Ricotta-Pineapple Pie
Ricotta Pie is a traditional, classic Italian dessert, usually enjoyed at easter, but I think you should enjoy it all the time. With a buttery graham cracker crust and a ricotta cheese filling, this is basically a ricotta cheesecake. The filling is perfectly sweet, brightened up with some fresh lemon zest, and has much lighter texture than a traditional cheesecake, yet it’s just as luxurious and indulgent. Even better, the pie is topped with the most delicious pineapple sauce that takes this classic Italian dessert to the next level of light, fruity, and fresh! Special shoutout to Carmela Soprano on this one; this ricotta-pineapple pie recipe is from the Soprano’s cookbook, with a few minor tweaks made by me!
Okay, now for the details. There are three things to make for this pie: the graham cracker crust, the ricotta filling, and the pineapple sauce for the topping. First up to make: the crust. You need fine graham cracker crumbs, and the easiest way to do that is in the food processor, but you can also crush them in a plastic bag using a rolling pin, the bottom of a glass, a wine bottle… whatever ya got. Once you’ve got those, put them in a bowl, add your melted butter, and mix it up until it looks like wet sand. If it still looks a bit dry, go ahead and add another tablespoon of melted butter. Pack the crust into the pan using your fingers or the back of a measuring cup. You can bring the crust up the sides a little if you want, but it’s not necessary.
Next, the ricotta pie filling. It’s super easy and all made in one bowl! You can either mix everything together with a whisk, hand mixer, or stand mixer.
While the pie is in the oven cooking, it’s time to make the pineapple sauce for the topping. I used fresh pineapple for my sauce, but if you don’t have fresh or don’t want to cut up a whole pineapple for this, you can use canned pineapple! Using canned pineapple will give you a more syrupy, saucy-sauce because you can use the juice from the can too. All you have to do for the sauce is put the pineapple in a small saucepan with sugar, corn starch, and lemon juice, then wait for it to thicken up.
As for what to bake this in, you can use a pie dish or a springform pan. Since I don’t have a springform pan and I didn’t want to serve this out of the dish I baked it in (I need aesthetically pleasing pics!!!) I used a 9” cake pan lined with a wide strip of parchment paper. If you want to do this, here are some tips!
First, cut your wide strip of parchment. Butter the back of the parchment so it sticks to the pan, and you don’t have to awkwardly hold it in place while you pat down your crust. Cut the strip long so that two sides are sticking up out of the pan enough that you can grab on to them to lift the pie out. Before you pack in your crust, spray the parchment and the exposed pan with non-stick spray. Wait until the pie is cooled before you try to lift it out of the pan! If you don’t, it could crack and fall apart. But if it does crack a little, that’s alright because we are covering it with our pineapple sauce anyway!
I think you’re going to love this classic Italian ricotta-pineapple pie! Happy baking!
Ricotta-Pineapple Pie
- springform pan
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted)
- 1/2 cup fine graham cracker crumbs
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 15 ounces ricotta (one container)
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Topping
- 1 cup fresh pineapple (cut into small chunks or one 20-ounce can crushed pineapple in syrup)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Mix the melted butter with the crushed graham crackers, until consistency resembles wet sand. If it looks a little dry, add another tablespoon of melted butter. Transfer graham cracker mixture to prepared pan and pack the crumbs down to form an even crust.
- In a large bowl, stir together the sugar and cornstarch. Add the ricotta, eggs, cream, lemon zest, and vanilla and beat until smooth. Pour the mixture into the pan.
- Bake for 50 minutes, or until the pie is set around the edges but the center is still a little soft and jiggly. Cool the pie on a wire rack.
- For the topping, stir together sugar and corn starch and then add it to your small saucepan, and stir in the lemon juice. Add in your chopped pineapple, then cook over medium heat, stirring often, until thickened. If using canned pineapple with syrup: Stir together the cornstarch and sugar, then add lemon juice and 1/2 cup of the pineapple syrup from the can. Drain and discard the rest. Cook the mixture until thickened, then add the can of pineapple.