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These apple ricotta pancakes add an Italian twist with ricotta cheese, but taste like fall with sautéed apples on top.
Who doesn't love pancakes - from mango pancakes to banana chocolate chip pancakes to blueberry pancakes. Contrary to popular belief, the options are endless as far as flavors. You don't need just boring old pancakes.
And these apple pancakes are kicked up a notch with ricotta cheese which adds a slightly milky flavor. But lets be honest, it is the sautéed apples that make these.
It's basically an apple pie filling on top of pancakes. I mean, what sounds better? Or if you're feeling like bread, you can never go wrong with cinnamon apple bread.
Why This Recipe Works
- Easy - you'll be surprised how easy these apple ricotta pancakes are to make. Simply mix together the ingredients then cook on the skillet.
- Flavorful - it is like apple pie in pancake form. And who can forget the warm notes of cinnamon.
- Utilizes extra apples - any time you might have more apples than needed on hand, these pancakes should come to top of mind.
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Ingredient Notes
- All-purpose flour - creates a light and fluffy pancake.
- Baking powder/soda - important in giving that rise you like to see with your pancakes. Doesn't need to react with acid to create a rise.
- Cinnamon - adds warm spice notes to the pancakes and apple topping.
- Ricotta - adds moistness, while giving the pancakes a milky flavor.
- Apples - they're called apple ricotta pancakes for a reason. My go-to is Granny Smith apples.
Ingredient Swaps
Like any recipe you can mix up the ingredients. Some variations include:
- While I like all-purpose flour as it is the most common, but cake flour works well too and creates even a lighter pancake. You can also go with oat flour if you want to be gluten-free.
- I like to use light brown sugar with these pancakes, but granulated or dark brown sugar can be used.
- I use whole milk, but you can use a dairy free milk like coconut milk or almond milk. You can also use buttermilk as well.
- I'm personally a fan of Granny Smith apples, but Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious or Braeburn work too.
Step-by-Step Photos
Please note full ingredient list and instructions can be found in recipe card below.
Heat a skillet over medium heat with butter, before adding the apples, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Cook until the apples start to soften and set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients.
In another bowl, mix together the wet ingredients. Add to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add butter. Drop ¼ cup batter and cook for 1 minute or until bubbles surface. Flip and cook for another minute on the other side and repeat with remaining batter.
FAQs
The ricotta adds extra richness that doesn't weigh the pancakes down, while also keeping them moist.
Over-mixing pancake batter develops the gluten which will make them tough and rubbery. You want to mix the batter until it just comes together. It's okay if there are some lumps of flour.
It will most likely be because the heat on your griddle or skillet is too high and it is cooking the outside much faster than the inside.
Of course! Transfer the pancakes in a single layer onto a baking sheet lined with parchment. Place them in the freezer for two hours before transferring to a bag. To heat, place frozen pancakes in an oven or toaster oven until warmed.
Equipment
The equipment you use is important to how the apple ricotta pancakes turn out. What is needed is the following:
- Large bowl - need a bowl to be able to mix together the batter.
- Non-stick skillet or electric skillet - I personally like using an electric skillet, but a non-stick works great too.
- Spatula - need to be able to flip the pancakes.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- Baking Powder Freshness - you may not realize this but baking powder and baking soda actually expires pretty quickly. Use baking powder that is less than a year old since it has been opened. If you use older baking powder, it won’t be powerful enough to help leaven the donuts. You can test it by stirring half a teaspoon of baking powder into a cup of hot water. It will immediately start to fizz and release carbon dioxide gas if it’s still fresh enough to use.
- Whisk Dry Ingredients - to avoid lumps in this pancakes recipe, whisk the dry ingredients before adding to the wet ingredients.
- Don't Overmix - to add to the above, you don't want to overmix the batter. You want to have some lumps to create fluffy pancakes.
- Rest the Batter - if you have the time, rest the batter for 10 minutes so the flour absorbs the liquid. I do this as I'm warming up the pan.
- Use an Electric Skillet - a large electric skillet allows you to make multiple pancakes at a time, but you can use a cast iron skillet as well.
- Wipe Skillet - by using butter, it will eventually burn so wipe the skillet between pancake batches to keep from having burned pancakes.
- Don't Flip Too Early - wait until bubbles pop and form holes that stay open on the surface of the batter before flipping the pancakes.
Other Breakfast Recipes
If you’ve tried these apple ricotta pancakes or any other recipe on Chisel & Fork, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube to see more tasty meals and anything else I'm up to.
Apple Ricotta Pancakes
Ingredients
Ricotta Pancakes
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon melted unsalted butter plus more for greasing
Apple Topping
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced into ½ inch cubes
- 2 tablespoon light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°F. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda until combined. Make a well in the center.
- In large bowl, beat half of the ricotta and cream until whipped, about 3 minutes. Stir in the lemon zest, egg yolks, buttermilk, remaining ricotta and honey. Set in fridge until ready to use.
- In another large bowl, beat egg whites until they have stiff peaks, which should take about 5 minutes.
- Slowly stir in the egg whites until just combined, which lightens the batter. If using apples for filling, stir in at this point.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and coat with butter. Pour ¼ cup of the batter into the skillet and cook until bubbles appear on the surface, about 2 minutes. Flip with a spatula and cook for another 2 minutes or until golden brown. Wipe skillet and repeat process. Keep the pancakes in the oven until all are ready to eat.
- Heat a medium skillet over medium heat and add butter. Once butter is melted, add apples, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt and cook, stirring occasionally for 3-5 minute or until the apples are starting to soften. Top pancakes with apples.
Notes
- Baking Powder Freshness - you may not realize this but baking powder and baking soda actually expires pretty quickly. Use baking powder that is less than a year old since it has been opened. If you use older baking powder, it won’t be powerful enough to help leaven the donuts. You can test it by stirring half a teaspoon of baking powder into a cup of hot water. It will immediately start to fizz and release carbon dioxide gas if it’s still fresh enough to use.
- Whisk Dry Ingredients - to avoid lumps in this pancakes recipe, whisk the dry ingredients before adding to the wet ingredients.
- Don't Overmix - to add to the above, you don't want to overmix the batter. You want to have some lumps to create fluffy pancakes.
- Rest the Batter - if you have the time, rest the batter for 10 minutes so the flour absorbs the liquid. I do this as I'm warming up the pan.
- Use an Electric Skillet - a large electric skillet allows you to make multiple pancakes at a time, but you can use a cast iron skillet as well.
- Wipe Skillet - by using butter, it will eventually burn so wipe the skillet between pancake batches to keep from having burned pancakes.
- Don't Flip Too Early - wait until bubbles pop and form holes that stay open on the surface of the batter before flipping the pancakes.
Chris says
Made these and they were amazing!
Chris says
This Chris is a chisel connoisseur. I bet he is sexy too.