RICOTTA PIE – a timeless Italian recipe

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Hi there,

There are nearly as many versions of Italian-style ricotta pie out there as there are Italian grandmothers, but I thought this one was nearly perfect. It was rich, creamy and just slightly sweet. Perfect for after dinner or for a breakfast treat the next morning — if there are any leftovers. This recipe came to me from my dear friend, Roslie. Every Easter her wonderful mother, Franny, would start baking and every once in a while one of these delicious pies would show up at my door. It was always the very best Easter treat.

“The only way cheese is dessert is when it’s followed by the word cake.” ― Michele Gorman

Franny’s Crustless Ricotta Pie 

Ingredients:

2 LBS RICOTTA CHEESE 

2 WHOLE EGGS

1 EGG WHITE

1 HEAPING TSP OF VANILLA

1/3 CUP SUGAR

PUMPKIN PIE SPICE (OPTIONAL/MAKES EXTRA FLAVORFUL)

RIND FROM 1/2 OF LEMON AND 1/2 OF ORANGE

CINNAMON 

BUTTER 9×9 BAKING DISH

BLEND (WITH HAND BLENDER) EGGS, SUGAR, VANILLA AND, IF USING, PUMPKIN PIE SPICE

ADD TO ABOVE RICOTTA CHEESE AND CONTINUE TO BLEND

FOLD IN LEMON AND ORANGE RIND

Preparation:

POUR THE ABOVE MIXTURE INTO BUTTERED PIE DISH, SPRINKLE WITH CINNAMON, PLACE ONTO MIDDLE RACK OF PRE-HEATED 350 DEGREE OVEN AND BAKE FOR ONE HOUR.  AFTER ONE HOUR, TURN OFF OVEN AND LEAVE PIE IN THE OVEN FOR 1/2 HOUR WITH OVEN DOOR AJAR.  REMOVE FROM OVEN AND COOL AT ROOM TEMPERATURE, BEFORE PLACING INTO THE REFRIGERATOR.   IF DESIRED, CAN TOP WITH PINAPPLE OR BERRIES, ALTHOUGH, TOTALLY YUMMY WITH OR WITHOUT FRUIT…  

28 responses to “RICOTTA PIE – a timeless Italian recipe”

  1. It looks delicious and easy directions. I must admit I haven’t had the opportunity to try this dessert, but I’m thinking I need to rectify that. 🙂

  2. Book Club Mom – Book Club Mom w/4 kids. Book blogger. Work in a library. Jersey Girl & all-around mom. https://linktr.ee/BookClubMom
    Book Club Mom says:

    This looks delicious and having it for breakfast the next day would be hard to resist!

  3. Bern, as soon as I saw your Ricotta Pie title, I had a feeling it would be Rosalie’s mother’s recipe. We’ve enjoyed it many times. And you’re right about there being so many different recipes. What my mother made was vert different and had a crust, but just as delicious. Rosalie’s is as light as a cloud! Thank you for this beautiful post!

  4. Angie@Angie's Recipes – Angie's Recipes is an interactive blog dedicated to sharing yummy & creative recipes, helpful cooking hints and tips. Enjoy your visit and spread the word!
    Angie@Angie’s Recipes says:

    This sounds and looks like a perfect cheese pie to me.

  5. Dorothy's New Vintage Kitchen – I'm a writer, cook, gardener, photographer, poet, quilter, and accomplished daydreamer. I'm also a wife, mother, grandmother, sister. cousin, aunt, and friend, no particular order on any given day. I've been a writer all my life, newspaper reporter and columnist, radio news writer, and magazine contributor, and poet and short-story writer as the spirit moves. Now, I turn my attention to my cookbook, the blog, and a cooking column "Memorable Meals," which runs in our county newspaper. Besides my family, I love dogs, cats, good coffee, chocolate, and my never-dwindling pile of books I intend to read. Our family ran a small Vermont Inn for 18 years, with our focus on local, organic ingredients. I cook from scratch, and try not to use anything that has ingredients I cannot pronounce! After many years of daily serving up local delicacies, cooking classes, and catering, we are now only open for special events, and the odd cooking class. We also host musicians and artists, having helped produce a musical festival and other musical events for nearly 20 years. Many incredible artists have found a place at our table. Wonderful experiences, we will treasure always. My family and friends are my practice subjects. With a family that includes nut, peanut, tree fruit, and vegetable allergies, gluten intolerance, dairy intolerance, vegetarians, vegans, heart conscious, and a couple of picky eaters, there has to be a few quick tricks in the book to keep everyone fed and happy! Personally, I do not eat red meat or most full-fat dairy (usually) for health reasons, making the occasional exception at Thanksgiving and Christmas or our anniversary if the duck is locally raised. I do eat fish and seafood, so I try to come up with alternatives and substitutions when available. I serve local organic eggs and cheeses to my family who can tolerate dairy (My husband recently had a heart attack, and I need to watch my own cholesterol so I am careful, but have been known to let a little piece of really good cheese accidentally fall on my plate!). I believe strongly that eating in a way that is good for our planet is also good for our bodies, and I try to educated myself about our food sources! I cook by the seasons and draw on inspiration from the strong and talented women in my family who came before me, as well as the youth in the family who look at the world with fresh eyes. Food links us all, whether sharing a meal, cooking it together, or writing about it for others to enjoy. I love taking an old recipe and giving it a modern spin, especially if I can make it a littler healthier and use foods that are kinder to the Earth and to our bodies. I believe strongly in sustainable, delicious eating of whole foods, and the wonderful flavors we have at our fingertips! And finally, I love conversing with all the talented cooks and chefs out there who dot the globe! It's a wonderful, world full of culinary pen pals, and I cherish them all! XXXOOO Dorothy
    Dorothy’s New Vintage Kitchen says:

