Thick and Creamy Quinoa Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Lemon and ricotta already marry well , but adding quinoa to make a threesome creates the best breakfast ever!

Throw a party for your tastebuds with our quinoa lemon ricotta pancakes that taste like a breakfast soufflé. This creamy pancake offers just the right amount of chewy texture with the high protein punch of quinoa. Lemon and ricotta already marry well together, but adding quinoa to make a threesome creates the best breakfast ever. Bright and cheerful, yet wholesome and filling, these creamy pancakes provide the surprise to get you out of any breakfast rut. 

Ricotta As The Fat In Lemon Pancakes

Make no mistake, ricotta isn’t just for lasagna, and it’s better than cottage cheese in baked goods. Because ricotta yields a creamy texture, there’s no need for butter or oil here. Ricotta also adds a richness, giving decadence to something that typically tastes like flat pieces of yellow cake fried up in a pan. 

Unlike cream cheese, which has a bit of a tang, ricotta is smooth and doesn’t give these pancakes any kind of cheesy flavor. Now, I’ll admit, I’m not a syrup person, and I don’t make pancakes as a means to eat syrup. In fact, my mark of a good pancake is one that tastes good naked. Together with ricotta, additional lemon zest makes this breakfast treat a great standalone. Ultimately, that leaves room for healthier toppings, such as fresh berries or ground up pistachios with a lemon glaze.

Why Creamy Pancakes Use Baking Soda AND Baking Powder

Because this recipe calls for two types of acid (apple cider vinegar and lemon zest), we need both leaveners. Typically, baking powder does the job of creating rise in baked goods. However, baking soda is called for whenever an acid is present in the recipe. Baking soda neutralizes the acidity, thereby creating a more tender product with a decent crumb. Without it, we’d have some pretty dense, chewy pancakes with a rubbery texture. Also, because these leaveners seem to never go bad by taste alone, make sure to occasionally check the expiration date. This especially applies to those of us who bake infrequently.

Cook Lemon Ricotta Pancakes Longer

Due to the presence of quinoa and ricotta, we want these babies to cook just a wee bit longer than your traditional flap-jack. That being the case, if you can cover while cooking as well, you are sure to get brilliant results. To be certain, you are going to love the custardy, chewy, lemony flavor this soufflé like creation produces. If you have an extra minute and you’re feeling fancy, you can separate the yolk from the white, and add the yolk in the initial mix. Before cooking the pancakes, whip up the egg-white on the side and then gently fold it in the batter. You may do this when adding in the quinoa to simplify things. 

Play around with your heat for this particular recipe. Medium-high should be your best bet, but you know your stovetop, and it seems as if every burner is a different animal. If you cook too low, you have the inconvenience of a lengthy cook time. And, by contrast, cooked too high keeps your cakes raw in the middle while burning the thinner outside edges. Find your happy place and finish these pancakes off with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a little bit of whipped cream. Breakfast at its finest!

Try topping your pancakes with the glaze from our Glazed Coconut Lime Cupcake recipe. Want more pancakes? You might also like to try:

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