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My Ricotta Cheese Dessert Recipe Is A Creamy, High Protein Treat In 10 Minutes
I first made this ricotta dessert recipe when I wanted something light after Italian dinners, but since then, I’ve found several more reasons to make it — some of them unexpected:
- Rich, creamy, and so pretty – The texture reminds me of a richer, creamier yogurt or mousse, and the presentation with colorful berries makes me enjoy it that much more.
- High protein treat with no added sugar – Over 20 grams of protein each! And unlike many ricotta cheese dessert recipes, this one is gluten-free with no refined sugar. I’ve even had it as a healthy breakfast.
- Red, white, and blue – With the festive colors, this has become one of my favorite 4th of July recipes! It’s great for Memorial Day and Labor Day, too.
- Fast and easy – You only need 10 minutes and a few simple ingredients to throw together this ricotta cheese dessert. Much easier than baking anything! It’s perfect for last-minute guests, sweet cravings, or when it’s too hot to turn on the oven.
If you’re looking for a red, white, and blue dessert, or just want a sweet fix fast today, grab some ricotta and make this ricotta dessert with me!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Here I explain the best ingredients for my ricotta cheese dessert recipe, what each one does, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card.
- Ricotta Cheese – The main, creamy ingredient, and a great source of protein! I prefer whole milk ricotta cheese, but 2% works, too. You can also swap in cottage cheese or farmer’s cheese.
- Heavy Cream – This helps the ricotta blend into a silky, mousse-like texture. You can use half and half or milk instead, but they aren’t as thick, so I’d start with less.
- Besti Powdered Monk Fruit Allulose Blend – The only sweetener I recommend here! It’s natural, tastes great with no aftertaste, has zero calories, and most importantly, dissolves just like powdered sugar. Most sugar alternatives will leave a gritty texture or can crystallize, and liquid sweeteners will make the ricotta dessert too runny. The only other option that I’ve found works well is plain powdered allulose, but you’ll need more, about 2/3 cup.
- Flavor Boosters – Including lemon zest and vanilla extract. Feel free to double the zest, or even add a splash of lemon juice (but not too much or the texture gets runny).
- Berries – I layered in raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries to get that red, white, and blue look… perfect for summer holidays! Any fruit you like is great.
- Optional Toppings – I like a swirl of my sugar-free whipped cream and a sprinkle of sliced almonds. You can also opt for chocolate chips, other nuts, seeds, a shake of cinnamon, sprigs of mint leaves, or a drizzle of my sugar-free honey.
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How To Make Ricotta Dessert
I have step-by-step photos here to help you visualize the recipe. For full instructions with amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card.
- Blend the ricotta whip. Combine the ricotta, cream, lemon zest, Besti, and vanilla in a blender, and blend until smooth. If it’s too thick, add a splash of cream. If it’s too thin, you can add more ricotta. Taste and sweeten more if needed.
- Layer it up. Spoon the ricotta into bowls, layering with the berries. I used these clear mini trifle bowls, pictured here. I usually do two layers of each, then top with whipped cream and almonds if I’m feeling fancy.
My Recipe Tips
- Make sure your ricotta is cold straight from the fridge. Not only does it taste better, it has a firmer texture. I once let it sit out for a while by accident, and the result was more runny.
- A high-speed blender works best to make the ricotta smooth and airy. Weaker blenders can still work, but the result won’t be as smooth.
- The texture can vary depending on your ricotta. Sometimes I get a thicker, creamier ricotta cheese dessert, other times it’s a bit more like yogurt. So if you want it thicker…
- For a thicker texture, blend in a few tablespoons of cream cheese or mascarpone. Make sure it’s at room temperature, so it mixes in smoothly.
- Adjust the sweetness to your taste. This recipe is mildly sweet, not super sweet, so feel free to add more powdered Besti if you like it sweeter. If you go overboard and it turns out too sweet, you can cut the sweetness with a small splash of lemon juice or a pinch of salt.
