Ricotta Cheese
Ricotta is a soft, light Italian whey cheese, traditionally 're-cooked' from the leftover whey of other cheesemaking, with a delicate, slightly sweet flavor.
How to buy
Fresh ricotta from an Italian deli or specialty counter is noticeably creamier and more flavorful than supermarket tubs, which often contain stabilizers. It should look moist, white, and fluffy, not watery or dry and grainy. Ricotta salata is a firm, salted, aged cheese meant for grating, a different product from fresh ricotta despite the shared name.
How to store
Refrigerate tightly sealed and use within about a week of opening, since it's a fresh, high-moisture cheese. Drain off excess liquid before baking with it to avoid a watery result. Freezing changes the texture, making it grainier, though it still works fine in cooked fillings like lasagna.
Culinary profile
- Flavor
- Mild, lightly sweet, and milky, with a faint whey tang; it readily takes on other flavors like lemon zest, herbs, or honey.
- Texture
- Soft, light, and slightly grainy, less dense and smooth than cream cheese; it whips easily to an even creamier consistency.
- Aroma
- A mild, fresh, faintly sweet dairy aroma with little funk.
How to prepare
- Folded into fillings — Mixed with egg and herbs to fill ravioli, stuffed shells, or manicotti.
- Layered — Spread between sheets of pasta in lasagna for a light, creamy layer.
- Baked — Blended into cheesecakes and tarts for a lighter texture than cream cheese.
- Whipped and spread — Beaten smooth and spread on toast, often topped with honey or fruit.
Classic dishes
American
- Ricotta pancakes — Pancakes made extra fluffy and rich by folding ricotta into the batter.
- Ricotta toast with honey — Toasted bread spread with whipped ricotta and drizzled with honey.
Italian
- Ravioli di ricotta — Fresh pasta parcels filled with a mixture of ricotta and herbs.
- Lasagna with ricotta — Layered pasta baked with ricotta spread between sheets alongside sauce and mozzarella.
- Manicotti — Tube pasta or crepes filled with a seasoned ricotta mixture and baked in tomato sauce.
- Cannoli — Fried pastry shells filled with sweetened, often citrus-flecked ricotta cream.
- Ricotta cheesecake — A lighter, grainier style of cheesecake built on ricotta instead of cream cheese.
- Sfogliatelle — A crisp, shell-shaped pastry filled with sweetened ricotta and candied fruit.
- Ricotta and spinach stuffed shells — Pasta shells filled with a ricotta and spinach mixture and baked in tomato sauce.
- Crostata with ricotta — An open-faced tart filled with a sweetened ricotta custard.
- Gnudi — Soft dumplings made mostly of ricotta, lightly bound with flour and egg.
- Calzone — A folded pizza pocket filled with ricotta, mozzarella, and other fillings.
- Ricotta-stuffed zucchini blossoms — Delicate squash blossoms filled with seasoned ricotta and lightly fried.
- Baked ziti — Tube pasta baked in tomato sauce with dollops of ricotta throughout.
- Pastiera napoletana — A traditional Neapolitan Easter cake filled with a ricotta and wheat custard.
- Ricotta gnocchi — Light dumplings made with ricotta in place of or alongside potato.
Substitutions
- Cottage Cheese — Lumpier and tangier; blend smooth for a closer match in baking.
- Cream Cheese — Denser and richer; thin slightly and expect a heavier result in fillings.