This recipe for a Lattice Topped Ricotta Pie can easily be prepared in advance until ready to be served. Perfect for an Italian Easter celebration.
Ricotta Pie
I don’t know about you but I love ricotta cheese dessert recipes!
I’ve had this Italian pie recipe bookmarked for such a long time. I finally got a chance to try it and I am so glad that I did!
As you can see, there are two parts to this ricotta cheese pie: a crust and a filling.
The dough, an Italian sweet shortcrust pastry (also known as pasta frolla) is widely used as a base for tart and pie shells. I used a variation of this pasta frolla to make this Italian Ricotta Chocolate Tart recipe, and another no butter variation when making this Italian Jam Tart.
The filling for this easy ricotta pie consists of sweetened whipped ricotta and eggs and it is simply delicious.
Are you ready to begin?
How to Make Ricotta Pie:
Let’s begin by making this simple pie crust recipe.
Part 1: The crust
Pasta frolla is very easy to prepare and comes together in no time. This whole process will literally take about 5 minutes.
Simply pulse the dry ingredients with the cold butter in order to obtain a coarse texture. Add a slightly beaten egg and then pulse until the mixture begins to come together. It might take up to 20 pulses… don’t give up, eventually the dough will form into a ball.
Turn out the dough on a floured wooden board and form into a smooth round disc.
Wrap it up in cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (Dough can be refrigerated for up to three days or frozen for one month).
Part 2: The ricotta filling
This ricotta filling recipe is equally quick and easy to prepare.
One by one, incorporate all the ingredients together in your stand mixture. If you’re feeling bold, you can try making your own Homemade Ricotta Cheese (you can click on the link to see for yourself just how easy it is to make).
It’s important to scrape down the sides of the bowl and to properly incorporate the eggs, one at a time. It should take you less than 10 minutes to complete this part.
Now it’s time to roll out the dough (about 1/8 inch thick). Fold the dough in quarters and place it in your 9-inch pie plate.
Next, unfold the dough to fit your pie plate.
With a sharp knife, remove the dough that is overhanging from the sides.
If you have never rolled out dough before, this is a great recipe to begin with; it is an extremely forgiving dough.
Pour the filling in your pie pan. (Please note that if your ricotta filling is not yet made, refrigerate your prepared pie shell until ready to be filled). I tried to remove air bubbles in the ricotta mixture by dropping the pan gently on my countertop.
As far as the lattice top is concerned, you can take it or leave it. This Italian ricotta pie is equally great-tasting and great-looking without it. I re-rolled the extra dough and cut some strips that I placed on the top of the pie.
It’s only when you try something for yourself that you can truly appreciate how difficult it is to create the perfect lattice top for an Italian Easter ricotta pie
Place your pie on the oven grate located on the bottom third of a preheated oven, and in less than one hour you have a perfect Easter ricotta pie!
Serve the sweet ricotta cheese pie at room temperature in wedges.
Tips
- Use cold butter when making the crust, this is a must.
- Do not over manipulate the pie crust dough; once it comes together, form in a disc and refrigerate.
- Drain the ricotta as we do not want a soggy crust.
- You can prepare the pie 24 hours in advance and refrigerate until needed.
Can I still make the crust without a food processor? Yes, here is how…
- whisk together all of the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl;
- incorporate the cubed butter with your fingertips (can also grate the butter using the large holes of a box grater and then use your fingertips to incorporate);
- add the egg and gently “knead” until the mixture comes together;
- wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
Does Ricotta Pie need to be refrigerated? If you serve the pie the same day you make it, no, simply serve at room temperature. Otherwise, cover with cling wrap and refrigerate up to 2-3 days. When ready to serve, bring to room temperature.
Ricotta pie recipes we love
As you can probably guess, Italian tradition dictates having an Easter pie.
So much ricotta…so little time! More Easter recipes can be found in the Easter Category.
Recipe inspiration
Without a doubt, one of my favorite bakers is Nick Malgieri. (If you recall, a couple of weeks ago I shared his recipe for the strudel dough in the recipe for a Simple Italian Ricotta Cheese Strudel).
Today, I have adapted one of his pie recipes for this baked ricotta dessert. A few of my friends have stated that this pie tastes exactly like a Sicilian ricotta cheesecake.
No matter what you call it, one thing is for sure, if you like ricotta (like me), you’ll love this recipe!
THANKS SO MUCH for following and being part of the She Loves Biscotti community where you will find Simple & Tasty Family-Friendly Recipes with an Italian Twist.
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Ciao for now,
Maria
★★★★★ If you have made this Ricotta Pie Recipe, I would love to hear about it in the comments below and be sure to rate the recipe!
Ricotta Pie
Ingredients
The crust:
- 1 cup flour 142 grams, all purpose
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- pinch salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter cold and cut up in small pieces
- 1 egg slightly beaten
- extra flour for rolling
The filling:
- 2 cups ricotta whole milk, well-drained (about 15 oz)
- 5 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon white liquor rum, grappa,...
- 4 eggs
- 1 tablespoon milk optional, for brushing
Instructions
The crust:
- In a food processor combine the dry ingredients and pulse a few times.
- Add the cut-up butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse ground meal.
- Add the slightly beaten egg and pulse until the dough starts coming together.
- On a lightly floured wooden board, turn out the dough and form into a smooth disc, by pressing dough together.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 60 minutes.
The filling:
- Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl (of a stand mixer) beat the ricotta on low speed with the paddle attachment until smooth (approx 30 seconds). Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times.
