Appetizers are almost a celebration in themselves; they are simple, light, and delicious. They can be hot or cold, served before a meal or they can be the meal. And if you want to get extra fancy you can call them hors d'oeuvres.
This creamy Baked Ricotta Cheese with Lemon and Herbs is a perfect appetizer that you can pair with bread or crackers, some fruit, or salty olives. The best part of this cheese dip is that it is so quick to make.

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Creamy ricotta cheese is taken up a notch by adding herbs and spices that make a super simple hot cheese dip. Add some tart lemon zest for a bright citrus flavor, aged parmesan for a nutty taste, and fruity olive oil to drizzle on top for a bubbly, hot bite of cheesy deliciousness. I'm not kidding!
This recipe is perfect for parties. Your guests will love it. Or just make for yourself for a light dinner or your happy hour snack! It's irresistible any way you serve it.
For a cold dip this tasty Smoked Salmon Dip is easy to make and perfect for any occasion. And this Cold Spinach Artichoke Dip recipe is delicious with bread and crackers.
What is ricotta cheese?
- Ricotta is an Italian cheese. It is considered a fresh cheese and is known for being light, fluffy, and sinfully creamy.
- Most ricotta is made from cow milk, but you can also find sheep, goat, and buffalo milk ricotta.
- Ricotta (which means recooked) is made from whey, while curds make most of the other cheese we eat. After the curds and whey are separated for cheese making, the whey is fermented and cooked. The results are small, delicate cheese curds.
- In the U.S., most ricotta is made with whole milk instead of whey.
Ingredients
- Ricotta
- Lemon
- Herbs - parsley, thyme, chives, rosemary
- Red pepper flakes
- Grated Parmesan cheese
- Olive oil
- Salt & Pepper
Today's herbs of choice are flat-leaf parsley with its beautiful green color, garlic chives from my garden, thyme, red pepper flakes, and rosemary from my neighbor's garden. (Don't worry. She said I could pick some anytime, so I did.)
Do you have a favorite herb? Throw it in! This recipe is totally adaptable, so feel free to add what you like.
Here's a great tip. If you get carried away and buy too many herbs as I do, don't throw those extra herbs away. Just chop them and put them in a container to freeze. You can add them to your next soup, stew, or some salsa.
How to make Baked Ricotta Cheese
Step 1. Prepare the herbs by chopping or mincing them and then zesting the lemon.
Step 2. Pour the ricotta cheese into a bowl. Or you can mix everything right in the baking dish and save yourself some clean-up later.
Step 3. Add all the herbs, salt, pepper, and the zested lemon to the ricotta and mix thoroughly.
Step 4. Top with the grated parmesan cheese and bake at 375 degrees for 10 - 15 minutes until the ricotta is hot and bubbly and the top turns brown.
Step 5. Remove the baking dish from the oven and drizzle the cheese with olive oil and a sprinkling of sea salt.
This is so colorful, another reason I like baking with herbs!
What to serve with a ricotta cheese dip?
- Cut up a baguette into thin slices
- Toast slices of a baguette for a crunchy appetizer
- Set the baking dish on a cheese board for a tasty alternative to just sliced cheese
- Cut up veggies to dip into the creamy ricotta - red and green peppers are perfect for this
- Fruits always go well with cheese
- Layout an assortment of olives
- Depending on the herbs you use, think of using tortilla chips with Mexican flavors or pita chips with Mediterranean flavors.
Don't forget to Pin for later
Tips for making the baked ricotta
- Ricotta by itself has a very mild flavor, so experiment with your favorite herbs for some great flavors.
- Use a good parmesan cheese which will add saltiness to the ricotta.
- Getting the top golden brown adds color to this dish and extra flavor.
- Use really good olive oil for drizzling over the top.
- This is a perfect recipe for using leftover ricotta cheese. Adjust the amounts of herbs and parmesan cheese to your liking since this recipe is very forgiving.
Other flavors and herb combinations
- Cilantro, cumin, and diced jalapeno
- Basil, oregano, parsley, rosemary, and capers
- Five-spice powder, Thai basil, lemongrass, sesame seeds
Try these other One Hot Oven cheesy appetizers
Savory Mini Swiss Cheese Quiches
Pears, Asiago, Pistachios, and Cranberries in Puff Pastry
Do you have a pretty baking dish to serve this Baked Ricotta in?
The great thing about this appetizer is you can mix everything in the baking dish. I love vintage Pyrex, and luckily you can still find these beautiful casserole dishes. But if vintage isn't your thing, you might like this pretty aqua 32-ounce souffle dish that is perfect for this recipe. My other favorite dish is this mini dark blue pie dish, which you can use for many other recipes.
