Light, Fluffy and Rich Pancakes

Light, Fluffy and Rich Pancakes
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
20 minutes
Rating
5(1,912)
Notes
Read community notes

Basic pancakes are simple to throw together and are guaranteed to delight a crowd. But go one step further, separating the eggs and beating the whites, and you turn the ordinary pancake into something almost soufflé-like. These also contain ricotta, for extra richness that doesn't weigh the pancakes down.

Featured in: THE MINIMALIST; For the Uninitiated, a Pancake Primer

Learn: How to Make Pancakes

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 1cup ricotta or cottage cheese
  • 1cup sour cream or plain yogurt
  • 3eggs, separated
  • ½teaspoon baking soda
  • 1cup all-purpose flour
  • Dash salt
  • 1tablespoon sugar
  • 2tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2teaspoons grated lemon zest
  • Butter or grapeseed or other neutral oil as needed
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

362 calories; 19 grams fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 32 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 15 grams protein; 438 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Beat together the ricotta or cottage cheese, sour cream or yogurt and egg yolks. Combine baking soda, flour, salt and sugar. Beat egg whites until fairly stiff but not dry.

  2. Step 2

    Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium-low heat while you finish batter. Stir flour mixture into cheese mixture, blending well but not beating. Stir in lemon juice and zest, then gently fold in beaten egg whites; they should remain somewhat distinct in batter.

  3. Step 3

    Add about 1 tablespoon butter or oil to griddle or skillet and coat surface. When it is hot, add batter by the heaping tablespoon, making sure to include some egg white in each spoonful. Cook until lightly browned on bottom, 3 to 5 minutes, then turn and cook second side. Serve immediately.

Ratings

5 out of 5
1,912 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

What I'm wondering is ... I've made other versions of this before, but they never worked. But with this technique they did, and we are loving it. What does the ricotta do, how does it work?

I messed up and didn't separate the yolk and white; used the eggs whole. In an attempt to compensate I whipped some air into the cheese/egg mixture and the pancakes were fluffy and delicious. It's a great recipe that can withstand being messed up like that!

Made these again using whole milk ricotta I had frozen and thawed in the refrigerator. Instead of sour cream I used non-fat plain Greek yogurt. Both worked great and the pancakes were excellent.

You can skip the beating of egg whites and get a similar lightness and airiness by using only half a cup of ricotta and adding half a cup of cold club soda or seltzer.

Definitely don't use cottage cheese (even small curd). Really makes them not only lumpy but a bit leaden despite the fluffiness.

Even without beating the egg whites, just adding the whole egg to the cheese batter, these are the fluffiest, most delicious pancakes I've ever made (or eaten).

Cooking on a low temp is essential.

These were...delicious. I used ricotta and sour cream and followed the recipe exactly. You can't miss with this one. Wow. DELICIOUS!!!

Added blueberries to the batter, then froze the cooked leftover pancakes to reheat later. Thaw in microwave the crisp up in a pan - instant Sunday brunch on a Monday morning!

Would it help to put the batter in the blender to smooth it out if you're using cottage cheese and then fold in your egg whites?

Beating the egg whites to soft peaks is necessary to create aeration which makes a fluffier cake, or in this case, pancakes. Whipping the egg whites makes meringues, souffles, chiffon cakes and other egg whites-based desserts puff up and get light and fluffy.

As advertised--light, fluffy and rich. Three to five minutes is correct to assure that they are cooked through. If you like pancake batter, beware. One taste and you might never actually make the pancakes!

These taste lovely with syrup, but lend themselves to fruit---I made a simple blueberry sauce.

The taste is great but they need to be cooked a long time and eaten soon after cooked as they deflate. I too used cottage cheese. It was the small curd, but it didn't blend with the mix. It still tasted good, but I agree with Norma; the batter will be lumpy.

Follow the recipe steps carefully and you will have clouds for pancakes. Absolutely delicious. I added 1/2 tsp. vanilla and used around 3/4 cup cake flour and 1/4 cup all purpose flour.

Mark Bittman,

Which Ricotta did you use? Whole Milk, Part Skim or Fat Free?

What about the Cottage Cheese? 4%, 2%, 1% or Fat Free ?

Details can make all the difference.

Thank you!

This is my family's favorite pancake recipe. I've used cottage cheese and thick yogurt every time. Just make sure it's good quality cottage cheese. It should soften such that there's no distinct, textured lumps once the batter is cooked. And if you don't have a hand mixer, you can use a blender to whip the egg whites.

I made this with whole wheat flour. Light and tender! Also: used whole milk ricotta and low fat yogurt. Excellent!

Used Greek yogurt and cottage cheese and they were as promised, rich and fluffy! I did process my cottage cheese in a blender with the yogurt to avoid the lumps that other reviewers complained about.

These were fluffy and a nice higher protein option for pancakes. My only notes are: 1) the combination of lemon and egg white ended up tasting almost soapy. I’ll cut back on zest next time, or maybe try orange. 2) this took me a lot more than 20 minutes! My pancakes were only a little bigger than recommended, but they took forever to cook through the middle.

Substituted orange zest and orange juice. Added a little clove. Processed cottage cheese, egg, and yogurt in blender along with 1/2 of flour. Substituted honey for sugar, added tablespoon of avacado oil to blender as well. Folded egg whites and remaining flour into batter. It was delish!

These were tasty and our guests and family devoured them. I didn't expect the moist texture inside, but of course given the ingredients it is not surprising! We substituted orange zest for lemon because that's all we had. It seemed to work.

These are super fluffy and as a result quite thick- how do I get the sides to cook? The heating doesn’t reach the middle. I have an electric range but have the setting on lowest heat. Any thoughts?

This was delicious as written! And easy! Don’t be put off by the egg whites. I did it quickly with a hand mixer just washing the beaters in between cheese and egg whites. Used whole milk ricotta and zero fat plain Greek yogurt. Also added some fresh blueberries directly into the batter for some. Was concerned the berries might affect the fluffiness but they were perfect! Just pushed one or two berries into each tablespoon. Didn’t mix into batter.

This may be sacrilegious, but inspired by Deb Perelman’s one-bowl pancakes, I combined the whole eggs, ricotta, and yogurt, followed by the sugar, salt, and baking soda into the same bowl. I let it sit while I zested and juiced the lemon, then added the flour and mixed until just incorporated. The baking soda starts to activate within the wet ingredients, creating tiny air bubbles that lighten the batter. The result was delicious: tender, high-rise, perfect pancakes, with a single bowl to wash.

Made with cottage cheese and stuck the yogurt, cheese, and whole eggs in the blender as some people suggested- turned out great! No lumpiness that other experienced w using cottage cheese.

Kids loved it!

Quite rich but they did have a lovely rise

These are delicious and will make again. For those that often make pancakes, these take quite a bit longer to cook through so be sure to use a low flame.

Absolutely delicious pancakes. Used (large curd) cottage cheese and yogurt and got fluffy, rich pancakes. I mixed the lemon zest with the sugar (added a bit more for extra sweetness) and added in poppy seeds as well. This would be delicious with blueberries!

I did the ricotta/yogurt variation. Fabulous!

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