It isn’t Easter time without a ricotta pie! I know there are hundreds of different ways to make ricotta pie, but if you like the flavor of cannoli then you’re going to love this. A blend of ricotta, orange zest, candied orange peel, mini chocolate chips and a hint of cinnamon flavors this pie.
You still have plenty of time to make this, you can use your own favorite pie dough recipe for the crust, but if you feel rushed and don’t have time or you’re not a fan of making your own, go ahead and use a good quality store bought crust that’s refrigerated or even frozen, I’ve done it many times myself!
Now for an important note: Make sure you drain your ricotta good! You don’t want it to be wet, make sure you get all the excess moisture out or else it will affect the cooking time and texture. You could drain it overnight in the fridge or a couple of hours before you put it together or just look for a drier ricotta, not one that is soaking in water.
Here’s the filling: 1 1/2 lbs of ricotta, 3/4 cup sugar, 5 large eggs, 1 tablespoon vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, zest of one orange, 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips, semi sweet, and 1/2 cup of diced candied orange peel.Bake the pie for 45 minutes, or until ricotta is set and toothpick comes out clean. Let cool and chill.
Make sure you chill it down in the refrigerator before you slice into it to receive the optimum full flavor.
Happy Easter!
I’m Marie, a wife, mother, mother-in-law, and gramma of two beautiful girls. My passion is food, clear and simple but especially Italian food, hence the name of my blog, Proud Italian Cook. I want you to feel right at home here so grab a cup of coffee, I’ll get the pastries, take a look around and enjoy your visit! {
How beautiful, and beyond tempting! As the years go by, I find myself enjoying Ricotta Pies far more than I did when I was young . I have no idea why this is. I appreciate their lightness and delicate flavors. Your flavoring sounds wonderful. I hope you and yours have a magnificent holiday. Buona Pasqua!
I just put this together… It looks fantastic . Haven’t had this since my grandmother made them.. She was born in Sicily and my Dad always looked forward to them every year. In his memory & hers .. I am making this for the first time for my own family. With one exception…. I also made the fresh ricotta as nona did , plus cover the top with the same thin pastry crust as swell. I c I’ll just bet bet she’d be very proud along with of her sweet winks!
That’s beautiful Paula, I’m sure your nona is very proud!
I made this for an Easter brunch…it was fabulous! I’m not much of a cook so when I make something this good I can’t stop thinking about it and smiling. Couldn’t find the candied orange peel and not enough time to attempt to make it myself so I just used the orange zest…again, fabulous! Thank you sooooo much for posting the recipe!
Kellie, so glad you liked it!
This was delicious. Thank you for the recipe.
Great Betty, glad you liked it!
Loved this recipe. I did triple the amount of vanilla and added 1/2 cup of light cream. No chocolate, no problem. Wonderful!!!
Marie,
Where would I find the candied orange peel…….this looks amazing. I’ll try it for Easter if I can find the orange peel.
Happy Easter!!
Mangia! Mangia!
Brenda if you’re local I get it at Caputo, but if you can’t find it, just use fresh grated orange rind. 1Tablespoon or so.
hi
I’ve been searching for recipe from what I remember to be pie like this from italian easter, but very spongy and green???
thnx
I’m starting to plan my Easter menu (it will be here before we know it since time seems to fly by so fast these days!). I’ve been looking for a great Italian Easter pie recipe and knew for certain that you’d have one on your blog Marie! Thanks so much for this recipe! Roz
I am making this today for Christmas. Any holiday is a great time for ricotta pie! I don’t have the ingredients for traditional pie crust so I actually made a healthy whole grain, oat-based cinnamon pie crust instead. This may be disastrous, but hey, I’ll let you know how it turned out 🙂
Yummy all the way!!!! Will be making this for my 5 yrs old son. tc 😉
Glad you enjoyed it Debra!
Made this for Easter dinner yesterday – it was a HUGE hit!
Thank you!
A friend recommended your recipe as I was looking for a proper Easter pie. Thanks for a great delicious recipe!
http://www.foryourpiesonly.com/post/4843460002/italian-ricotta-easter-pie-recipe
mammdigeminia, Enjoy! Thanks for visiting here too!
Madonna! This day started out so awful. I couldn’t find my mother’s handwritten ricotta pie recipe. I lost my mother suddenly on Mother’s Day 2004. I always make her ricotta pie from her handwritten recipe ever Easter. I was looking for something similar when I came across this site! I LOVE IT! I can’t wait to make this recipe. It sounds amazing!! Buona Pasqua a tutti!
Madonna! This day started out so awful because I couldn’t find my mother’s handwritten ricotta pie recipe. I lost my mother on Mother’s Day 2004. I always make her ricotta pie from her recipe which she left me handwritten! I was looking online and came across this site! I love it!! I can’t wait to try this ricotta pie recipe is sounds amazing!! Buona Pasqua a tutti!
So glad you liked in Scrapgirl!
Oh my….I just made this over the weekend for Mothers Day. It was DELICIOUS! So creamy, so yummy. I think it will be a new tradition for future holidays! Very Good thanks for sharing!
I like to mke my own Ricotta. I would eat this anytime. Not just Easter!
Wow, ricotta pie…looks absolutely delicious, nice nice pictures!
