Pumpkin Ricotta Pancakes

Last week I made some pumpkin brownies. (I didn't post them because I thought that they looked ugly.) There was about 1/2 cup or so of leftover canned pumpkin and I've been tossing around ideas for using it up. I've seen so many wonderful recipes on the blogs that I've been reading. I've seen pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pasta, pumpkin bread and cakes and of course pancakes. This morning I woke up a little late due to all the red wine I consumed last night and I was craving a diner's breakfast. You know how it is. But I knew that by the time I woke up Steve and we both showered it would be lunch time before we got to have breakfast out. I took at look in my fridge and saw a container of ricotta that I had and then and idea hit me. What if I used my cousin Tiffany's sour cream pancakes recipe and used ricotta instead? I could just add the pumpkin and see what happens and that was how this recipe was born.

The pancakes are delicious and perfect for this time of year and it's a great way to use up the leftover pumpkin since you don't really need that much to get the pumpkin flavor. If you have sour cream on hand you can use that too as that's what the original recipe calls for. If you use the ricotta it may seem a little thick so just thin it out with a little more milk. I was also easy on the cinnamon and nutmeg but I suggest using a bit more for stronger flavor. That's how it goes with experiments, right? In the recipe I'm giving you I'm going to use the amount of spices that I think would be better not what I used. I used only 1/4 tsp nutmeg and 1/2 tsp cinnamon.

Pumpkin Ricotta Pancakes

2 Cups all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 ½ cups milk (plus more if your batter is too thick)
1 cup ricotta
2 eggs
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon


Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt cinnamon and nutmeg. In another bowl, whisk together the milk, ricotta, eggs, melted butter, canned pumpkin. Pour the milk mixture into the flour and stir until combined.

Spray griddle with cooking spray and cook pancakes over medium heat(you may need to reduce the temp to low after the pan heats up so your pancakes don't get too dark). These pancakes take a little longer to bubble and cook around the edges, so be patient and don't flip them too soon.

Makes approx 20 pancakes