lemon-ricotta overnight pancake casserole with blueberries
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pancake casserole
it’s totally a thing
and this lemon-ricotta overnight pancake casserole with blueberries would make an excellent addition to your Easter brunch table
It’s fair to say that I am a pancake enthusiast.
Luckily, the kids join me in my love of pancakes, so I can make them all I want with not a complaint to be heard.
Classic buttermilkΒ pancakes make a delicious breakfast any day of the week. We cannot get enough chicken and pancakes for a fun breakfast for dinnerΒ option, and thin mint pancakes are pretty much delicious any time of day or night.
But without a doubt, my favorite way to do pancakes is in a casserole.
Pancake casseroles are perfect for holiday weekends because all the work is done the night before. In the morning you just make the streusel topping and pop it in the oven.
Breakfast or brunch entertaining made easy.
For Easter I decided to try a springy pancake casserole.
Lemon-Ricotta pancakes are a favorite around here, and I adore lemon with blueberry, so a new version of the pancake casserole was born,
and if you ask me, it blows the original out of the water – well it would if we had any water here in California.
Ingredients
- for the pancakes -
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 cup milk
- 3 eggs, separated
- 1/4 cup sugar
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon, I used meyer lemon
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 Tbs. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- for the custard -
- 2 cups of cream
- 6 eggs
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup blueberries
- for the streusel -
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 4 Tbsp butter, melted
Instructions
- begin by preparing the pancakes
- whisk together the ricotta,milk, egg yolks, sugar, and the lemon zest and juice
- combine the flour, baking powder and salt, sift over the ricotta mixture, and stir until combined
- whisk the egg whites until they have soft peaks
- gently fold the egg whites into batter
- pre-heat your griddle to medium, and spray with non-stick cooking spray (I use coconut oil)
- ladle 1/4 up batter per pancake
- cook until bubbles form on the surface, flip, and cook until cooked through
- you should end up with 24 pancakes
- cut each pancake in half
- place cut side down in a well greased casserole dish
- make the custard by whisking the cream with the eggs and sugar
- pour over the pancakes, and sprinkle on the blueberries
- cover and refrigerate overnight
- remove casserole one hour before baking, and pre-heat the oven to 350 F.
- to make the streusel combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter
- crumble the streusel over the pancakes
- bake @ 350 F. for 40 - 45 minutes until the custard is set and the top is nicely browned
Enjoy!
Brunch or Breakfast ideas from friends –
raspberry dutch baby – lemons for lulu
lemon blueberry sweet rolls – something swanky
healthier hot cross buns – kalyn’s kitchen
you may also enjoy
whole wheat strawberry muffins
This would be such a wonderful breakfast to wake up to!!! YUM!!!
thanks Amanda!
This looks just incredible! My girls are pancake fanatics so I know they’re going to love this!
pancake fanatic here too ) thanks, and I hope they do
This is just plain awesome!!!
why thank you π
I luv this idea of a pancake casserole!! I haven’t seen anything like it before. Makes me happy that it’s pancakes, lemon and ricotta – some of my favorite things -and your images of the casserole are beautiful! π
thanks so very much cristina
This is just so darn fun! π I love the combination of lemon and blueberry in pancakes but add the ricotta? Thats going above and beyond in my book! π
it’s hard to beat lemon ricotta pancakes; thanks Alice
I can’t wait to try this!
thanks Jackie – if you do, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did
Oh my word. Pancake casserole? GENIUS. Can I come over for breakfast? Purdy please?
the more the merrier :)thanks Meg
This is a seriously brilliant idea. I would never have thought to make a pancake casserole. Going to have to give this recipe to my husband to make for Mother’s Day.
I was thinking the same thing π thanks Christie
I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a pancake casserole. Must try one soon π
I first made one at Christmas, and fell in love – now I want to make them all the time
Ok, I’m obsessed! I want this on my Easter brunch table!
thanks so much!! I’m kind of obsessed with it too π
This is really very clever! I’ve never seen anything like it before and I have loads of pancake mix – I will try it soon. Thanks for posting.
thanks Barbara – I just love a good casserole, and make ahead meals are perfect for holidays
Oh my! This is a splendid idea. I love how you put the little ricotta pancakes in there. Looks delicious. Pinning to try later.
thanks Lisa – I love lemon ricotta pancakes, and the blueberries just add a little extra YUM
OMG this looks easy and delicious! What incredible flavors! Definitely need to try this!
thanks so much Lynn!
Pancake casserole?! I’ve heard and made french toast casserole and I am now wondering why the idea of pancake casserole has never crossed my mind. And these flavors…mind blown. This looks fantastic!! Thank you!
thank you! I first made a pancake casserole at Christmas, and it was such a hit, I knew I had to try other varieties
I’ve never had a pancake casserole, this just makes me so excited! I love these pictures too, they are stunning!
thanks Tanya! it’s the best way to feed pancakes to a crowd for sure
Great idea! We often make pancakes with cottage cheese or ricotta, but I’ve never thought of a cassarole! My husband has a huge dislike for bread pudding, does this turn out similar? It looks a lot less gooey than bread pudding so he might try it….
it is less gooey, pretty firm actually, but because it’s made with the egg and cream – you do get a custard taste – but not the texture
Such a gorgeous breakfast Heather! Definitely need to try this soon!
thanks so much Krista
This is such an absolutely fun breakfast idea!!!! I love that you used pancakes instead of bread…so creative girl!!!
thanks Jocelyn!! I just love my pancakes
This is so unique and your photos are lovely! Pinning π
thanks you so much Medha
I’ve never heard of a pancake casserole! Such a smart idea. Perfect for a Sunday π
thanks so much! I love a good casserole
This looks wonderful! I love that most of the work is done the night before, so there is very little to do in the morning except to smell the pancake breakfast heating up in the oven.
those are the best kinds of meals if you ask me π
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How delicious does this look! Oh my goodness! This would make for the perfect weekend breakfast! Looks absolutely amazing!!!
thanks so much Maria
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Hi! For the last step with the custard before refrigeration…. the custard is really runny right? I tried to get it to thinken by whisking longer but it didn’t. My dish right now looks like pancakes drowning in custard but maybe it will look different in the morning? I just want to make sure it is going to turn out. You didn’t have any precooked pictures so just curious.
Thanks much!! Shaila
no, the custard won’t set up until you bake it it should be runny
Can I leave out the ricotta? Or substitute cream cheese?
the ricotta creates a light texture – you could try cream cheese – but they will be more dense. I have not made them with any ricotta substitutions
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Hey this dish looks amazing, i just had a question, when you write “Cream” what kinda cream do you mean? is it whipped cream? or cream as in sour cream?
thanks π
thank you so much, i use heavy cream for this recipe
Can you freeze the lemon blueberry pancake casserole? If so, how long do you thaw and bake?
i have never tried this frozen but i would suggest baking it first, then once cooled,freeze. to serve thaw and bake @300 to warm it up – probably 30 mninutes