Fluffy.

Lemony.

And totally vegan.

I was at this fancy, schmancy restaurant the other day in Santa Barbara and they featured these amazing looking lemon ricotta pancakes on the menu. Of course, I couldn’t delight in them because they were full of eggs and dairy.

But, I WOULD NOT BE DENIED!!

I was determined to go home and make a dairy-free, egg free version!

And that’s exactly what I did. The very next morning, I whipped up these vegan lemon ricotta pancakes and they were, hands down, the BEST pancakes I’ve ever eaten!

So, get ready to eat the best pancakes you’ve ever eaten!

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links for products I use and love. If you make a purchase after clicking one of those links, I may earn a small affiliate commission, perhaps enough to buy some extra gochujang or gochugaru 🙂

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My Goals In Making These Vegan Lemon Ricotta Pancakes.

I had three goals when setting forth to make these vegan lemon ricotta pancakes:

Fluffy. It was important to me that the pancakes were the opposite of dense. Because I hate dense pancakes and I honestly think that many vegan pancakes are exactly that. Another thing I hate? I hate gummy pancakes. That’s a mistake that many beginner “pancakers” make–whether they’re making vegan or non-vegan pancakes. Instead, I wanted tender, fluffy pancakes that achieved plenty of height. And that’s exactly what we have with these vegan lemon ricotta pancakes.

Lemony. I hate things that are advertised as “lemon” something or other and then you barely get a hint of lemon taste. I wanted these pancakes to be screaming in your face “HI I HAVE LOTS OF LEMON IN ME DON’T YOU THINK I’M SO LEMONY I AM A LEMON MACHINE.” We thus use both lemon zest and lemon juice for these babies. These vegan lemon ricotta pancakes will be extraordinarily lemony.

Delicious. I mean, I guess it goes without saying, but here’s the thing–I’m actually not a big fan of pancakes. Thus, they have to be REALLY GOOD to move the needle on my pancake-ometer. My husband, Anthony? He’s a bit easier to please, but for me, they have to be pretty special to make them worthy of breakfast.

Key Ingredients and Notes on Substitutions for Vegan Lemon Ricotta Pancakes.

These lemon ricotta pancakes will have many of the usual suspects. However, I did have to get a little creative to account for the protein one typically finds in eggs for these vegan lemon ricotta pancakes.

Let’s get into it!

Lemon.

As the name of this dish suggests–vegan lemon ricotta pancakes–there’s lemon in this recipe! We’ll be using both lemon juice and lemon zest. And, nope. There’s no substitute for lemon in vegan lemon ricotta pancakes.

Vegan Ricotta Cheese.

The second non-substitutable ingredient for these vegan lemon ricotta pancakes is, you guessed it! Ricotta! There are now so many vegan options for vegan ricotta that I doubt you’ll even bat an eye at this. But, for me, I really enjoy Kite Hill’s ricotta (they even have this fancy whipped version). One of my favorite companies, Tofutti, also has a great dairy free ricotta, as does another dairy-free cheesemonger, Treeline.

Vegan Blueberries.

Yes, this recipe calls for vegan blueberries. Uh huh. Yup. Vegan blueberries. You know, as opposed to the non-vegan ones that have dairy in them.

HAHAHAHAHA, I gotcha, didn’t I? I’m sorry, are you rolling your eyes at me? Well, I’m writing this recipe two days before Thanksgiving and as you might imagine–as a food content creator–I’m absolutely and utterly brain fried. So, I’m injecting my brand of corny levity into this post. You know. For SEO-ing.

In any event, yes, you’re going to need some blueberries for these vegan lemon ricotta pancakes. Why? Because in addition to a recipe for the pancakes, I’m also going to include in here a beautiful recipe for an absolutely WILDLY delectable blueberry sauce to pour all over the lemony vegan lemon ricotta pancakes. You can use frozen or fresh blueberries for the sauce. Don’t have blueberries? Go ahead and use blackberries or raspberries!

Sugar.

Yes, this recipe contains sugar. Not as much sugar as one might think for pancakes, but sugar nonetheless. Can you substitute with your favorite sweetener? For the pancakes, sure, but you will likely end up with less fluffy, flatter pancakes. For the blueberry sauce, you can definitely substitute to your heart’s content with maple syrup, agave, date sugar, coconut sugar, etc.

Silken Tofu.

Wait, whut?

I know, I know. There’s probably no other recipe for pancakes on the planet that calls for silken tofu. But we need to come up with the fat and protein from eggs somehow, right? And silken tofu does an excellent job of mimicking an egg yolk. It’s also pretty readily accessible to most folks.

Can’t find silken tofu? Soft or medium firm tofu will do just fine. If you can’t find something on the softer side, you can also use firm tofu–you’re just going to have to blend it up with 1 tablespoon of water to get it to the right consistency.

Aquafaba.

If you’re vegan, you have to have seen this coming.

Aquafaba–the liquid in an unsalted, non-BPA can of chickpeas–is a staple of egg-free baking. It is absolutely miraculous how well it mimics egg whites (have you even lived if you haven’t tried whipping up aquafaba into a meringue?).

If you don’t have a can of chickpeas handy, you can also use plant milk. Any kind of plant milk you like.

Soy Milk.

This recipe calls for soy milk. Not any old plant milk, but soy milk. Why? Because again, we need all the protein help we can get. I’m not trying to win a bodybuilding contest. I’m trying to achieve height with our vegan lemon ricotta pancakes. That requires protein, because protein helps with creating the structure for our dairy-free flapjacks.

If you don’t have or want to use soy milk, the next best thing will be oat milk.

Step-by-Step Instructions for Making Vegan Lemon Ricotta Pancakes.

Step 1.

First, make the blueberry sauce. How? Throw an entire cup of fresh (or frozen) blueberries into a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add to it 2 tablespoons of sugar (or maple syrup), along with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Continue stirring with whisk until sugar dissolves and sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Step 2.

To make the pancake batter, start by making the vegan buttermilk: whisk together your soy milk with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. You’ll see it has an immediate curdling effect. That is what you want. Set that aside.

Step 3.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, and salt. Then, to a large bowl, add your sugar along with your lemon zest. Then, get in there with your hands and massage the sugar with the lemon zest. This massaging action is what will make your pancakes extra lemony so don’t skip it!!

Step 4.

To the bowl with the lemonized sugar, add your aquafaba and silken tofu. Whisk up until the silken tofu has broken up and the aquafaba is foamy. Then, add vegan buttermilk, ricotta, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Stir everything together until well-combined. Then, pour in your dry ingredients and stir until all the dry ingredients have been incorporated.

Step 5.

To a large griddle or non-stick pan over low heat, add a little oil or more butter. When the butter has melted, add about 1/4 cup of your batter to the griddle, using your spoon to make sure it doesn’t spread out too much.

If you really want to get some height, place a greased cookie cutter (about 3 1/2 inches in diameter) right on your pan and pour your batter into the cookie cutter. Place the lid of a large pan on top of your pancake and let it cook for about 2 to 3 minutes, until the bottom is golden brown. Flip and repeat. Serve vegan lemon ricotta pancakes with blueberry sauce.

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