    How wonderful to have one of these pies show up at one’s door! Delightful!

  6. the Painted Apron – Life is all about creativity for me, as long as I'm creating something I am happy! I hope I will inspire your daily life and give you ideas for your own wonderful creations!
    the Painted Apron says:

    I’ve never had ricotta pie, it sounds like a bite of heaven!
    Jennaa

  7. Darlene – British Columbia, Canada – Writer of children's stories, short stories and travel articles. https://twitter.com/#!/supermegawoman http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=201634059868404&id=631897250&ref=notif&notif_t=like#!/pages/Darlene-Foster-Writer/362236842733
    Darlene says:

    This looks so good. I will be making this. Thanks.

  8. I have never tasted ricotta pie Bernadette, it looks delicious!

  9. Hi Bernadette, this sounds fabulous. I have a ricotta baked cheesecake recipe with is fairly similar but it has a pie crust.

  10. D. Wallace Peach – 30 Miles beyond the edge of civilization, Oregon – I'm an adventurer in writing, peering under rocks in my garden for secret magic. I can't stop writing. My stories want to explode from my head. They demand my attention and surge from my fingertips faster than I can put them to paper. I love what I do.
    D. Wallace Peach says:

    That sounds wonderful, Bernadette, and something I can eat on my diet too. Yum. Thanks to Roslie for her sharing her mother’s recipe. 🙂

  11. CarolCooks2 – Udon Thani – Enjoying life in The Land Of Smiles I am having so much fun researching, finding new, authentic recipes both Thai and International to share with you. New recipes gleaned from those who I have met on my travels or are just passing through and stopped for a while. I hope you enjoy them. I love shopping at the local markets, finding fresh, natural ingredients, new strange fruits and vegetable ones I have never seen or cooked with. I am generally the only European person and attract much attention and I love to try what I am offered and when I smile and say Aroy or Saab as it is here in the north I am met with much smiling. Some of my recipes may not be in line with traditional ingredients and methods of cooking but are recipes I know and have become to love and maybe if you dare to try you will too. You will always get more than just a recipe from me as I love to research and find out what other properties the ingredients I use contain to improve our health and wellbeing. This is now taking me into other areas like deforestation, chemicals and preservatives in the food chain. Exciting for me hence the title of my blog, Retired No One Told Me! I am having a wonderful ride and don’t want to get off, so if you wish to follow me on my adventures, then welcome! I hope you enjoy the ride also and if it encourages you to take a step into the unknown or untried, you know you want to…….Then, I will be happy!
    CarolCooks2 says:

    This sounds delicios and with no crust something I would definigely like… 😀

  12. cookingwithloveandspices – Texas, USA – Cooking is my art form. I love to have fun with flavors and really enjoy the food. It just so happens that my food is part of a healthy lifestyle. My blog is dedicated to my mom and grandmother because I learned to cook by watching them. I love to cook for my friends and make them feel welcome in my home. WELCOME to my blog:)
    cookingwithloveandspices says:

    This looks so good. I am not able to eat sugar for health reasons. All the ingredients in your recipe are keto except for the sugar. Could I use stevia instead?

      • cookingwithloveandspices – Texas, USA – Cooking is my art form. I love to have fun with flavors and really enjoy the food. It just so happens that my food is part of a healthy lifestyle. My blog is dedicated to my mom and grandmother because I learned to cook by watching them. I love to cook for my friends and make them feel welcome in my home. WELCOME to my blog:)
        cookingwithloveandspices says:

        Okay, I will try it with stevia.

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