snow into May. Very, very long winters around here.
Anyway, it’s not that I’m totally over winter, but more like a craving for more bright and fresh, you know? Pretty sure I’m not the only one feeling this way. So I thought I’d take it upon myself to share a more spring forward recipe today…
Blueberry pancakes!!
If I’m being honest, I threw up a photo of these pancakes cooking on the stove last week on Instagram. Soo many of you inquired about the recipe. When I realized my messages were full of blueberry pancake recipe requests, I figured I’d better share the recipe. And sooner rather than later. Since some of you seemed like you were in desperate need of the perfect blueberry pancake!
Trust me, I get it. Pancakes are a weekend staple around here. Nothing really beats a good blueberry pancake. I like to make mine with two additions that I find make the pancakes a smidge better than the rest.
Enter in a little whole milk ricotta cheese, and fresh lemon. The couple that can do no wrong.
Since pancakes are a morning thing, I like to keep mine very, very simple. No fancy whipped egg whites or overnight rises. I mean, those things can be good, but for everyday pancakes, simple is truly best.
SO. I just mix fresh ricotta (use whole milk ricotta cheese for best results) with a little buttermilk, vanilla, lemon, flour, and the traditional pancake ingredients. The ricotta really adds a nice lightness and sweet flavor to the pancakes that we truly love. While the lemon adds a fresh, almost spring like touch.
My other secret? In addition to plenty of fresh blueberries (or frozen, honestly either works just the same), I swirl in a little bit of blueberry jam as well. I know it might seem like overkill, but I’m telling you, it’s not. It’s delicious and leaves you with a blueberry pancake that’s actually bursting with BLUEBERRY flavor. So very good. The jam caramelizes a bit on the edges while it cooks, but also creates pockets of sweet jam throughout. A nice contrast to the whole blueberries.
AND then, as if that was not plenty enough right there. I love making a little poppy-seed syrup to drizzle over each pancake. It’s literally just lemon zest, poppy-seeds, and real maple syrup. But it feels special and tastes sweet and perfect.
When it comes to making a really good pancake, I have two tips.
One, keep the the batter loose. Meaning, don’t add too much flour. I prefer to have a batter that’s on the more liquidy side than thick. I’ve always found this to yield extra soft pancakes.
Two, let the batter sit/rest for at least 5 or so minutes before you begin cooking. This helps the batter to settle, and makes for an even lighter and more delicate pancake.
OK. And with that, here’s my recommendation. Find yourself some ricotta cheese, lemons, and blueberries and plan on making pancakes. It could be this weekend, but don’t feel constrained to only cooking pancakes on the weekends. These are easy enough for any day of the week. And let’s be real, they also make a great lunch…or even dinner…love breakfast for dinner!
Just be sure to enjoy them warm, with a small pat of butter, and a good drizzle of that poppy-seed syrup…
If you make these blueberry lemon ricotta pancakes, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Blueberry Lemon Ricotta Pancakes.
Servings: 6 about pancakes per serving
Calories Per Serving: 565 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, or use whole milk
- 3/4 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon honey, adding in more honey if you like a sweeter pancake
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon zest and 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
- 3-4 tablespoons blueberry jam (optional)
Poppy-Seed Lemon Syrup
- 1/2 cup real maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon poppy-seeds
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
Instructions
- 1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, ricotta, eggs, butter, honey, vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir until just combined. It's OK if the batter is a little lumpy. If the batter feels a little too thin, add 1/4 cup additional flour.2. Fold in the blueberries, and if desired 2-4 tablespoons of the blueberry jam, for an extra berry filled pancakes. Allow the batter to sit 5-10 minutes.3. Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium heat and add a little butter, or spray with cooking spray. Pour about 1/4 cup pancake batter onto the center of the hot pan. Cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Using a spatula, gently flip the pancake over and cook the other side for a minute, or until golden. Repeat with the remaining batter.4. To make the syrup, warm the maple, poppy-seeds, and lemon zest over low heat.5. Serve the pancakes topped with the poppy-seed syrup, butter, and fresh blueberries, if desired.
If I’m reading the recipe right, it says 6 pancakes per serving. Is this correct? If so, how many servings per batch?
