The time has come again tor us to cook breakfast for dinner!
It’s been a while since we’ve shared a B4D recipe here on What To Cook, and Samin Nosrat’s go-to recipe for the fluffiest pancakes you’ve ever tasted felt like the ideal recipe to break that fast.
When we asked Samin what she cooks when she doesn’t feel like cooking, she came back to us with pancakes, and honestly… same. They’re always a home run with the whole family and are an instant mood-booster, no matter the time of day or season. But these aren’t any old pancakes. Samin’s technique is elite, utilizing a super simple yet game-changing egg white-whipping approach that yields light-as-air, positively gourmet tasting pancakes.
This recipe is included in the “Good Things to Keep Up Your Sleeve” chapter in her upcoming cookbook Good Things: Recipes and Rituals to Share with People You Love, and for good reason! Once you nail this recipe, we know you’ll come back to it again and again for incredibly easy and delicious weeknight dinners and weekend breakfasts for years to come.
You will have multiple bowls and a skillet to wash after cooking this meal. But they’re so easy to rinse, and we promise it will be worth it!
From Samin: I don’t adhere much to the idea that there’s a “wrong” time of day to eat anything. Yes, this is a three-bowl recipe. And yes, it involves whipping egg whites. But these pancakes, made light and custardy with a generous amount of ricotta, are heavenly clouds of fluff. The only downside (besides the bowls) is that you may never settle for any other pancake again.
Thank you to the lovely and absurdly talented Samin Nosrat for sharing this recipe with us! If you missed Wednesday’s Q&A with Samin, click here to learn more about her, and be sure to subscribe to a grain of salt on Substack and pre-order Good Things for more of Samin’s work!
Ricotta helps make these pancakes fluffy, and gives them a good pop of protein (as do the eggs and milk!). But if you’d like a more filling meal, you can’t go wrong with adding a classic like bacon or sausage to the plate. While you’re cooking the pancakes on the stove, cook the meat in the oven.
For bacon: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil (make sure it goes up the sides of the sheet pan so all the grease is contained within the foil! This is important for easy clean up). Spread your bacon slices out side-by-side on the sheet pan, making sure they don’t overlap. Cook for between 12 and 25 minutes, checking often once they hit 12 minutes (yes, this is a big range, but it depends if you’re using thin or thick cut bacon, and how crispy or not you like your bacon!). Once they’ve crisped up to your liking, use tongs to transfer the bacon to a paper/dish towel-lined plate. Once the foil and oil have cooled, you can throw the foil away.
For sausage links: Cook time will depend on what kind of sausage you’re using and whether it’s already fully cooked or raw — check the package for cooking instructions. Applegate Chicken & Maple Breakfast Sausages are a team favorite — these come fully cooked, so you’ll just be reheating them. For that, bake at 350°F for 13 to 15 minutes, turning once or twice while cooking.
Scrambled eggs would be a good option, too. Or for a vegetarian side, make Caro’s sweet potato hash!
Making breakfast is always a solid choice when you don’t feel like cooking dinner. Next time a B4D craving strikes, make this starbucks egg bite copycat frittata or the perfect breakfast casserole!
By Samin Nosrat1 (formatting modified for What To Cook)
Makes 16 to 18 (3-inch) pancakes
Tools:
10-inch or larger cast-iron skillet or griddle
Whisk (or a handheld electric mixer if you don’t want to whip the egg whites by hand)
Thin flexible metal spatula (or any thin spatula)
Ingredients:
1 scant cup (130g) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons (5g) kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup (232g) whole milk ricotta
3/4 cup (183g) whole milk
2 large eggs, yolks and egg whites separated
Unsalted butter, for cooking and serving
Maple syrup, powdered sugar, and/or fresh fruit, for serving
In a large bowl, whisk together 1 scant cup all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder. Set this bowl aside. FYI, a “scant” cup means just short of a full cup — AKA, do not pack the flour in there to be even across the top of the measuring cup! It should hit right beneath the line.
OK, now we’re going to separate our 2 eggs. To do this, set your small and your medium bowls out on the counter side by side. Crack an egg and, working over the small bowl, gently pass the yolk back and forth between the two halves of the broken egg shell, letting the egg white drip down into the small bowl. Once the egg whites have oozed out, drop the yolk into the medium bowl. Repeat with the second egg.
