Pumpkin Ricotta Pancakes

Name: Pumpkin Ricotta Pancakes
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 1½ cups plus 2 Tbsp flour (spooned and leveled); 3 Tbsp powdered sugar (regular sugar will work too); 1½ tsp baking powder; ½ baking soda; ½ tsp salt; 1½ tsp cinnamon; 1 tsp pumpkin spice; 2 large eggs; 1 ¼ cup milk (more to thin batter if needed); 2 tsp vanilla; ½ cup pumpkin purée; ⅔ cup whole milk ricotta cheese (room temperature); 3 Tbsp maple syrup; butter (for cooking)

By Lorie Yarro

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Published Oct 07, 2026

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These pumpkin ricotta pancakes are moist and tender with a slightly custard-like texture from the ricotta cheese. These are the perfect fall breakfast with only about 10 minutes of prep and can even be prepped the night before so you can pop them on the skillet in the morning. Perfect smothered in butter and all the maple syrup!

Stack of pancakes on plate with butter and maple syrup on top.

Why We Love These Pumpkin Ricotta Pancakes

Pumpkin and ricotta cheese both mean moisture when it comes to pancakes, but ricotta also adds a more custardy, melt in your mouth in pancakes, and paired with warm fall spices make a big stack of these the perfect fall breakfast recipe!

These pumpkin ricotta pancakes:

are so simple to prep
have all the cozy fall flavor but with an added level of texture from the ricotta
can be prepped in the night before and then cooked up on the griddle in the morning for an easy cozy weekend or holiday brunch
can be frozen for up to 3 months

Pumpkin and breakfast are the perfect pair! Make these other fall favorites: Pumpkin Carrot Muffins, Pumpkin Pie Smoothie, Cinnamon Streusel Pumpkin Coffee Cake, or Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal.

Ingredient Notes

Make sure to use pumpkin purée and not pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling is already sweetened and spiced and is not the same as pumpkin purée. It will definitely make these pancakes overly sweet and flavor will be very different as well as texture.
Using powdered sugar in these pumpkin ricotta pancakes helps balance the texture. Since the ricotta cheese makes it more custard like and gives that melt in your mouth texture, the cornstarch in powdered sugar keeps these pancakes from becoming too mushy and moist and helps hold the more cake-like structure. Regular sugar can work, but I don’t suggest it for the best pancake texture. It also mixes into the batter very well to keep it nice and smooth. This is the same trick I use in these super fluffy pancakes.
Whole milk ricotta is ideal for this pancakes recipe. If your ricotta cheese seems too wet, drain any excess liquid. You have to REALLY whisk the ricotta into the mixture to get it smooth, but a few little pieces of ricotta in the mixture is ok too.

Ways To Vary This Recipe

use a touch of molasses: instead of the maple syrup, add a touch of molasses for a super rich flavor
add-ins: add in some chopped pecans, chocolate chips, and more!
make them EXTRA fluffy: for the fluffiest pancakes, separate the egg yolks and whites and then beat the egg whites until stiff and then fold them in. These pancakes will be sky high!

Step-By-Step Instructions

Dry ingredients with whisk in glass bowl.

Step 1: In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients until combined.

Wet ingredients with pumpkin and ricotta added to mixture in bowl.

Step 2: In a separate medium bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, maple syrup, and vanilla until smooth. Add in the ricotta cheese and pumpkin.

Wet ingredients for pumpkin ricotta pancakes in bowl.

Step 3: Whisk well until the mixture is smooth. The ricotta can be hard to get fully smooth. Room temperature ricotta helps a touch, but we don’t always have time for that. Little bits of ricotta here and there is ok too.

Prepared pumpkin ricotta pancake batter in bowl with whisk.

Step 4: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk only until fully combined. It’s ok if the batter has lumps in it. You can make adjustments here as well if the batter seems too thick or too thin!

Step 5: Heat a griddle or skillet to medium heat and melt butter. Pour approximately ⅓ cup pancakes onto heated griddle and cook until bubbles form around the edges and flip. Cook another 1-2 minutes or until golden brown.

Step 6: Serve pancakes warm with lots of butter and syrup!

Recipe Tips

Once you combine the dry and wet ingredients, only stir to combine. Over mixing pancake batter can alter the texture of these pumpkin ricotta pancakes, or really any pancakes, and not in a good way. Mixing until you don’t see any flour streaks is the way to go.

You can make the batter 1-2 days in advance. Up to two days before cooking these pancakes, the batter can be stored in the refrigerator. Give it a stir and allow the batter to sit out just a bit to take the chill off and then you are good to go!

Fork with pieces of pancake on it propped on plate.

Storage

I find storing pancakes in the freezer to be the best way to go versus refrigerating. Allow the pancakes to cool completely and then freeze in a single layer for about one hour before transferring to a freezer safe container for best results. This will keep them from sticking together. Freeze for up to 3 months.

You certainly can refrigerate them, for about 4-5 days, but I feel the texture and moisture is not as good as freezing. To reheat, pop them in the toaster or microwave in the 30-second increments.

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