If you make your own cheese on occasion you can consider it to be “a…
Quinoa Ricotta Blueberry Pancakes
Recipe Inspired by Southern Hill Farms, Clermont, FL.
These gluten-free pancakes are packed full of protein, fiber, calcium, vitamins, and antioxidants from, of course, BLUEBERRIES! Power up your day with a tall stack of these healthy pancakes!

I was tempted to name these “Feel Good Pancakes”. It’s amazing how when you walk away from a pancake feast you feel bloated and ready for a nap. With this special recipe, you’ll walk away from breakfast or brunch feeling energized and ready for whatever the day brings you!

I wish I would have had these flapjacks prior to visiting Southern Hill Farms for blueberry picking because I was drained and exhausted from trying to pick the most perfect blueberries. When we finally learned the best bushes and rows to find the sweet and plump ones, there was only one thing on my mind…blueberry pancakes!
I’ll stop for a second because this recipe wouldn’t be anything without Southern Hill Farms. I visited late May towards the end of their U-pick season. One of my co-workers would go all throughout the year and kept telling me to get some blueberries! I almost drove there just to grab some pre-picked berries, but what’s the fun in that?
I learned quickly that blueberry picking by hand is no joke. You get your squats in for the day and you gain a new found respect for the berry. After forty five minutes of picking, my friend and I had a combined total of one pound! They warned us about not picking too many as it gets costly but seeing the pace we were going and feeling the burn in my legs, I knew I wasn’t in danger of overpicking berries.

I knew I wanted pancakes but I was also super nervous by the time I got home and started drawing up the recipe, fearing that the berries would be gone. They were sooooo good I couldn’t stop eating them! I was safe though, I took home three pounds (no, I didn’t pick those all, I bought them) and portioned them out over a week’s time.
I also wanted to make a pancake like I’ve never made before. Something that I could make ahead, eat through the week and still feel great about consuming a stack of cakes for breakfast. So I splurged on yet another ingredient and bought organic whole grain quinoa flour.

This flour works perfectly because it’s not mealy like other flour substitutes. Quinoa in general is full of fiber and protein, amongst the other health benefits. I knew I was doing right with this flour.
Leave it to me to add cheese to something. Ricotta (especially the lighter ricotta) has less sodium, is full of calcium and protein too so it seemed like a great choice. Plus, I keep seeing lemon ricotta pancakes all over the place so this was a great opportunity to get that fix!
Most importantly, the star of the show was the blueberries. They’re huge and super juicy. They just popped open in the cakes and added a nice and light balance of flavor. There’s just something about blueberry pancakes that makes waking up and hopping down to the kitchen even more exciting. Cooking with fresh picked blueberries … GAME CHANGER!

Quinoa Lemon Ricotta Blueberry Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups quinoa flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups almond or cashew milk low fat, unsweetened
- 1 cup low fat or fat free ricotta cheese
- ⅓ cup egg substitute or egg whites (or 2 large eggs) fat free
- 1 large lemon zest and juice
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon stevia
- 1 ½ cups blueberries
- maple syrup low sugar or sugar free
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl combine all dry ingredients such as flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside.
- In another large mixing bowl add ricotta, eggs, lemon, vanilla, stevia and milk. Whisk together until evenly combined.
- Slowly add dry ingredients to the wet mixture and gently combine. Fold in blueberries and set aside.
- Preheat a skillet to medium-high and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Scoop about ¼ cup of batter into the heated skillet and allow one side of the pancake to cook for about 1-2 minutes until the base of the pancake starts to bubble. Gently flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes on the other side.
- Visually check the centers as there should be little to no raw batter visable. That's when you know the pancakes are done.
- Set aside and let cool or serve right away with extra blueberries and syrup!
Notes
Nutrition