Hey Shameer,
You should get 12 pancakes per batch. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I really dislike writing negative reviews but these pancakes did not work and will not work if you don’t add sugar. They were bland, not sweet and a bit bitter also. I have to say one-two tablespoons of honey is not enough. I wish I had read all the reviews before I went out to purchase the ingredients. It seems people just give out 5 stars based on the pictures alone and not their outcome and I went with that instead of carefully reading their comments.
Thank you so much Summer! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
I made a version of this recipe this morning and they were delicious. I only made half a recipe. I didn’t have buttermilk or whole milk, but substituted 2% and half and half. I also didn’t have blueberry jam, but look forward to trying that. I zested and squeezed the juice from half a lemon, but would use a whole one for the half recipe next time. I’m sure the suggested lemon poppy syrup would add more lemon flavor, but didn’t have poppy seeds. If I get them on my shopping list, I will try it. Definitely let the batter rest. I forgot and my first pancake was pretty flat. The rest were perfect. I did cook them on medium low too because one did get scorched on the higher heat. These are certainly worth trying. I know I’ll be making them again.
Dying to try these! Could I substitute whole milk for almond milk?? Thanks so much!
Hey Ximena,
Yes almond milk would work! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I LOVE this recipe!! And so did the rest of my family! I used kefir in place of the buttermilk. Turned out great!! Really wonderful way to use the ricotta that I was worried about having to throw out!
These are SOO good that I started thinking about how to make them again to use up the rest of the container. Came up with Orange Cranberry Almond Ricotta pancakes. AMAZING!! I think I liked them even better than the original recipe…but I wouldn’t have come up with them without your help!! SO a big thank you!!
Orange Cranberry Almond tweaks:
Do everything the same, but use naval orange in place of the lemon zest and juice. Add 1 cup Cape Cod frozen cranberries. Add 1 cup sliced almonds. Add orange marmalade in batter. VIOLA!!! Beautiful combination!! Getting ready to mix up another batch.
THANK YOU for the inspiration!
Thank you for trying this Amanda!! I am SO glad it turned out well for you! xTieghan
Could I substitute the all purpose flour for almond flour?
Hi Lola,
I would recommend using a gf flour, I haven’t had the best luck with almond flour. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Horrible! This ruined my mother’s birthday breakfast.. The recipe didn’t work. I made them for breakfast for my moms birthday, followed recipe exactly and they were entirely too liquidly. Added more flour, still the same. I am so disappointed, her birthday breakfast had to be scratched.
Hi Bianca! I am really sorry to hear that! Is there anything I can help with? xTieghan
Me ha encantado. La mezcla sobrante se puede guardar en la nevera un par de dias, o congelar?
¡Hola! ¡SÃ, la mezcla deberÃa durar 2-3 en la nevera! ¡Estoy tan contento de que esta receta haya resultado tan bien para ti! xTieghan
Very flavorful pancakes with good texture. I was out of blueberries and substituted raspberries with raspberry jam, and it turned out great!
Thank you so much! xTieghan
I have used quite a few recipes for lemon-blueberry ricotta pancakes and this is definitely the best so far. I agree the pancakes were lighter because the batter was not too thick. I haven’t used honey before and it indeed added a tad of sweetness that was just perfect.I am new to your site, but will return for sure for more great recipes!
Wow that is so great to hear! I am so glad this recipe turned out so well for you, Tina! Thank you! xTieghan
Made these pancakes this morning and they are the best I’ve ever had! I did have to add the extra 1/4 cup flour to thicken the batter a bit. So incredibly good – thank you for this recipe!
Thank you so much Andrea!! I am so glad this one turned out so well! xTieghan
Perfection! So delicious ~ thank you!!! Made exactly as called for but used part skim ricotta because that’s what I had on hand.
That is so amazing to hear! Thank you so much for trying this one, Kristina!! xTieghan
Could I use cottage cheese instead of ricotta?
Hi Elizabeth,
I would recommend using mascarpone or creme fraiche before cottage cheese. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
i have the everyday pancake mix which I made from your cookbook. How much would you use for this recipe?
Hi Diane,
I would use 1 1/2 cups of pancake mix. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
We made these for Easter and everyone loved them! Followed the recipe exactly. Thank you!
Thank you! I am so glad you all enjoyed these pancakes! xTieghan