- Want to lighten it up? Half and half or milk will work instead of heavy cream, but it will be less rich. I recommend starting with less if you use these, since they aren’t as thick.
- If you want to see the berry layers on the sides, it helps to place the berries tightly against the edge of your container. Otherwise the creamy ricotta mixture will run down the sides and cover them up. Your ricotta dessert will be delicious either way, I just think it’s prettier when the berries are peeking out!
- These are quite filling, so make them smaller for a lighter treat. You can choose smaller serving cups and make 8 from this recipe instead of 4.
- Chocolate flavor variation: Add several teaspoons of cocoa power to the ricotta cheese mixture, blending after each addition until it’s as chocolaty as you like. Or just use sugar free chocolate chips as topping!
Ricotta Dessert
By
Whip up my easy ricotta dessert in just 10 minutes! This ricotta cheese recipe has layers of sweet, creamy whip and fresh berries.
Instructions
[ See step photos See my tips ]Tap on the times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer.
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In a high-power blender, combine the ricotta cheese, heavy cream, lemon zest, powdered Besti, and vanilla. Blend for about 1 minute, until smooth and creamy.
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If the mixture has trouble blending or is too thick, add more cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, to get the consistency you like. Adjust sweetener to your taste if needed.
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In 4 parfait cups, build alternating layers of ricotta whip and berries. (I do 2 layers of each.)
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If you like, garnish with whipped cream and sliced almonds.
Did you make it? Leave a review or tag me @wholesomeyum on Instagram!
Maya’s Recipe Notes
Serving size: 1 large ricotta dessert cup
- Tips: Check out my recipe tips above to help you get the perfect texture, ways to adjust the flavor, and how to get those picture-perfect berry layers.
- Storage & meal prep: Cover the ricotta desserts with plastic wrap and keep them in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Sometimes I meal prep them for breakfast!
- Freeze: You can freeze these, but the texture gets a little grainy. I still like them half-frozen, as they remind me of ice cream.
- Note on nutrition info: The optional almonds and whipped cream are not included. Some of you have asked where the sugar comes from — it’s from the ricotta and berries.
- Note on serving size: These are pretty big desserts. When I want smaller, lighter ones, I divide this ricotta cheese dessert recipe into 8 servings instead of 4, and use smaller cups.
I provide nutrition facts as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see my nutrition policy.
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Ricotta Dessert
97 Comments
Debbie
1The base was simply delicious! I have a thing for extra tart desserts, so I added the juice of a lime and 2 tbsp of lemon which was refreshing. Will try other additions for different variations. Thank you for a great recipe!
Tracy
0I made this tonight and it was delicious. I didn’t follow the directions exactly, as I only had 10 oz of ricotta on hand, so I adjusted the amounts. My blender wasn’t working, either, but just mixing it together tasted really good. I promise I didn’t change it entirely, just slight proportions and mixing.
Wholesome Yum D
0Sometimes a few little adjustments are just part of cooking, Tracy! I love that even with less ricotta and an uncooperative blender, it all came together.
Cindy Best
0I made this dessert last evening. My husband and I both loved it. I’ll be making this again. I purchased your sugar free raspberry syrup. I cannot use that product. I follow a clean Keto diet. I limit my net carbs to less than 20/day. How do you misrepresent this product as Keto when each serving has 27 grams of carbs?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I’m so happy you liked this recipe, Cindy! I don’t misrepresent my sugar free raspberry syrup and apologize if it was confusing! It has 1 gram of net carbs, not 27, and zero sugar per serving. It’s naturally sweetened with monk fruit and allulose, both natural sweeteners we can’t metabolize, which do not count towards net carbs. It also contains real raspberry puree. Hope this helps.
Lisa Moody
0OMG….This is LICK THE BOWL scrumptious! Tasted like cheesecake, in fact, I am going to use this recipe as a base for the banana/vanilla wafer one! YUMMY!!! Thanks for another awesome recipe, Maya!
Wholesome Yum D
0Thanks so much for your kind words, Lisa. I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Your idea of using it as the base for a banana/vanilla wafer version sounds great.
