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Fluffy Ricotta Cheese Pancakes

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A plate of stacked pancakes drizzled with maple syrup. Fresh blueberries and strawberries are on the plate.

Ricotta Cheese Pancakes

Use up any leftover ricotta cheese to make these soft and fluffy pancakes! They’re perfect for breakfast or brunch! Ricotta cheese also gives the pancakes a little extra protein.
Print Recipe
Course Breakfast, Brunch
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3 eggs
  • 3/4 cup ricotta cheese (I used regular 10% ricotta cheese)
  • 1/4 cup milk (I used skim milk)
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
  • 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
  • Butter for cooking

Instructions
 

  • In a small bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
  • In a large bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the ricotta cheese, milk, vanilla extract and melted butter. Whisk together until smooth.
  • Add flour mixture to the egg mixture. Whisk until smooth and combined. The batter will be thicker than a typical pancake batter.
  • Melt a small amount of butter in a non-stick fry pan on medium-low heat. Use a ¼ cup measuring cup to scoop the batter and drop the batter in the shape of a circle into the fry pan. Allow enough space between the pancakes so that you can still fit a spatula to flip them. (I make 2 small pancakes in a 10 inch fry pan.)
  • Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes or until the bottoms begin to turn golden brown. (Note that the pancakes will not bubble as much as a regular pancake, so watch the pancakes carefully and check the bottoms for colour.) Flip the pancakes and cook for another 30 to 45 seconds or until the bottom is golden brown. Turn down the heat slightly if needed. Remove the cooked pancakes onto a plate.
  • Using a small piece of wet paper towel, carefully wipe any excess butter from the hot fry pan (otherwise it will cause the next pancakes to burn / brown too quickly.) You can also allow the pan to cool or decrease the heat slightly or use another clean pan. Add a small amount of butter and continue to cook the remaining pancakes.
  • Enjoy with maple syrup and fresh fruit! Makes 9-11 small pancakes.
Keyword pancakes, ricotta cheese pancakes

What’s the best way to eat broccoli?

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Broccoli is one of my favourite veggies. And for good reason. It’s packed with nutrients like vitamin C, vitamin K, folate, fibre and beta-carotene. Both raw and cooked broccoli contain a special type of plant chemical called glucosinolates, only found in cruciferous vegetables.

Ok, now we’re getting into some food chemistry, so stay with me. During food preparation and cooking, an enzyme called myrosinase breaks down the glucosinolates into active, cancer-fighting compounds called isothiocyanates. Sulforaphane is one of the most common types of isothiocyanates.

Raw broccoli

When you chew raw broccoli, you’re actually helping to activate the enzyme myrosinase and this means sulforaphanes will be produced. The number of times you need to chew broccoli is unclear. I’ve seen anecdotal reports of chewing broccoli for 30 seconds, but there’s not any research to confirm this, so take your time and enjoy. Chopping the broccoli ahead of time could help too (more on this below).

Cooked broccoli

When it comes to cooking broccoli, lightly stir-frying, microwaving for under 5 minutes or steaming for less than 6 minutes seem to be best because these methods help to preserve the cancer-fighting compounds. Cooking for too long and at high temperatures actually destroys the enzyme myrosinase.

If you’re like me and prefer the taste of cooked broccoli over raw, you can add myrosinase containing foods to boost the formation of sulforaphanes. Mustard, mustard powder, radish, arugula, wasabi and other uncooked cruciferous veggies (e.g. cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale) all contain myrosinase. So try mixing these into your cooked broccoli. One study from the UK found that adding about ½ tsp of mustard powder to 1.5 cups of cooked broccoli increased the sulforphane content by almost 4 times.

Chop it first!

Interestingly, researchers in China found that chopping broccoli 90 minutes before cooking actually increased the amount of cancer-fighting compounds by over 2.5 times! Similar to chewing, the cutting / chopping activates the enzyme myrosinase. If 90 minutes is unrealistic, try chopping broccoli first and allow it to sit before prepping your other ingredients.

The bottom line

Raw broccoli may have an advantage when it comes to sulforaphane content and cancer protection. Honestly though, just eat broccoli in a way that tastes good to you. Simply eating broccoli 1-2 times a week – raw or cooked – can have big health benefits on cancer prevention and your lifespan!

(Thanks to reader GM for asking this question!)

References:

Barba FJ et al. Frontiers in Nutrition 2016 August 15: 3(24). Bioavailability of glucosinolates and their breakdown products: Impact of processing. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4985713/ doi: 10.3389/fnut.2016.00024 Accessed March 6, 2026.

Liu X et al. Frontiers in Nutrition 2024 Jan 8:10:1286658. Prospective cohort study of broccoli consumption frequency and all-cause and cause-specific mortality risks. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2023.1286658/full doi: 10.3389/fnut.2023.1286658. Accessed March 6, 2026.

Lu Y et al. Food Sci Nutr 2020 Mar 5;8(4):2052–2058. Microwave cooking increases sulforphane level in broccoli. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7174218/ doi: 10.1002/fsn3.1493 Accessed March 6, 2026.

Okunade O et al. Molecular Nutrition and Food Research 2018 Sep;62(18):e1700980. Supplementation of the diet by exogenous myrosinase via mustard seeds to increase the bioavailability of sulforaphane in healthy human subjects after the consumption of cooked broccoli. doi: 10.1002/mnfr.201700980.  Accessed March 6, 2026.

Wu, Y et al. Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry 2018 Jan 22; 66(6). Hydrolysis before stir-frying increases the isothiocyanate content of broccoli. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jafc.7b05913 Accessed March 6, 2026.