Absolutely stunning pie!!
Great pie! I made fresh ricotta this Easter for some cannoli for dessert. Now I know what else to do with my ricotta. Thanks!
Now that pie says “Easter” and any time of the year, Marie! As if I didn’t have enough treats for Easter, I could use a slice of your ricotta pie right now.
Hope you had a great Easter. No recipe says Easter quite like a ricotta pie. I made my traditional family savory one.
I love that you used chocolate chips in this!
I made this recipe, with a few adaptations of my own. I blogged it, and gave you a shout. Thanks, Marie, for giving me that final shove to make first (and not last) Ricotta pie. Loved it.
Oh Marie – I never met a ricotta pie I didn’t love. And I am loving yours. Happy Easter!
can’t wait to have some ricotta pie today! I like that yours has some added treats Marie. Buona Pasqua to you and your family.
Marie this Ricotta Pie look absolutely fabulous!! Your Blog is always amazing! huggs!! gloria
Happy Easter dear Marie!
Ah, I love ricotta pie! This looks delicious and perfect! Happy Easter!
Wow! Does that look fabulous! I bet your Easter Menu rocks!
Happy Easter to you and your family, Marie!
It was so great to meet you! See you soon!
LL
Your ricotta pie looks delicious. Very similar to the one I make but I love the addition of the chocolate chips.
Yes to the cannoli! Yes to this recipe. I bought some candied fruit from King Arthur flour, but never got around to making stollen. Well, now you showed me an easy recipe that I have really want to make. LOVE ricotta!
Blessed Easter to you and your family.
Debby
This looks so creamy and delicious!
Happy Easter to you and your family Marie!
♥ Pat
that looks wonderful I will have to try your recipe! I made one from my uncle’s mom and it was good as well but this looks even better. What is not to love about canolli filling!!
also I have a giveaway over at my blog, pleez post for a chance to win nyc chocolate covered popcorn! have a great easter!!
http://nycstylecannoli.blogspot.com/2010/03/cupcake-lesportsac-and-nyc-checker-cab.html
The sweet ricotta pie w/ the candied fruit and choc chips is what I love most from my neighborhood growing up in NJ.
I LOVE it.
as Carmella says, “I brought you a reegawt pie, now write that letter!”
(from the Soprano’s, in case you weren’t sure!).
Have a wonderful Easter!
xxoo
Waw,…your ricotta pie looks wonderful & is so fabulously looking too!
Happy Easter to you & your family!!!
I’m sure it’s as delicious as it is beautiful! Happy Easter!
Oh this looks wonderful. And that slice, just fabulous! It is tradition that we serve ricotta pie on Easter too.
That pie looks fantastic, Marie! I haven’t made one of those in years. I have a big hunk of ricotta impastata in my fridge and this would be a perfect way to use it. Buona Pasqua!
This is the second time I’ve seen this pie and the second time I’ve thought, “man do I need a good Italian friend to invite me over for Easter!”
man i haven’t had this in ages. the picture of the slice is heavenly.
Marie, this looks just heavenly. I am a huge cannoli fan and can’t wait to try out this pie. Happy Easter!
Oh my you are so tempting me to make this. I am in charge of desserts for easter but my father specifically requested a lower fat dessert (I have no idea what he’s talking about. Fat doesn’t exist on easter. Or days that end in “Y”).
Really this looks fantastic. I’m going to have to make it soon, if not this weekend.
The recipe is printing as I type. This looks scrumptious, Marie, and I know my family will love it.
Easter blessings to you and your family.
This is almost exactly my family’s sweet Easter pie recipe! So yummy! One of my fav Easter traditions! I love to pull out my beloved, late mother’s recipe(tattered, in her handwriting, with stains on it!) and make it!
Happy Easter!
Judi
Oh my goodness, this looks absolutely decadent! It would take a load of willpower to resist a second slice. Beautiful!
Thank you so much – my grandmother made this pie but never wrote down the recipe. I plan to make this for Sunday’s dinner – I think my dad will be surprised!
Marie, this looks amazing! It sounds light, yet really creamy and yummy. I have some beautiful ricotta in my fridge, so I’m definitely making this. One question…you give directions for making the crust, but I don’t see ingredient amounts. Did I miss that somewhere? Thanks!
My mother makes a sleu of these pies every Easter – homemade crust and all. Everyone looks forward to them! She’s never put chocolate chips in them – that sounds yummy and just like a cannoli! Maybe I can convince her to make that addition this year.
Christine, I just put it in a strainer and set that on top of a bowl and let it drip.
Oh yum, yum, yum. Marie I already made my dessert for Easter and it’s in the freezer, but you’re making me I had made this instead. What a delicious looking ricotta pie. Buona Pasqua.
This looks delicious! I will definitely be making this for Easter dinner- my only Q is, how do you drain ricotta?
Draining the ricotta is easy! Go to your local supermarket or hardware store and buy some cheese cloth. Place the cheesecloth in a fine mesh strainer over a deep bowl and place ricotta in cheesecloth and place in fridge over night. All the liquid will drain out. Good luck and happy baking!
MMM never had ricotta pie before but this sounds delicious. I love cannoli filling. Could the candied fruit be left out?