More great recipes to make and eat!
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Recipe
Herbed Baked Ricotta with Lemon
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Equipment
- Cutting board
- 6" Baking dish/1.5 quart baking dish
Ingredients
- 15 ounces ricotta cheese
- 2 tsp. chopped flat leaf parsley
- 1 tsp. chopped thyme
- 2 tsp. chopped chives
- ½ tsp. chopped rosemary
- â…› tsp. red pepper flakes
- ¼ tsp. kosher salt
- ¼ tsp. ground pepper
- 1 lemon grated
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese shredded
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- Sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Chop all the herbs
- Grate the lemon
- Shred the parmesan cheese if you are using a block of cheese, otherwise, packaged shredded parmesan cheese is good to use.
- In a medium-size bowl combine the ricotta, herbs, kosher salt, and lemon zest. This can also be combined directly in the baking dish.
- Spoon the ricotta mixture into a 6' baking dish.
- Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the ricotta
- Bake for 10-15 minutes or until hot, bubbly, and golden brown on top.
- When done drizzle the olive oil on top of the ricotta while hot and add a sprinkling of sea salt.
- Serve warm with bread or crackers.
Notes
Nutrition
Serve this right out of the oven while hot, ok so not piping hot, but really warm.
Thank you for stopping by the One Hot Oven blog. Please leave a comment to say hello or tell me what you are baking these days; I always love hearing from fellow bakers.Have any questions or want to chat about the recipe? Please visit my about page for information, and I’ll be happy to help!
About Jere'
From learning to cook on a farm in Indiana to culinary school in California, my passion for food is never-ending. Turning on my oven to bake something for friends and family is my happy place, and I am glad to be here at One Hot Oven sharing both sweet and savory family-friendly recipes for your cooking and baking inspiration.
Claire
Because of the Easter weekend we moved our games night from Thursday Wednesday this week so we could leave to see family on Thursday evening!
I made your baked ricotta dip as I wanted something easy with very little washing up. Man was it good!!! We served it with some store bough baguette and everyone loved it! People kept interrupting the game to comment how delicious it was! There was nothing left! So happy đŸ™‚
Thank you and Happy Easter
x
Shruthi
I'll admit, I've never baked ricotta before but was really drawn to the idea of baking ricotta with lemon and herbs, and wow, I can't believe I've been missing out on this for so long. Will definitely be adding this to my repertoire! Was a party hit too!
Vladka
The combination of herbs makes this baked ricotta outstanding in its taste.
Rose
I love good appetizer recipes and this baked ricotta cheese was so easy to prepare. I'll make it again for Mother's day!
Donna
This was really easy to make. I just took them out of the oven. I made them into 6 custard cups. Plus I also added 1/2 cup of kale chopped, and 1/2 cup spinach chopped.
Now I can't wait to try it..
Next time I think I might add 1 tablespoon of chia seeds
Natalie
This looks absolutely delicious. I'm making this today. I have ricotta cheese in my fridge waiting to be used. I bet my family will love it.
Sangita
It’s such a delicious recipe. Great with toast to munch on...
Addie
Total comfort food! So yummy!
Sloan
This would be great with sliced toasted bread! I'm sure I could eat the entire bowl!
Alice
Had some leftover ricotta from another recipe and looked up ricotta appetizers. This one popped up and thought it sounded good. It was fantastic and so easy!! I will definitely make this again!
Jere Cassidy
Glad you tried the recipe. I have leftover ricotta too and the great thing about this recipe you can just make a little amount.
Stine Mari
Yes please - this looks amazing along with some good bread. Perfect for entertaining and for just a delicious night in.
Jere Cassidy
We are constantly making this baked ricotta, it's just so easy and tasty
Fred Nonterah
I didn't realize how simple it was to make, and with the lemon flavor (Yummy). Thanks for sharing this great recipe with us.
Jere Cassidy
This is one of the simplest appetizers ever. The lemon flavor is so tasty with the ricotta.
Alena
I am such a huge ricotta cheese fan and I can't believe I've never had baked ricotta before! This looks absolutely divine and I'm making it as soon as I can!
Jere Cassidy
Funny, I thought the same thing. I only used it in lasagne, but this dip changed my mind.
Marthana Sharp
I came across this recipe because I wanted something different to serve for my party. Not only was it easy to make but just so tasty. I used a garlic infused olive oil on top. Great recipe.
Ngumabi
I don't know the ingredients but it looks delicious!
Would love to try it
Ngumabi
N'Graffi
OneHotOven
Thank you, hope you try it.