To the medium bowl with the egg yolks, add 1 cup whole milk ricotta and 3/4 cup whole milk and whisk together until well combined and very smooth. Set this bowl aside.
Preheat a 10-inch or larger cast-iron skillet (or griddle) over medium-low heat while you whip the egg whites (which is our next step!).
In the small bowl, use a whisk (or handheld electric mixer on medium speed) to whip the egg whites to stiff peaks, about 3 minutes. Yes, your hand will get tired, but keep whipping — your pancakes will be SO light and fluffy. Set this bowl aside.
Add the ricotta mixture to the bowl with the dry ingredients and whisk gently until just barely combined. Then use a silicone spatula to stir in a small amount of the egg whites to lighten the batter. Finally, fold in the rest of the egg whites with a light touch.
Melt just enough unsalted butter in the skillet to coat the surface and increase the heat to medium.
Measure a scant 1/4 cup of the batter into the pan. If it doesn’t immediately begin to sizzle, wait until it does before pouring out more pancakes. Cook the pancakes on the first side until the bottoms are golden brown and bubbles appear around the edges, 2 to 3 minutes. Use a thin flexible metal spatula to flip — this is when they will thrillingly begin to defy gravity — and cook until golden brown on the second side, another 1 to 2 minutes.
Sometimes I like to flip a second time to make sure the pancakes get completely cooked through, but the only way to be sure that they are cooked is to tear one open and check.
Transfer the pancakes to individual plates or a warmed serving platter, wipe out the pan, and repeat with remaining batter. Serve immediately, with butter or ghee; syrup, jam, or powdered sugar; fresh fruit; or any other desired garnishes.
link to printer version
Love your leftovers: Store any leftover pancakes in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat them in the oven (at 350°F for 5 to 10 minutes, covered with foil), on the stove top over medium heat until warmed through, or in the microwave. If microwaving, wrap them in a damp paper towel and heat them in 20-second bursts until warmed through.
Freezer-friendly: You can also freeze any leftover pancakes! Let them cool completely then transfer them to a zip-top airtight bag, placing a small sheet of parchment between each pancake so they don’t stick together. Reheat them from frozen (no need to thaw!) in the oven or toaster oven.
Vegetarian: Already is, unless you don’t eat eggs. In that case…
Egg-free: This won’t yield the exact same pancakes of course, but here’s a good workaround if you can’t eat eggs!
For the egg whites, use 3 tablespoons aquafaba (the liquid from a can of chickpeas). Whip them like you would the egg whites.
For the yolks, use flax “eggs” — mix 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed + 5 tablespoons warm water (let it sit 5 minutes to gel).
Dairy-free: Use dairy-free ricotta, a non-flavored plant-based milk like unsweetened oat or almond milk, and a plant-based butter or oil for greasing your skillet.
Gluten-free: Use a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour instead of all-purpose flour.
Must have meat/gimme a side: Read the “make it a meal” section above the recipes for easy meat ideas and/or a vegetarian side!
All-purpose flour: 1:1 gluten-free baking flour or whole wheat pastry flour
Sugar: This recipe calls for granulated (as in white) sugar, but you could use coconut sugar or light or dark brown sugar, or honey (though just use 1 tablespoon if using honey)
Baking powder: Baking powder is definitely ideal, but if you’re in a bind you could use 1/2 teaspoon baking soda + 1 teaspoon lemon juice or vinegar
Whole milk ricotta: A dairy-free ricotta sub. You could swap with Greek yogurt or cottage cheese — they won’t turn out as fluffy but will still be good!
Whole milk: You could use another milk you have in the fridge or half and half. Or swap for an unsweetened DF milk like oat or almond.
Eggs: See the “egg-free” note above
Unsalted butter: Another butter, oil, or cooking spray
Newsletter editor: Molly Ramsey
Photographer (unless otherwise noted): Bea Moreno
Excerpted from Good Things by Samin Nosrat. Copyright © 2025 by Samin Nosrat. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Photographs from Good Things by Aya Brackett. Copyright © 2025 by Aya Brackett. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
I just made these! I used a bunch of questionable berries and made a syrup from them. Mmmmm.
I would totally make these again and possibly do a savory version with scallions and more cheese.
Made these this morning!! So good! Added some vanilla bean paste to the liquid ingredients because I can never get enough vanilla. 🔥