Pumpkin ricotta pancakes are everything you need this cozy season. These healthier pancakes are high-protein and full of autumn flavor. Perfectly execute this recipe in just 30 minutes and reheat your hot cakes for breakfast all week long!
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Fall is my favorite season by far.
As soon as the leaves begin to change, I'm basically obligated to start making pumpkin everything.
I especially love pumpkin flavor in breakfast foods like these pancakes or baked oatmeal cups.
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Make It Again!
There are so many reasons to put these pumpkin pancakes on repeat. They're definitely worthy of your weekly meal rotation.
Hearty: Traditional pancakes don't have much protein, but the ricotta cheese in this recipe gives it a nice filling boost.
Less sugar: This healthier pancake recipe doesn't call for any refined sugar, instead it's sweetened with just a bit of pure maple syrup!
Quick: Got 30 minutes? That's all you need to whip up these delicious pancakes.
Easy: Straightforward, simple, uncomplicated, no crazy ingredients.
Grab and go: Pumpkin pancakes reheat really well, but they're also tasty straight from the refrigerator. I often add mini chocolate chips to my pancake batter if I know I'll be using them as an on-the-go snack.
Your Grocery List
- Pure pumpkin purée: This ingredient is usually found in the baking isle at the grocery store. If they happen to be sold out, you can always make homemade pumpkin puree.
- Ricotta cheese: I recommend whole milk ricotta for this recipe.
- Eggs: For extra fluff and great flavor.
- Vanilla extract: Pure vanilla extract tastes best in my opinion, but imitation vanilla will work fine (and it's much more affordable).
- Maple syrup: Use real maple syrup if you can! Regular white sugar will also work great in this recipe.
- Nonfat milk: Or milk of choice.
- All-Purpose Flour: Unbleached.
- Pumpkin pie spice: Plain, ground cinnamon is a good substitute.
- Baking powder: This will make your pancakes rise when cooking.
How To Make Pumpkin Ricotta Pancakes
Keep scrolling for the full recipe card and measurements. We’ll start here with a quick overview!
Combine wet ingredients:
- In a large bowl, combine pumpkin puree, whole milk ricotta cheese, eggs, vanilla, maple syrup and milk. Whisk vigorously, until smooth.
Mix dry ingredients:
- Whisk flour, baking powder and pumpkin pie spice together in a separate bowl.
Add dry to wet:
- Pour flour mixture into wet ingredients and fold the two together with a spatula. To avoid dense pancakes, don't over mix your batter. Some lumpiness is okay!
Cook pancakes:
- Place a skillet or griddle pan on the stovetop. Turn heat to medium and allow the pan to get nice and hot.
- Coat cooking surface with non-stick spray and spoon batter onto the pan.
- Fry pancakes for 2 minutes on the first side, then flip and cook for 2 minutes on the second side. Serve with desired toppings and enjoy!
Tips For Perfect Pancakes
Thick batter: I recommend using a spoon or measuring cup to spread this hearty pancake batter into a thinner circle shape, this will help it to cook-through faster and more thoroughly.
Heat your pan: For fluffy, golden brown pancakes, it's important that you allow your pan to heat up before frying batter. I like making a small test pancake to see if the pan is hot enough! Pancakes can turn out sort of gummy if the griddle isn't ready.
Recipe Variations
Mix-ins: Add chopped walnuts, toasted pecans, or dark chocolate chips to your pancake batter!
Cheese: Make Pumpkin Cottage Cheese Pancakes instead of ricotta!
Thinner pancakes: You can slowly stir in additional milk until desired texture is reached. Just be careful, don't add too much, too fast.
Toppings For Pancakes
- More pumpkin flavor: My pumpkin spice sauce or pumpkin cheesecake dip go great with these pancakes!
- Traditional toppings: Salted butter, warm maple syrup, pancake syrup, ground cinnamon, powdered sugar or whipped topping.
- Nuts and seeds: Walnuts, pecans or roasted pumpkin seeds add nice crunchy texture.
- Spreads: Top your pancakes with peanut butter, almond butter, hazelnut butter or Nutella. If you can't have nuts, try sun butter (or chocolate sun butter)!
- Fruit: Blackberries would be SO good with these healthy pumpkin pancakes.
Serving Suggestions
These sweet pancakes pair perfectly with a big cup of coffee and savory sides like scrambled eggs, egg bites, crispy bacon, potato hash browns or breakfast sausages.
Meal Prep And Storage
How to store leftovers: Place pancakes in an airtight container or Ziploc bag. Refrigerate for 3-5 days or freeze for 3-4 months.
Freezer storage note: Place a square of parchment paper between cakes to prevent sticking. If pancakes do freeze together, don't fret! Let them sit at room temp for 5-10 minutes or microwave on the defrost setting and they'll break apart. You can also pop them in the refrigerator to thaw overnight.
Reheat: Microwave on high until warmed through. When reheating from the refrigerator, this will take 30-60 seconds. If reheating from frozen, it will take a little longer.
Meal prep: I love making a double batch of pancakes and storing for later. Reheat or enjoy cold! I often add chocolate chips to my pancakes when I know I'll be eating them cold, on the go.
Frequently Asked Questions
If your pancakes are gooey in the middle, they need to cook longer. Also, you may try spreading your batter into a thinner circle shape to help with even cook through.
If the outside of your pancakes are burning before the middle cooks, turn your stovetop heat down a bit.
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Pumpkin Ricotta Pancakes
Equipment
- Olive oil cooking spray *Or spray of choice
- Frying pan or griddle pan *A regular skillet also works
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- ¾ cup pumpkin puree *about half a 15 ounce can
- 1 cup full fat ricotta cheese
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract *Or imitation vanilla
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup *Or sugar
- ½ cup nonfat milk *Or milk of choice
Dry Ingredients
- 1 & ½ cups all purpose flour *Unbleached
- 1 & ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice *Or ground cinnamon
- 1 & ½ teaspoons baking powder
Recipe notes:
General: This pancake batter is very thick! If you like thinner pancakes, you can add a little extra milk until your desired texture is reached. General: This recipe makes 10-11 pancakes when portioned into ¼ cup size.Instructions
- Add wet ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Whisk well.¾ cup pumpkin puree, 1 cup full fat ricotta cheese, 3 large eggs, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup, ½ cup nonfat milk
- In a small bowl, combine dry ingredients and whisk well.1 & ½ cups all purpose flour, 1 & ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, 1 & ½ teaspoons baking powder
- Pour dry ingredients into pumpkin mixture and fold together with a spatula. Don't over-mix. It's okay if the batter is a little lumpy.
- Place a griddle pan or skillet on the stovetop, turn heat to medium and allow the pan to heat up for 5-10 minutes. Coat the pan with non-stick cooking spray. You can make a small test pancake to see if the pan is ready!
- Use a quarter cup to portion batter onto the pan. This batter is thick, so I recommend spreading it into a thinner circle shape using a spoon or your measuring cup. If you don't spread the batter out a little, the pancakes may turn out gooey in the middle.
- Cook pancakes for two minutes. Once they're beginning to look a little dry around the edges, flip and cook 2 minutes longer. Re apply non-stick cooking spray as needed.
- Remove cooked pancakes from griddle pan, add desired toppings and enjoy!
Optional toppings:
- Butter, pumpkin sauce, whipped cream, roasted pumpkin seeds, chopped walnuts, chopped toasted pecans, blackberries, cinnamon, maple syrup or pancake syrup of choice.
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Nutrition
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