Spinach Lemon Ricotta Pancakes 

These Spinach Lemon Ricotta Pancakes are UNREAL! They’re not only flavourful but also soft, with an ideal moist texture. Additionally, you will love the vibrant green colour for St. Patrick’s Day. Or perhaps you’re serving these as “Ninja” or “Hulk” pancakes, as I would for my nephew. Also, if you are curious about the nutrition of Ricotta, check out our recent post dedicated to this awesome protein source.

Make Ahead TIP:

A time-saving trick for these Spinach Lemon Ricotta pancakes (and can do the same with muffin mixes too) is to combine all your dry ingredients ahead of time. You can store them in labelled Ziploc bags. Then, when you are ready to cook, you can simply collect your wet ingredients and add them to the pre-mixed and measured dry ingredients. After all, when you are measuring dry ingredients, you might as well batch them into multiple portions to save time later. Remember: Your future self will ALWAYS thank you for prepping or planning ahead!

When is National Spinach Day?

March 26th is National Spinach Day! We all know that getting our greens is important for our health. Let’s celebrate all of the versatile ways we enjoy spinach in our diet – Spinach Salads, added to curries or Stir-fry’s, soups, smoothies or spinach omelets. You can also add it to baking, like I did with these Spinach Lemon Ricotta Pancakes.

Nutrition of Spinach

Spinach is packed with nutrition and it’s as enjoyable cooked as it is raw. Spinach has 14 calories in a two cup raw serving along with 112% of your daily vitamin A, which is important to keep our eyes, skin and immune system healthy. This superfood contains carotenoids and lutein, which are forms of vitamin A and important for our vision.

Interestingly, cooking spinach increases the amount of beta carotene by as much as three times! This is because the heat helps break down oxalic acid bonds that help our body absorb certain antioxidants better. Consequently, cooking spinach increases the bioavailability of not only vitamin A but also iron, calcium and vitamin E. The same increased absorption occurs with cooked or canned tomatoes, which increases the lycopene! Nevertheless, raw spinach is still a nutritious choice and tends to be slightly higher in vitamin C and B vitamins, which are more heat-sensitive.

Now without further adieu, let’s dive into this delectable

Spinach Lemon Ricotta Pancakes recipe!

• Serves: 4-6
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp Kosher salt (½ tsp if iodized salt)
• 1.5 cups milk (I used 1%)
• ½ cup ricotta cheese
• 2 eggs (cracked into a small dish)
• 2 cups spinach
• ½ lemon, juiced
• 2 tbsp butter for cooking

Spinach Lemon Ricotta Pancakes Directions:

1. Firstly, have a blender and a large bowl handy – a spoon, pancake flipper and spatula too.
2. Then, in the large bowl, combine all dry ingredient – flour, baking powder, sugar, salt. Stir using spoon. (Could also make extra portions of dry ingredients here for future!)
3. In a blender, add your wet ingredients – milk, ricotta, two eggs and spinach. Blend until ingredients are a smooth, green mixture.
4. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in your green, wet ingredients. Stir gently to combine but don’t over-mix. Add more wet mixture and stir to combine. Finally, add lemon juice and stir.
5. Heat a non-stick pan or griddle to medium. Add butter and allow it to melt and ensure pan is coated.
6. Then, add the Spinach Pancake batter in half cup or ¼ cup sizes, according to your preference. When bubbles start to form, flip the pancakes over. It will take roughly a minute or two per side for golden brown pancakes.

Finally, serve with Maple Syrup and enjoy!

Spinach Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

Yield: 6

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

These Spinach Ricotta Pancakes are festive and delicious! Plus, they're a nice way to boost your greens intake and calcium!

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Ingredients

• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp Kosher salt (½ tsp if iodized salt)
• 1.5 cups milk (I used 1%)
• ½ cup ricotta cheese
• 2 eggs (cracked into a small dish)
• 2 cups spinach
• ½ lemon, juiced
• 2 tbsp butter for cooking

Instructions

1. Have a blender and large bowl handy for this recipe.
2. In the large bowl, combine all dry ingredient – flour, baking powder, sugar, salt – stir using spoon.
3. In a blender, add your wet ingredients – milk, ricotta, two eggs and spinach. Blend into ingredients are a smooth, green mixture.
4. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in your green, wet ingredients. Stir gently to combine but don’t over-mix. Add in more wet mixture and stir to combine. Finally, add in lemon juice and stir.
5. Heat a non-stick pan or griddle to medium. Add butter and allow it to melt and ensure pan is coated.
6. Add the Spinach Pancake batter in half cup or ¼ cup sizes, according to your preference. When bubbles start to form, flip the pancakes over. It will take roughly a minute or two per side for golden brown pancakes.
7. Serve with Maple Syrup and enjoy!