The Best Italian Ricotta Pie!

My mom usually made four of these pies during the holidays - one served for dessert, and the rest to give away. It's especially popular during the Easter season, but try it out anytime! This recipe is very easy to make. You can use your own made-from-scratch favorite pie crust recipe, or one from the grocery store such as refrigerated, frozen, or ready-to-make pie crust dough. This pie is tastier and creamier after refrigerated overnight, but don't let me stop you from digging in once it's cooled from the oven! It's absolutely amazing either way! There are various recipes for Ricotta Pie, some have chocolate chips, cinnamon, chopped citron or other spices and add-ons, but I find they compete with the actual enjoyment of tasting the very essence of this already sweetened ricotta. This recipe is in it's simplest form, allowing you to taste the richness of the ricotta with a light, complementary tone of lemon and vanilla. It's our family's most favorite version of Italian Ricotta Pie and I love sharing it with you! Recipe is below. Peace Love And Tasty Eats!
The Best Italian Ricotta Pie!
Ricotta filling recipe is for one 9-inch deep dish pie. You can double, triple or quadruple this recipe. Pie crust recipe is included separately below as well.
Preheat oven 350° F
1 9-inch prepared deep dish pie crust (or make your own - recipe below)
1 3/4 cups ricotta cheese (or 15-oz container), preferably whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
3 eggs, beat in separate bowl until foamy
1/2 cup whole milk
powdered sugar for decorating top of pie
Bake for 35-40 minutes for convection oven. If using a conventional oven it will need about 1 hour until firm and ready.
Pie Crust:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 egg
Milk
Combine the dry ingredients first, then cut in the shortening until the mixture looks crumbly. Beat the egg and mix into flour mixture. Add milk a little at a time until dough holds together, but not sticky. Roll out onto lightly floured surface then line pie pans. This easy recipe is good for two regular 9-inch pie crusts. If you have extra dough left for the ricotta pie, you can make a lattice pie crust topping or refrigerate for later use within 3 days. Just be sure to bring to room temperature before using.
Enjoy!
-- If you'd like to stock your kitchen with items (or similar) used in this video, they can be found by clicking on the links below. Thanks for checking them out! :)
KITCHENWARE -
*Clear Glass Dinner Plates - 9 1/4" - 4pc: amzn.to/3Jak2CH
*Glass Mixing Bowls Set - 3pc: amzn.to/3Ekacuz
*Electric Hand Mixer: amzn.to/3J3CrBf
*Glass 9-inch Pie Plate 4-pk (or single and 3-pk): amzn.to/3yO7GeI
*Spatula Set - 4pc: amzn.to/3yMqLy5
*Nonstick Baking/Cookie Sheets - 3pc set: amzn.to/3egtwyc
*Confectioners Sugar and Cinnamon & Sugar Shakers - 2pc set: amzn.to/3EpHUPm
*Professional Pie Server: amzn.to/329ONXX
FOOD -
*Vanilla Extract - 8oz (good price!): amzn.to/3zG5O8a
*Lemon Extract - 11oz (good price!): amzn.to/3FfyuWJ
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases

[@ArmyJames]

I usually bring a ricotta (rigot) pie when I need a senior academic official to write a letter of reference for my kid. It seems to get the message across.

[@tinasplate]

Hahaha! That's great!

[@ArmyJames]

@@tinasplate 😆

[@mistymockingbird3511]

Thanks for being here, Carmela. You inspired me to look this recipe up in the first place.

[@michaelcowan5559]

Gotta say tyvm for the video. Pie came out perfect on my first try. Making another this weekend just because of how delicious it was

[@tinasplate]

This makes me so happy! Thanks for your wonderful review and for trying out the ricotta pie recipe!

[@thepalatrpro]

Definitely going to attempt to make this tomorrow for the family.

[@rositamendes9248]

Grazie tanto. I'm definitely going to make it. Thanks for giving the ingredients. Much appreciated ❤🌹❤

[@tinasplate]

You’re welcome, Rosita! Thanks for watching. Enjoy this delicious ricotta pie!

[@margaritavelazquez7437]

Looks absolutely amazing and easy to make, will definitely make it soon💐

[@tinasplate]

Thanks so much, Margarita 🤗 Enjoy!

[@cliveblacksheep2522]

Fantastic recipe thanks for sharing

[@tinasplate]

Thanks! Enjoy!