- Slowly add the sugar and continue to beat for another 30 seconds or so.
- Add the lemon zest, cinnamon, liquor, and 1 egg.
- Beat until the egg is properly incorporated. Remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Continue to add one egg at a time, making sure to properly incorporate into the mixture and scraping down the sides of the bowl.
- Set aside while you roll out your dough.
The assembly:
- Preheat oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Place oven rack to bottom third.
- Roll out the dough to fit your pie plate (9-inch). The thickness should be about 1/8 of an inch. Carefully fold over and fit into your pie pan.
- Pour the filling.
- Optional step: Decorate with strips of dough and brush tops of dough strips with milk.
- Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until the center filling is set. Place foil on the edge of crust to prevent over-browning.
- Cool completely on a wire rack.
- Refrigerate until serving.
Video
Notes
- Use cold butter when making the crust, this is a must.
- Do not over manipulate the pie crust dough; once it comes together, form in a disc and refrigerate.
- Drain the ricotta as we do not want a soggy crust.
- It can easily be prepared 24 hours in advance and refrigerated until needed.
- whisk together all of the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl;
- incorporate the cubed butter with your fingertips (can also grate the butter using the large holes of a box grater and then use your fingertips to incorporate);
- add the egg and gently "knead" until the mixture comes together;
- wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
Nutrition
This post was originally published on March 24, 2016 and republished on March 15, 2019 with updated content, photos and more recently a video. Thanks for watching and sharing!
Anna Maria Helewka
Thank you Maria…going to try this ricotta pie for Easter this year.
I am first generation Canadian –my parents were from Abbruzzi region. Both have passed away now. Your site always ends up with me reminiscing about our family dinners, the great food and fantastic times. Miss my parents so much.
Anyway, love your site and have made your taralli and they were perfect. You also reminded me of San Guiseppe day—my mom used to make these fabulous potato donut (Torcinelli) for San Guiseppe-they are softer than Screppelle.
She also made the best Fritelli at Christmas
You have motivated me to try to recreate some of these recipes . I have my mom’s recipe book but it doesn’t help much as she did so much from memory.
Take care and keep up the great work. Going to make the whole wheat breakfast cookies tomorrow.
Anna Helewka (previously Anna Caldarone)
Maria
Thank you so much for your kind words Anna Maria. Sounds like your mom was a fantastic cook and baker!
I love all of these traditional foods you have mentioned… thank you for sharing. Thanks so much for your support, appreciate it!
CJ
Easy to do (I cheated though… didn’t make the pie crust from scratch). I made a few substitutions (vanilla instead of liquor, no zest due to allergies) and added mini chocolate chips (a delicious suggestion from one of the people in the comments). It was awesome. A few things, I had enough filling to make two pies (yea! more for me!). And all the chips slid down to the bottom. Still delicious but I was hoping they would be mixed throughout. But easy, delicious recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Maria
My pleasure CJ. I have never tried with the addition of chocolate chips. I’m just wondering if they are tossed in a little bit of flour if that would prevent them from sinking.
Thanks for taking the time to share. I appreciate your comment.
Karen
I’ve used the mini morsels and they didn’t sink. Worth a try!
Antoinette
Hi Maria,
Going to make this for a friends birthday. Do you think I could add chocolate chips, and would you use the minis or regular?
Thanks,
Toni
Maria
How wonderful Antoinette! Happy birthday to your friend! I would definitely go for the minis! Enjoy!
Karyn Fontana
Thank you for your delicious pie. Never made one before and I just love it. Made it today for Easter. It was easy and I will definitely make it again.
Maria
Amazing Karyn! Hope you had a great Easter!
Rosalie
Hello my dear can a already made crust by only using the fillings and can it be put in freeze for later usage
Maria
Thanks for your interest Rosalie. Yes, a premade crust would be fine. However I’m not so sure about freezing it. I have never tried simply because I don’t think the ricotta will have the same texture once it has thawed. Perhaps someone has tried and will respond. If you do decide to try it I would love to hear about your results.
Annie
I just made this.
I was one that was afraid to do any recipe where you have to knead/roll the dough.
This dough was easy to make.
This recipe was easy to follow.
The pie was delicious.
Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Maria
Fantastic Annie! I am so thrilled to hear this. Thanks so much for sharing.
Nancy
My mother has made a similar ricotta cheese pie my whole life. With no crust, pre cooked white rice, eggs, sugar, 2 to 3 lbs ricotta, and either lemon, orange, anise, or vanilla flavoring…. not sure what else… but we all adore it…. thank you for sharing all your recipes… blessings this Easter season
Maria
Thank you so much Nancy. Happy Easter to you and your loved ones as well.
Melisa
I made this pie for Easter 2019 and it was absolutely perfect.
Maria
I am thrilled to hear you enjoyed this ricotta pie Melisa. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment, appreciate it!
Dee
Hello !
For the first time ever, I am going to attempt this delectable pie !! I do have two questions:
My departed Sicilian grandmother’s recipe calls for 4 lb Ricotta. Should I double every ingredient , as well as the crust amounts? Nanny recipe was cooked in a 9×13 in glass dish.
Also, she used “ two shots whiskey”. Should I ?
Maria
How wonderful Dee! Although I have never tried, I think you should get great results. Yes,I would also double all the ingredients. Yes, whiskey can be used as the liquor in the recipe.
Wishing you and your loved one a Happy Easter!