31 Ricotta Cheese Recipes for Any Meal of the Day
There's so much more to ricotta cheese than making lasagna filling.
Whether your taste runs salty or sweet, these ricotta cheese recipes prove this versatile ingredient is one you can depend on to enhance your cooking. You can’t make lasagna without it, and ricotta-stuffed pasta is classic Southern Italian. But it can also be the secret ingredient that makes your pancakes or meatballs extra light. Or an unexpectedly delightful stand-in for whipped cream or cream cheese in ricotta dessert recipes. With these ricotta cheese recipes, you’ll never wonder how to use up that tub again.
Related: Cheesy Casserole Recipes That Will Have Your Family Begging for Seconds
Cranberry-Ricotta Pancakes with Salted Maple Butter
Yes, these are pancakes, but flavored for fall! This ricotta cheese recipe channels all the cozy warmth of the season with fresh or thawed frozen cranberries, oranges, and butter that does double duty with its infusion of maple syrup. Opt for a darker syrup for the greatest depth in flavor.
Related: Does Maple Syrup Need to Be Refrigerated? Here’s How to Store It
Easy Homemade Fritters
The secret ingredient to these fritters? Ricotta cheese! These puffy, golden treats come together in just one bowl and one pot of hot frying oil, with a sprinkling of powdered sugar. Let the kids take part in the final step—shaking them in the coating is half the fun!
Spinach Ricotta Pie
This ricotta cheese recipe for a classic quiche makes it more filling. Add healthy greens, such as spinach, artichoke hearts, herbs, and roasted sweet pepper, to complete your veggie quota at breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Flatbread with Whipped Ricotta and Peas
Carson Downing
Three types of peas—the most popular early-harvest vegetable—make this easy appetizer a perfect harbinger of spring. Lemony ricotta cheese and fresh dill are light, bright, and refreshing, nestled warmly in naan.
Related: How and When to Harvest Peas at Their Peak
Peas and Leeks Flatbread
Another flatbread with peas, which are a natural accompaniment to ricotta, this one adds a savory allium for sweet dimension. Mozzarella, Parmesan, and heavy cream amplify the richness of this ricotta cheese recipe, as do toasted pine nuts. Save this one for late spring!
Related: 9 Fast, Fresh Flatbread Recipes That Will Make You Forget Pizza
Ricotta, Gorgonzola, and Honey Spread
Give mild ricotta a kick with funky Gorgonzola. The bold flavors of the Gorgonzola are slightly softened and balanced to create a contrasting cheese pair. The natural sweetness of honey and sliced apples round out each bite.
Butternut-Sage Crostini with Ricotta and Hazelnuts
Perfect for fall holiday gatherings, this appetizer uses butternut squash as a base and seasoned ricotta cheese as the dollop on top. Don’t skip the chopped hazelnuts; opt for roasted if you can. Sage leaves are the suggested garnish, but a drizzle of more olive oil is always welcome on crostini.
Ricotta and Parmesan Spread
Combine two favorites in one tasty parmesan and ricotta cheese recipe that’s the perfect dip for toast points, fresh veggies, pita chips, crackers, and more. Fresh herbs like basil, oregano, and chives are stirred into the mixture for a flavor boost in every bite.
Related: 16 Make-Ahead Dips No One Will Be Able to Resist Dunking Into
Veggie-Pesto Lasagna Soup
This ready-in-an-hour recipe is a cozy choice for those nights when you want to curl up with a bowl of soup for dinner. Top this hearty, veggie-heavy soup with bite-sized lasagna noodles with a generous dollop of ricotta cheese and some pesto, which you can scoop to top off every spoonful.
Ricotta-Stuffed Shells
Ricotta cheese is frequently used in Italian food, and stuffing pasta with it is almost instinctual. Show off your creativity with this version of stuffed shells, where additions like mushrooms, fennel, and pine nuts will make it seem like you’ve been making this dish uniquely your own for years.
Veggie-Stuffed Pasta Shells
Fancy a version of stuffed shells that's a little less fancy? Try this simple one, which adds spinach for color, nutrition, and flavor. Using pantry staples like frozen spinach, pre-shredded Parmesan cheese, and jarred tomato sauce makes it an easy, budget-stretching ricotta cheese recipe that comes together with minimal prep.
Stuffed Manicotti
Pasta full of soft cheese never gets old. Trade shells for tubes with this ricotta cheese and jarred sauce recipe for a homemade meat version that comes together in minutes. A spinach-pancetta filling recipe and Parmesan sauce instructions offer inspiration to change things up, too.
Related: Cheesy Pasta-Stuffed Shells
Crispy Ricotta Meatballs with Sheet-Pan Tomato Sauce
Meatballs are always better with ricotta. They come out juicy and lighter than if you were to use milk, but this recipe has two more tricks up its sleeve—a panko coating to make them crisp and a roasted tomato sauce that's practically hands-off.
Cheesy Italian Meatball Casserole
Prefer your ricotta displayed rather than hidden as a secret ingredient? Then try this simplified ricotta cheese recipe, where instead of putting ricotta cheese in the meatballs, you drop it generously on top. It’s only one of the ready-to-use ingredients that make this the easiest meal everyone will clamor for.
Sausage Ravioli Filling
Ravioli is another ricotta cheese recipe Italian food fans love. This dish includes spinach and a hint of nutmeg to accent the sausage. Try browning some butter for the sauce for something a little different.