[@BakingwithJayplusDan]

🧀say cheese!🧀 loving this tutorial.

[@tinasplate]

Thank you! 😘

[@richbehrens6144]

I’ve made this twice now..super easy, and it tastes great…..love the taste of the ricotta without the cream cheese. I added a teaspoon of fresh lemon juice and made a fresh fruit sauce which was drizzled over the top….perfect desert and an easy way to look like a pro!

[@tinasplate]

Thanks so much for sharing, Rich! I’m glad you’re enjoying the ricotta pie and love how you added your extra delicious touches to the recipe! 👏😊

[@Vincenza8907]

Making this for Sopranos night!

[@tinasplate]

Enjoy!

[@carmens3685]

The scene where Carmella made one for the neighbor then bullied her into writing a recommendation letter for Meadow to get into college. LOL! I've wanted one ever since. I think she used pineapple in that one.

[@liva857]

i have made this pie like 3 times, the taste is great! but the baking time need to be adjusted , for me the best way is to use convection oven (with fan ) for 1hr and 25 minutes. after 1 hr on the oven i cover the pie Aluminum Foil to prevent the crust to get too brown then let it cook for an additional 25 min more. its delicious! thank you for the recipe!

[@tinasplate]

I’m so happy you’re enjoying the recipe! Yes, depending on a convection or conventional oven, the baking times vary. Thanks for sharing your tips!

[@marckemp9955]

Haven't had this in years. Picked up some cheap ricotta. So I hope it's good. Remember when shortening was cheaper than butter? I don't make crusts with shortening anymore. In fact I'd never keep it for anything. I'd use coconut oil and butter. Works just fine. So I started to get the mixer out but realized there's no real good reason on this..I can and have hand whipped stiff peak meringues before. Preliminary taste..excellent! And this will improve when it's cool. I mixed my own flavors for a more authentic taste.

[@GumriRN]

Love this easy family heritage recipe. I was thinking tho’ , what do you think about: -Separating the 3🥚🥚🥚 first. -Then beat whites till fluffy/set aside -After, beating 🥚 yolks till pale yellow ……..adding them to Ricotta mix? -Finally gently folding-in the fluffy 🥚whites into Ricotta batter? I saw a Nonna Gina, of “Buon -A-Petiti” KZbin channel, kinda doing what’s similar to your Mom’s beautiful recipe. She folds the fluffy whites in last. But I gotta admit, your airy smooth 🥧 looks just like Melt In Your Mouth Heaven. I’m kinda a Ricotta Cheesecake/Cheese Pie fanatic. And your Mom’s & Gina’s look like the fluffiest most delicious texture of any REAL RICOTTA CHEESE FILLING. Being a midnight 🕛 👩‍🍳 Baker, tonight 30 June, I’m going to try your Ricotta Cheese Pie. I hope it will be a hit at our 🇺🇸🇮🇹Italian family Independence Day reunion. God Bless your Mom, God Bless You & God Bless our Great Nation during this Free (so far), Country’s Independence Day Celebration 🎉 🇺🇸. Thank you.🙏🏼

[@tinasplate]

Hi @Deni RN 😀 I just viewed Nonna Gina’s ricotta pie recipe, and although I haven’t tried it, it looks delicious! You could try Nonna Gina’s method of preparing my mom’s ricotta pie, but it’ll change the dynamics of the pie’s filling. For example: beating the egg whites until fluffy will increase the volume of air within them which will add to the volume of the ricotta filling once it’s folded into the batter of my mom’s recipe. Therefore, the filling will then need to be poured into a larger pan to accommodate it such as the springform pan in Gina’s video vs the pie crust in my video. I don’t want to steer you in the wrong direction, so I’d make one or the other ricotta pie recipe without changing anything around if it’s being served at a special occasion for the first time. It’s perfectly OK to make variations to recipes and I love your idea, but it’s best to do it when testing on your own, just in case you need to tweak the recipe again. Thank you very much for watching and for your beautiful comment! I just subscribed to Buon-A-Petitti channel because Gina has incredibly delicious Italian recipes! Thanks for mentioning her! She reminds me so much of my beloved Italian mother. Happy 4th of July to you and your family! 😘

[@marigo08]

Hi Tina, thank you for sharing this special recipe! Do you have a recipe for a nice pie crust?? Can’t wait to make it, thanks again🤩

