This Orange Ricotta Quick Bread is so easy to make and requires relatively few ingredients. It only takes about 20 minutes to throw together, then 50 – 60 minutes to bake. Like all tasty quick breads it won’t last long because it’s so good. We eat it for breakfast with a fried egg and/or bacon or just by itself. It also makes a nice mid-afternoon snack or a sweet bite to complement tea time.
There are substitutions that can easily be made for a couple of the ingredients depending on what you have available and your personal preference. For example, anytime I buy ricotta for a specific dish, I always have some leftover. Sometimes it is as much as 1 cup but sometimes it’s less. This recipe calls for 1 cup of ricotta, but if you don’t have a full cup, then make up the difference with plain Greek yogurt. Also, instead of pecans, walnuts or pistachios are good substitutes.
An easy quick bread made with orange juice and zest, whole wheat and unbleached flours, ricotta cheese and pecans. Great for breakfast or a quick snack.
*See Kitchen Notes for additional information, substitutions or links.
- 1 cup unbleached AP flour, sifted
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour*, sifted
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup coarsely chopped pecans*
- 2 large eggs, slightly beaten
- juice and zest from 1 orange*
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta*
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
Prepare a large bread pan by coating it with butter or spraying with oil.
- In a large bowl, add the dry ingredients. Stir to combine.
- In a 4 cup measuring cup, beat the eggs with the orange juice and zest. Add the ricotta and beat to incorporate all of the wet ingredients.
Make a hole in the center of the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients. Gently stir and fold until all ingredients are well combined. Batter will be quite thick.
Transfer batter to the prepared bread pan and place in the center of the preheated oven.
Bake for 50 – 60 minutes or until done, To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the bread. If it comes out clean, it’s done. If not, baked for another 8 – 10 minutes. (Higher altitudes require a longer cook time.)
When done, remove the bread from the oven and let rest in the pan for about 5 minutes. Go around the bread with a knife to separate it from the bread pan.
Carefully turn the bread over onto a protected hand and tap the pan to release bread if needed.
Flip bread back over onto a cooling rack and cool to room temperature before wrapping. Since just the smell of the bread will drive you to taste it immediately, please let it rest for at least 5 minutes out of the pan before cutting it. After that, enjoy to your heart's delight.
Whole Wheat Pastry Flour – I like using this flour because it is lighter than regular whole wheat. If you don’t have any, then use 1/2 cup whole wheat and increase the unbleached flour to 1 1/2 cups.
Orange juice and zest – If using a seedless orange (e.g., Cara Cara), add the pulp that is released when juicing rather than discarding it.
Ricotta Cheese – If you don’t have a full cup of ricotta, then use plain Greek yogurt to get a full cup.
Pecans – No pecans, then substitute with walnuts or pistachios.
Baking time – Because i live above 5000 ft, this bread takes a full 60 minutes to cook. For lower elevations, test for doneness at 50 minutes then add more time if needed.
My inspiration for this bread came from the Orange Ricotta Bread at Chef in Training. It looks so good and I’ve always liked what citrus adds to a quick bread.
In addition to this Orange Ricotta Quick bread, I have several more quick bread options. Check out the recipes below.
Great recipe. I cut the sugar back to 3\4 cup. Plenty sweet. I also made in a muffin tin and baked for 15 minutes. Nice texture, definitely a recipe to repeat
Catherine, thanks so much for your feedback! I’m glad you liked the recipe. Good idea to cut back on the sugar a bit. When I first made this I was going to put a glaze on it but decided it was plenty sweet without it. That’s funny that you made muffins. I usually do the opposite and take a muffin recipe and turn it into a quick bread. 🙂 Again, thank!
nice article sharing for this. very tasty recipe but i have a question how much fat in this bread?
thanks Vrishen! Most of the fat comes from the whole milk ricotta, which is about 32 grams of fat, most of it saturated. Then you have about 38 grams from the pecans, most of which is poly and mono. Hope this helps.
I’m pinned as I think it would be perfect with a cup of tea for my breakfast.
Thanks Karen and thanks for pinning!
Such a good looking bread, I love the crumb. I’ve never baked with bread with ricotta, it sounds interesting.
A perfect quick bread for my morning coffee break or afternoon snack or any time. Next time we get ricotta in the house I’ll be giving this one a go. Thanks for sharing…
YUM! Now I’m wishing I didn’t toss the leftover ricotta last week!!!
I wish you hadn’t either. 🙂 I find it hard to toss anything in this house. My husband is always teasing me about my “hidden” ingredients because some dishes are just a little of this and a little of that. Thanks!
What a great base recipe. I am thinking of a lemon glaze, too.
Thanks Debra! An orange glaze, lemon glaze would be great with this.
Good to know that works too! It was perfect the first time. I learn so much from you as well! Wow great post.
Thanks Ron!
Doesn’t this sound yummy? I do love quick breads and I’ve never seen this ricotta version. Can’t wait to try it!
Thanks Abbe! The ricotta adds a lot of moisture to the bread, so it doesn’t dry out so quickly. I love using ricotta or yogurts in bread for that reason.
Made the bread on Saturday. No single slice left for Monday ! 🙂 Definitely a keeper. Thank you so much MJ !
Thanks so much for your feedback!!! You made my day! So glad you enjoyed it and thanks again for letting me know.
We love quick breads around here! This one looks really lovely and flavorful.
Thanks Amy!
There is always ricotta in our fridge MJ ! Will do and let you know 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thank you !
Thanks Davorka! Hope you enjoy!
This is a winner and I’d love a slice now; great recipe, thanks!
Thanks Pam!
this sounds like a delightful flavour combo, MJ. i love a slice of loaf slathered in butter and maybe a bit of jam:-)
cheers
sherry
Thanks Sherry! Now you know how to eat bread! Butter and jam – YUM!
Quick and so delicious with pecans! And I also love the easy preparation.
Thanks Angie! I’m with you, the easy of prep is a good thing. 🙂
Oh my goodness, this is calling my name. I think I have to make this pronto! I have all the ingredients, including some leftover ricotta…..Thanks so much for sharing this!
Thanks Susan! It you make it, I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
Your bread looks so moist! Orange zest really freshens this delicately sweet bread. Perfect with a morning cuppa. Hope you are staying well. Take Care
Thanks Bobbi! It is a very moist bread. It thinks it’s the ricotta and orange juice. So good with a cuppa!
This would be gone in a heartbeat at our house. If Joe sees any type of bread on the counter he never passes by without taking a slice. I love the ricotta orange combination. I bet it makes the bread moist and flavorful. Anytime you add pecans, I’m all in! Hope all is well down in your part of town. Take care!
thanks Jan! Joe’s like me. I can’t resist quick breads, pies, or anything a little sweet sitting on the counter 🙂 things are doing well down here. Thanks. Hope you are all well up the hill.
Quick breads are always so good! And like you, I favor them for breakfast. Although I’ll never refuse one as a snack. 🙂 Orange and pecans? Sounds like a delightful combo! Thanks.
Thanks John! I could just have a slice of quick bread and cup of tea for breakfast. For bobby, it’s more of his “first” breakfast. 🙂