Gloria Phillips
0Could I use sugar instead of Besti? I need calories for myself. Thank you. I could make this today as I have all the ingredients.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
1Hi Gloria, Yes, you can. This is not low calorie, though, even with Besti.
June Uhrick
0Delicious and filling! Will definately make again! But you definately do need a high speed blender or you get a grannies texture!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, June! Yes, I do recommend a high-power blender for the best texture here.
Marilyn Paul
0I made this for the first time. My heavy cream went bad so I had to use some coconut milk. It whipped together real nice. I only did 1/2 of recipe. I did put a small dish in freezer for awhile – I really like that.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I’m glad you enjoyed it, Marilyn! Coconut milk is a perfect sub when you need it. Great idea to freeze for a bit too — yum!
Mary
0Hi Maya, I am making this for dessert tonight. I have a couple of girlfriends over to watch the fireworks. I have homemade cranberry sauce, your recipe, that I am going to swirl into the dessert. We all like cranberries and I had a couple of packages that I needed to use. I will let you know how it worked. I use Bel Gioioso Ricotta con latte that taste so much like homemade. It is delicious and I use this now instead of making my own. Thanks for the recipe.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0That sounds delicious, Mary! Hope you loved it and had a great holiday!
Holly
0I love this dessert! I have made several variations using different extracts and add ins. Delicious. Thank you.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Holly! Yes, it’s so easy to customize!
Sam
0I have made this a couple of times. I add two scoops of a flavored smoothie mix to the recipe for both flavoring and additional protein. It’s delicious. However, I have been having difficulties getting my blender to blend everything smoothly. It seems that instead of pulling the ricotta cheese down it simply makes a funnel and then I have to scoop everything out of the blender and mix by hand. It’s laborious, but still worth it to me. Any suggestions on the blender issue? Thanks!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I’m glad you liked this recipe, Sam! It sounds like maybe your blender isn’t full enough or isn’t powerful enough? I use and recommend this blender and haven’t had this issue.
Ruth
0Sweetener need to be Allulose? Any other work as well?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Ruth, Yes, I recommend an allulose-based sweetener here because others don’t dissolve well and will make a gritty texture.
Bill
0Is it 1.5 lbs of ricotta or 1 half pound container?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Bill, It’s 1.5 pounds (24 ounces) of ricotta. Hope this helps!
Joana Myers
1I was skeptical at first thinking how can ricotta taste well as a dessert? OMG it’s sooooo delicious!!! Even my kids liked it and you know how that goes! Followed recipe with a tad extra zest and bam! Yummiest!! Thank you!
Veronica
0Absolutely Delicious!!
Becky Nilan
0Delicious. Great summer dessert.
Maqhi
0Delicious, even without the berries. I just sprinkled cinnamon on it since I didn’t want any extra carbs. Hubby liked it, too!
Carol
0Had a grainy texture; would say that “purée til smooth” should have a reference to a time. I thought it looked smooth, but could have under blended?? Taste nice. Wish it were thicker. Think I will fold in whipped cream if I make again.
barb
0I liked it a lot. The lemon helped take the tart out of the raspberry.
LaWanda
0Hi Maya! I am the only one who will be eating this dessert. Will the puree (no berries) keep in the refrigerator for a few days? Also, is this recipe on Youtube? For some reason, the video button is not working for me and I would like to watch it, if it is available. Thanks.
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi LaWanda, Yes, you can store it for a few days. This recipe is not on YouTube but the video seems to be working now.
LaWanda
0Hi Maya! I so want to make this, since I have berries that need to be used. Is 1 1/2 lb whole milk ricotta the same as 24 ounces or three cups?
Wholesome Yum D
0Hi LaWanda, Yes, that is correct.
Beryl ASH
0Can this be made in one large trifle bowl? Want to make it for a birthday party request for low carb dessert
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Beryl, Yes, you can do that. You’d probably need to double or triple the recipe, depending on the size of the large trifle bowl. Please let me know how it turns out. Hope you have a wonderful birthday celebration!