[@tinasplate]

Hi @marigo08! My pleasure! I’ve just added a pie crust recipe in the description box of the video. Thanks so much for asking! This easy recipe is good for two regular 9-inch pie crusts. If you have extra dough left for the ricotta pie, you can make a lattice pie crust topping or refrigerate for later use within 3 days. Just be sure to bring to room temperature before using. Here’s the pie crust recipe for your convenience below. Enjoy the ricotta pie! 😋 😀🤗 Pie Crust: 2 1/2 cups flour 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 cup vegetable shortening 1 egg Milk Combine the dry ingredients first, then cut in the shortening until the mixture looks crumbly. Beat the egg and mix into flour mixture. Add milk a little at a time until dough holds together, but not sticky. Roll out onto lightly floured surface then line pie pans. Enjoy!

[@marigo08]

@@tinasplate many many thanks!🙏🏻

[@tinasplate]

@marigo08 You’re very welcome! 🤗

[@Itspants21]

Can I make this crustless in a springform pan?

[@colleenc236]

I wonder if you could add cocoa powder to make it chocolate or lemon zest to make a hint of lemon flavor?

[@ELENTE_]

Will try this, since this is I think a Keto recipe.. just. Look for a crust substitute.. love ricota!! Also the video style is almost ASMR

[@tinasplate]

Thank you! 🤗 Enjoy! 😀

[@SorrentoShore]

OMG!!!!! that looks insane. I just thought of a new gelato flavor

[@tinasplate]

Yay! Enjoy! ❤️

[@roberthassell9910]

I just made it, but it never puffed up, I ended up having to cook it for almost an hour for it to be firm enough. I just watched the video again to see what I did wrong, but I did what you did but without the same results. Who knows...maybe it still still taste good.

[@tinasplate]

Hi Lach! Thanks for making this recipe! You did nothing wrong and your ricotta pie will taste great! If the pie is baked in a conventional oven at 350° F it will take longer, up to an hour. My oven is convection and it takes much less time to bake and it ends up puffing due to the speed of cooking. Thanks so much for letting me know your experience. I will make note of the cooking times at the bottom of the recipe in the description box. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the pie. Let me know how it tastes! :)

[@roberthassell9910]

@@tinasplate Thanks so much for responding! Yes, you are correct, the pie is delicious. This is the first time that I have made a ricotta pie and I definitely will be making this again. Very, very good! Thank you!

[@tinasplate]

You’re welcome, Lach! I’m so happy you’re enjoying the ricotta pie! Thanks for letting me know how much you like it and I love to hear that you’ll be making it again! Enjoy!! With much gratitude, Tina

[@francdana7831]

Yes it takes about an 1 hr @ 350 dgs

[@lissyperez4299]

Make sure your ingredients are room temperature when starting. Helps

[@merimebardhi5129]

Hi oh my my mouth is watering! I have a question I wanted to make this but I wanted to make it as phyllo pie instead. I’m just wondering if I can pour such a thin liquid over phyllo sheets. I have always worked with thicker fillings in phyllo. I wonder if I use less milk maybe or leave it as is?

[@tinasplate]

Hi Merime! Thank you! I’ve made this pie with a very, very thin pie crust before (not phyllo) and it came out great! I baked the pie with the option of selecting a convection oven setting. The pie will bake in less time with this method. I’m thinking you could try baking the phyllo crust this way to reduce the time it’s exposed to the liquid mixture so it will solidify and set quickly. Not sure the phyllo will work as well in a conventional oven setting. If you reduce the milk in half, it may change the texture of the pie to a heavier, denser filling once baked, but should taste good. Whichever option you decide to use, I’m sure it’ll taste great! Let me know how it turns out!

[@Huitzil254]

Hi Tina! What do you think about cooking this pie in the air fryer? If so, what temp and timer would you suggest?

[@itfitzme59]

Took 1 hour

[@slider292]

Same.

[@hessenmansour7019]

Fan forced or not?

[@tinasplate]

Either method works, depending what type of oven you have. Fan forced (convection) is 35-40 minutes bake time. If no fan (conventional), bake for about 1 hour until ricotta filling is firm.

[@hessenmansour7019]

@@tinasplate thank you. I made it and the cake came out like custard and tasted like eggs😭