Spinach and Beef Calzones
Brie Goldman
Who says spinach and ricotta combos have to be white sauce and vegetarian? This meaty one combines some of your favorite Italian flavors, wrapping creamy ricotta, tasty ground beef, and fresh spinach in a golden pizza dough crust.
Related: How to Make Pizza Dough for Classic and Deep-Dish Pizzas
Classic Lasagna
Master the classic with this highly rated rendition, which includes photos to walk you through every step, from layering tricks to filling hacks. There's also make-ahead advice and a Bechamel version for the creamy sauce lover in all of us.
Skillet Turkey and Spinach Lasagna
Don’t feel like turning on the oven, getting out the bakeware, or waiting for lasagna? Then don’t. This healthy budget recipe comes together on the stovetop in less than half an hour of active work for a deconstructed quick dinner that is sure to satisfy.
Lemon Chicken with Olives and Ricotta
Alternatively, use the noodles but scrap the formula entirely. This modern deconstruction shares only the noodles and ricotta with lasagna. Sliced chicken breasts, lemons, and green olives make this a unique dinner in a bowl.
Bolognese Lasagna with Porcini-Ricotta Filling
Go for the gusto with a traditional Bolognese built around carrots, peppers, celery, and pancetta. This version of a ricotta cheese recipe alternates layers with a wine-laced tomato version for a stunning visual effect.
Related: Lasagna vs. Lasagne: We Asked an Expert to Explain the Spellings
Grandma’s White Pizza
Brie Goldman
A distinctly Long Island, NY style of pizza gets an even cheesier spin in this tomato-less iteration. These pan pizzas have thicker crust than traditional New York-style pizza but thinner than Sicilian. Either way, there's lots of cheese and flavor, which are present and accounted for in this ricotta cheese recipe.
Lemony Ricotta Summer Squash Galette
We’ll never get tired of the combination of lemon and ricotta, and part of that is because the duo plays so well with others. This simple galette is no exception, wrapping bright, tender zucchini and three types of cheese—including ricotta—in a refrigerated crust that pulls it together as easy as pie.
Chicken with Ricotta Dumplings
This fit-for-a-crowd dinner recipe is full of surprises: it’s made in one pan, takes only ten minutes to prep, can feed the family on a budget, and is sure to be a repeated request. Ricotta cheese makes the dumplings fluffy and light, even as they soak up all the flavors in the sauce and from the chicken as they gently bake together.
Italian Easter Pie
Grant Webster
Why wait for the holiday when you can have a meat pie any day? In this ricotta cheese recipe, ham, pepperoni, salami, and prosciutto are bound with eggs and mozzarella cheeses and studded with sesame seeds to create a hearty, savory deep dish pie that might not let you save room for dessert.
Related: 14 Savory Pies Totally Appropriate to Eat for Dinner
Overnight Ricotta Coffeecake
Try this spin-off of a baked good favorite—coffee cake. The “overnight” part of this ricotta cheese recipe sounds like it might take some work, but it only means you have to refrigerate the batter in its pan before baking.
Homemade Chocolate Cannoli
In the U.S., you’ll sometimes find cannoli brimming with mascarpone cheese or even sweet cream, but in Italy, ricotta is the traditional filling. It’s piped fresh into individual cannolo (“cannoli” is actually plural, a common misunderstanding since who can eat just one?) shells right before serving to avoid sogginess.
Cannoli Cupcakes
If you want cannoli flavors but want a make-ahead, batch-prepping convenience, skip the shell and turn cannoli cream into a cupcake frosting. All you need is ricotta cheese, vanilla, butter, milk, and plenty of powdered sugar to make the perfect complement to a cake that can include surprising pops of chocolate.
Orange-Ginger Ricotta Tart
Crystalized ginger baked right into the crust and an orange marmalade topping provide a zesty, refreshing profile that peps up the heavy richness of cream cheese and whole-milk ricotta cheese in this dessert. Give yourself plenty of time to allow this pastry to cool and chill, but count on this tasty tart being gone in no time!
Related: 14 Orange Desserts to Celebrate Citrus Season
Eton Mess with Strawberries & Whipped Ricotta
Lighten up for the decidedly eye-catching Eton Mess using whipped ricotta. Vanilla bean paste, cream, and powdered sugar are used to turn the cheese into a thick, fluffy base for this ricotta cheese recipe featuring strawberries soaked in orange liqueur and sugar.
Sweet Ricotta and Strawberry Parfaits
Neater than an Eton Mess but just as tasty, these individually served desserts also use ricotta and strawberries to satisfy sweet teeth. Feel free to swap out fresh strawberries for any other type of berry, but don’t skip the fresh mint for a delicious bite!
Pumpkin-Spiced Whoopie Pies
Give pumpkin spice superfans something to whoop about with this clever ricotta cheese recipe that doubles down on their favorite flavor. The decadent filling combines ricotta cheese and pumpkin sandwiched between cookies that also feature pumpkin spice. A white chocolate glaze topped with crushed pistachios makes this irresistible to anyone who lives for pumpkin season.
Favorite Italian Desserts
Top off your Italian dinner with a dessert that continues the night's theme. Ladyfingers and heavy cream are the base for tiramisu, the rich and creamy layered favorite with a hint of coffee flavor. Zabaglione is Italy's answer to pudding, made with eggs and, in true Italian style, Marsala wine. Limoncello Semifreddo combines the lemon-flavored liqueur with almond biscotti and, in a tart twist, balsamic vinegar for a flavorful finish to your meal. Vanilla-flavored panna cotta is a simply delicious option, light enough to be the finale of a robust feast.
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